QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I was sick. It didn’t matter to them.”
— Linda Gallagher-Garcia, who in 2022 was evicted from her public housing apartment in Presque Isle. The eviction left her homeless for more than two years.
TODAY’S TOP STORIES
The rain is wrapping up across Maine this morning. About 85,000 Mainers were without power as of 6:30 a.m. You can see where the most rain fell here.
Public housing delivered Linda Gallagher-Garcia from homelessness in Maine. But being evicted from public housing pitched her right back into it. A new rent relief program could have helped people like her, but those who created it said they didn’t realize tenants in public housing might need the aid.
These four homes for sale in Maine right now have rich histories. Even ones that are less expensive to buy will need renovation to restore them to their former glory.
Downtown Bangor’s Salty Brick Market is a “total loss” after extensive water damage from the sprinkler system. But the owner, James Gallagher, is determined to reopen.
Susan Collins met yesterday with President-elect Donald Trump’s embattled defense secretary nominee, Pete Hegseth. “I asked virtually every question under the sun,” she told reporters.
NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE
- Albertsons, parent company of Shaw’s, gives up on Kroger merger
- Forestry experts warn spruce budworm could do millions in damage to Maine forests
- Overseers clear Maine surgeon of all counts of misconduct but 1
- Bangor hasn’t been this snowy in 5 years
- Aroostook County man gets 4 years for causing death of his infant son
- Maine youth theater founder faces 30 more years in prison after discovery of hidden child sex abuse files
- Midcoast lawyer disbarred after assistant spent clients’ funds
- Man dies in Brunswick crash after pulling out in front of pickup
- Judge declares mistrial in case of Edgecomb man accused of murdering 3-year-old
- Why one of coastal Maine’s biggest business groups is closing
- Tractor-trailer hauling oranges crashes on Maine interstate
- Police investigate drive-by shooting in Westbrook
- UMaine men’s basketball team knocks off Duquesne
MAINE IN PICTURES
THINGS TO DO THIS WEEKEND
The annual Bangor Authors Book Fair is set for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Bangor Public Library; also on Saturday morning, there’s the annual Wabanaki Art Market, set for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Collins Center for the Arts in Orono. Other Saturday entertainment options include comedian Jeff Dunham at 5 p.m. at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, the Paul Winter Consort’s winter solstice concert at 7:30 p.m.at the Collins Center for the Arts, and at the Grand Theatre in Ellsworth all weekend, there’s a local production of “A Christmas Story: The Musical.”
FROM THE OPINION PAGES
“We applaud donors like the Cyrs who are making these initiatives possible, and schools like Husson and UNE that are implementing them.”
Editorial: Free college tuition should be celebrated and expanded
LIFE IN MAINE
Got a tree you like? Now’s the time to clone it. For hardwood trees, shrubs, vines and perennial herbs, winter dormancy makes it possible to take cuttings without harming their growth.
A new gift shop is bringing a nostalgic vibe to downtown Caribou. Housed in a 1950s automotive garage, Fifty8andMaine sells locally made clothing, baseball hats, sweets, coffee mugs and other gift items tailored to modern tastes.
Wins have been few and far between for the Bangor High School boys basketball team in recent years. But the Rams have a new coach in Aaron Pinckney and they supplied him with his first win in the season-opener.