By Leela Stockley, Bangor Daily News Staff A sudden plunge into below-freezing temperatures has prompted some unusual tremors in the central Maine highlands.

NEWPORT — A District Court judge has dropped nearly all charges against two Piscataquis County boys accused of sexually assaulting a fellow Foxcroft Academy student last February, though the 17-year-old Dover-Foxcroft boy still faces one charge.

By Patty Wight, Maine Public The Maine Emergency Management Agency is urging Mainers to prepare for the extreme cold weather sweeping into the state Friday.

DOVER-FOXCROFT — The Dover-Foxcroft Fire Department’s near 30-year-old tank truck that has been out of service and is in need of costly repairs will be replaced with a 2024 model.

By Judy Harrison, Bangor Daily News Staff Bry Martin is doing something that few are doing these days — he volunteers to represent people in court who are facing jail time but cannot afford to pay a lawyer.

By Judy Harrison, Bangor Daily News Staff Penobscot County officials on Jan.

By Sawyer Loftus, Bangor Daily News Staff The American Civil Liberties Union is calling for a federal investigation into Penobscot County’s intended use of COVID-19 relief dollars to fund repairs at its chronically overcrowded jail.

GREENVILLE — A workshop related to an opportunity to seek state funding from a $4.

DEXTER — A project to replace the terminal building and improve the site at the Dexter Regional Airport should see completion, despite higher than anticipated construction costs.

By Samantha Hogan, Maine Monitor State officials said they’re barely keeping up with the demand for lawyers to represent the poor in criminal and family cases, even as Maine takes gradual steps to shed its status as the only state without a public defender system.

Ice conditions vary across the state, and the Maine Warden Service is urging everyone to check the ice before heading out onto any of Maine’s lakes, ponds, and rivers.

CHARLESTON — The Maine Department of Corrections has received test results indicating that per- and  polyfluoroalkyl substances are present at levels above the state standard in three of the  five wells at the Mountain View Correctional Facility in Charleston.

By Leela Stockley, Bangor Daily News Staff A Maine man died at the Mountain View Correctional Facility in Charleston on Tuesday morning, according to NewsCenter Maine.

By Judy Harrison, Bangor Daily News Staff Zachary Brandmeir is the first independent to serve as a Penobscot County Probate Court judge.

By Christopher Burns, Bangor Daily News Staff A Bradford man died Friday, Jan.

GREENVILLE — An omnibus funding package passed by Congress includes more than $308 million for nearly 200 projects across Maine, including several in Greenville.

By WGME An internal power failure at two data centers for the 911 call system temporarily affected 12 of 24 public safety service organizations in Maine on Jan.

DOVER-FOXCROFT— A Dover-Foxcroft family with a newborn is without a home after a fire consumed their two-story house just days into the new year.