Bangor, Maine News Update: October 4, 2021

A Chinese media outlet is claiming that COVID-19 began with a shipment of lobsters from Maine to the Wuhan Seafood Market. Seafood officials in Maine say the claim appears to be an attempt to deflect the bad publicity that the region has experienced over the start of the virus. A spokesperson for the Maine CDC has also responded, saying there’s no scientific basis to their allegations.  

23 Maine schools and school districts will share more than $1.6 million in federal money to help improve internet access for students. The FCC is providing the funds through the American Rescue Plan. Senator Angus King says a high-speed broadband connection is a must-have for young people pursuing their education. 

A Canadian company plans to restore ferry service in Bar Harbor next year, bringing back the ferry known as the Cat, which commutes between Bar Harbor and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Service on the Cat was supposed to resume for the 2019 season, but renovations at the terminal were not completed in time. Then the pandemic postponed its launch until 2022.  

Applications are being accepted for a Maine fishery lottery which will assign license for scallop fishing. 8 licenses will be given for operators of drag boats, while 6 will go to fishermen who dive for scallops. 

Area law enforcement agencies, including the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department, will work with local church groups to host a pair of food drives this week called Faith & Blue food drives. On Friday, people are invited to donate at Brewer Hannaford between noon and 6pm. And on Saturday, donations will be accepted at Danforth’s DownHome Supermarket in Hermon from 10 to 3.  

Maine’s last and largest fair is underway, and will last all this week. The Fryeburg Fair includes horse racing, ox pulling, and pig scrambles, as well as a pie-eating contact and anvil throws. Find the complete schedule on the website for the Fryeburg Fair.