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!
Temperatures today will range from the low 50s to low 60s across the state. Winds will remain gusty today, reaching speeds up to 25 mph in Greater Bangor.
The University of Maine is facing a $19 million budget shortfall, which administrators say will require $5.7 million in layoffs and elimination of positions.
We decided to look into salaries at the state’s flagship public university, where the three highest paid employees earned more than $1.2 million, combined, last year. Administrators accounted for 20% of all salaries in 2025. In fact, just four faculty members were in the top 25 earners at UMaine.
You can explore our interactive table of UMaine employee salaries to learn more about the top earners.
Susan Collins doesn’t back down from Brett Kavanaugh vote in 1st debate with Troy Jackson
The first debate between U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and Troy Jackson happened to fall on the eighth anniversary of Collins’ 2018 vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, and the Democratic challenger didn’t miss the easy hook, asking the five-term Republican, “What will it take for you to admit you’re ever wrong?”
Kavanaugh’s appointment was expected to result in the Court overturning Roe v. Wade, and it did, three years after he told Collins it was “settled law,” with Kavanaugh in the 5-4 majority.
Collins said Tuesday that she doesn’t agree with how he voted, but she defended her process of vetting judges before turning the attack back on Jackson, saying there’s “only one of us on the stage who’s always been pro-choice, and that’s me,” a reference to his anti-abortion record earlier in his career.
The debate didn’t get any less pointed, and viewers might have come away with a better idea of how Jackson’s unpolished style would look under the bright lights and how Collins would field direct attacks.
The candidates will be back at each other’s throats Thursday in the second of four planned debates. With control of the U.S. Senate on the line, it’s bound to get uglier.
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From the Opinion Page
“She should carry a photo of Guerrero’s daughter Dulce to remind her of the consequences of failing to rein in a rogue agency that’s terrorizing her constituents.”