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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I enjoy driving — I’ve driven firetrucks here and there over my career — and I thought this would be fun and also continue to provide a public service.” 

— Frank Roma, a retired Hermon fire chief and one of 14 people who received certificates on Wednesday after completing a free city-sponsored bus driver training program for the regional Community Connector.  

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

Northern Light’s plummeting credit rating should be a “major wake up call.” A struggle to find lending could lead to longer wait times and reduced services for patients, a finance professor at the University of Maine said.

Bangor’s future bus drivers can’t wait to serve their communities. The city recently offered a Community Connector bus driver training program for free in hopes of bringing back Saturday bus service.

Police on Wednesday evening closed the Maine Mall after a shooting left one person hospitalized. The suspect remained at large, but police said the shooting was an isolated incident between two people, and there is no danger to the public.

Jared Golden says America didn’t elect “weirdo billionaire” Elon Musk. He also suggested in social media posts that the president shouldn’t “sit back” while a subordinate pursues his own agenda without his permission.

Maine advocates fear Donald Trump’s rhetoric will harm transgender students. The LGBTQ+ community — especially youth — have felt the effects since the election of Trump, said Sue Campbell, executive director of OUT Maine.

NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

MAINE IN PICTURES

Instructor Matt Oakes (left) presents Frank Roma with a certificate for successfully completing the Community Connector bus driver training program the city offered for free. Roma, who retired from his position as Hermon fire chief nearly three years ago, said that he still wants to serve the community. The goal is to hire enough drivers to bring back Saturday bus service. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN

FROM THE OPINION PAGES

Donald Trump poses for a photo with Dana White, Kid Rock and Elon Musk at UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden in New York on Nov. 16, 2024. Credit: Evan Vucci / AP

“Musk — a foreign-born, unelected and unvetted billionaire — is energetically putting himself in a position to exert enormous influence over how U.S. taxpayers’ money could be spent in a wide range of programs.”

Opinion: Congress must investigate Elon Musk’s hacking of government agencies

LIFE IN MAINE

Equipment from a shuttered Maine textile mill will live on at a new farm. Two new “mini mills” have opened in Maine in the last two years and now have wait times of up to eight months.

An Aroostook woman’s winning brook trout was about more than a fish. Shelly Daigle’s 17-inch catch solidified her place in a family that boasts multiple hunting and fishing accomplishments.

This Maine guide taught a pop star to fish. “How did I wind up in such an amazing place with a superstar?” Catherine Gordon writes. “Well, it’s like this.”