By Julie Harris, Bangor Daily News Staff Several bills the Maine Legislature passed into law this session related to boats, ATVs, snowmobiling, invasive species and hunting will go into effect on Aug.

DOVER-FOXCROFT — DOVER-FOXCROFT — For four years Piscataquis County and municipal emergency officials have been working to update outdated infrastructure and long-running problems with the county’s radio communications for emergency personnel.

By Michael Shepherd and Billy Kobin, Bangor Daily News Staff AUGUSTA — The state flag design that Mainers will decide on this November is similar to the one that flew from 1901-09, featuring a mostly photorealistic pine tree at the center of a buff background alongside a blue star.

By Elizabeth Walztoni, Bangor Daily News Staff Last Saturday night, a rock band performed on the wooden stage of the Trenton Grange, built a century ago to host secret, ritual-based meetings for local farmers.

Fidium Fiber is expanding its all-fiber internet network in Dexter and Guilford, as well as parts of the Corinna, Garland, and Sangerville areas, bringing multi-gig speed service to more than 5,200 homes and businesses in these Maine communities.

MONSON — Twelve members of the Piscataquis Region Retired Educators Association and two guests met July 23 at the Lakeshore Pub in Monson for the monthly meeting.

Contributed photoABBOT REUNION — The Abbot annual school reunion was held July 28 at the town hall with about 40 in attendance.

By Julie Harris, Bangor Daily News Staff The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife wants to hear from anyone who uses Maine’s woods, whether it’s for hunting or recreation.

By Elizabeth Walztoni, Bangor Daily News Staff The walls of a straw house are under construction in a former boat shop at a Rockland industrial park.

By Christopher Burns, Bangor Daily News Staff Maine saw home sales fall in June, snapping a four-month climb.

By Ethan Andrews, Bangor Daily News Staff DOVER-FOXCROFT — A Guilford woman was found guilty on July 25 of stealing more than $700,000 from a Medford company over a period of three years.

By Marie Weidmayer, Bangor Daily News Staff Nearly 1,000 cases across Maine do not have lawyers assigned.

GUILFORD — Organizers have released the schedule for this year’s Piscataquis River Festival on Saturday, July 27 with events at and around the downtown athletic fields on the banks of the river.

By Kevin Miller, Maine Public More than 350 people submitted proposals for a redesign of the original Maine state flag that will be the subject of a referendum vote this November.

The Maine Department of Education has awarded $2,788,372 in Summer Learning and Enrichment Grant funding to 61 Maine schools, including the Guilford-based SAD 4.

By Ari Snider, Maine Public Maine saw just over 14,000 business applications last year, about an 8 percent increase from the year before, and the highest on record going back to 2005.

Grade 12, highest honors: Scott Chadbourne, Zachariah Demmer; high honors: Lily Carr, Dominic Cookson, Emily Easler, Benjamin Higgins, Parker Kelley, Sophia Kopf, Tim Van Der Heijden; honors: Kylee Downing, Onyxia Williams.

By Elizabeth Walztoni, Bangor Daily News Staff A small Maine volunteer group has big plans to rebuild a regional industry in a way they believe will also benefit the environment, particularly soil, and human health.