Morning update: What you need to know in Maine today

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Because we’re in such a crisis moment, we’re not in a position to be hiring folks who won’t be able to be licensed for another year.”

— Chief Defender Logan Perkins on the challenge of staffing Bangor’s new public defender office.

TODAY’S TOP MAINE STORIES

Bangor’s new public defender office is planning to hire another associate by next month to help meet Piscataquis and Penobscot counties’ need for indigent legal defenders . Chief defender Logan Perkins says she is currently handling around 14 cases for 10 people.

This Stonington house complements the surrounding forest on a waterfront lot, paying homage to famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright . It is on the market for a cool $4.9 million.

Two Belfast groups have officially challenged the sale of the former Hutchinson Center to an Evangelical church . The building has an appraised value of $2.5 million.

The Aroostook high school soccer season starts today . While they may seem unassuming, Aroostook teams have shown they must be taken seriously in recent years.

MAINE IN PICTURES

NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

• Watch the official trailer for ‘Lost on a Mountain in Maine’
• Public defender offices are opening across Maine. The next step: staffing them.
• Federal grant will help Maine install heat pumps in low-income homes
• Interim manager wants a leader who will help Limestone keep its footing
• Former Maine fire chief pleads to reduced charges in fraud case
• West Nile Virus detected in crow on MDI
• 1 arrested in Waterville homicide case
• Mainer arrested for drug trafficking after allegedly robbing and assaulting teen
• Thousands in Maine city lost electricity after vandals tangled stolen forklift in power lines
• Mainer allegedly assaulted 2 people with a baseball bat
• Mike Tyson stopped at a Maine recreational dispensary last week
• Brewer High, UMaine alum pitches 4-in-1 strikeout at AA game
• This UMaine woman is in the running for college soccer’s most prestigious award

FROM THE OPINION PAGES

“We assure you that we are adapting and finding ways to [deliver excellent health care] in the new financial reality that we all find ourselves in.”

Opinion: Northern Light Health is doing critical work essential to health care delivery in Maine

LIFE IN MAINE

If you’re planning to pick fruit, whether from your own trees or from an orchard, there’s a few things you can do to prevent them from spoiling. These tips will help make sure you get the best out of your fruit this season.

Seal Island, known for hosting colonies of the adorable puffins, is having a banner year. This summer was rather uneventful, providing the perfect environment for puffins to safely nest .

A new book that sheds light on how game wardens deal with poachers is out now. “Night Killers: Blood Lusting Poachers” is written by retired Pennsylvania wildlife conservation officer Timothy C. Flanigan.