Stop pooping on Old Orchard Beach. It’s gross.

I wish I could say that this is a message directed to seagulls. But nope. This is for actual human beings: Stop pooping on Old Orchard Beach.

And in the dunes, and in the shallows of the ocean… and for goodness sake, stop pooping behind Sherri Tripp’s bushes.

WMTW television’s Lauren Bradley had the story today — featuring very specific comments from Tripp and others who are similarly fed up — about how local residents are tired of tourists coming into the town and relieving themselves all over the place. The obvious problem, they say, is that there’s a serious lack of public restrooms nearby.

Let’s just say it’s really hitting the fan, now.

Town officials are aware of the problem, according to Bradley, and are working on it. But in the meantime, please just walk the 15 or 20 minutes to get to an actual toilet.

Good talk.

Let’s look at some stories that are less disgusting.

What we’re talking about

Police used the opioid antidote Narcan to revive a dog in the York County town of Lyman, according to WGME, CBS 13. Narcan shots, which police and paramedics can administer to people overdosing on opioids like heroin, have become politically controversial, as some in the government have blasted the antidote’s use as enabling drug abusers to continue doing so without fear of consequences. In this case, a yellow lab apparently got into his owner’s legal stash of Oxycodone and began to overdose. His owner flagged down a passing cop, who used a Narcan shot to save the animal.

In case you missed this story, a Portland firefighter is giving movie star Patrick Dempsey boxing lessons. Fireman and paramedic Jason Quirk said he’s been training the Maine native Dempsey, perhaps best known for a 10-year run on the ABC medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy,” since June. Quirk previously told the Portland Press Herald that Dempsey’s working out for an upcoming role, although he wouldn’t leak what it is.

In a sad ending to what had been a heartwarming story, southern Maine 5-year-old Ari Schultz died last week after a lifelong battle with a heart condition, the York County Coast Star reported. Video of a gleeful Schultz learning he would be getting a heart transplant went viral this past spring, and he got to meet two of his Boston Red Sox heroes afterward. But more than a month after being released from the hospital following the transplant, the boy had a seizure and doctors were ultimately unable to save his life.

In the national news story everyone was talking about today, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine was one of three Republicans to vote against a so-called “skinny repeal” of Obamacare, leading to its defeat in the Senate early this morning. The skinny repeal cut out key parts of the now seven-year-old health insurance law, and would have ultimately left 16 million people without coverage, if it was ever passed. Fellow Sen. Angus King, an independent whose vote against the repeal was never in doubt, said it took great “courage” for Collins to break ranks with her party on the issue.

Tweet of the day

From WGME, CBS 13 News Director Kathy Reynolds:

(The backstory here is that they had folks from the Cape Neddick-based Center for Wildlife on “Good Day Maine” this morning, who brought some snakes to the show. And one of them was a bit of a flirt.)

The Big Idea

A labor strike may be to blame for a lot of the crap Hollywood is producing these days. The New York Times reports that, after a Writers Guild strike in 2007, movie studios have taken a dramatic turn toward movies built around already established intellectual properties, like remakes of cinema classics, video games and toys. At first, those movies were considered appealing because they had more-or-less pre-existing plots or characters, and relied less heavily on new creative writing. But as time went on, studios came to believe new films needed to capitalize on built-in audiences to be successful.

Got any interesting story ideas, suggestions or links to share? Email us at jbleiberg@bangordailynews.com or skoenig@bangordailynews.com or tweet @JZBleiberg or @SethKoenig.

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