Welcome to the “Evening Briefing,” a comprehensive look at daily news in Maine. Produced by the Spectrum News Maine team and through partnerships with the state’s top news organizations, the aim of the Evening Briefing is to create stronger Maine communities through a commitment to transparency and carefully reported, factual local journalism.
Here are the top stories for Monday, January 3 — the third day of the year. There are 362 days left in 2022.
We start today’s report with another rise in COVID-related hospitalizations in Maine. After seeing numbers dip last week, 30 additional Mainers have been hospitalized with the virus since the weekend.
Maine COVID hospitalizations on the rise again
COVID-19 hospitalizations jumped by nearly 30 people on Monday, with 369 Mainers hospitalized across the state, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Monday’s numbers show 113 people in critical care and 54 people on ventilators. There are 52 available critical care beds statewide.
“Things in Maine right now are in a challenging state,” Maine CDC director Dr. Nirav Shah said during an appearance on Monday’s “Maine Calling.” “Case counts are among the highest they’ve ever been at any point in the pandemic. Much of that is driven by the omicron variant.”
Analysis: Death rates higher in less vaccinated counties
Death rates in Maine from COVID-19 are three times higher in the state’s less-vaccinated counties compared to counties that are heavily vaccinated. A Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram analysis compared highly vaccinated coastal counties Cumberland, Lincoln and Sagadahoc with three counties that are not, Somerset, Piscataquis and Franklin counties. The widest difference was 2.23 COVID-19 deaths per 10,000 population in Sagadahoc County, compared with 8.94 deaths per 10,000 population in Franklin County.
Portland Press Herald: Portland workers rally to keep hazard pay ahead of tonight’s pivotal council vote
At midnight on Jan. 1, an emergency order that raised Portland’s minimum wage from $13 to $19.50 went into effect to accommodate a pandemic-related, hazard-pay increase. Many of the impacted workers rallied Sunday to protect the increase ahead of a city council meeting this evening. The Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce is opposed to the hazard pay order and several city councilors have expressed concerns about the fairness of the increase.
Amanda Jellig’s forecast: Partly cloudy and colder
A high pressure system that has brought colder and drier conditions to Maine will remain in place again tonight.
Through the overnight hours, expect a frigid chill in the air along with partly cloudy skies. It will also be breezy tonight, especially along the midcoast.
Overnight temperatures in northern towns like Presque Isle and Houlton will be dropping below zero. Central and southern Maine lows will fall into the double digits.
Portland sunset/sunrise: 4:18 p.m. / 7:12 a.m.
Bangor sunset/sunrise: 4:06 p.m. / 7:12 a.m.
Augusta’s ‘fiercely nonpartisan’ First Amendment Museum looks to expand
Can you name all five freedoms enshrined in the First Amendment? A museum in Augusta is devoted to helping people of all stripes learn about the freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition, and hopes a major expansion will draw tourists to the state capital.
Portland Press Herald: Maine lawmakers study direct cash payments as anti-poverty tool
As state lawmakers prepare to convene again this week in Augusta, a proposal to establish direct support payments to low-income residents is again being discussed as a potential move that would lift more Mainers out of poverty.
More people at home, and dying from fires, in pandemic
The pandemic played a role in helping to push the state's fire deaths to the highest level since 2014, the state’s fire marshal said. The number of fire deaths as of Saturday was 27, three times the level of the safest year for fire deaths, 2010, when nine people died in fires. The state's worst year for fire deaths was 1967, when 70 people died. More than a half-dozen of the house fires happened during daylight hours, which is an unusual time for a deadly fire, he said.
Bangor Daily: More local farmers relying on social media to help survive the pandemic
Having a consistent social media approach has made a huge difference for several savvy Maine farmers. Desperate to keep growing their businesses during trying pandemic times, many Many farmers have taken advantage of social media training programs provided by organizations like the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association and the Maine Federation of Farmers Markets.
Maine real estate market expected to slow but not stall
Rising mortgage rates that are anticipated when the Federal Reserve tightens credit in the new year is expected to slow but not stall Maine's red-hot real estate market. Home prices will keep rising but not as fast as this year despite inflation and higher lending rates, experts say. Maine currently has about 25,000 fewer housing units than it needs, said Aaron Bolster, president of the Maine Association of Realtors.
27K tons of carpet still piled up decades later in Warren
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection is sending out another request for proposals on removing 27,000 tons of carpet that pose a fire hazard at an abandoned rifle range. The previous contract expires at year's end with little to show for it. Some have lost faith in the DEP, and think the town should take charge. But residents voted Wednesday against foreclosing on the property, because that would make the town liable for the cleanup.
Moosehead resort developer must restart permitting process for marina
Developers who want to create a year-round resort centered on a ski resort in Greenville are going to have to start from scratch if they want to include a 150- to 200-slip marina. Developers who are buying and renaming the Big Squaw Mountain Ski Area were told by the Land Use Planning Commission that the marina development exceeds the scope of an expired permit.
Kennebec Journal: Monmouth firefighters rescue iced-in loon in Tacoma Lakes region
It took about two hours on Sunday for Monmouth firefighters to rescue an iced-in loon in the Tacoma Lakes area. The bird was about a quarter-mile out on the ice when firefighter Luke Boucher scooped up the stranded loon.
Top national and international headlines from Spectrum News:
FDA authorizes Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 boosters for kids 12-15
How will pandemic conclude? Omicron clouds forecasts for endgame
Jan. 6 panel prepares to go public: 'One of the single most important congressional investigations in history'
Biden's words on voting rights meet call to action after Jan. 6
Biden spending $1B to boost meat-processing competition: 'Capitalism without competition isn't capitalism, it's exploitation'
N.Y. attorney general subpoenas Trump, Ivanka, Don Jr.
Schumer promises vote on rule change if Republicans block voting rights bills
2 still missing in Colorado fire; cause under investigation
Holmes jury says it's deadlocked on 3 of 11 criminal charges
Portland Press: Birders flock to see first-ever sighting of a Steller’s sea eagle in Maine
Hundreds of Maine bird enthusiasts flocked to Georgetown over the weekend to catch a glimpse of a Steller sea eagle, a mammoth bird with a noticeable yellow bill and 8-foot wingspan. The rare eagle weighs 11 to 20 pounds, about twice the size of a bald eagle. On Friday, Deirdre Fleming of the Portland Press Herald reports, the bird sat pitched high in a conifer tree as a steady stream of visitors watched in awe and snapped hundreds of photographs. There are only about 4,000 Steller’s sea eagles in the world and they are native to northern Asia and eastern Russia.
Spectrum News Maine digital journalists Susan Cover, Angi Gonzalez, Amanda Jellig, Sean Murphy, Maddison Raynor and Annie Ropeik contributed to this report, along with media partners the Portland Press Herald, the Bangor Daily News, the Sun Journal, the Kennebec Journal and The Associated Press.