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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“It goes so against everything in my profession to limit access or cut hours or cut programs. But the fiscal realities that we, as a nation, are facing right now are basically forcing that hand.”

— Lisa Ladd, director of Buck Memorial Library in Bucksport. Under Ladd’s leadership, the library has expanded to meet demand for a wide range of services, but without more funding from the three towns it serves, it may have to cut back or dip into its endowment.

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

A downtown Bangor restaurant operated unlicensed and uninspected before closing. The revelation comes shortly after the former owner sued for $54,000 he alleges he was never paid for the business.

A shuttered trash plant in Orrington won’t reopen for more than a year. The plant, which caught fire last fall, closed in 2023 after longtime owner Penobscot Energy Recovery Co. was foreclosed on. 

Northern Light Health lost $156 million in 2024. The system is also carrying nearly $617 million in debt at the end of 2024, compared with $445 million at the end of 2023.

Bucksport’s public library is at a financial tipping point. Without more municipal help, the library will have to dip into its endowment and jeopardize its future, director Lisa Ladd said.

NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

MAINE IN PICTURES

The rising cost of books is one part of Bucksport’s public library’s need for additional funding to avoid cutting services. Credit: Elizabeth Walztoni / BDN

FROM THE OPINION PAGES

Maine and American flags are pictured in Augusta on Sept. 10, 2020. Credit: Natalie Williams / BDN

“There are holes where connection used to be, and that is convenient for those who are trying to destroy our will. The more isolated we are, the easier we are to divide.”

Opinion: What we do in Maine when hope runs out

LIFE IN MAINE

The days of “Canadian cash at par” are likely over for good. Back in the day, so many Canadian tourists came through Maine that, for local businesses, it made sense to accept the country’s currency at face value.

The 58th annual Kenduskeag Canoe Race is this Saturday. Are you ready? Based on the forecast, the warming tent could be the most popular place as paddlers come into the finish line.

This Down East cobblestone beach offers solitary conversation. “There is an almost perfect concave-cupped cove in Machiasport that will listen to your thoughts,” contributor RJ Heller writes.