Morning Update: What you need to know in Maine today

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I represent the interests of the students, and to have that vote shows students matter too.”

— Dawson Nevells, a Bangor High School senior who is running for a seat on the Bangor School Committee. Students currently have a representative on the committee, but that member does not have a vote.

TODAY’S TOP MAINE STORIES

Penobscot County’s HIV cluster is still active year after the first diagnosis. Thirteen people have tested positive for HIV since Oct. 1, 2023, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Complaints to the Maine Attorney General about a contractor arrested for undone and shoddy work go back more than a year. Former clients of Jake Brown said the office contacted them after the BDN published a story on allegations against the Palermo contractor.

Republicans are vastly outspending Democrats in these key Maine elections. Other factors are conspiring against Democrats this year, including eight House members facing term limits to just four Republicans.

These devices are hazardous waste, but there’s nowhere to safely throw them out in Maine. They can explode when heated or crushed, but neither of Maine’s hazardous waste facilities accept them.

A fire at the Eagle Point Energy Center, which broke out on the evening of Oct. 1, was finally doused on Friday. At least 1,600 pounds of trash was removed from the Orrington plant.

Residents are suing over plans to make badly needed repairs at a Boothbay school. Voters approved a bond for the renovations, but a group that thinks the work can be done for one-third the cost has intervened.

NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

MAINE IN PICTURES

Charlie Lopresti, left, holds a banner declaring him the new state record holder for largest pumpkin in Newcastle on Sunday, Oct. 6. Credit: Nolan Wilkinson / The Lincoln County News

FROM THE OPINION PAGES

Lauren Stevens, a member of the Passamaquoddy Tribe visited the Houlton Band of Maliseets’ Metaksonekiyak Community Day celebration in September of 2023. Credit: Kathleen Phalen Tomaselli / Houlton Pioneer Times

“State and tribal leaders must continue to pursue changes, both symbolic and systemic, that can deepen dialogue and further rebalance the critical relationship between Maine and the Wabanaki Nations.”

Editorial: Indigenous Peoples’ Day provides ‘a reason to be joyful and proud’

LIFE IN MAINE

If you had a garden this summer, you should be making a to-do list to put your garden to rest for the year. These simple tasks will ensure your garden is ready for you come springtime.

Is Maine’s Wadsworth-Longfellow House haunted? The floors creak, the lighting is dim. The beds where Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s parents breathed their last breath are on view.

Browntail moth numbers are down in Maine. The invasive insects that, as caterpillars, have tiny rash-causing hairs have had a more “sporadic population” across the state this year.

The 2nd week of bull moose hunting starts today. So far, 72 percent of bull permits issued by the state have been filled, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Have you ever had a conversation with a crow? Juliette Allen of Athens caught her experience in a video.