ShareAs Maine enters the crescendo of the summer tourist season, the state remains in an enviable position across a wide range of key pandemic tracking metrics, including having the second lowest new case counts per capita in the United States.On Thursday morning, Maine actually had the lowest number of COVID-19 new weekly cases per capita in the country – 6 per 100,000 – according to a , but at midnight Friday it returned to 7 per 100,000, second best after Vermont. By comparison, Massachusetts’ rate is 37, Georgia’s 214 and Florida’s 218 per 100,000.Hospitalizations for COVID-19 in Maine...…ShareAs Maine enters the crescendo of the summer tourist season, the state remains in an enviable position across a wide range of key pandemic tracking metrics, including having the second lowest new case counts per capita in the United States.On Thursday morning, Maine actually had the lowest number of COVID-19 new weekly cases per capita in the country – 6 per 100,000 – according to a , but at midnight Friday it returned to 7 per 100,000, second best after Vermont. By comparison, Massachusetts’ rate is 37, Georgia’s 214 and Florida’s 218 per 100,000.Hospitalizations for COVID-19 in Maine...WW…

ShareThe red-bellied woodpecker is among the species that have been expanding their range northward in Maine, according to research being conducted for the Maine Breeding Bird Atlas.Migratory breeding birds, we hardly knew ye! How quickly the Maine summer passes. Well over 100 species of birds that winter to our south returned to nest in our fair state in the spring. For most of these species, their nesting is done and the fall migration is beginning.Most of our swallows are gone now. Any you see are likely birds that bred to our north and are following on the wings of our breeding birds to...…ShareThe red-bellied woodpecker is among the species that have been expanding their range northward in Maine, according to research being conducted for the Maine Breeding Bird Atlas.Migratory breeding birds, we hardly knew ye! How quickly the Maine summer passes. Well over 100 species of birds that winter to our south returned to nest in our fair state in the spring. For most of these species, their nesting is done and the fall migration is beginning.Most of our swallows are gone now. Any you see are likely birds that bred to our north and are following on the wings of our breeding birds to...WW…

ShareMaine’s second Market Basket supermarket is slated to open Friday morning in Westbrook, after a two-month delay because of the coronavirus pandemic, the company says.The new 80,000-square-foot store at Rock Row will boast a sit-down kitchen and cafe, as well as specialty departments such as a bakery, seafood counter and butcher shop with Certified Angus Beef. It’ll be the 82nd Market Basket location across New England, and the second in Maine, after the store in Biddeford.The store was originally scheduled to open by June, but was pushed back because of the pandemic, David McLean,...…ShareMaine’s second Market Basket supermarket is slated to open Friday morning in Westbrook, after a two-month delay because of the coronavirus pandemic, the company says.The new 80,000-square-foot store at Rock Row will boast a sit-down kitchen and cafe, as well as specialty departments such as a bakery, seafood counter and butcher shop with Certified Angus Beef. It’ll be the 82nd Market Basket location across New England, and the second in Maine, after the store in Biddeford.The store was originally scheduled to open by June, but was pushed back because of the pandemic, David McLean,...WW…

ShareAs a reluctant daily bicyclist for physical therapy, and a pre-COVID-19 (now working from home) bike commuter, I find bicycling hazardous. Bicycles have little dedicated space. I bike on the sidewalk from Broadway and Evans Street in South Portland to Lydia Lane because there’s no shoulder or bike lane.There and on the path from Portland Head Light to Cape Elizabeth, pedestrians tell me to bike on the road in spite of yellow signs posted on the path that indicate bicycles are welcome. If they took a moment to look at the shoulder, or lack thereof, they might realize their suggestion is...…ShareAs a reluctant daily bicyclist for physical therapy, and a pre-COVID-19 (now working from home) bike commuter, I find bicycling hazardous. Bicycles have little dedicated space. I bike on the sidewalk from Broadway and Evans Street in South Portland to Lydia Lane because there’s no shoulder or bike lane.There and on the path from Portland Head Light to Cape Elizabeth, pedestrians tell me to bike on the road in spite of yellow signs posted on the path that indicate bicycles are welcome. If they took a moment to look at the shoulder, or lack thereof, they might realize their suggestion is...WW…

ShareGov. Janet Mills and other state leaders are discussing ways to safeguard Maine’s absentee voting process in the wake of warning that it can’t guarantee mailed ballots will arrive in time to be counted during the November election.Mills, Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap and Attorney General Aaron Frey have been working together and with local election officials to prepare for the election in light of the letter and recent threats by President Trump to financially hamstring the service, Mills’ spokeswoman said on Friday.“Gov. Mills is deeply concerned by the letter, which, taken in...…ShareGov. Janet Mills and other state leaders are discussing ways to safeguard Maine’s absentee voting process in the wake of warning that it can’t guarantee mailed ballots will arrive in time to be counted during the November election.Mills, Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap and Attorney General Aaron Frey have been working together and with local election officials to prepare for the election in light of the letter and recent threats by President Trump to financially hamstring the service, Mills’ spokeswoman said on Friday.“Gov. Mills is deeply concerned by the letter, which, taken in...WW…

