QUOTE OF THE DAY

“It’s a closed loop, and if COVID-19 ever hits again we have everything right here. We are trying to make the food supply as pure as possible while trying to take good care of the land and as stewards of what God has given.”

— Jonas Esch of Moosehead Meats on the new off-the-grid custom meat processing plant in the Smyrna Amish community in Aroostook County.

TODAY’S TOP MAINE STORIES

A Maine contractor is blamed for a trail of shoddy and undone work, and no one can make him pay. Orders against Jake Brown’s companies total more than $400,000, yet the money owed to his clients could be in the millions.

Presque Isle supportive housing complex is nearly full two weeks after opening. The homes offer flexible time and payment options at a time when the state lacks about 18,000 units of housing that people with low incomes can afford.

Shawn McBreairty’s widow is continuing his lawsuit over Brewer schools’ transgender policy. It was unclear in the months after McBreairty’s death if the lawsuits he filed would continue with a different plaintiff.

Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley sat down with the Bangor Daily News for a conversation on Maine, accepting November election results and the 2nd Congressional District race. Whatley was in Bangor on Saturday for a “Protect the Vote Tour” event.

Belfast is considering its vulnerability to sea level rise. A potential study comes in response to the devastating damage to the city’s waterfront in back-to-back storms in January.

NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

MAINE IN PICTURES

Rob Beaulieu of Presque Isle sits on one of his giant pumpkins, which he estimates at 1,400 pounds, on Friday. The vines surrounding him are from only two plants. Credit: Paula Brewer / BDN

FROM THE OPINION PAGES

In this Nov. 1, 2023, file photo, flags fly at half staff at Lewiston High School before a football game against Edward Little High School. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN

“The critical role of families in identifying and intervening when a loved one begins to radicalize is both essential and undervalued.”

Opinion: Maine must help families at the frontline in the fight against violence

LIFE IN MAINE

Maine ticks are about to get more active. The young ticks that plagued your spring and summer are all grown up and looking for a meal as October begins.

Is using a trail camera for hunting fair play? “At least seven U.S. states have implemented bans or restrictions on the use of trail cameras for recreational hunting,” V. Paul Reynolds writes. Maine isn’t one of them.

Here are the right and wrong ways to use different Maine apple varieties. There are more than 100 kinds, according to the Maine Pomological Society.