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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“It’s a decrease, but not nothing. It’s not comforting.” 

— Panagioti Tsolkas, spokesperson for the Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition. Calls to the organization’s hotline for sightings of Immigration and Customs Enforcement have dropped close to the level they were at before the ICE surge in Maine, which has now ended, according to U.S. Sen. Susan Collins’ office.

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

Maine’s ICE surge is over, but the immigrants who were arrested remain scattered across the country. It’s unclear what may happen to the more than 200 people that federal officials say were arrested in the first five days of the operation.

The landlord of a shuttered Ruby Tuesday in Brewer is suing the franchise owner. The damages amount to $1.7 million in rent and more than $921,000 in expenses, according to the lawsuit.

People are scooping up homes in this quiet lakeside town. Home prices here have remained within reach for buyers who were priced out of Portland and its suburbs.

The transfer of Bucksport-area dams has been delayed by a fish farm developer’s legal interest. The delay isn’t necessarily bad news to the towns that are expected to take ownership of the dams, representatives said.

RSU 71 is proposing to close its Swanville elementary school this year. The Nickerson school’s 58 students would go to the Captain Albert Stevens School in Belfast next year if the closure happens.

NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

MAINE IN PICTURES

Everett Ottinger of Newburgh carries his homemade sign at a protest outside of U.S. Sen. Susan Collins’ Bangor office on Harlow Street on Thursday. About 80 people and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner protested against a government funding bill that includes monies for the Department of Homeland Security. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN

FROM THE OPINION PAGES

This electron microscope image provided by the National Institutes of Health shows human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) virions, colorized blue, and anti-RSV F protein/gold antibodies, colorized yellow, shedding from the surface of human lung cells. Credit: Courtesy of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases / NIH via AP

“As conversations about vaccines continue at the national and state level, it’s important not to lose sight of what matters most: keeping children healthy.”

Opinion: How can I best protect my baby? Vaccinate them against RSV.

LIFE IN MAINE

A young angler’s first brook trout weighed more than 5 pounds.

Cross-country skiing is a great way to beat cabin fever during Maine’s winter.

Maine’s top high school athletics official is retiring.