ShareA truck leaves the U.S. Postal Service’s Southern Maine Processing and Distribution Center in Scarborough on Monday evening. The postal workers’ union says trucks left the center exactly on time Monday morning, leaving behind roughly 80,400 letters.Customers across southern Maine will be waiting on as many as 80,000 pieces of mail that will arrive late because of new U.S. Postal Service policies, the president of a local postal workers’ union said.TownLetters...…ShareA truck leaves the U.S. Postal Service’s Southern Maine Processing and Distribution Center in Scarborough on Monday evening. The postal workers’ union says trucks left the center exactly on time Monday morning, leaving behind roughly 80,400 letters.Customers across southern Maine will be waiting on as many as 80,000 pieces of mail that will arrive late because of new U.S. Postal Service policies, the president of a local postal workers’ union said.TownLetters...WW…

ShareRobert Rasche’s painting “Alice S. Wentworth, The Old Mile Road, Wells, Maine” depicts a 19th century schooner docked at an old wharf located very near where his body was found.Since childhood Robert “Bob” Rasche loved being on or near the water in Wells, a passion displayed throughout his life as a painter who often combined his artistic skill and love of history to capture maritime themes.On Saturday, Rasche, 61, a full-time resident of Bellingham, Massachusetts, was found dead in the Webhannet River, slightly below the Mile Road near Wells Harbor. How Rasche died has yet to be...…ShareRobert Rasche’s painting “Alice S. Wentworth, The Old Mile Road, Wells, Maine” depicts a 19th century schooner docked at an old wharf located very near where his body was found.Since childhood Robert “Bob” Rasche loved being on or near the water in Wells, a passion displayed throughout his life as a painter who often combined his artistic skill and love of history to capture maritime themes.On Saturday, Rasche, 61, a full-time resident of Bellingham, Massachusetts, was found dead in the Webhannet River, slightly below the Mile Road near Wells Harbor. How Rasche died has yet to be...WW…

ShareAn unknown vandal spray-painted a swastika over a Waldo resident’s Black Lives Matter sign on Friday night, escalating prior confrontations over racial-justice activism in the area, the sign’s owner says.Louisa Carl, who lives on Poors Mill Road in the Waldo County town, woke up on Saturday to a red swastika spray-painted on the sign she attached to her mailbox.In an interview Saturday, Carl said she took the incident as a threat. Carl has two biracial children, and the vandalism came after a previous Black Lives Matter sign was stolen from her yard.“It’s definitely a threat and a...…ShareAn unknown vandal spray-painted a swastika over a Waldo resident’s Black Lives Matter sign on Friday night, escalating prior confrontations over racial-justice activism in the area, the sign’s owner says.Louisa Carl, who lives on Poors Mill Road in the Waldo County town, woke up on Saturday to a red swastika spray-painted on the sign she attached to her mailbox.In an interview Saturday, Carl said she took the incident as a threat. Carl has two biracial children, and the vandalism came after a previous Black Lives Matter sign was stolen from her yard.“It’s definitely a threat and a...WW…

ShareNavy shipbuilder Bath Iron Works and production workers reached a tentative agreement to end a strike that has stretched for more than a month during a global pandemic, the union announced Saturday.The agreement, which was unanimously endorsed by union negotiators, will be put forth to the 4,300 members of Machinists Local S6 for approval. Because of the pandemic, voting will take place online and via telephone during a three-day period from Friday, Aug. 21, to Sunday, Aug. 23.Production workers went on strike on June 22 after overwhelmingly rejecting the company’s final offer.The...…ShareNavy shipbuilder Bath Iron Works and production workers reached a tentative agreement to end a strike that has stretched for more than a month during a global pandemic, the union announced Saturday.The agreement, which was unanimously endorsed by union negotiators, will be put forth to the 4,300 members of Machinists Local S6 for approval. Because of the pandemic, voting will take place online and via telephone during a three-day period from Friday, Aug. 21, to Sunday, Aug. 23.Production workers went on strike on June 22 after overwhelmingly rejecting the company’s final offer.The...WW…

ShareJacob Humphrey, a senior at Bonny Eagle High: “I feel like now, they’re just going to cancel the fall sports and I feel players and parents haven’t really had the opportunity to be heard by anyone, by the MPA, or anyone.”Pick a word that describes an emotional response to an uncertain future and it probably applies to how high school athletes across Maine are feeling. They are waiting to find out if they will have a fall sports season, and getting messages from social media and even school administrators that indicate the coronavirus pandemic might have already won.“COVID is definitely...…ShareJacob Humphrey, a senior at Bonny Eagle High: “I feel like now, they’re just going to cancel the fall sports and I feel players and parents haven’t really had the opportunity to be heard by anyone, by the MPA, or anyone.”Pick a word that describes an emotional response to an uncertain future and it probably applies to how high school athletes across Maine are feeling. They are waiting to find out if they will have a fall sports season, and getting messages from social media and even school administrators that indicate the coronavirus pandemic might have already won.“COVID is definitely...WW…