Morning Update: What you need to know in Maine today

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I think most people don’t think about the fire department until they need it. They drive by, they see the fire trucks, they see people working during the day, they know that we’re here, and I would assume the presumption is when we need them, they’ll be there.”

— Capt. Ken Goslin of the Lincoln Fire Department on a town councilor’s proposal to drastically cut the town budget, including a 20% cut to the fire department’s budget.

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

It’s primary day in Maine. Here’s your last-minute voting guide. The elections will decide the major-party nominees for governor and whether Democrat Graham Platner moves on to a race with U.S. Sen. Susan Collins.

This is how votes will be counted from Election Day to next week. The June primaries feature some of the state’s most tantalizing nominating races in years, with ranked-choice voting adding complexity to what could be a long count.

Maine Democrats were speaking cautiously about Graham Platner ahead of Tuesday’s primary. The guarded remarks from some candidates were at odds with Platner’s strong continued grassroots backing.

Lincoln’s fire chief warned that proposed budget cuts would lengthen response times. Town Councilor David Ireland wants to slash funding for nearly every department, including a 20% cut to the fire department.

When Bangor closed its homeless camp, it disrupted the HIV outbreak response, the CDC said. The federal agency’s draft report is the first comprehensive outside look at the local response since the outbreak began in 2023.