A DAILY DIGEST OF MAINE NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2021 — ISSUE #70
EDITOR'S NOTE: Welcome to the Daily Monitor, an evening email newsletter that recaps the most relevant news and information from our editorial team and from our media partners around the state. The Daily Monitor is a product of The Maine Monitor and the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting.

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CORONAVIRUS IN MAINE
31,150 TOTAL CASES (An increase of 824 from Tuesday)
453 DEATHS (An increase of 4 from Tuesday)
824 NEW DAILY CASES (An increase of 109 from Tuesday)
18,888 TOTAL ACTIVE CASES (An increase of 779 from Tuesday)
207 CURRENTLY IN HOSPITAL (An increase of 4 from Tuesday)
62,004 MAINERS VACCINATED (An increase of 3,921 from Tuesday)
TOP STORIES
Maine saw a record-high 824 coronavirus cases on Wednesday as another four Mainers have died.

Wednesday’s report brings the total number of coronavirus cases in Maine to 31,150, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s up from 30,326 on Tuesday.

Wednesday’s report shattered the previous record high — 782 — recorded this past Friday. It marked a sharp reversal from a weekend slump that saw new cases slide to their lowest level in weeks. That suggests Maine has not yet turned a corner in the months-long surge in virus transmission, which has hit even those counties largely spared early on in the pandemic.
All Maine’s public institutions have been hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, but the state court system has endured setbacks and challenges unique to our system of justice.

Last March, all proceedings suddenly stopped with the statewide shutdown; attempts to restart things have been fitful and only partially successful.

The state court system, with limited resources, has been especially hamstrung, but the better-endowed federal courts in Portland and Bangor, with fewer cases and more personnel, have also been affected. A planned reopening in January that would have included jury trials was abruptly canceled in December, once the size of the current surge in COVID-19 cases became apparent.

The most visible sign of the state’s system-wide distress is the breathtaking increase in the number of pending criminal cases: More than 9,000 at year’s end, up from about 2,500 last March – a more than three-fold increase.
Protesters at Resistance Corner in Belfast are testing the limits of free speech after an anti-mask, anti-shutdown demonstrator pushed a man into traffic following a tense exchange that was captured on video and posted online.

Police responded to the scene in seconds, but no charges have been filed since the altercation occurred on Jan. 3.

Activists regularly gather at the corner of High and Main streets in Belfast to speak out on many causes. Lately, it’s been the site of weekly anti-shutdown and anti-mask protests that are sharply critical of the state’s response to the pandemic. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend people wear masks in public settings as the most effective way to limit the spread of COVID-19, in addition to social distancing and hand washing.

But in the wake of last week’s deadly riot at the nation’s Capitol, the lines between First Amendment rights and lawlessness have been blurred across the country. And in Belfast, a coastal city that has long prided itself on being a bastion of free speech, the stakes, and the tensions, about the way people voice their opinions are higher than ever.