THOMASTON, Maine (WGME) — A Maine inmate is behind bars after corrections officers say he walked off a jobsite nearly a week ago.

45-year-old Brian Day was arrested.

He was being held at Bolduc Correctional Facility before he left a jobsite in Thomaston on Monday.

45-year-old Candice Fisher was also arrested.

She was wanted by the Rochester, New Hampshire Police Department.

John Baldacci served as Maine’s governor from 2003 to 2011. He led the effort to establish the state’s community college system in 2003. John McKernan was Maine’s 71st governor from 1987 to 1995. He has served as chair of The Foundation for Maine’s Community Colleges since its inception in 2010.

Making the Maine Free College Scholarship permanent for the high school graduates of the Class of 2026 and beyond delivers on a promise the two of us made decades ago — and maintained since — to keep a community college education affordable to as many Mainers as possible.

Now Gov. Janet Mills is working to secure that same promise for future generations, by making permanent the Maine Free College Scholarship. Her plan invests $10 million in state funds annually to guarantee recent high school graduates in Maine a tuition-free community college education. It is a sound and profound decision.

If passed by legislators in Augusta, the investment will pay off for not just for students and their families, but for the state’s coffers in the form of more tax revenue, for local businesses in the form of more skilled labor available and for communities that will have more vibrant, engaged and employed residents.

Already, more than 23,000 Maine Free College Scholarship-eligible students have participated since the last-dollar scholarship program began in 2022.

The two of us have worked tirelessly, and across party lines, over the past quarter century to evolve the community colleges. As public leaders, we are partners in helping the state’s public two-year colleges find and secure the resources and tools they need to fulfill their state-ordered mandate of creating the educated, skilled and adaptable workforce Maine needs to fill jobs in Maine’s economy.

That was the vision when Gov. Baldacci led the effort to evolve what were then vocational technical colleges into a true community college system that expanded its academic offerings and offered an affordable pathway to four-year colleges.

At the same time, Gov. McKernan started his tenure as chairman of The Foundation for Maine’s Community Colleges, leading fundraising and making connections to strengthen the colleges. To date, the Foundation has raised over $147 million in support of the colleges’ programs, infrastructure, and scholarships — and the Maine Free College Scholarship will allow those philanthropic and grant dollars to stretch even further.

As a state, we committed long ago to making local, affordable access to quality postsecondary education a priority in Maine. Despite having the lowest tuition in New England, affordability remains one of the greatest barriers to higher education for Mainers. Making the Maine Free College Scholarship permanent is the logical, practical and necessary next step to true affordability.

We now applaud and welcome Gov. Mills into our mutual efforts to keep growing and strengthening Maine’s community colleges and making sure they remain affordable and accessible to the largest number of Mainers possible.

We urge today’s lawmakers to support this economic engine for Maine, giving young people the opportunity to pursue a tuition-free degree — while knowing their state believes in them and their potential.

Fewer visitors came to Maine last year, but those who did spent more than $9 billion in the state.

The Maine Office of Tourism reported there were 14.15 million visitors in 2025, down 4.4% from the year before. Visitors last year spent $9.37 billion, up 1.4% from 2024, according to the agency’s annual report. That number is not adjusted for inflation, Deputy Director Hannah Collins said.

“While overall visitor counts declined, those who did travel tended to stay slightly longer, travel in larger parties, and demonstrate strong spending patterns,” the report said. “This dynamic contributed to total direct spending growth despite fewer arrivals.”

The state conducted more than 4,600 interviews online and in person with visitors at local attractions, parks, hotels, visitor centers, service plazas, shops and other destinations between December 2024 and November 2025 to reach its findings.

So who came to Maine, and where did they go?

Here are four takeaways from the report.

MANY VISITORS WERE ALREADY HERE

Most people drove from the East Coast, although more flew in 2025 than in 2024. Nearly 20% of visitors came by plane, mostly to the Portland International Jetport or Boston Logan International Airport. That percentage has been steadily increasing in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic, the report says. In 2022, just 13% flew.

The state found that more than 80% of visitors to Maine last year came from 16 U.S. states and Canadian provinces. According to the report, 15% of visitors came from Massachusetts. New York and New Hampshire were also high on the list.

Which was the top state? Maine.

Nearly 20% of people, or 2.9 million, counted as visitors last year were residents exploring the state. That’s more than double the number of people who live in Maine because the report counts single trips, not unique visitors.

MANY WERE RETURN VISITORS

Nearly 40% of visitors had been to Maine more than 10 times, the tourism office said. Many return to the same region on every trip. The data shows that 18% of visitors were traveling in Maine for the first time last year. An overwhelming majority — 95% — said they definitely or probably would return for another vacation.

THERE WERE FEWER CANADIAN VISITORS

A sign on a motel in Old Orchard Beach welcomes tourists back in both English and French in February 2025. The town hosts a large number of Canadian tourists each summer. (Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer)

International travelers account for a small percentage of Maine’s overall tourism.

Less than 5% of visitors came from other countries in 2025, according to the report. Most — 3.6% — came from Canada. That number is down from 2024, a drop attributable to political tensions and economic pressures. In 2024, 5.4% of visitors came from Canada.

A GREATER PERCENTAGE WENT INLAND

Popular regions to visit last year included Greater Portland, the Midcoast, the beaches and islands. More than a quarter visited Down East Maine, including Acadia National Park.

Still, inland regions saw a small increase in their share of visitors, the report shows.

In summer 2024, 3% of the state’s visitors went to Aroostook County, 9% went to the Kennebec Valley and 16% went to the lakes and mountains. Last summer, 7% went to Aroostook County, 12% went to the Kennebec Valley and 20% visited the lakes and mountains.

Across the state, most people said they came to Maine to relax and unwind, the report says. The most popular activities included enjoying ocean views, eating lobster and other seafood, sightseeing, visiting local breweries, driving for pleasure and hiking.