Le Journal

The BDN Opinion section operates independently and does not set news policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com Nicole Clegg is president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England.This first year of President Donald Trump’s second term has felt like a fever dream. Seemingly every week — sometimes every day — he and his administration launched a new attack on sexual, reproductive, and LGBTQ+ health and rights. In anticipation of his potential election, we spent months preparing and on Jan. 20, 2025, we braced for impact. The first thing we saw was Trump attack the LGBTQ+ community. On day one, he signed an executive order undermining protections against discrimination for gender identity and sexual orientation and eliminated nearly all LGBTQ+ and HIV related content on federal webpages. In April, the Trump administration shifted its attacks to Planned Parenthood. Our organization’s Title X funds in Maine and New Hampshire were withheld, even though we had been legally awarded the grant, which totaled approximately $900,000 per year. Title X helps people with low incomes access free and reduced-cost birth control, STD testing, cancer screenings, and wellness exams at our health centers. This move put the health of more than 12,000 Mainers and Granite Staters at risk who rely on Title X to afford their health care. Withholding our funds was a political move to target us; we have been exceptional members of the program. On July 4, Trump signed H.R.1 into law. Instead of using this bill to focus on the real needs of Americans, Congress chose to “defund” Planned Parenthood from the Medicaid program by prohibiting any federal payments for non-abortion related care we provide. Suddenly our organization was facing an additional $3 million hole. PPNNE sees more than 8,600 Medicaid patients per year. These are some of our community’s most vulnerable people, earning between $11,000 and $16,000 a year, and we are often the only health care provider they may see all year. In just a few months of the new administration, Trump and Republicans in Congress managed to jeopardize nearly $5 million in funds that help offset the costs of providing our care to all patients regardless of ability to pay. And that hit doesn’t come close to the true cost we absorb. Yes, the first year of the Trump administration has been hard for our organization. But that’s not the story I tell our supporters; rather, I talk about PPNNE’s incredible resilience, and dedication to our mission. We have weathered these attacks and not once passed the intended harm on to our patients. Anti-abortion groups and politicians saw this year as their best opportunity to shutter Planned Parenthood. They united with a singular focus to make it impossible for us to operate in states like ours where abortion is a legally protected right and used the powers of the president and Congress to pursue this agenda. It doesn’t matter to them that we save lives, that, for many, we are their only access to the health care system. It doesn’t matter to them that we provide some of the best health care in the country or the crucial role we play in helping our patients determine their future. It’s a cruel agenda designed to hurt people. Yet despite the onslaught of attacks, we have kept our pledge to our patients. We’ve expanded our services to include menopause and vasectomy. We’ve added days of operations because we know our patients have work, child care and school that makes it hard for them to get care. We’ve provided care with dignity to every person who has come through our doors. We have stuck to our values. For 60 years, PPNNE’s commitment to our patients has been unwavering. No matter the obstacles placed before us, we will continue to stand as a beacon of care, inclusion, and advocacy. We will do whatever it takes to ensure that everyone who walks through our doors receives the respect and health care they…

