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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“What it comes down to is that we’re so close to erasing our own path and not remembering it.”

— Alex Emery, a senior at the University of Maine and president of the Franco-American Resource Opportunity Program, on the university’s plan to demolish the 192-year-old building that houses the Franco-American Centre and replace it with a parking lot.

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

Some Mainers could be in danger if federal heating aid doesn’t come soon. The U.S. government shutdown means heating aid will not be released on Nov. 1, leading to stark worries from those who manage the program here.

Planned cuts to a federal housing program could make hundreds of Mainers homeless. The uncertainty comes as many shelters in the state are consistently full and already struggling to get the funding they need.

Maine Republicans aren’t in agreement on voter ID and absentee voting. “If they had just left it for voter ID, I think it probably would have been a slam dunk,” one Republican said, nodding to absentee voting limits that are endangering Question 1 on Tuesday’s ballot.

UMaine is planning to demolish the oldest building on campus for a parking lot. The removal of the 192-year-old building housing the Franco-American Centre is partly related to the expansion of athletic facilities.

The owner of the Asticou Hotel on MDI also stiffed contractors on a Kennebunk project in 2022. Court records suggest a pattern by Tim Harrington, who owns or co-owns more than a dozen lodging properties in Maine.

NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

MAINE IN PICTURES

The basement of a former church for sale in Rumford holds a basketball court, which may have hosted a youth basketball team years ago, according to the listing agent for the property. Credit: Courtesy of Locksley Media

FROM THE OPINION PAGES

The shelves at the Grace Interfaith Food Table in Presque Isle are “a good 40 to 50%” less full than a year ago, volunteer Marcia Cogswell said. Demand for food pantries may rise if federal SNAP benefits are not issued in November. Credit: Cameron Levasseur / BDN

“Nearly three-quarters of households that receive SNAP in Maine include someone who works, some more than one job.”

Editorial: End of SNAP funding shows America’s misplaced priorities

LIFE IN MAINE

Lake trout research is continuing at Moosehead Lake for a second year.

Grouse hunters find plenty of birds and laughs in Maine’s North Woods.

Rain and wind could disrupt trick-or-treating plans for Halloween.