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Maine Dispatches

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Opinions, advisories, and musings from the length and breadth of Maine

Kittery

A woman made herself a salad from a pre-packaged bag of lettuce and found an unexpected protein source: a 3-inch-long reptile, dead and missing its tail. She said a biologist friend identified the critter as a blue-bellied lizard native to the West Coast.

Rockland

Guidebook publisher Lonely Planet ranked the midcoast sixth on its annual list of top-10 U.S. travel destinations, touting the food-and-drink scene, outdoor activities, and the 70th running of Rockland’s Maine Lobster Festival this summer.

Lewiston

Bates College junior and alpine skier Dinos Lefkaritis carried the Cyprus flag at the Olympic opening ceremony in South Korea. He was the only athlete representing the Mediterranean island nation, which has never registered a Winter Games medal.

Bangor

Attempting to break a Guinness World Record for beer cans opened in unison, Chamber of Commerce awards-dinner attendees simultaneously popped 1,122 tabs (mostly from Geaghan Brothers Brewing), 28 short of the bar set in Japan in 2016.

Presque Isle

After a groomer caved in an underground bear den at the Nordic Heritage ski center, the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife bear crew built a new den nearby, complete with a bed of pine boughs, before relocating mama and her two yearlings.

Eastport

In town visiting his aunt, New York mayor Bill de Blasio spoke at an Eastport Arts Center fundraiser, praising the community spirit he’d witnessed, like when a companion’s car got stuck in mud and Eastporters quickly rallied to pull it free.