By her own admission, Camden Hills Regional High School of Rockport girls basketball guard Thea Laukka isn’t shooting the ball as well as she would like this season. But she is certainly doing a bunch of other things well in leading the Windjammers to an 11-2 record in Class A North. And even though the junior hasn’t been satisfied with her shooting, she is still one of the top three scorers among players at the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference’s Class A North schools as she is averaging over 14 points per game. She leads the KVAC North schools in steals with over five per game and she is among the top five in assists with over three per game. “She is one of the best guards in the state and not just in Class A,” said Hampden Academy coach Nick Winchester after Laukka registered 11 points, five rebounds and four steals to help lead the Windjammers to a 44-30 win over his Broncos on Monday. “She does a lot of different things,” Winchester said. “And you have to exert so much attention to take her away. That creates opportunities for other people.” Windjammers senior guard Leah Jones said Laukka means a lot to her team. ”She is not only able to score for herself, she makes a lot of opportunities for other players,” Jones said. And she doesn’t let a missed shot bother her, Jones added. “She is very next-play oriented. If she misses a shot, she will get back on defense and try again,” Jones said. “She doesn’t let that stuff get in her head.” The 5-8 Laukka is an exceptional athlete who is also an outstanding soccer and softball player. She has long arms and quick feet — which she exhibits on the defensive side of the ball to generate steals and deflections, and on the offensive side to get open and also get to the glass for shots and rebounds. “I know if I can’t score, I have to help the team in some other way through steals, rebounds or just energy plays like diving on the floor for a ball,” Laukka said. A perfect example of that occurred in the fourth quarter of their game with Hampden Academy. Laukka missed a shot and the long rebound came out to a Bronco player, who began racing down the court. Laukka sprinted as fast as she could and poked the ball away from the Hampden player and then retrieved it for her fourth steal of the game. “Those are our energy plays,” Laukka said. Camden Hills coach Samantha Bragg called Laukka a “great playmaker” and noted how her teammates benefit by getting open shots due to the attention opposing teams dedicate to her. Camden Hill’s Thea Laukka scores the opening basket in the Girls Class A North Final game against Hampden Academy at the Augusta Civic Center, Feb. 21, 2025. Credit: Josh O’Donnell Laukka was a Bangor Daily News All-State Schoolgirl team honorable mention last season and said she has been working on her “inside moves and my footwork” this season. She has been happy with her season to date but hopes to continue to get better. “My shooting has been off. I’ve been working on it and I’m hoping to get it back and be good for the tourney,” said Laukka. The Windjammers reached the Class A North championship game a year ago by stunning previously unbeaten and top seed Lawrence High of Fairfield, 64-56, in the semifinals. They lost to Hampden Academy in the title game 59-52 in double overtime. They have avenged that loss by dealing the Broncos their only two losses this season. Last year’s win over Lawrence has played a role in this season’s success. “That gave us a real good boost of confidence,” Jones said. “Outside of ourselves, nobody thought we were going to win and when we pulled it off, it was really nice for us.” Jones added that the team hadn’t played well in the Augusta Civic Center, where the Class A North tournament was held, up to that point. “We usually don’t do our best there,” agreed Laukka. “But we really stepped it up.” Bragg said they don’t talk about the Lawrence win much “but, internally, we know we can play with anyone regardless of our record or their record or…

This story was originally published in January 2023. After Stephen Dunn. This time of year, I love cold still nights when temperatures plummet to single digits. I love sitting by the woodstove and pulling old tip-ups from pack baskets. I love tying on fresh leaders, hooks right out of the package. I love the wooden clanks the traps make. I love a perfectly rigged trap with a button threaded so I can place bait exactly where I want. I love precision amidst our harshest season. I love the efficiency of a good trap, how it trips again and again, how its beams display years in dents. I love how each one folds down into something smaller. I love the first walk out, ice too thin for snowmobiles or four-wheelers. I love the shackless lake. I love the quiet, the lack of auger sounds. I love the view through black ice, how if you look long enough the frozen air bubbles resemble stars in space. I love how I can walk on water, or through the night sky. I love how easily my heavy sled drags over glare ice. I love the bite of crampons with every step. I love the newness of it, love knowing this all will melt in a couple of months. I love knowing there will be no Jet Skis. I love thinking of the fish’s view — giant lid over their heads. I love imagining them watching the bottoms of my boots. I love that first chisel into black ice. I love ice spray and the hollow thud right before I break through. I love how the lake seeps out, as if from a wound, how water pours and refreezes in uneven pools. I love the visual confirmation of safety: 3 inches of clear, black ice. I love standing atop cracks knowing I’m safe. I love the way water bobs in the chiseled holes the closer I walk. I love that others love it, too. I love walking single file, 50 feet apart from my friend, Jersey, whose real name is Steve; love that we both carry throw-bags, love that he doesn’t mind when I remind him what state he’s from. I love knowing we’re prepared and hope we never need those preparations. I love knowing Jersey’s summer job involves throwing rope to ejected rafters. I love that he shows up early every time we fish. I love that Jersey skims holes and sets traps with steady diligence. I love how he takes FaceTime calls from his young son, shows him the trap he’s resetting. I love his optimism. More than the tripped trap, I love the moment before, the flag held down by the tiny O-ring. I love the simple physics, the harnessed potential. I love the shape of the set trap, too, like half a heart. I love the moment of recognition: Flag! I love the way, once called, that word punctuates everything else: meals, conversations, it doesn’t matter. I love the possibilities the word contains. I love yelling it but I love hearing it yelled just as much. I love the way the flag hovers, a cloth beacon of hope. I love running, the way Jersey and I run, to the first tripped traps of the new year. I love being out of breath in winter clothes. I love how heavy my boots feel those last few yards. I love the moment before I see the spool. I love the way my mind turns, in that moment. I love the spool-blur only big fish produce. I love the direct connection — no rod, no reel. I love the headshakes, the long, finger-burning runs. I love lifting fish from the darkness, as if the lake has given birth. I love releasing fish, and I love keeping a few white perch for dinner — pan-seared, with a squeeze of lemon juice. I love the simplicity of jig poles. I love that salmon hunt just beneath the ice. I love that pike piss off the purists.I love that in the first photo of me fishing I’m sitting on the floor of an ice shack with my hand stuck in a Cheez-It box. I love that I only see certain people on the ice, year after year, though I know they live nearby all year round.I love how voices carry over ice. I love skillet-seared venison on a Coleman stove. I love bald eagles waiting for discarded baits. I love fishless days because we were out there trying. I love getting into bed, after. I love…

