New Sweden poisonings / Bangor passenger rail prospects / Portland’s ahistorical banners

New Sweden poisonings / Bangor passenger rail prospects / Portland’s ahistorical banners

Today is Thursday. Temperatures will be in the low 60s to low 50s from north to south, with scattered showers and cloudy skies gradually parting for the sun across the state. See what weather is in store for the rest of the day here.

Here’s what we’re talking about in Maine today.

Response to New Sweden poisonings 20 years ago helped Maine prepare for pandemic

When 16 people were poisoned by arsenic in a rural Maine town in 2003, the quick administration of an antidote saved lives.

Passenger rail won’t be coming to Bangor anytime soon

Expanding passenger rail to Bangor and Lewiston could cost the state anywhere from $892 million to $1.2 billion.

Angus King’s Supreme Court ethics code proposal has tough road to passage

His proposal got an icy reception from a top Republican, underscoring the steep odds against passing it in a divided Congress.

Derailed Maine locomotives leaking fuel will be dismantled

The engines continue to leak some diesel and other fluids, which are saturating the ground around the wreckage and a nearby river and lake.

New garden at Bangor’s Coe Park will allow neighborhood to grow food together

Coe Park will be home to two garden beds measuring 4 feet by 20 feet that people can work together to grow crops in.

Food trucks to look out for around Bangor this summer

Here’s where you can find food trucks serving lobster rolls, Cajun food and more in the Bangor area this summer.

Popular Searsport restaurant Hey Sailor! expanding in time for summer

Hey Sailor! in Searsport is getting a pizza kitchen, raw bar and live music stage by expanding into the space next door.

New banners celebrating Portland’s history got facts wrong

Not all of the “facts” on the banners in downtown Portland are accurate, and one of the banners is already coming down.

Wastewater treatment plant seeks $59 million to stop PFAS from flowing into Maine rivers

The Anson-Madison Sanitary District has devised a wastewater treatment system that can remove and concentrate PFAS into a manageable form.

Building on Maine wetlands could cost more with new fees

Maine has lost 4.8 million square feet of wetlands without compensatory mitigation fees in the five years, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Meet the only runner to beat Ruth White in a state championship race

Teanne Ewings means business when she steps onto the track, and her main goal is to hone in on her competition and let them motivate her.

A year after injury, UMaine baseball’s shortstop is one of the best in the country

Jake Rainess has played shortstop since middle and high school, and all the work has paid off.

We packed 2 hikes into a ‘micro adventure’ in western Maine

“Sometimes you just need to drop everything and have an adventure.”

10 things you can do right now for your garden

Preparing the garden for the growing season is more than just buying seeds or cleaning out beds.

In more Maine news…

Presque Isle teen is missing

MaineHealth drops masking requirement at its facilities

Maine won’t hang up on 207 area code until at least 2029

Educators oppose Republican-backed bills to allow guns in Maine schools

Democrats are divided on reining in Maine’s pioneering PFAS limits

Janet Mills signs bill making to-go alcohol permanent

18-year-old arrested after teen stabbed near Bangor Shaws

Presque Isle man faces up to 20 years in prison for drug trafficking

Mainer gets 28 days for storming Capitol on Jan. 6

New farmers market could bring economic boost to Millinocket

Acadia is beginning work on long-awaited new maintenance facility

Landlords want to repeal Portland cap on rent hikes

Freshman pitcher leads Brewer softball past Ellsworth

Brewer’s Grady Vanidestine strikes out 13 in shutout against Ellsworth

Jennie Whitten pitches Mattanawcook softball past Orono with 13 strikeouts