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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Just finding out, seeing that just shocks me. It really does. That was my childhood best friend. I grew up with him.”

— Jaxon Mushero, 18, who met Deven Young in third grade at the Leroy H. Smith School in Winterport and described the teen as his “best friend.”

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

Deven Young’s classmates have shared differing recollections of the 17-year-old who is accused of killing paddleboarder Sunshine Stewart. One best friend from childhood told the Bangor Daily News that he never saw Young bully people, while another said Young would bully kids since preschool.

The names of two fishermen who drowned off the Down East coast early this year when their scallop boat sank will not be added to the region’s memorial for lost fishermen. Chester “Chet” and Aaron Barrett, a father-son fishing team from Addison, were taking their 34-foot scallop boat Sudden Impact from Edmunds to South Addison on Jan. 18 when they ran into rough weather. 

A boutique hotel, which will also host a restaurant and cafe, is planned for the Brewer waterfront. The hotel would be one of the five in Brewer, and would be one of three eateries along the Brewer Riverwalk. 

Maine hemp growers fear they’ll lose business in the face of more federal regulation. Former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, wants to close a loophole he overlooked in the 2018 farm bill that legalized hemp, which is cannabis that contains less than 0.3 percent psychoactive THC. 

These two Maine properties for sale would be among the most expensive ever if they sell at their asking price. One property belonged to famed actress Bette Davis, while one of the homes was owned by the founder of eHarmony, an online dating service. 

NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

MAINE IN PICTURES

The Maine Potato Blossom Festival parade in Fort Fairfield on Saturday. Credit: Cameron Levasseur / BDN

FROM THE OPINION PAGES

The Bowdoin, Maine Maritime Academy’s 103-year-old schooner, navigates through sea ice and ice bergs. Credit: Courtesy of Maine Maritime Academy

“Even if Alaska defines the United States as an Arctic nation, Maine’s geographical position in relation to the Canadian Maritimes, Greenland and Iceland should make us an equal partner in the conversation.”

Opinion: Maine shouldn’t take a backseat to Alaska in plans for the Arctic

LIFE IN MAINE

Crossbows might be affecting the number of hunters participating in archery, as well as having a negative impact on the availability of education about bow hunting.

There’s a reason that Outdoors contributor Claire Ackroyd wants to share her barn with native Maine swallows. 

You don’t have to shoot a bear to have a fun time on a hunt, when weather in September makes for comfortable tree stand vigils. 

A Maine town at the end of Interstate 95 helped NASA win an Emmy, after hosting thousands of people who viewed the total solar eclipse in April 2024.