Letters submitted by BDN readers are verified by BDN Opinion Page staff. Send your letters to letters@bangordailynews.com Although I do not live in Bangor, I am writing to express my strong disappointment with the Bangor legislators who not only supported but sponsored LD 1806, “An Act to Create a Residential Rental Unit Registry,” including Reps. Ambureen Rana and Amy J. Roeder. LD 1806 goes far beyond the creation of a simple registry. It introduces the potential for fines and penalties for noncompliance and expands government authority into private property decisions that have historically been handled at the local level. These provisions erode property owner rights while offering no meaningful or realistic solution to Maine’s housing shortage. For years, I believe Bangor’s representation has drifted away from common-sense, practical leadership and toward an ideology with what I see as a well-documented record of failure. This bill exemplifies that shift. It increases bureaucracy, paperwork, and enforcement mechanisms, yet produces not a single new housing unit. Bureaucracy doesn’t build homes — people do. If lawmakers are serious about improving housing availability, they should focus on policies that encourage construction, rehabilitation, and responsible ownership, rather than measures that penalize participation and discourage investment. Bangor was once known for pragmatic problem solving grounded in reality. I think it is time for its leadership to return to those roots and pursue solutions that strengthen — not undermine — housing stability for Bangor and the surrounding communities. David Giles Corinth

A Castine nonprofit tasked with providing health care to area residents is trying to establish a direct primary care center after Northern Light Health unexpectedly announced it would move its practice out of town. The Castine Community Hospital Corporation, which owns the health center building and had leased it to Northern Light for years, last year started a study to see if it could establish a free, independent direct primary care practice. That exploration was in response to the system facing financial problems, location closures, insurance disputes and other operating challenges. “We don’t want to be caught flat-footed if something bad happens, God forbid,” board chair Bobby Vagt said in October. Last week, Northern Light announced it would move operations to Blue Hill, half an hour away, by the end of next month. The Castine practice will be combined with the Northern Light Primary Care practice at Sussman Health Center on the campus of its Blue Hill hospital, health system officials said. In response, the Castine board has decided to speed up the process of opening a direct primary care center, according to Vagt. Independent direct primary care providers typically see patients for a flat monthly fee and don’t take most insurance. The model has been growing rapidly in Maine recently, often run by former Northern Light employees who say the direct approach lets them spend more time with patients and give them more personalized care. At the same time, eastern and northern Maine is facing a shortage of primary care providers that’s expected to get worse in the coming years. The Castine group may not be able to have a center up and running by Feb. 27, but now aims to announce the operating structure, timeline and staffing before the end of February. For now, the board is working to determine what the organization would look like structurally and legally. Northern Light said last week that its current Castine clinic faces similar challenges to other small health centers in Maine, including staffing challenges, smaller patient panels, high operating costs and “inconsistent access.” “We carefully considered all of our options before making this decision but ultimately found that combining the practices is necessary to best support long term access to high quality, coordinated primary care for all of our patients,” John Ronan, FACHE, president of Northern Light Blue Hill and Maine Coast Hospitals, said when the move was announced. The Castine group wasn’t necessarily shocked after the system’s closures and announcements in recent years, Vagt said, but the timing was a surprise. The clinic serves an older population, with almost half of its roughly 1,150 patients on Medicare. Patients who have called since the Northern Light announcement say they’ve been surprised by the sudden change and concerned about how they’ll get to Blue Hill. The initial feasibility study was also exploring the possibility of creating a community health plan, which is a form of group-based insurance typically anchored to an employer, in partnership with Maine Maritime Academy. That remains an option, but isn’t a focus area for the board now, Vagt said.