5TYNK
1. COVID-19 hospitalizations in Maine continued an upward climb on Monday with 130 people hospitalized, the most since March 9. Public health experts are not projecting a return to the winter surges the omicron wave caused in Maine and the U.S.
2. It took a three-day highway closure to tear down and replace the Veranda Street bridge in Portland. All four traffic lanes of Interstate 295 reopened shortly before 7 a.m. yesterday. The lead contractor earned a $600,000 bonus for finishing work and reopening the highway before 7 a.m.
3. The Portland Pride parade and festival will return this summer on Saturday, June 18. The Pride Parade and Festival was canceled in both 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, though several virtual events were held.
4. It’s a done deal! Elon Musk now owns Twitter, buying it for approximately $44 billion — shareholders will receive $54.20 per share. Monday’s billion-dollar deal gives control of the social media platform populated by millions of users and global leaders to the world’s richest person. The deal ends Twitter’s run as a public company since its 2013 initial public offering. Musk had this to say on Twitter following the deal. “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter because that is what free speech means.” In a lengthy statement Musk also touched on the changes coming. “I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans. Twitter has tremendous potential – I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it.”
5. #HOTSHOW23 starring YG! (for a rare east coast, up close and personal concert) is taking place June 16, 2022 at Aura in Portland, ME. Tickets are available now on hotradiomaine.com (https://bit.ly/hotshowyg)
