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Good morning from the shores of Gouldsboro Bay, where the fall season is drawing visitors from around the country to take in Mother Nature’s autumn palette – trees vibrant with golden yellow, crimson and tangerine hues. And nothing can beat the bright red expanse of blueberry barrens this time of year.

It’s also election season.

Junctions of roadways are punctuated with campaign signs planted so densely together that one hasn’t time driving by to distinguish who is running for what. Like call-and-response in music, where there is a sign for a Democratic candidate, a Republican one is sure to follow.

Lots of stories recently about health care in Maine, particularly the troubled Northern Light Health.

And an interesting story about Worcester Resources and how the company and state are addressing the issue of building multiple cabins – more than 50 – without a permit.

Worcester paying fines on time

After flouting state regulations in 2019 and building an unpermitted campus of 52 cabins in Columbia Falls, the company behind the scrapped Flagpole of Freedom project is paying its resulting fine on time and cleared the first hurdle for its overdue permit.

Read this story by Emmett Gartner of The Maine Monitor

While The Maine Monitor does not place its content behind paywalls, some newsrooms we link to in this newsletter may. 

ICYMI from The Monitor: Bucking national trends, a third of Maine towns still count ballots by hand | The Maine Monitor

ICYMI from The Monitor: In Maine’s probate courts, most adults placed in guardianships don’t have lawyers | The Maine Monitor 

Worcester Resources, owned by the Worcester family of Wreaths Across America, has purchased a 65,000-square-foot building in Eastport with the idea of using it to make wreaths and house temporary workers, if a zoning change can be made. | The Quoddy Tides

The chief financial officer of Northern Light Health talks about the challenges facing one of the state’s biggest health care systems, which is on track to lose more than $100 million this year. | Bangor Daily News

Maine has expanded a recall for cannabis products sold at two dozen stores across the state. The products failed bacteria, yeast and mold tests. | Bangor Daily News

Washington County Community College is offering a new two year degree program in aquaculture. The goal is to create a workforce to meet industry needs in farming finfish, shellfish, and algae. | The Quoddy Tides

The Maine Ethics Commission wants to crack down on “straw donor” contributions that are being made across the country to Democratic and Republican causes. | Bangor Daily News

The state is willing to look at an alternate site off High Street in Ellsworth for a new Hancock County courthouse. The original property purchased by the Maine Judicial Branch on Surry Road drew loud and persistent opposition. | The Ellsworth American

Students in Washington County schools are being enriched with Wabanaki culture as a result of integrated teachings at both the elementary and high school levels. | Quoddy Tides

Unioned nurses at Northern Maine Medical Center in Fort Kent say they are filing a charge against the hospital claiming management has not been bargaining in good faith. | The County

In September, the median sales price for 1,486 homes sold in Maine reached $409,450, an 8.68% increase over September of last year. | Mainebiz

The Washington Post is reporting that a former Maine police officer is creating disinformation targeting Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign from Russia. That’s according to 150 documents leaked to the Post. | Bangor Daily News

The challenges and opportunities of Washington County were recently addressed during the annual summit of the Sunrise County Economic Council. | Quoddy Tides

Know of a story that we should be digging into? Send it to our newsroom.

The Maine Monitor is a publication of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, an independent and nonpartisan nonprofit news organization that produces investigative journalism. We believe news is a public good and keep our news free to access. We have no paywall and do not charge for our newsletters. If you value the reporting we do for Maine, please consider making a donation! We cannot do this reporting without your support.