Jennifer Gunderman, director of Bangor Public Health and Community Services, on July 18. (Daryn Slover/Staff Photographer)
Bangor Public Health launched an intensive case management program this month to serve those impacted by the city’s HIV outbreak, which has led to 29 identified cases.
The program is funded by about $550,000 of Bangor’s opioid settlement funds. It will provide case management services like mental health care and rides to appointments for residents impacted by the outbreak, which has been ongoing since October 2023 and saw cases rise through this summer, said Jennifer Gunderman, director of Bangor Public Health and Community Services.
“We’re still dealing with an outbreak,” Gunderman said. “Yet I think what we’re trying to do is build longer-term systems so that we don’t all get burned out.”
Over the last two years, Bangor has become the site of Maine’s largest outbreak, with most cases identified among people who have used injection drugs or experienced homelessness in the 12 months before their diagnosis, according to data from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Before late 2023, Penobscot County had averaged just two new HIV infections annually.
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The intensive case management program will provide wraparound services like mental health care, housing assistance and substance use disorder treatment to people impacted by the outbreak. Gunderman said it will employ two case managers and a vehicle to transport people to and from appointments.
This is the first time the city’s public health department is running its own case management services, Gunderman said.
Gunderman said Bangor’s population needs a combination of programs and case management services, including ones that are close to home, so residents don’t fall through the cracks.
“We have been engaging with this population for a very long time, even before this outbreak happened,” Gunderman said. “So when the intensive case management (program) happened, it was just like saying to a person that we’ve known for a while: ‘Hey, we now have this other service that we can offer you.’”
The Regional Medical Center at Lubec previously handled case management services for Bangor, but the hospital terminated its Northern Maine HIV Program this summer, ending case management for about140 people in five northern counties, according to Gunderman and MaineGeneral Health officials.
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Bangor residents who had been on HIV case management for decades lost services in the middle of an outbreak, Gunderman said.
On Oct. 7, MaineGeneral Health’s Horizon program announced it would expand its HIV and AIDS support services to more counties, including Penobscot, to fill the gap.
The Lubec hospital and Horizon program are both longtime recipients of funding through the federal Ryan White Part C Early Intervention Services Program, which allocates HIV prevention and care dollars to states and communities.
After Lubec terminated its program, federal funding was awarded to MaineGeneral’s program to take on the additional counties, said Jennifer Riggs, MaineGeneral’s CEO of community care.
Riggs said the Horizon program integrates outpatient medical services with support services like mental health care to serve people who are low-income, uninsured or underserved.
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“Ensuring that these services and the funding for them remain available to individuals is essential to limit the negative effects (of HIV and AIDS) in Maine’s local community members,”Riggs said.
Horizon will expand its coverage area to 14 counties, up from nine, and has already started transitioning some case management services over while building relationships with existing health organizations in those places, Riggs said.
Riggs said the program will work with Bangor’s health leaders on “prevention and testing, treatment coordination and other support services.”
Bangor Public Health has worked with a slew of community groups and organizations on expanding preventative HIV services, including distributing condoms and clean needles, making self tests available and helping people get on PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, a preventative medication taken by people at high risk for HIV infection.
Gunderman said the outbreak is likely larger than the 29 cases that have been identified and reported. She said it was made more intense because of conditions like people experiencing homelessness, living in outdoor congregate settings and struggling with substance use issues and mental health.
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She said the outbreak should be a “wake up call” for the rest of Maine.
“Bangor is not the only community that struggles with that,” Gunderman said. “So I think that statewide, there should be an increased awareness and increased testing.”
Windham players celebrate a 3-pointer during a preseason game against Edward Little at South Portland High School game on Nov. 29, 2025. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer)
This is the sixth Varsity Maine boys basketball poll of the season, and the No. 1 ranking has changed each time. Windham is back at No. 1 after a big win over No. 4 South Portland. The Eagles, who have won 12 straight, were previously ranked No. 1 in the winter’s first poll.
Windham and last week’s No. 1, Camden Hills, have both topped the poll twice. Sanford and South Portland have each spent one week in first.
The team responsible for this week’s No. 1 switch, Cony, jumped three spots to No. 6 after dealing Camden Hills its first loss on Saturday and upending No. 8 Gardiner last Tuesday.
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Medomak Valley rejoins the poll after a few weeks away, and Hermon is ranked for the first time this season.
The Varsity Maine boys basketball poll is based on games played before Jan. 27, 2026. The top 10 teams are voted on by the Varsity Maine staff, with first-place votes in parentheses, followed by total points.
BOYS BASKETBALL
1.
Windham (6)
86
2.
Sanford
77
3.
Camden Hills (3)
76
4.
South Portland
56
5.
York
49
6.
Cony
43
7.
Brunswick
30
8.
Gardiner
22
9.
Medomak Valley
12
10.
Hermon
10
Poll compiled by Assistant Sports Editor Bob Aube.
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Lee Horton is the Varsity Maine Editor for the Maine Trust for Local News. He joined the Sun Journal as assistant sports editor in July 2016, then served as sports editor from May 2018 to May 2024. Prior…
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One of Maine’s two casinos is suing the state’s gambling control unit director over legalizing online casino games exclusively for the Wabanaki Nations.
Gov. Janet Mills decided earlier this month to allow Maine’s four federally recognized tribes to offer “iGaming.” Oxford Casino is challenging that decision in Maine’s U.S. District Court, accusing the state of unlawfully granting a monopoly for online casino gaming.
“Promoting iGaming through race-based preferences deals a gut-wrenching blow to Maine businesses like Oxford Casino that have heavily invested in the State and its people,” the lawsuit reads.
