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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We may have a past, but now we have a future … This house has a past too, but it has been transformed into something beautiful. Now, we get to have our transformation.”

— Melinda Lamb, who along with her sister was formerly homeless, and who recently moved into an apartment in a recently renovated vacant Bangor house. 

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

Gov. Janet Mills doesn’t want to talk about transgender kids. There are diverging opinions on Maine’s left about whether the governor should publicly oppose Republican-led measures aimed at barring transgender girls from girls sports.

Homeless sisters become first tenants of vacant Bangor house turned into apartments. Design Wall Housing has spent nearly two years renovating a derelict two-family home on Smith Street Avenue in Bangor.

Can state-owned land help solve Maine’s housing crisis? A variety of state-owned property could eventually become housing under a subtle policy change that is making its way through the Legislature. 

As cruise ships face pushback in two Maine ports, others welcome them. Cruise companies are turning to other Maine ports as places to visit for ships traveling back and forth from Boston to eastern Canada.

NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

MAINE IN PICTURES

Sierra Lamb (left), 31, kisses her 3-month-old daughter, Elianna, while she and her sister, 35-year-old Melinda Lamb, wait for furniture to be delivered to their new apartment in Bangor owned by Design Wall Housing. The sisters are the first tenants of Design Wall Housing, a Bangor nonprofit that turns vacant, dilapidated homes into affordable housing for people who were homeless. Credit: Linda Coan O'Kresik / BDN

FROM THE OPINION PAGES

In this Aug. 26, 2016, file photo, one-month dosage of hormonal birth control pills is displayed in Sacramento, California. Credit: Rich Pedroncelli / AP

“Contraception is an essential tool that allows people to decide if and when to get pregnant. But birth control can also have a tremendous impact on people with various distinct medical conditions.”

Opinion: Access to family planning care saved my life

LIFE IN MAINE

This threat to Maine’s beech trees is spreading. Maine’s forest service found beach leaf disease in 119 new towns last year and 12 more so far in 2025, stretching along the coast.

Your guide to the Bangor Waterfront summer concert series. This is what you should know about parking, venue rules and where to park before attending a concert in Bangor this summer.
Bangor forester’s legacy lives in thousands of trees. “To say Rolland Perry had a hand in the creation of the city’s four public forests is an understatement,” writes BDN contributor Aislinn Sarnacki.