QUOTE OF THE DAY

“On a clear, dry, beautiful day, the trees just collapse under their own weight because they get so brittle. That presents a danger to the public.” 

— Aaron Huotari, Bangor’s public works director, on the work of the emerald ash borer. The city is preparing for the likely arrival of the invasive beetle.

TODAY’S TOP MAINE STORIES

Bangor could lose 20 percent of its trees to an invasive bug. The devastating emerald ash borer, which has yet to be seen in the Queen City, might arrive before the end of the year.

A Bangor Christian school wants to double its enrollment in a new building. If successful, it would buck national trends that show private school numbers in the U.S. have held steady in recent years.

Belfast might expand its breakwater, which increasingly fails to blunt worsening storms. The discussion follows a recent study of how the change would affect sediments that build up in the Passagassawakeag River.

A new poll found that 3 in 10 Mainers see housing as the state’s biggest problem. Housing dwarfed all other issues in the UNH Survey Center poll of 951 likely Maine voters, a result similar to another UNH survey last year.

MAINE IN PICTURES

Sophia Cameron, who is working on her Master of Forestry at the University of Maine, is interning with the city of Bangor to help look for a potential treatment against the invasive emerald ash borer. Cameron poses for a photograph in Hayford Park, where there are numerous ash trees. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN

NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

THINGS TO DO THIS WEEKEND

Deal, deals, deals! The Kiwanis Club of Orono-Old Town holds its 77th annual auction and yard sale on Friday and Saturday at 168 Forest Ave. in Orono, with hundreds of items both new and gently used up for sale proceeds benefiting Kiwanis’ work with area youth. Elsewhere on Friday night, there are several free outdoor movies to pick from, including a double feature of “Monsters Inc” and “Jurassic Park” starting at 8 p.m. in Old Town Park, and “The Goonies” at 7:15 p.m. at Steamboat Landing in Belfast. Also this weekend is the Butterfly and Native Plants Festival at Fields Pond Audubon Center in Holden, with activities for all ages starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, celebrating our native ecosystem. 

FROM THE OPINION PAGES

“A runway knock-off outfit or a cheap T-shirt may seem like a great buy, but when the environmental devastation from fast fashion is considered, trendy clothes aren’t such a good deal.”

Editorial: Fast fashion is an environmental nightmare

LIFE IN MAINE

If Maine cracks down on floating camps, what does that mean for ice shacks? A Bangor Daily News story earlier this week about potential regulations on floating abodes has some fishermen concerned.

Should you let your cats outside? Even people who keep their cats in sometimes feel it’s natural for them to roam outdoors instead of staying inside, where they can get bored, destructive and overweight.

A Pittsfield race car driver is among five favorites to win the Oxford 250. In 31 total races last year, Max Cookson captured five wins, 17 top-five finishes and 26 top-10s.