Single-use items are so ingrained in our culture that nearly all of us — no matter how sustainability-minded we may be — throw things away without even thinking about it.

AUGUSTA — Maine cities and towns will have more time to process absentee ballots ahead of the Nov.

DEXTER — A week before the opening days of classes during the first week of September, teachers, staff and administrators across SAD 46 have been busy making preparations for a school year that will be unlike any other with hybrid instruction and remote learning methods being used.

AUGUSTA — Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap said Tuesday his office will contest a judge’s ruling that a Republican challenge to a ranked-choice voting law made the 2020 ballot before walking the statement back the next day as a key deadline approaches.

AUGUSTA — A Maine judge ruled Monday that the state Republican party gathered enough valid signatures from voters to put a challenge to a new ranked-choice voting law on the November ballot, preventing the method’s use in this presidential election.

DOVER-FOXCROFT — University of Maine Cooperative Extension will offer pressure gauge testing at the UMaine Extension office, 165 East Main Street.

The Maine Teachers of the Year Association, in partnership with the Maine Department of Education, has created a special “teacher to teacher” back to school message to help kick off the 2020-21 school year.

DEXTER — Many everyday social interactions have come to a halt due to COVID-19 limitations, especially for those who receive care in residential facilities.

AUGUSTA — Small businesses and nonprofits can begin applying on Friday for a share of $200 million in aid under a new program rolled out by Gov.

AUGUSTA – Gov.

AARP announced that eight Maine organizations will receive 2020 Community Challenge grants – part of the largest number of grantees to date with more than $2.

DOVER-FOXCROFT — Last month the previously anonymous identify of a benefactor — the Maine Highlands Federal Credit Union in making the largest contribution in its 54-year history — providing the $145,000 to enable the county to purchase the former Key Bank building on Hudson Avenue in downtown Guilford to be the new home of the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office patrol and investigation divisions was revealed during a presentation at the site.

More people who want to know if they have the coronavirus even if they don’t have symptoms will now be able to get tested at 10 sites across Maine run by Northern Light Health, the state’s second-largest hospital system, as a result of a state effort to provide medical providers with more resources to surveil for the virus.

DEXTER – Hometown Health Center is participating in a new clinical trial to use telemedicine for the treatment of opioid addiction (or opioid use disorder).

DEXTER — To help determine what the direction the town should go in terms of permitting marijuana-related businesses or not, the Dexter Town Council approved a pair of referendum questions for the November ballot during an Aug.

BREWER — Northern Light Health has received a $1 million federal grant to support community efforts toward establishing or enhancing opioid use prevention, treatment and recovery services in rural communities served by the healthcare system.

A federal judge who has upheld Maine’s ranked-choice voting system once before reiterated his view that the method is constitutional Friday, Aug.

DEXTER — Students at the Ridge View Community School and Dexter Regional High School will be back in the respective buildings when classes resume next month, families can also opt for full-time remote learning if they wish, as the SAD 46 directors approved a “Return to School Plan” on Aug.