Opinions, advisories, and musings from the length and breadth of Maine
Cape Elizabeth
A cleanup team of divers, lobstermen, and environmentalists pulled a 2-ton, 15-foot-diameter ball of fishing gear from Dyer Cove. The “ghost gear” — decades’ worth of lost lobster traps, nets, and lines — was cut into pieces and brought ashore for recycling.
Kennebunk
Helicopters dropped thousands of gallons of water on a wildfire that burned 314 acres in York County over two days. The fire started after a Kennebunk man failed to extinguish a brush burn on his property.
Skowhegan
Thousands of people lined roadsides from Skowhegan to Bangor for Corporal Eugene Cole’s funeral procession. The sheriff’s deputy, who died of a gunshot wound in April, was the first Maine police officer killed in the line of duty in 30 years.
Islesboro
A local passenger boat has been pressed into service to give islanders an alternative to the state ferry system, which hiked round-trip fares 118 percent. At $30 per vehicle, some fear the expense will force people to move off the island.
Katahdin Woods and Waters
The state’s transportation department gave the green light for road signs directing travelers to the nearly two-year-old national monument, after Governor Paul LePage dropped his longstanding opposition.
South Portland
The Maine Forest Service released parasitic flies to fight invasive winter moths that destroy oaks. The flies lay eggs on oak leaves, moth caterpillars eat the leaves and eggs, and fly larvae hatch inside them and eat their way out.