A version of this story first appeared in the Morning Update newsletter. Sign up here to receive the Morning Update and other BDN newsletters directly in your inbox.
Good morning. That heat is sticking around like an engorged tick, with temperatures near 90 degrees in the Bangor area today. The mercury will keep climbing through the rest of the week before hitting a forecasted peak of 97 degrees Thursday. Despite the swelter, there are plenty of celebrations planned to mark the nation’s 250th birthday this Saturday.
It only takes 2 people to make big decisions for Penobscot County
The 150,000 people living in Penobscot County are represented by just three commissioners, who make major decisions on behalf of residents from Orrington to north of Katahdin.
The small number isn’t unusual — the three-member minimum required by state law is the most common make-up among Maine’s 16 county commissions — but it means just two people need to vote together to make a majority.
The Penobscot County commissioners, with voter approval, could expand their ranks to allow more voices to weigh in on crucial decisions around, say, the $7 million budget crisis raising towns’ taxes by an average of 16% for the coming fiscal year.
But that’s hypothetical. So far, residents haven’t asked for a larger panel of decisionmakers.
Latest Stories
- Rail companies investing millions in Maine as cross-border freight traffic grows
- Ellsworth considers options after no one bids for summer food truck slots at harbor park
- 5 miles of new trails open on conserved land in midcoast Maine
- Truck traffic has plummeted in Brewer since I-395 connector’s debut
- Bangor permitted fewer houses last year than towns a fraction of its size
- Cyclists pedal from Portland to the St. John Valley in 4 days
- Where to watch fireworks and celebrate America’s 250th in northern Maine
- Lincoln suspends deep budget cuts that caused outcry
- Caribou approves $15M budget projected to raise taxes by 6%
From the Opinion Pages
“The best defense is making sure rodents can’t get inside in the first place.”
Opinion: Maine’s new rodenticide ban is an opportunity for new pest control measures
