the Portland Press Herald

A city worker was killed Monday after police say he was struck by the bucket truck he had been driving while he and another worker were hanging Christmas wreaths in Sanford, Maine.

Maine police say a city employee was struck and killed by the bucket truck he had been driving while he and another worker were hanging Christmas wreaths. The Portland Press Herald reports the two workers were hanging wreaths on light poles Monday afternoon outside Springvale District Court on Main Street in Sanford.

Regulators in Maine are investigating concerns about marijuana-related advertisements at a sports arena. The Portland Press Herald reports several parents whose children play sports at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston have complained about the ads.

Maine’s largest city picked a new mayor Tuesday. Portland elected school board member Kate Snyder, receiving 39% of the vote in the first round of ranked-choice voting, according to News Center Maine. City Councilor Spencer Thibodeau followed with 28% of the vote, with both topping sitting Mayor Ethan Strimling’s 25%. Travis Curran received 7% of the vote.

Citizens of Portland, Maine, are voting in a mayoral race Tuesday.

Maine’s largest city is phasing out a common food utensil. Plastic straws will be banned in Portland beginning April 1, 2020, unless someone asks for one. The Portland City Council voted unanimously Monday night to ban plastic straws, as well as stirrers and splash sticks at restaurants and bars unless a customer asks for them. The ban will require restaurants...

The Boston Celtics’ purchase of a minor league affiliate in Maine is unlikely to bring major changes to the Portland team. The Celtics announced on Tuesday that they’ve finished the purchase of the Maine Red Claws, who play in the G League. Terms of the deal have not been announced.

The director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention says early indicators show it could be a tough flu season in the state and beyond. The flu season lasts from October to May, and typically peaks in the winter months. Maine CDC director Nirav Shah says the severity of flu season in Australia could indicate the U.S. is...

The last of the firefighters injured in a deadly building explosion in Maine has been released from the hospital. Maine Medical Center said Sunday that Capt. Scott Baxter has been discharged to a rehabilitation facility. The explosion destroyed the LEAP Inc. building in Farmington and hospitalized six firefighters.

The Portland City Council says it is pursuing plans to discourage and then ban the distribution of plastic straws in the Maine city.

Maine’s largest city is on track to have one of the driest Septembers in its recorded history.

Maine’s social worker licensure board revoked the license of a caseworker who placed a 4-year-old girl in a home where she was murdered. The Portland Press Herald reports it has obtained an August decision from the state Board of Social Worker Licensure that concluded Heather Campbell “exhibited gross negligence, incompetence, or misconduct.” Campbell says she’s being scapegoated for the death...

Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker is making a trip to Maine, making himself the fourth candidate to come to the Pine Tree State in this election cycle. Booker, a senator from New Jersey, plans to make a stop in Portland on Saturday. The Portland Press Herald reports the event will be a cocktail fundraiser. He’s slated to...

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is heading to Maine on Labor Day Weekend. The Portland Press Herald reports the Vermont senator is set to appear at a Sunday night rally at the State Theater in Portland. He’ll also deliver a breakfast keynote address to union workers in Portland on Monday, which is Labor Day.

A Trump administrative directive to shift federal resources from Boston and Newark, New Jersey, could increase delays for asylum seekers in the Northeast. The temporary reassignments are part of an attempt to reduce a backlog at the southern border, but it will have an impact in the Northeast.

A rash of burglaries has hit restaurants and stores in the city of Portland. The Portland Press Herald reports that police have confirmed at least a half dozen break-ins since July 28.

Maine conservationists are hopeful a new database about roadkill will protect the state’s critters from becoming statistics. The Portland Press Herald reports Maine Audubon’s online database will let residents who see roadkill report the sighting. That will allow the group to identify roadkill “hotspots” that are especially dangerous for animals.

A parade float in the small town of Kingfield, Maine, has been causing a stir for more than a week. The weekend of July 20, a float showing President Donald Trump standing over Hillary Clinton, who is wearing a pinstripe suit and building a brick wall, appeared in the Kingfield Festival Days parade.