Bangor, Maine News Update: April 3, 2018

One person is dead and 24 others homeless after a huge apartment house fire in Biddeford Monday morning. The deceased lived on the first floor of the building and that’s where the fire is believed to have originated. It took about five hours to get the fire under control.

It was expected that more details would be revealed about a double homicide in Bangor last week when the man accused of killing two homeless people made his first court appearance. But, as well as denying bail for John De St. Croix, the judge granted a motion to withhold details about the case. De St. Croix faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted.

The Maine Senate has approved a measure that would challenge ranked-choice voting and contest Secretary of State Matt Dunlap’s authority to implement the voting law. The ranked-choice system is designed to let voters rank their ballot choices from first to last and was approved by voters last year. A judge is expected to rule this week on an injunction concerning implementation of the law.

The City of Bangor is considering applying for a SAFER grant, which would help them hire four new firefighters. The city would partly match the federal funds to cover the cost of hiring and training some new recruits, so they’ll be ready when some of the older firefighters decide to retire. WVII-TV reports the matter will be discussed at Monday’s meeting of the Government Operations committee.

Registration is now open for the annual Rabbit Run, a race that travels through the Bangor City Forest. This year’s race will be held April 29^th and will be nearly five miles in length. Find more information on this year’s run that will benefit the Orono Bog Boardwalk at the Epic Sports website.