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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“The challenge right now is there is just no way for the town’s citizens to stop this idiocy.”

— Mark Lipscombe, who is spearheading an effort in Houlton to allow voters to recall elected officials. The push comes as the town manager is facing a felony charge.

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

$1.5 million is at stake as the government shutdown pauses entrance fees at Acadia. Health care is at the center of the shutdown, but it’s one of the most intractable issues in Congress.

Ballots went missing the same day a Mainer reportedly found 250 in an Amazon package. Ellsworth reported that it was missing 250 ballots the same day a Newburgh woman said that many ballots were mailed to her.

A critical election looms for the chaotic Bangor City Council. The mayor recently resigned, a councilor was censured, a white supremacist is running for office and the council has failed to make a meaningful decision in years.

A Maine prosecutor questioned a state trooper’s competence after an arson arrest. Maeghan Maloney’s letter gives a fuller picture of concerns she and other officials had about a trooper who allegedly made several violent arrests.

Coastal Maine homebuyers are in limbo as flood insurance lapses during government shutdown. The National Flood Insurance Program expired when Congress failed to approve funding for government operations.

NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

MAINE IN PICTURES

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows speaks at a news conference at the Maine State House in Augusta on Monday. Her press conference comes after Ellsworth reported that it was missing 250 absentee ballots on the same day a Newburgh woman said she found the same amount in her Amazon package. Credit: Patrick Whittle / AP

FROM THE OPINION PAGES

A University of New England College of Medicine student doing a pediatric rotation at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. Credit: Courtesy of the University of New England / The Maine Monitor

“Other countries show that affordable universal healthcare can work when combining the best of private and public resources for the benefit of the population at large rather than just for-profit vested interests.”

Opinion: US health care needs intensive care

LIFE IN MAINE

Next year’s apple crop could be affected by the current drought.

Why “ladybugs” invade Maine homes in fall — and how to get rid of them.

That 23.5-inch trout might be just another five minutes’ wait.