Sela Link: Relaxing pandemic restrictions / Down East craft beer / Remote learning

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Today is Friday. Temperatures will be in low 60s to low 70s from north to south, with sunny skies throughout the state. Here’s what we’re talking about in Maine today.

Here’s the latest on the coronavirus in Maine

Health officials on Thrusday reported another 295 coronavirus cases across the state. No additional deaths were reported, leaving the statewide death toll at 798. Check out our COVID-19 Tracker for more information.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins on Thursday called the CDC’s new mask guidance “overdue” but “certainly a step in the right direction.” Collins has criticized the CDC for mask guidance that she said was not consistent with the best available evidence.

Maine to end indoor capacity limits on May 24, leaves mask mandate in effect for now

In this May 18, 2020, file photo, customers dine inside at the Hot Spot Diner in Wiscasset. Credit: Robert F. Bukaty / AP

Indoor venues can fill to 75 percent capacity on that date. Venues will not be required to adhere to physical distancing requirements except at indoor restaurants and other places where it is not possible to wear face coverings.

PLUS: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday eased indoor mask-wearing guidance for fully vaccinated people, allowing them to safely stop wearing masks inside in most places.

Maine Legislature teases State House return after pandemic restrictions relax

In this Dec. 2, 2020, file photo, state Sen. Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, is sworn in as Senate president by Justice Andrew Mead at the Augusta Civic Center.

After months on the other side of the capital city, leaders of the Maine Legislature on Thursday teased a return to the State House after Gov. Janet Mills sped up the state’s reopening timeline.

Woman claims Brewer athletic trainer sexually abused her when she was a teenager

A backlit Brewer High School sign is seen on its facade in this 2014 file photo. Credit: Ashley L. Conti / BDN

The lawsuit alleges that Benjamin Pushard sexually abused the teen while he worked as an athletic trainer at Brewer High School.

Bangor-area schools likely to keep remote learning as an option for students this fall

Emily Robinson, a special education teacher at Vine Street School in Bangor, smiles when she sees the face of one of her students on her computer screen in this April 2020 file photo. Though the COVID pandemic appears to be easing in the U.S. and many school districts expect to be able to return to full in-person learning this fall, some Maine school districts say they may keep remote learning as an option for some students. Credit: Linda Coan O'Kresik / BDN

While education experts tend to believe more students have struggled with remote learning, they acknowledge that some students have thrived under it.

2 new breweries to triple Washington County’s craft beer locales

The exterior of Horn Run Brewing, a new craft brewery in downtown Eastport. Credit: Courtesy of Horn Run Brewing

The craft beer scene has been largely concentrated in Maine cities and the southern coast. Now it’s reaching Maine’s most rural and far-flung corners.

Facing worker shortage, Maine’s trucking industry turns to TikTok in appeal to Gen Z

Cars and trucks travel on the Maine Turnpike near exit 48 in Portland. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN

An industry group is pitching trucking’s steady work and good wages as a way to pay off college debt or have a career without going to college.

CMP can clear remote corridor stretch after federal judge’s ruling

In this Feb. 9, 2021, file photo, Cianbro employees guide the top of the first pole of the NECEC hydropower transmission corridor onto its base. Credit: Linda Coan O'Kresik / BDN

An appeals court judge on Thursday vacated an injunction that had prevented Central Maine Power’s parent company from starting work on the last 53 miles of a controversial hydropower project from The Forks to the Canadian border.

A gathering of eagles among the surprising sights at this Maine beach

An overlook near the summit of Morse Mountain offers a view of Sprague River Salt Marsh. Credit: Courtesy of Aislinn Sarnacki

The 600-acre Bates-Morse Mountain Conservation Area in Phippsburg is an excellent spot for wildlife watching. It’s also popular because it features one of the state’s largest sand beaches: Seawall Beach.