MAINE STATE NEWS FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 6-7-21

Maine reports fewest COVID-19 cases in nearly 8 months

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Health authorities in Maine have reported the fewest number of new COVID-19 cases since last fall. The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported 30 new cases of the virus on Monday. It was the lowest daily total since October. Maine trails only Vermont and Massachusetts in its percentage of the population that has been fully vaccinated against coronavirus. About 54% of the state has been full vaccinated.

BEAR SAFETY

Dry summer could draw bears to backyards, Maine warns

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine wildlife officials are warning residents that a dry summer this year could lure bears to residents’ backyards. Dry summers can cause shortages of the natural foods black bears eat, such as berries and beechnuts. Hungry bears then go looking for bird feeders, grills, trash cans and livestock. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife said conflicts between people and bears are most common in the spring and early summer. That’s when bears emerge from their winter dens. The wildlife department said nuisance bear visits can be avoided by removing or securing the food sources that attract them.

SUMMER CAMPING

Camping industry busy a year after quarantines, closures

SACO, Maine (AP) — Maine’s camping industry is busy and campsites are in demand a year after reservations came to a halt at the height of the pandemic. Owners of the Silver Springs campground in Saco tell WMTW-TV their business has quadrupled since last year when the mask mandate and 14-day quarantine restrictions were in place. They say things are different this year. They say people aren’t just coming for the weekend, but for the whole season.

BOTTLED WATER CHEMICALS

Maine senators want FDA standards for PFAS in drinking water

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s U.S. senators are joining a push to set standards on certain kinds of substances in bottled water. Republican Sen. Susan Collins and independent Sen. Angus King have joined colleagues to call for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to set the standards for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. The senators described the substances as “persistent chemicals that accumulate in people’s bodies over time.” The substances are commonly called PFAS chemicals and they have been linked to human health problems, such as low infant birth weights. They are used in products such as food packaging and nonstick pans.

BC-VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW ENGLAND

State high court lifting mask requirement; theater reopening

BOSTON (AP) — The New Hampshire Supreme Court is allowing people to go without a mask in courts, with some exceptions. The state House of Representatives has also rejected an attempt to make infectious diseases like COVID-19 a qualifying condition for absentee voting. In Maine, health officials on Sunday reported nearly 80 new coronavirus cases and zero new deaths from the virus. In Massachusetts, officials reported four additional deaths and more than 100 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday. And in Vermont, the Bellows Falls Opera House is expected to reopen next weekend after the beloved movie theater in Rockingham was shut down during the pandemic.

BLUEBERRY FIELDS-WARMING

Maine’s blueberry crop faces climate change peril

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s beloved wild blueberry fields are home to one of the most important fruit crops in New England, and scientists have found they are warming at a faster rate than the rest of the state. The University of Maine scientists say the warming of the blueberry fields could imperil the berries and the farmers who tend to them because the rising temperatures have brought loss of water. The scientists analyzed 40 years of data and found greater warming in the wild blueberry fields of Down East Maine than in the state at large.