QUOTE OF THE DAY

“You can go broke buying treats for your chickens.”

— Dixmont homesteader Lisa Steele on raising chickens. 

TODAY’S TOP MAINE STORIES

Mayor’s secretly recorded criticism of an LGBTQ+ group roiled a liberal Maine city. “I’m not going say this publicly, but the pride alliance kind of went from advocacy to militancy,” he said in the recording.

Versant Power has received more than 50 subpoenas related to illegal marijuana grow houses. The utility company wants a rule change allowing it to report high energy usage to police in an effort to identify illegal marijuana grow houses.

What Maine’s seabirds are teaching us about mercury. One species studied had higher mercury levels than some other birds, partly because of the type of fish they eat.

Bangor is running weeks behind on painting its roads. As of Friday, just 75 percent road striping is finished, while only 45 percent of stenciling has been completed. That doesn’t even account for touch-ups.

MAINE IN PICTURES

A pride flag hangs from Slates Restaurant and Bakery on Water Street in Hallowell. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN

NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

FROM THE OPINION PAGES

“Gen Z grew up online amid high-stakes elections, making them uniquely engaged and politically active. The first election in which Gen Z was old enough to account for the entire 18- to 24-year-old voting bloc was the 2022 midterm, and nearly 30 percent cast a ballot. This was an unprecedented participation rate for a first midterm and significantly higher than what past generations — including millennials, Gen X and boomers — cast at that age.”

Opinion: Candidates can’t ignore young voters this election

LIFE IN MAINE

We all know a good Maine accent when we hear it. There’s a long history of actors butchering our distinctive accent.

Mainers are spending thousands of dollars on luxury chicken coops. While many Maine homesteaders still take a no-frills approach, larger and more decorative coops with automated features are on the rise.

Here is what you said in the state’s moose survey. There were more than 280 responses to the management survey and more than 150 in the hunting section.