Anthem insurance dispute / Electric scooters / Rails to trails

Today is Wednesday. Temperatures will be in the mid to high 60s from north to south, with partly cloudy skies. See what else is in store this week for the weather and your allergies here. Here’s a look at today’s gas prices.

Here’s what we’re talking about in Maine today.

The latest on the coronavirus in Maine

Another 615 coronavirus cases were reported across the state on Tuesday, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The statewide death toll remains at 2,336.

The White House announced Tuesday that U.S. households can request an additional eight free at-home tests to be shipped by the U.S. Postal Service.

U.S. regulators on Tuesday authorized a COVID-19 booster shot for healthy 5- to 11-year-olds, hoping an extra vaccine dose will enhance their protection as infections once again creep upward.

Maine can’t do much about a big dispute between its largest insurer and hospital

Anthem could face penalties if it is found to have operated improperly, but the state does not get involved in contractual disputes.

These 10 towns have seen Maine’s biggest home price spikes since the pandemic began

The hikes are centered on southern Maine, the epicenter of the housing crunch.

Conversion of downtown Houlton building into apartments would help ease housing crunch

The new apartments will be built on the second floor of the Key Bank building at the corner of Market Square and Water Street.

This East Coast city dominates the list of out-of-staters eyeing moves to Portland

More than half of the people looking online for places to live in Portland were from Boston, followed by New York and Washington, D.C., according to real estate search data.

PLUS: Portland ranked in the top 10 best places to live in the US

Local land trust urges state to not begin offshore wind work on Sears Island

The Islesboro Islands Trust would prefer the state focus its offshore wind efforts on Mack Point, which already is an industrial port.

Old Town could be one of the 1st places in Maine with a fleet of electric scooters

Ideally, the scooters would take people short distances that are too far to walk but not far enough for a car ride.

Former undercover Maine warden confronts media coverage that ‘trashed’ his reputation in new book

Called into question were Bill Livezey’s tactics and ethics in investigating and prosecuting a group of notorious poachers from the Allagash.

A corporate merger stands in the way of a Brewer rail trail becoming a reality

While the city already has the Riverwalk, the Rail Trail would give area residents another way to get outside, exercise and enjoy nature.

Most of Maine’s early executions were of women, American Indians and enslaved people

White men were a privileged class, in complete control of the government, church and judicial system.

Relocating Piscataquis County’s police and fire dispatch will cost thousands more than expected

The dispatch center relocation is part of a major project to upgrade radio communications for fire and police departments dealing with outdated infrastructure.

Maine sees broadband expansion as an opportunity to cut emissions

During the early days of the pandemic, with more people working and doing other tasks from home, Maine’s carbon emissions fell by a third.

Maine’s 1st electric-powered transit vehicles deployed in Portland

Four electric buses have been added to the Greater Portland METRO and Biddeford Saco Old Orchard Beach Transit.

This Aroostook County town isn’t getting mail because its potholes are so bad

Dyer Brook was contacted last week after postal officials said that the grill of a delivery vehicle recently fell off due to the severity of the potholes.