The casino is accusing the state of violating the Equal Protection Clauses of both the United States and Maine Constitutions, against discrimination based on race, according to the lawsuit, which was filed Friday.
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The lawsuit also states that the casinos could lose millions in revenue and hundreds of employees after the law goes into effect.
Oxford Casino and Hollywood Casino in Bangor opposed the iGaming bill, citing the potential for job losses. Other opponents included the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the chair of the state’s gambling control board.
The law will take effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns this year, but state officials say there is no concrete timeline for when the new gambling options will become available.
This is a developing story.
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Morgan covers breaking news and public safety for the Portland Press Herald. Before moving to Maine in 2024, she reported for Michigan State University’s student-run publication, as well as the Indianapolis…
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The attorney wife of an elite Texas law-firm partner and a pilot who joined the company less than a year ago were among six people killed when a private jet flipped over and burst into flames at a Maine airport over the weekend — just after a voice over the radio said, “Let there be light.’’
Tara Arnold — a 46-year-old powerhouse lawyer who lived with her two kids and mega-wealthy husband in a Houston mansion — was en route to Paris with those on board the plane when it crashed Sunday evening, killing everyone, according to records and reports.
Tara Arnold was killed when the plane registered to her husband Kurt Arnold’s personal-injury firm — Arnold & Itkin Law — crashed Sunday evening in Bangor, Maine. Arnold & Itkin LLP
The plane was registered to Tara’s husband Kurt Arnold’s successful personal-injury firm — Arnold & Itkin Law — where she also worked. The other five fatal victims aboard the jet have not yet not publicly identified.
“I am close friends with Kurt and Tara Arnold,” said Lesley Briones, a local Texas lawmaker, to WMTW on Monday.
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The twin-engine Bombardier Challenger 600 was taking off from a snow-covered runway at Bangor International Airport when it crashed and exploded, killing everyone on board, officials said. @Turbinetraveler/X
“My heart hurts for them and their children and their families,” Briones said. “I worked at Arnold & Itkin for a time and so I know them well. This is just a tragedy and in particular Tara, she is just a phenomenal person, a bold leader and somebody who had a heart of service.”
Jacob Hosmer, a 47-year-old Houston-area pilot who was the captain of the flight, also died during the wreck, his father confirmed to KPRC2.
“He’s in Heaven now with Jesus,” grieving dad Gary Hosmer told the outlet.
Hosmer has been working as a pilot for Arnold and Itkin since May 2025. He has held previous positions with Wing Aviation, Apollo Aviation and Priester Aviation, all of which frequently run private charter jets, according to his LinkedIn.
Friends of Hosmer described him as a loving and kind father and husband.
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“I would describe him as a great pilot, a loving husband, and a phenomenal father,” a longtime friend told the outlet.
“He was always kind. He was always laughing.”
The plane — a twin-engine Bombardier Challenger 600, which can seat up to 11 people — was taking off from a snow-covered runway at Bangor International Airport around 7:45 p.m. when it crashed back into the runway and exploded, killing everyone on board, officials said.
A moment before take-off, a voice was eerily heard over the flight’s radio communications saying, “Let there be light,” although it’s unclear what that meant.
“All traffic is stopped on the field!” an air-traffic controller then quickly shouted.
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“Aircraft upside down, we have a passenger aircraft upside down,” a controller added as emergency crews rushed to the wreck.
Arnold was part of a prominent Texas family known for multimillion-dollar donations to Lone Star State Republican causes, as well as to the Texas Longhorns football program. LinkedInThe crash occurred as Winter Storm Fern was battering Maine and much of the East Coast. FAA
Kurt Arnold and his law partner Jason Itkin — as well as both their wives — were known to make multimillion-dollar donations to Lone Star State Republican causes, as well as to such things as the Texas Longhorns football program, which they pledged $40 million to.
Tara, a Louisiana native, worked at the firm, specializing in offshore workplace injuries after graduating with high honors from Tulane Law School.
She and her husband and kids lived together in an $11 million Houston home.
The doomed jet’s flight had landed in Bangor around 6 p.m. for apparent refueling after taking off from Houston and then was taking off again in the blizzard en route to Paris when the tragedy struck, KHOU reported.
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The Arnolds with their children. KNOWAutism FoundationKurt and Tara Arnold with Kisha and Jason Itkin. Kurt and Jason founded the Arnold and Itkin Law Firm. Arnold & Itkin LLP
It remains unclear what role the ongoing Winter Storm Fern may have played in the wreck.
Several other planes were taking off before the wreck, but the airport was also de-icing aircraft waiting on the tarmac — and it remains unclear whether the ill-fated jet had been a part of those procedures.
It remains unclear what role the ongoing Winter Storm Fern may have played in the wreck.
Several other planes were taking off before the wreck, but the airport was also de-icing aircraft waiting on the tarmac.
The private jet had landed in Maine just after 6 p.m. after departing Houston, and had been sitting in the cold since then — and it remains unclear whether it had been a part of the de-icing procedures.
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Bombardier Challenger 600s have had a history of takeoff troubles during inclement cold-weather takeoffs — with small ice accumulations being known to affect the craft, according to aviation consultant Jeff Guzzetti.
“Given the weather conditions at the time and the history of wind contamination with this particular aircraft, I’m sure that’s something the NTSB is going to look into immediately,” he said.
“If there was any kind of precipitation at all, freezing precipitation, they would have needed to clean off those wings before they took off,” Guzzetti added.
The wreck left the airport closed, and it is not expected to reopen until Wednesday.
