Morning update: What you need to know in Maine today

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We were off-course by over a mile, and ended up getting driven to the finish line. It was an unfortunate day.”

— Gabriel Stultz of Castine, one of several runners at the inaugural Bangor marathon who reported getting lost on the course.

TODAY’S TOP MAINE STORIES

Bangor officials outlawed loitering in the medians of some busy streets . The City Council cited safety concerns, but critics, including the ACLU, say the change targets people who are homeless and threatens free speech. The city also approved a new budget with a modest bump but warned that taxes could increase by 11 percent .

A former doctor at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center was awarded a $325,000 settlement . Brenda Gowesky claimed she was fired for making a complaint against the Bangor hospital.

Despite record-high prices, we found four affordable homes on the Maine market . You may have to search farther afield for them or settle for a fixer-upper, but they’re there.

Eastport residents were caught off guard by a new ATV policy . The City Council vote, if finalized, would allow ATVs on some local roads but not others.

Maine ship owners and captains illegally transported as many as 30,000 slaves to the Americas . “And that’s just the ones we know about,” said professor Kate McMahon of Howard University, author of new research on the subject.

MAINE IN PICTURES

NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

• Angus King’s opponents want him to commit to at least 5 debates
• Where you can see Fourth of July fireworks in Maine this year
• Bangor Savings Bank cites lack of inventory as its new mortgages plummet
• Bangor lawyer honored with award commemorating Marvin Glazier
• Runners report getting lost during Bangor marathon
• Bangor man arrested for alleged threat with knife
• Odlin Road paving will cause delays
• Man accused of stealing bike from 12-year-old in Brewer
• Aroostook’s Swedish descendants seek young people to preserve their history
• Presque Isle man dies 2 days after being shot
• Fire in Milo workshop leaves 1 dead
• Maine town residents call for moratorium over Worcester Holdings’ pesticide spraying
• Climber rescued from cliff in Acadia National Park
• A Georgetown woman is missing
• Maine ferry riders raise concerns over delayed and canceled runs
• Maine town wants to curb Poland Spring’s thirst for its water
• Dennis Hoey, longtime Press Herald reporter, dies at 69
• Massachusetts woman killed in 3-vehicle Maine crash
• Things to know about dangerous rip currents and how to escape them

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Former Bangor Daily News contributor Christi Tibbetts captured this bull moose with a full rack of antlers covered in luscious velvet at Sandy Stream Pond in Baxter State Park. Moose will shed the velvet during mating season, before dropping their antlers in the winter.

FROM THE OPINION PAGES

“There are a lot of ‘worsts’ when it comes to domestic abusers, and this kind of mishandling of their cases — with seemingly no consideration for the safety of the victims or general public — happens a lot.”

Opinion: Domestic abuser in the Auburn standoff wasn’t an outlier. Neither is the judge who let him out of jail.

LIFE IN MAINE

Worried that your cattle could catch the highly pathogenic avian flu? Here are a few precautions to keep your herd safe .

A new law spearheaded by the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine would require solar developers to put up for habitat preservation , V. Paul Reynolds writes.

The nickname first appeared on license plates in 1936. E.B. White and John Steinbeck wrote about it. Here’s how Maine became “Vacationland.”