KKK recruitment flyers appear around Maine

Good evening from the BDN Portland office on Congress Street. It feels like every day is a big news day now. Here’s what’s up.

What we’re talking about

KKK recruitment flyers appeared in South Freeport and Augusta today — Residents of the two towns found the flyers this morning, Beth Brogan reports.

The Ku Klux Klan, the oldest American hate group, has typically targeted black Americans, but it also has attacked Jews, immigrants, gays and lesbians and, until recently, Catholics, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. The Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan is based in Missouri.

“You can sleep tonight knowing the Klan is awake!” the flyer distributed in Freeport states. “Are there troubles in your neighborhood? Contact the Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan today!”

Rally against Trump’s immigration ban rescheduled for Wednesday — A protest that was scheduled for last week, then postponed, is apparently back on for Wednesday at City Hall from 4 pm to 6 pm. It comes after Sunday’s protests at Portland International Jetport and City Hall over Trump’s executive order.

First deaf mascot at Portland High ‘not that special of a story’ — At first, we weren’t sure this was even a story. If you think about it, why couldn’t a deaf student be a mascot? In the end, we decided to ask Kamron King, who plays the bulldog, what he thought. His answer was yes and no. — Troy R. Bennett

Weed is now legal in Maine. Here’s what you need to know.  — Michael Shepherd lays it all out in today’s politics newsletter. Here’s the gist (and here’s your soundtrack):

You can:

  • Use, possess, transport and transfer 2.5 ounces of marijuana
  • Use it in your home, on your lawn and other private property
  • Grow up to six mature plants

You can’t:

  • Use marijuana in public
  • Or in a vehicle on a public way
  • Or in a daycare facility or workplace smoking area

Speaking of which, there’s an end-of-prohibition party tonight — But Randy Billings of the Press Herald reports that the event at the Gold Room won’t actually condone the consumption or trading of weed after the police told organizers the venue was considered a public place. (See above.)

Portland superintendent increases security after alleged hate crime toward students — The school district is beefing up security at Casco Bay High School after someone allegedly harassed and pulled a knife on four black students. “We’ll have an enhanced police presence at Casco Bay at dismissal and at arrival times for the foreseeable future, also I met with Principal Pierce this morning to talk about what we can do for the long haul to make sure our students are safe,” Superintendent Xavier Botana said.

Maine driver’s licenses no longer accepted to enter military bases, other facilitiesChris Burns writes: “Maine is among 23 states and five U.S. territories not in compliance with the Real ID Act, which was passed by Congress in 2005 in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The Maine Legislature in 2007 passed a law prohibiting the state from complying with Real ID amid concerns that it would create a de facto ‘internal passport.’”

Inside a Portland chef’s newest restaurant on Sunday River — Kathleen Pierce reports on Harding Lee Smith’s latest joint: “Open for a month at Sunday River’s mid-mountain North Peak Lodge, the fifth restaurant by the Portland chef, who owns a string of successful restaurants, such as the Grill Room and Corner Room, is perhaps his most ambitious yet. Ingredients arrive by Chondola and his kitchen resembles a ship’s galley.”

Tweet of the day

It’s actually from Saturday but Trump spokesman Sean Spicer’s tweet is worth sharing now:

Screenshot 2017-01-30 13.37.04

 

The Best Thing We Read Today

‘How a physician’s assistant in Bridgton became Stephen King’s Hippocrates of horror.’ — This is a great story from Downeast on Russ Dorr, who has played an interesting role in some of the Master of Horror’s greatest books:

At one point, King mentioned a book in the works about a virus that wipes out 99 percent of humankind. He wondered if Dorr, with his medical background, could help craft a plausible disease that would transmit, mutate, and produce symptoms like a real virus. “That became the virus in The Stand,” Dorr recalls. King started consulting him whenever horror and human health intersected


Got any interesting story ideas, suggestions or links to share? Email Dan MacLeod at dmacleod@bangordailynews.com, or tweet @dsmacleod.

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Dan MacLeod

About Dan MacLeod

Dan MacLeod is the managing editor of the Bangor Daily News. He's an Orland native who moved to Portland in 2002 and now lives in Unity. He's been a journalist since 2008, and previously worked for the New York Post and the Brooklyn Paper.