Worker shortage stymies vaccine mandates at nursing homes
BANGOR, Maine (AP) — Several Maine healthcare systems and hospitals are mandating COVID-19 vaccines for employees but staffing shortages in many nursing homes may prevent them from following suit. The Bangor Daily News reports that more than 40 nursing homes want to require staff to be vaccinated but longstanding shortages of workers make them wary of implementing requirements. That’s based on a survey from the Maine Medical Directors Association. Over the past week, Northern Light Health and MaineHealth announced vaccine requirements for employees. Also in Maine, the average number of daily cases of the virus in has doubled over the course of the last two weeks.
Police: Wrong-way driver killed in Maine Turnpike crash
KITTERY, Maine (AP) — State police in Maine are investigating a fatal highway crash that appeared to involve a wrong-way driver. Police said the crash happened in the early morning hours of Thursday in Kittery when a passenger car and tractor-trailer truck collided on the Maine Turnpike. They say the crash killed 29-year-old Caleb Ewing of Caribou. He was the driver of the car. Police say the driver of the tractor-trailer was uninjured. They say an initial investigation showed Ewing entered the turnpike in Kittery and traveled in the wrong direction, going northbound in the southbound lane.
Former GOP Rep. Bruce Poliquin wants his old seat back
Former Republican U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin is going going to try to win back his old seat from Democratic Rep. Jared Golden. Poliquin cited problems caused by “liberal politicians with extreme beliefs” in declaring Wednesday that he’s running to “bring Maine common sense back to Washington.” His announcement potentially sets up a big-dollar fight in the state’s sprawling, largely rural 2nd Congressional District. But first Poliquin would have to win a primary race against two lesser-known GOP candidates. Golden, from Lewiston, unseated Poliquin in a close race that was decided by additional voting rounds under ranked-choice voting.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MAINE
UMaine to require COVID-19 vaccines this year as cases rise
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s public university system says it will require COVID-19 vaccines for all students who attended campuses starting this fall. The University of Maine System said Wednesday it’s also in the midst of discussions about enacting similar rules for faculty and staff. The system says in a statement that the spread of the delta variant played a key role in its decision to require the vaccines. The university system joins hundreds of other higher education institutions to require COVID-19 vaccines. The decision comes as cases of the virus are rising in the state.
CAPITOL RIOT-MAINE
Maine man pleads not guilty to Capitol riot charges
GORHAM, Maine (AP) — A Maine man who faces charges stemming from the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol has pleaded not guilty. Thirty-four-year-old Nicholas Hendrix, of Gorham, faces four misdemeanor charges. The Portland Press Herald reports Hendrix pleaded not guilty via videoconference on Monday. Charges against Hendrix include unlawfully entering the Capitol, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted government building, violent entry and disorderly conduct in the Capitol building, and illegal parading or demonstrating in the Capitol building.
SUICIDE PREVENTION
Youth suicide prevention programs get support in Maine
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A project to try to prevent youth suicide in Maine is receiving a nearly $850,000 boost from the federal government. The effort is called the Maine Comprehensive Suicide Project and it supports youth suicide prevention programs in the state. Independent Sen. Angus King and Republican Sen. Susan Collins said the money was awarded through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention & Control.
BOOK DONATIONS-BURNED LIBRARY
Northern Maine school library burns, bookstores raise funds
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — After a fire at an elementary school library in northern Maine destroyed its collection of books, a bookstore at the other end of the state helped replace them. The Portland Press Herald reported that the fire on July 25 burned the library at Dr. Levesque Elementary School in Frenchville, a small community on the border with Canada. The school’s librarian and a children’s book author with family ties to the area got in touch with Print: A Bookstore, located 300 miles south in Portland. The store’s patrons raised enough funds within 24 hours to purchase about 100 books that the school most urgently wanted replaced.
NEGLECTED HORSES SEIZED
Neglected horses in Maine are being nursed back to health
SPRINGVALE, Maine (AP) — Twenty horses seized from a farm in Maine are being nursed back to health after some were near death. The Foster’s Daily Democrat reports that the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry rescued the horses alongside other animals on July 14. All the animals have been placed in shelters across the state. Most of the horses lacked proper veterinary attention and care. Authorities say that the owner acknowledged an inability to care for the animals. The owner will not be charged with any crimes but received a lifetime animal possession ban.