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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“It’s about creating an environment where people are all safe, respected and seen as their authentic selves. There’s nothing political about creating a place where students and staff can thrive.”

— Dana Carver-Bialer, the Bangor School Department’s civil rights director, on the district’s embrace of diversity, equity and inclusion amid threats from the Trump administration.

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

Bangor schools are doubling down on DEI despite President Donald Trump’s threats. The goal is to make all students and staff feel welcome, safe and accepted when they come to school each day, the schools’ civil rights director said.

Maine’s housing authority doesn’t want the Bangor Mall, which lawmakers have proposed to buy or seize. MaineHousing helps people find affordable housing; it doesn’t finance or manage properties, a representative told legislators Tuesday.

A Bangor homeless shelter is pushing for a bill to help close its $60,000 deficit. A legislative committee on Tuesday held a public hearing for the bill, which would provide $5 million in ongoing funds to shelters in Maine.

An unusual group of Maine lawmakers is backing a new gun proposal. The bill would protect people who agree to hold onto firearms for others from legal liability.

Deer Isle schools are closing in on their search for a superintendent after last year’s turmoil. The new leader will fill the post vacated by Dan Ross, who resigned in 2024 after towns held votes of no confidence in him and placed him on leave.

NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

MAINE IN PICTURES

Loose ice chunks build up at the north branch of the Presque Isle Stream in Mapleton on Tuesday. Credit: Paula Brewer / BDN

FROM THE OPINION PAGES

Gov. Janet Mills gives the State of the Budget address at the State House in Augusta on Jan. 28, 2025. Credit: Shawn Patrick Ouellette / Portland Press Herald via AP

“We Mainers have a long history of being independent and standing up for what’s right. We also have a long history of being grumpy when the federal government tries to push us around.”

Opinion: I’ll gladly stand with Janet Mills for states’ and civil rights

LIFE IN MAINE

Cooper and Ace Flagg’s mom gets “so dialed in” supporting them. The world may be getting to know Kelly Flagg as the passionate mother of two basketball stars, but she also has a long and storied basketball resume herself.

A food truck park is coming to Belfast. Cheeky Food Truck Park on Route 1 will debut on Memorial Day. 

A $62 million deal will connect 500,000 acres of conserved land in western Maine. It will help protect one of the last strongholds for wild native brook trout in the United States.