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QUOTE OF THE DAY
“It was wonderful, the response that we got from the community. So we decided, let’s take the jump.”
— Abdullah Al-Fdeilat on his plan to open a Shawarma restaurant in Bangor this spring after a year of hosting pop-ups. The restaurant will occupy a downtown storefront that has been empty for nearly a decade.
TODAY’S TOP STORIES
Here’s how many people moved in Maine during the COVID buying frenzy. New data shed light on the last six years when the cost of and demand for housing in Maine skyrocketed, in part due to a lack of inventory.
A 19-year-old’s artificial intelligence software is writing police reports in Maine. A small Franklin County department was among the first in the country to use Code Four, which generates reports based on audio and video recorded by officers’ body cameras.
A Middle Eastern restaurant is opening in downtown Bangor this spring. After a year of hosting weekly pop-ups, Shamee in Maine owner Abdullah Al-Fdeilat decided it was time to open a full restaurant.
Bucksport will pay a former motel owner $15,000 in a legal settlement. The deal ends a long-running legal saga, as new owners are working to reopen the 66-year-old hotel this spring.
A startup wants to build a huge lithium battery storage facility in Greenville. It’s an example of Maine working toward its goal of expanding battery storage capacity despite President Donald Trump’s hard turn against many forms of alternative energy.
NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE
- Graham Platner would win Senate showdown with Susan Collins, new poll finds
- Democrats hold Maine House seat in Tuesday special election
- How would Maine’s proposed climate disaster fund work?
- Bangor man accused of killing best friend was found ‘within an arm’s reach’ of the body
- Trial begins for church that sued Hermon schools over alleged discrimination
- Oil spill reported on Pushaw Lake
- An Aroostook bridge needs repairs that could disrupt 2 communities for months
- Houlton property valuations will rise this year
- Bomb threat closes Fort Kent school
- Expert testifies Maine patient was billed nearly $300K for botched hip replacement surgery
- Searsport plans repairs to reopen part of municipal pier
- Rumford paper mill owners face lawsuit after employee falls 85 feet down chimney
- Breeze Airways adds nonstop flights from Maine to Ohio
- Homeland Security says it doesn’t keep domestic terrorist database after Mainers file lawsuit
- Immigration agents wouldn’t tell her their names. What are the rules in Maine?
- Here are the full 2026 boys high school basketball North all-tourney teams
- Meet the full 2026 girls high school basketball North all-tourney teams
- These talented northern Maine girls just added tourney MVPs to their basketball resumes
MAINE IN PICTURES
FROM THE OPINION PAGES
“The case of Jeffrey Epstein makes clear that disbelief is often less about evidence and more about power — who has it, who threatens it, and who is protected by it.”
Opinion: Why we don’t believe survivors of sexual assault and human trafficking
LIFE IN MAINE
See where the most snow fell in Maine on Monday.
Why would anyone sit on a frozen lake ice fishing all day?
The Fort Kent Warriors were feeling the community love after their historic tournament win.