Bangor needle exchange / Kittery Trading Post / Tree champions

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I really want to let everyone know what a wonderful community we have here, you know? We are, for the most part, welcoming.”

— Byron Cortez, of Boothbay, after the town turned down his request to formally celebrate LGBTQ Pride. Cortez and his husband moved to Maine from Boston in 2022. Recently he has been approaching towns in the region and encouraging them to fly a Pride flag or paint a crosswalk in rainbow colors, with mixed success.

TODAY’S TOP MAINE STORIES

The Kittery Trading Post is threatening to move its firearms business to New Hampshire over Maine’s new gun law . The declaration comes after the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine and Gun Owners of Maine vowed to sue the state over the new 72-hour waiting period set to go into law this summer.

A needle exchange is struggling to finalize its Bangor locations after objections . The city recently opposed sterile needles being offered at two of the three proposed locations because they are frequented by families.

A Maine accounting firm is being sued after a databreach exposed the personal information of 1.1 million people . BerryDunn faces at least eight lawsuits filed in federal court.

Boothbay rejected a resident’s request to officially celebrate LGBTQ Pride . Byron Cortez has been making the same request of other towns in the region, and some have been more receptive. And in Presque Isle, residents decried officials’ decision not to fly the Pride flag .

MAINE IN PICTURES

NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

• Maine lawmakers to hold veto session next week
• US regulators maintain baby eel quota, even as Canada struggles with poaching
• Maine accounting firm sued after data breach exposes personal info of 1.1M people
• Large downtown Bangor tree cut to make way for historical society restoration
• Milo official resigns after fallout from ‘illicit’ meeting
• 1 of Baxter State Park’s 2 roads remains closed because of winter damage
• Northern Light will close Southwest Harbor clinic
• Midcoast man again charged with violating Maine’s baby eel fishing laws
• 2 people badly injured in Liberty vehicle crash
• Report: SWAT team almost ran over police during Lewiston manhunt, may have been drinking
• Man airlifted to Bangor hospital after crashing into rock
• Mainer pleads guilty to storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021
• Motorcyclist killed in Maine collision
• South Portland man gets 5 years on gun and drug charges
• UMaine football to play University of Central Florida in 2028

THINGS TO DO THIS WEEKEND

On Saturday night, the biggest name in Maine rap, Spose, plays with rockers Rigometrics at the Bangor Arts Exchange. Saturday is also May the Fourth, so Bangor Beer Co. has a “Star Wars”-themed party set for that evening. All weekend, Some Theatre Co. presents “James and the Giant Peach” at its theater space at the Bangor Mall. On Sunday, the Kotwica Band will play eastern European music alongside a community potluck at 4:30 p.m. at the Keith Anderson Community Center in Orono. And Saturday is the Kentucky Derby, so if you’ve got a big hat, you have a great excuse to wear it.

FROM THE OPINION PAGES

“As a society, we must all work to make sure the tragedy that happened to Erik Foote does not happen to other veterans.”

Editorial: Don’t let Erik Foote’s life be in vain

LIFE IN MAINE

The biggest specimen of each tree species in Maine has to grow somewhere. If you have a large tree on your property, it could be a champion .

It’s time for spring bird walks in Greater Bangor , and some of the best are on historically odd properties, including a former insane asylum, experimental forests, old landfills and a defunct bait farm, Bob Duchesne writes .

The whitewater season continues on Saturday with the Meduxnekeag River Canoe Race. The eight-mile race, a decades-old Houlton harbinger of spring, draws experienced and  recreational paddlers alike .