A version of this story first appeared in the Morning Update newsletter. Sign up here to receive the Morning Update and other BDN newsletters directly in your inbox.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Sometimes, they are somewhat clean, with only a few needle caps and no immediate sign of fires being started. Other times, it’s quite the opposite — they are alarmingly unsanitary and dangerous,”

— Scott Pardy, president of Fresh Start Sober Living of Maine, speaking about the city’s public toilets during a City Council public comment period last month.

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

Maine’s housing market is defying a nationwide trend. The national housing market is flipping for the first time in more than a decade to favor buyers — but not in Maine.

Used needles and no toilet paper: Bangor residents complain about public toilet conditions. Locals say the restrooms aren’t monitored closely, needles have been found in and around them and police have responded to overdoses inside.

Orono church is raising money to repair its iconic steeple. The steeple of the Church of Universal Fellowship in Orono needs repairs and the church has asked the town to donate $5,000.

The insider’s tricks for beating MDI’s worsening summer traffic. Here are some ways to avoid the worst of MDI’s summer traffic that may also ease the stress and possible expense of finding a place to park. 

This Mainer’s famous for connecting with horses. But don’t call him a whisperer. Horsemanship educator Chris Lombard has worked with more than 2,500 horses across Maine and beyond in his 22-year solo career.

NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

MAINE IN PICTURES

Scott Pardy (left), founder of Fresh Start Sober Living in Bangor, and Tyler Shanahan, an employee at Fresh Start, have been and still are opposed to public toilets. “We knew what they’d turn in to,” Pardy said. “I think if they did a safe injection site then maybe these could be used for what they should be.” Four public toilets were installed last year around downtown Bangor, including the one shown here on Court Street. Credit: Linda Coan O'Kresik / BDN

FROM THE OPINION PAGES

Children get an American Flag from a participant in the annual Fourth of July parade as it was traveling along Main Street in Bangor. Credit: Linda Coan O'Kresik / BDN

“I am sadly struck by the sad, but unwavering observation of how a nation, once proud and increasingly optimistic, has slipped into a quagmire previously relegated for disappearing civilizations referenced to in high school history texts.” 

Opinion: America is on a downward slide

LIFE IN MAINE

A model for giving away surplus homegrown veggies is spreading in Maine. The Houlton Give and Take farmstand, located on the Main Street side of the Cary Library, opened Friday morning.

Andrea Gibson was poetry in motion on the basketball court. The spoken-word poet and Maine native exuded a mastery of timing and cadence — not only as a performance artist, but also on the basketball court.

A rural stretch of Maine is going high-tech to expand access to arts classes. Art centers in Fort Kent and Van Buren will bring more arts opportunities to residents by livestreaming classes to each other. 

How I avoid bears at my backyard bird feeders. “I ran to the door and turned on the porch light. A large sow and two sizeable cubs looked up at me with alarm.”