NEW YORK (AP) — #MeToo founder Tarana Burke has heard it before. Every time there’s a legal setback, the movement is declared dead in the water. A legal success, and presto, it’s alive again. So Burke, who nearly two decades ago coined the phrase “Me too” from her work with sexual assault survivors, found herself again declaring after New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction: The #MeToo reckoning is greater than any court case. It’s still there, and it’s working. The most obvious proof, Burke said: “Ten years ago we could not get a man like Harve ..read more

The students at Columbia University who inspired pro-Palestinian demonstrations across the country dug in at their encampment for the 10th day Friday as administrators and police at campuses from California to Connecticut wrestled with how to address protests that have seen scuffles with police and hundreds of arrests. Officials at Columbia and some other schools have been negotiating with student protesters who have rebuffed police and doubled down. Other schools have quickly turned to law enforcement to douse demonstrations before they can take hold. As the death toll mounts in the war in G ..read more

Letters submitted by BDN readers are verified by BDN Opinion Page staff. Send your letters to letters@bangordailynews.com Donald Trump is on trial right now in New York because he allegedly tried to deceive voters prior to the 2016 election. He allegedly violated campaign finance laws and falsified business records to conceal an illicit affair. I believe Trump meddles in elections in order to seize and hold onto power. His alleged actions in this case were an attempt to keep damaging information from voters, thereby taking away our rights to cast informed votes. Donald Trump apparen ..read more

Editor’s note: This story was originally published in May 2020. Watering is an essential part of maintaining a garden. Part of delivering water properly to plants involves having the right equipment. However, with so many options out there — from drip irrigation to timed sprinklers — it can be intimidating for gardeners to figure out what they need when it comes to watering tools. Experts generally agree that there are 3 essential tools that all gardeners should have in order to properly water their garden. Here’s what you need to know about picking the right ones for you, according to local ..read more

STACYVILLE, Maine — Visitors to the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument in northern Penobscot County this summer will see more than just the natural beauty of the attraction. The nearly completed National Park Service visitor center at the summit of Lookout Mountain shares the Wabanaki story of the land and people through intricate artisan details like hand-created clay tiles. Elliotsville Foundation, the National Park Service, and representatives of the independent Native Nations that constitute the Wabanaki Confederacy — Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, Mi’kmaq Nation, Passamaquodd ..read more

This story was originally published in May 2018. As I walked the dogs this morning, I saw concrete evidence that spring has actually arrived in Bangor, some five weeks after the calendar made it official: Black flies swarmed around my head, causing me to swat and swear. But with those hatching flies comes another, more pleasant reality of springtime in Maine: The fish begin to bite, and anglers dust off their equipment and begin visiting their favorite brooks and ponds to try to catch a few. Brook trout really start to feed when alder leaves get as big as a mouse’s ear, the old saying goes, a ..read more

The small organic farms that characterize Maine are moving away from dairy and getting smaller. A new report by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association highlights changes across Maine’s organic farming landscape in the past 15 years, particularly in the dairy industry, and identifies a trend toward smaller field crop operations as a new generation starts to farm. The paper evaluates the size, profitability, economic impact and future goals of organic farms in Maine from 2007 through 2021. Data comes from the National Agricultural Statistics Service, sales data and an informal ..read more

For those in midcoast Maine who have ever wanted to see an action-comedy film shot in their backyard and produced in the style of a 1970s martial arts picture, times are good. Matt Enos, the Searsmont-based creator of the surreal comedy web series “The Slim Duffy Show,” has now produced a feature film that’s making its big screen debut at the Colonial Theatre in Belfast Tuesday evening.  Called “Battle Legends: The Legend of the Battle Master,” it follows the character of Jim Duffy after he loses the title of best fighter in the town of Duffyville to local scoundrel J.T. Smash, forcing D ..read more

In May, the Maine Country Music Hall of Fame plans to induct four new members into its august ranks. Among them is singer, songwriter and guitarist Mike Preston who, at 46, will be the hall’s youngest ever inductee. But it’s a miracle Preston will be there to accept the honor at all — actually, make that two miracles. As a younger man, grinding out a brutal musical living on Nashville’s honky-tonk circuit, Preston developed a cocaine and alcohol addiction which almost killed him. Then, after moving home to Maine, getting clean and establishing a stable, New England-based country music ca ..read more

I’ve been birding since first grade and have seen a lot of things. But I’ve never seen American woodcock mating, until now. I was out searching for American woodcocks in Milford last week, just for fun. Usually, the attraction is the courtship display that the male woodcock performs, but on this night, I noticed a pair demonstrating that it was successful.   Woodcocks are technically shorebirds, though you would never find one at the shore. They live along forest edges adjacent to fields and wet meadows in the northeastern United States, and winter in southeastern states. Woodcocks have ..read more