Contaminated water / Israel divestment / Maine worming festival

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We really wanted to do something that would be very unique to our town, something that will be fun, bring people together … and just celebrate an industry that sometimes doesn’t get a lot of credit in terms of how hard it is to work in.”

— Sarah Whitfield, organizer of the inaugural Wormfest, to be held June 8 in Wiscasset. The daylong event is to celebrate the heritage of marine worm harvesting in a town National Geographic once called the “worm capital of the world.”

TODAY’S TOP MAINE STORIES

Contaminated water has forced residents in this Maine town to put life plans on hold . Tests have found extremely high levels of two well-studied PFAS compounds in the ground.

Maine’s teachers union urged the state to divest from corporations it says are complicit in Israel’s “human rights abuses.” It’s the latest example of how the ongoing war in Gaza has rippled through politics in Maine and elsewhere.

Hermon’s town manager has resigned . Joshua Berry previously worked as the town’s tax assessor and interim manager before accepting the position full time.

Orono hired a new town manager . The national search drew finalists from Maine, Oregon and Texas.

An equipment malfunction delayed Maine Maritime Academy’s training cruise . The boat motored away from its home port of Castine but is still visible from the shore.

MAINE IN PICTURES

NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

• Maine university system trustees approve tuition hike
• UMaine System extends Chancellor Dannel Malloy’s contract
• 80-degree days in store for Maine ahead of Memorial Day
• Bangor residents will get free compost thanks to student’s science project
• Bangor School Committee will vote on new superintendent this week
• Bangor medical laboratory’s phones are running again
• Police arrest owner of Lincoln and Millinocket funeral homes
• A Surry man is missing
• 2 die in Great Pond fire
• Maine mom appeals dismissal of lawsuit against school for child’s gender transition
• Seeking the northern lights in Maine was a family affair for this AP photographer
• Police raid 3rd illegal marijuana grow house in small Maine town
• Yarmouth moves closer to removing Royal River dams
• A 13-year-old girl is missing in Saco
• York voters approve ban of single-use plastic food ware
• Bangor baseball overpowers Hermon in home finale
• UMaine hockey lands point-producing defenseman from Merrimack College

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Sarah Calnan Trask captured this video of a curious fox kit playing on her property in mid-May, along with the geese and their goslings. Springtime is the time of year when animal babies of all kinds are making their way into the world.

FROM THE OPINION PAGES

“The family repeatedly contacted officials at multiple agencies with their concerns about Card. They sought help for him. They tried repeatedly to share concerns that he might hurt those around him. Yet, we see more accountability in Herling’s comment than we have from some officials themselves.”

Editorial: ‘We all could have done better’

LIFE IN MAINE

A new festival will celebrate marine worms and the people who dig them . A mud-pie eating contest and a relay in waders are just two of the activities planned for Wiscasset’s inaugural Wormfest .

Don’t let an overconfident relative bend your spatula . Here’s how to make the perfect burger at home, according to Maine chefs .

Maine has three new baseball teams . A summer league has added teams in Bangor, Augusta and Old Orchard Beach .