By Valerie Royzman, Staff Writer COVID-19 booster shots were approved by the U.

For 35 years the Maine Community Foundation Piscatquis County Fund has awarded nearly $1 million in grants to nonprofits working to improve the quality of life in the region.

By Caitlin Andrews, Bangor Daily News Staff The Maine Legislature on Wednesday breezed through approval of newly drawn legislative and congressional maps, shifting thousands of people from one congressional district to another and laying new political lines for the next decade.

By Jessica Piper, Bangor Daily News Staff AUGUSTA — The Maine Legislature is poised to vote today on new legislative and congressional maps that will account for the recent population shifts and shape the state’s politics for the next decade.

Too many Mainers miss medical appointments because they lack transportation or go hungry because they are too proud to seek help.

DOVER-FOXCROFT — Donations doubled! Pine Tree Hospice is elated to announce Pleasant River Lumber will be matching every Annual Appeal donation up to $20,000.

Katahdin Trust, a community bank serving northern Maine and the greater Bangor and Portland regions, is pleased to announce a $2,500 donation to Penquis’ “We’ve Got Your Back” campaign.

DOVER-FOXCROFT — Piscataquis County Democratic Committee held their annual fall gathering at Peaks Kenny State Park on Sept.

Observer photo/Keri Foster FIND THE WHOOPIE PIE CONTEST WINNER — Darlene Burgess of Dover-Foxcroft, center, is the Piscataquis Observer’s 2021 Find the Whoopie Pie Contest winner.

The Piscataquis Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce this year’s recipient of the Business of the Year award, Herring Brothers Meats of Guilford.

By Lia Russell, Bangor Daily News Staff Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center set another record for the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations last weekend before the number of patients dropped by about a fifth in the subsequent five days.

By Valerie Royzman, Staff Writer GREENVILLE — Following a cluster of COVID-19 cases at Greenville Consolidated School this week, another four people tested positive on Wednesday, according to a parent letter posted on the district website.

By Lori Valigra, Bangor Daily News Staff Sales of existing single-family homes in Maine were down almost 5 percent in August compared to the previous year, a sign that the hot real estate market may be leveling off, according to a state real estate group.

This first appeared in the October 2021 issue of Bangor Metro Magazine.

Duggan hired as new EMA director DOVER-FOXCROFT — Those involved in upgrading the county’s public safety radio system agree that improvements are needed, but the question is how the near $5 million cost will be covered.

By Jessica Piper, Bangor Daily News Staff AUGUSTA, Maine — Democrats and Republicans struck their first major redistricting deal on Tuesday, when a bipartisan panel released an agreement to redraw the state’s 151 House districts.

By David Marino Jr.

By Judy Harrison, Bangor Daily News Staff DOVER-FOXCROFT, Maine — The state’s longest-serving District Court judge now on the bench will retire Sept.