THE DAILY MONITOR
Reporting in the Public Interest
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CORONAVIRUS IN MAINE
VACCINATION UPDATE
109,262 Cumulative vaccinations in Maine (An increase of 4,336 from Saturday)
86,605 First doses administered in Maine (An increase of 3,583 from Saturday)
22,657 Second doses administered in Maine (An increase of 753 from Saturday)
COVID-19 DASHBOARD
36,787 Total cases (An increase of 189 from Saturday)
544 Deaths (Flat from Saturday)
189 New daily cases (A decrease of 135 from Saturday)
189 Currently in hospital (A increase of 4 from Saturday)
TODAY'S HEADLINES
Another 189 coronavirus cases have been reported across the state, Maine health officials said Sunday.

The number of coronavirus cases diagnosed in the past 14 days statewide is 7,489. This is an estimation of the current number of active cases in the state, as the Maine CDC is no longer tracking recoveries for all patients. That’s down from 7,579 on Saturday.

It’s the fewest new cases Maine has seen since Nov. 23, when only 182 were reported across the state. That comes amid a dayslong trend in lower new cases over the past several days, and about 10 days since Maine saw a record-high 824 cases. READ MORE
RELATED
By Christopher Burns of the Bangor Daily News
Vaccination efforts across rural Maine to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic are going as well as could be expected, according to emergency management officials in eight northern counties, but plans for future phases remain fuzzy. And at least one official is frustrated because emergency management agencies, he feels, have been sidelined in the vaccination rollout. 

Nearly all eight directors of county emergency management agencies (EMA) told The Maine Monitor their primary concern was the limited and uncertain supply of vaccine doses coming into the state. And many said it could be a logistical challenge to coordinate group vaccination events, which could be key in immunizing the general public.

Peter Rogers, director of the Maine Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), said while a lot of unknowns remain about future vaccination phases, the planning process is underway.

Thomas Capraro, the Piscataquis County EMA director, said plans are changing daily as agencies search for locations to hold large vaccination events. READ MORE
Many Portland businesses have raised prices or reduced staff and hours of operation in the hopes of holding on long enough to see the end of emergency declarations that triggered an $18 citywide emergency minimum wage that is now the nation’s highest. A number of employers have refused to pay it thus far and are awaiting a decision in a lawsuit over when the wage hike should go into effect. READ MORE
When a threatening letter arrived at her Portland apartment building earlier this month, Charlotte Stanton found out via text message from her neighbor.

The neighbor opened the envelope, addressed to “residents.” It contained an image featuring a pride flag with the Satanic Temple logo superimposed on top. The word “die” was followed by a homophobic slur. Because Stanton and her partner, Abigail Geringer, display a pride flag in their window, they knew they were the intended recipients.

“I just feel angry,” said Stanton, 30. “We’re in the middle of a pandemic, huge political upheaval. As a white lesbian, I feel safe most of the time. It made me feel really furious. It felt unfair to make me feel unsafe.” READ MORE
CRIME & JUSTICE
By Gillian Graham of the Portland Press Herald
INFRASTRUCTURE
By Gillian Graham of the Portland Press Herald
LABOR
By Lynne Fort of the Bangor Daily News
BUSINESS
By Kathryn Skelton of the Sun Journal
AGRICULTURE
By Marina Schauffler of The Maine Monitor
BUSINESS
By Bob Keyes of the Portland Press Herald