Morning Update: What you need to know in Maine today

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We’re excited to keep it kind of classic on the outside. We want to do as little as possible to the exterior of the building, just to keep it the way it is, because it’s such a historic building.”

— Eli Cayer, who along with Jason Dionne, plans to open a brewery and family-friendly pub in a Madawaska building that was formerly a border station (see photo below).

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

No one has used the free housing plans Bangor spent $182,000 designing. The city commissioned the preapproved plans for four homes of various sizes to encourage new housing development.

The owner of the Bangor Mall paid a $39,000 fine for leaking sewage. Namdar Realty Group paid the mandatory $38,966 to Bangor, after the city had to repair a sewer leak the mall owner neglected to fix.

Two Madawaska natives are behind the brewery planned for the town’s old border station. Eli Cayer and Jason Dionne will operate North Star Brewing and the North Star Community Brewpub out of the former international checkpoint.

Gov. Janet Mills offered a tax-cut compromise to a sweeping tribal-rights bill. The deal followed negotiations between the Democratic governor and some — but not all — of the chiefs of Maine’s four recognized tribes. 

NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

• Congressional candidate Jordan Wood responds to angry rant at Houlton town hall
• Maine’s public defense commission out of money, issues notices to lawyers
• The Pussycat Dolls are coming to the Bangor waterfront this summer
• Classic car dealer claiming to be in Veazie is a scam, police warn
• Arby’s is returning to Bangor
• Orrington school may be powered by solar array
• 19-year-old accused of setting fire to old Fort Fairfield town garage
• Bangor man indicted in Washington County for fatal crash last April
• Owner of 15 Subway shops in Maine files for bankruptcy
• Maine mother convicted of killing daughter describes ex-husband’s abuse in 1st public remarks
• Man who burned remains of midcoast homicide victim released from jail
• Searsport’s decision not to rehire softball coach draws outcry from players
• Coast Guard rescues 3 fishermen off Maine coast
• Fryeburg Fair will return to 8 days after last year’s controversial expansion
• What it’s like to play and coach alongside one of Maine’s biggest basketball stars
• New country, new language haven’t stopped this Spanish point guard on the court in Maine
• UMaine hockey players know they are 1 win away from filling the TD Garden again

MAINE IN PICTURES

Madawaska’s former border crossing station as it appeared last August when it was put up for sale. The building was bought by two Madawaska natives who plan to open a family-friendly pub and brewery there. Credit: Courtesy of the U.S. General Services Administration

FROM THE OPINION PAGES

In this Dec. 20, 2011, file photo, medical bills and other records are spread out on the kitchen table of a patient in Salem, Virginia. Credit: Don Petersen / AP

“Mainers should be able to see a doctor and get the care they need without risking financial ruin.”

Opinion: Limiting what Maine hospitals can charge offers relief from rising health care costs

LIFE IN MAINE

Here’s what a trapper learned about wildlife after 60 years in the Maine woods.

A French wine bar and restaurant is opening in Portland this spring.

Maine’s Jordon Hudson was photographed in a dress made from 36 pounds of “ghost gear.”