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 Wednesday!
We’re waking up to cloudy skies today. It’s also a brisk one out there, with temperatures peaking in the low to mid-60s across the state. Up to half an inch of rain may fall in parts of Maine starting tonight. But that rain will be gone by Thursday’s morning commute.
Get ready for the whiplash, because tomorrow temperatures will be rising into the 80s before settling back into the 70s in time for the weekend.
Amid the trade dispute between the U.S. and Canada, we’re reminded that nature doesn’t respect political boundaries, with Canadian wildfire smoke drifting over the border into Maine on Tuesday evening. (If you were up early enough, you might have caught a slight orange hue to dawn’s early light.) There are hundreds of burning wildfires in Canada as of Wednesday morning, mostly in the western provinces.
But given that distance, the smoke drifting our way isn’t hampering air quality, with no serious health threats from either particle or ozone pollution in Maine today.
Bangor residents say homelessness and drug use are top issues in City Council race
We surveyed dozens of readers and spoke with voters downtown to hear their major priorities for candidates in the upcoming City Council election.
Topping the list was the city’s highly visible homeless population, with many residents who have homes caught between wanting to help and feeling frustrated with living among unsettled people whose problems can’t be hidden from public view.
“Individually, I feel very sorry and very loving towards the people that live on the street,” resident Jane O’Loughlin French said. “And collectively, however, it’s a problem.”
Some voters mentioned rising property taxes and aging schools, and others said they’re hoping to elect councilors who will behave professionally and work well together — not a given with the current group.
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From the Opinion Page
