Today is Friday. Temperatures will be in the high 50s to the low 60s from north to south with sunny skies throughout the state. Here’s what we’re talking about in Maine today. Here’s the latest on the coronavirus in Maine Another 49 coronavirus cases were reported in Maine on Thursday, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. There are 597 active confirmed and “probable” cases in the state and the death toll remains at 142. Check out our COVID-19 Tracker for more information. Four employees who maintain state government buildings have tested positive for the coronavirus, and a fifth employee is thought to also have the virus, health officials said Thursday. The state has begun investigating several new coronavirus outbreaks at various locations in central and midcoast Maine, including at a charter school in Somerset County that has had at least 13 confirmed cases. Nirav Shah, director of Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, also warned that a referee who recently officiated eight hockey games in southern Maine and New Hampshire has tested positive for COVID-19, and he advised players and families who had been to those games to consider themselves close contacts. Anna Fernald of Islesford, Maine, holds her great-granddaughter Azalea Belle Gray, who was born in late September in the island home of her parents Aaron Gray and Erin Fernald Gray. Credit: Courtesy of the Gray familyAzalea Belle Gray is the sixth child for Aaron Gray and Erin Fernald Gray and the newest addition to the Fernald family, which goes back several generations on Islesford. Azalea’s great-grandfather Warren Fernald, a lifelong lobsterman on the island who died in 2005 at the age of 77, had been the most recent baby born on Islesford, in July 1927. Signs outside a restaurant state their mask policy in Old Orchard Beach on July 7, 2020. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN It was jarring for some business owners to hear the governor say Tuesday that bars and tasting rooms would soon be able to increase capacity in the same afternoon that President Donald Trump cut off talks for a coronavirus stimulus package via Twitter. Gov. Janet Mills issued an executive order Wednesday that loosens restrictions for establishments that provide seated food and drink service, like bars, tasting rooms and restaurants. PLUS: Here are highlights of the updated health checklists, which are on the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development’s website, and the provisions of the governor’s new executive order. In this Jan. 11, 2019 file photo, Alex Premoli makes the first sale to a customer on the opening day of recreational marijuana sales at Theory Wellness in Great Barrington, Mass. Theory Wellness’ location in South Portland is one of eight stores opening in Friday as Maine enshrines its new adult-use marijuana market. Credit: Stephanie Zollshan / The Berkshire Eagle via AP Theory Wellness will open as only one of eight approved adult-use retail stores licensed to operate in Maine on the first day of sales. The company already has plenty of experience in the business. It is based in Massachusetts, where it has two stores and is about to be approved for its third medical marijuana store. Clockwise from left: Bangor City Council candidates Stephen Brough, Sarah Dubay, Jonathan Sprague, Dina Yacoubagha, Jeffrey Solari, Kimberly Boucher, Joseph Leonard and Clare Davitt. Credit: Linda Coan O'Kresik and Natalie Williams / BDN The top three vote-getters will each serve three years on the nine-member council, as the city addresses a seemingly growing homeless population and a pandemic that has curtailed operations at the types of businesses that account for a large chunk of municipal revenue, including casinos, retailers, restaurants and concert venues. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, visits a business in downtown Waterville, Maine, Friday, Oct. 2, 2020. Collins, who is seeking re-election, visited businesses on a campaign swing through downtown Waterville. Credit: Robert F. Bukaty | AP Over the course of nearly three decades, Republican Sen. Susan Collins has crafted a centrist brand that once made her one of the most popular politicians in the country. Now, Collins is the last Republican member of Congress from New England. And a combination of controversial votes and increasingly nationalized politics has her locked in the fight of her political career. Kiyanne Thomas gives Fajita the dog a friendly pat as the two met in their costumes on Lisbon Street in Lewiston, Maine, Friday, Oct. 25, 2019. Credit: Andree Kehn / Sun Journal via AP The CDC has classified some Halloween activities according to the level of risk of spreading the coronavirus. Thinking about trick-or-treating? It comes down to how much risk you want to take. A level of risk that could be acceptable for one family might not be acceptable for another — especially one with older or immunocompromised members. In other Maine news… UMaine women’s programs top of list beneficiaries of $90M Alfond Foundation gift After years of controversy, Skowhegan chooses a new mascot Maine sees slight drop in new jobless claims Bangor’s Veterans Day parade is canceled | 