Today is Thursday. Temperatures will be in the low 50s to low 60s from north to south, with rain and a chance for scattered showers throughout the state. Here’s what we’re talking about in Maine today.
The latest on the coronavirus in Maine
The state saw the highest single-day increase in COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic on Wednesday, when 867 more cases of the coronavirus were reported, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. No new deaths were reported Wednesday, leaving the statewide death toll standing at 1,022.
As the delta variant continues to spread through the state, the number of young kids who have tested positive over the last month is higher than any month before. More than 75 percent of adult Mainers are vaccinated against COVID-19, and 65 percent of the total eligible population — including 12- to 19-year-olds — are fully vaccinated against the virus.
As the Food and Drug Administration considers issuing a lower-dose version of the Moderna vaccine to boost immunity, take our quiz to see if you would be eligible for a COVID-19 booster shot.
Madawaska traveling nurse working in Texas says seeing so many people die of COVID has changed her
Her patients are unvaccinated, younger than ever and on ventilators. Too many of them are dying.
Old Town High enacts 3-strike policy to enforce mask-wearing
If improper mask-wearing continues after two strikes, the student will be dismissed from school.
There is only 1 town in Aroostook County where people traveling to Canada can get tested for COVID-19
With the recent rise of COVID-19 cases across Maine, most hospitals have stopped giving out travel-related PCR tests altogether.
Breakthrough hospitalizations a reflection of Maine’s high vaccination rate
“It’s a rather insidious and somewhat ghoulish byproduct of the fact that we are really vaccinated,” Maine CDC Director Nirav Shah said.
Father of 6 was driving to the hospital when he was killed in Glenburn crash
His fiancee described him as the “kindest man I had ever known.”
After 3 postponements, a comics convention has found a new home at the Bangor Mall
The convention will feature Sherilyn Fenn of “Twin Peaks” fame; Bill Moseley, who has been in several Rob Zombie movies; and “Jay and Silent Bob” and “Clerks” star Jason Mewes.
Cumberland Fair nixes old-fashioned women’s event name, but tradition will continue
On Wednesday, the last-ever, all-women “Powder Puff” ox pulling competition took place at the Cumberland Fair. That’s not to say the ox pull is over though.
Thousands of Mainers to shift to new congressional districts
The only changes to the state’s congressional maps will take place in Kennebec County, where about 54,000 Mainers will switch districts. Augusta will move from the 1st to the 2nd District.
New UMaine men’s hockey coach gets to see his team play for the 1st time this weekend
UMaine will open its season at the University of Nebraska Omaha on Oct 8-9.
In other Maine news …
State trooper was justified in killing suspect during 2019 Auburn hostage standoff
Maine AG’s office: Nordic can’t lay pipes until the court gives approval
Rockland man must repay Coast Guard nearly $20,000 for fake distress call
Killer in Bangor nightclub stabbing sentenced to 32 years for murder
Trenton woman pleads guilty to her role in eastern Maine drug trafficking ring
Juvenile shot in leg after hours in South Portland High School parking lot
