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.
Happy Friday!
Perhaps it won’t be such a happy day if you happen to be stopping at the gas pump this morning.
Gas prices this week are the highest they’ve been ahead of the long Labor Day weekend since 2012. In Maine, the average price for a gallon of gas is $4.17, up 5 cents from a week ago and $1.04 from a year ago, according to AAA. That’s slightly above the national average.
You can cut down on how much you drive to offset rising gas prices, but it’s not as easy to pare back to account for rising diesel prices, which this morning hit a record high $5.85 a gallon.
Diesel is integral to all aspects of the food supply chain, leading to higher grocery bills, The Associated Press reported. U.S. food prices were up 2.7% last month, compared with July 2025, but some goods like fresh fruit (4.9%), seafood (7%) and refrigerated items (3%) have been harder hit.
And it’s not just the cost of food that rises in tandem with diesel prices: It is generally more expensive to transport goods across the country and to mail packages. Online retailers like Amazon have responded by adding some surcharges, and if nothing changes, that could affect the holiday shopping season.
President Donald Trump’s ongoing war against Iran is the biggest factor disrupting global fuel supplies, and the U.S. and Iran are trading blows again, making it unlikely that relief is coming anytime soon.
Penobscot County overspent by more than $5M in 2024, new audit shows
Barring a surprise building repair or another unexpected bill, Penobscot County officials say they’re on track to stay under budget this year thanks to new policies and better communication between departments.
That’s the good news.
The bad news, as you know from the headline above, is that the county is deep in the hole, owing largely to officials trying to cover rising jail costs without hiking taxes, all while lobbying the state for more jail funding. That strategy didn’t work, and in 2024, the county’s general fund went from modestly in the black to more than $4 million in the red, according to a new audit.
Getting back to zero is expected to take a very long time, even if things go as planned.
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From the Opinion Page
“The hospital has fought for 10 years to maintain the unit, but ultimately, a chronically understaffed unit threatens the safety of the women and babies it serves.”
Opinion: I voted to close Lincoln Hospital’s birthing unit. Here’s why.