By Susan Bard, Bangor Daily News Outdoors Editor For the second time this summer, wildfire smoke from Canada has rolled into Maine, creating a gray haze that dulls the usual clarity of our summer skies and sends air quality readings into unhealthy territory.

By Yasmeen Khan, The Maine Monitor Johnnie Walker, director of housing and shelter services at Partners for Peace, has worked at the domestic violence resource center for 25 years.

By Leela Stockley, Bangor Daily News Staff The order of referendums on the November 2025 statewide ballot has been announced.

AUGUSTA – The Maine Association of REALTORS Foundation, the charitable arm of Maine Association of REALTORS, has awarded $210,000 through its 2025 Competitive Grant Program to 22 non-profit organizations to address a variety of housing needs of low-income individuals and households across Maine.

BREWER — Following a national search, the Northern Light Health Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Guy Hudson, MD, MBA, has been unanimously selected as the next president and chief executive officer of Northern Light Health.

By Annie Rupertus, Bangor Daily News Staff Connie Kousman’s Medicare plan with Anthem has gotten her through open heart surgery, breast cancer surgery and many stage four cancer scans without any out-of-pocket expenses.

DOVER-FOXCROFT — Kristen Wortman, executive director for Pine Tree Hospice, announced that Maine Highlands Federal Credit Union has become the major sponsor of their Annual Charity Golf Tournament.

By Cameron Levasseur, The County Staff More than three weeks into July and the start of the fiscal year for Maine’s nearly 200 school districts, at least 16 are without a new budget after facing rejection from voters in June referendums.

MILO — A proposed 2025-26 budget of just more than $11.

By Steve Mistler, Maine Public Maine’s federal defender and court-appointed attorneys are sounding the alarm about a dire funding shortfall that they say could mean delayed trials for indigent clients.

WASHINGTON, D.

By Kathleen O’Brien, Bangor Daily News Staff Someone earning minimum wage needs to work 61 hours a week to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment in Maine.

By Marie Weidmayer, Bangor Daily News Staff A train engineer is suing Canadian Pacific Railway, saying the company should have known there was a high risk that tracks would be washed out before a train derailment in rural Maine nearly three years ago.

By Rose Lundy, The Maine Monitor A new law expands who is eligible for charity care in Maine while federal Medicaid cuts are expected to push tens of thousands off public insurance.

BROWNVILLE – Fidium, Maine’s best internet provider according to CNET, is expanding its all-fiber internet network in Brownville bringing symmetrical, multi-gig speed internet to more than 450 homes and businesses.

DOVER-FOXCROFT — The new fiscal year has just begun, but Piscataquis County officials have started preliminary work on the 2026 Piscataquis County budget and the 2026-27 Unorganized Territory budget.

By Annie Rupertus, Bangor Daily News Staff Despite seeming to be in free fall for months, Northern Light Health insists it’s not looking to sell its hospitals — and experts say the health care system can avoid that drastic step if it acts quickly.

Grade 12, high honors: Skyler Brennan, Lucas Chai, Adelie Chaullier, Kyle Curtis, Abigail Davis, Makayla Ferris, Kalea Gahagan, Lydia Gauvin, Sara Giovanardi, Tristan Goodwin, Brenan Grant, Abel Gunn, Kayla Hatt, Rylee Heal, Samantha Lane, McKenzie McMahon, Haylee Newman, Savannah Spencer, Whitnee Stone; honors: Jimmy Annance, Gavin Chase, James Chenkin, Lily Coons, William Hemenway, Wyatt Ladd Ahreanna Sawyer.