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
— Gov. Janet Mills on cuts to a federal program that gives housing assistance to 1,800 Maine residents. The Trump administration is diverting housing funds away from housing-first programs toward those with work requirements or mandatory mental health and substance use treatment.
TODAY’S TOP STORIES
The Maine Human Rights Commission sued five school districts over their transgender policies. All of the policies were enacted after the Trump administration began pressuring Maine last winter to ban transgender athletes from girls sports teams.
Penobscot County is going to propose raising taxes by nearly 20% amid rising jail costs and a budget shortfall. Penobscot is the second Maine county this year to face a multimillion-dollar budget crisis.
The state filed $4 million in liens against Downeast Community Partners. It’s the latest public bump in the road for the troubled eastern Maine service agency.
Ask us your questions about owning a home in Maine. No question is too random. We’ll bring them to a local expert and publish their answers.
NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE
- Cumberland County leaders vote to keep contract with ICE
- Federal government cuts funding that provides housing for hundreds of Mainers
- Aroostook homeless youth program shuts down after losing federal funding
- Bangor police officer accidentally shares department passwords
- 56-year-old Mainer killed in morning I-95 crash
- 1 dead in Down East house fire
- 75 gallons of heating oil spills into Kenduskeag Stream in downtown Bangor
- Adam Lachman elected Rockland mayor
- Former Republican lawmaker takes step toward running for Maine governor
- Search underway for person missing from Peaks Island
- Searsport man whose Border Patrol arrest sparked outcry is back home, trying to rebuild
- Mainers can now renew Real ID online
- Aroostook County loses trans-friendly primary care
- Donald Trump’s pick for top Maine prosecutor confirmed as US attorney
- New standards would require all Maine libraries to pay directors, expand hours of operation
- Amid SNAP uncertainty, Maine food pantries saw demand spike
- ‘Where did all the staff go?’: Maine restaurant owners blame the housing shortage
- Laurel Libby won’t seek reelection, announces PAC supporting Susan Collins in 2026
MAINE IN PICTURES
FROM THE OPINION PAGES
“Students in many Maine communities are coming to school burdened by the trauma of family separation, confusion and fear.”
Opinion: ICE raids are disrupting learning and spreading fear among students
LIFE IN MAINE
Can you save money by hunting deer in Maine?
This Maine moose hunt appeared to be doomed after the party found the area newly posted, but Lady Luck intervened.
The legendary Maine buck “Sneaky Pete” outsmarted hunters for years.