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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We’ll start out with our brand in Maine obviously. But my goal is to be able to co-pack and private label for the major stores and maybe co-pack for your major — like a Frito-Lay, or something like that.”

— Bruce Sargent, owner of Taste of Maine Potato Chip Co., who is building a $65 million potato chip plant on the former Loring Air Force Base in Limestone.

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

Locals who fought the I-395 connector for years now dread its opening. The controversial project has been in planning since 2000, under construction since 2017 and will open this weekend.

Here’s what Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” would mean for Maine and its hospitals. The bill, which may add more than $2 trillion to the federal deficit over a decade and leave millions more uninsured while extending tax cuts, is facing a skeptical public.

U.S. Border Patrol and Homeland Security agents raided a Bangor restaurant. Three people were arrested on immigration charges and were being held “pending removal,” according to DHS.

Maine’s most populated area is already falling behind on its housing goals. ​​The lag is lowering the state’s chance of adding 84,300 units by 2030.

Three Bangor police officers were placed on leave after a shooting on Thursday. The officers shot at and wounded a person who allegedly threatened suicide at a Broadway home.

NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

MAINE IN PICTURES

Richard Hatch stands on a berm that was put in as a barrier between his driveway and the slope down to the new connector between I-395 and Route 9 to try to decrease the road noise he heard. Hatch is one of nearly 60 residents of Brewer, Holden and Eddington who had their land purchased, reshaped or affected by the construction. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN

FROM THE OPINION PAGES

The main entrance of Northern Light A.R. Gould Hospital in Presque Isle is seen in August 2024. Credit: Paula Brewer / BDN

“If Republicans in Congress pass their reconciliation bill, rural Mainers might soon have to drive hours just to see a doctor, or call 911 and pray the ambulance makes it in time.”

Opinion: Rural Maine can’t afford hospital losses that Republican reconciliation bill would bring

LIFE IN MAINE

An easy hike leads to some of Acadia’s most famous landmarks.

Here’s why the Maine woods sometimes sound like a horror movie.

New Balance’s Cooper Flagg partnership is a “big deal” for the company’s Maine workers.