Fireworks explode over Portland’s Eastern Prom, as seen from Bug Light Park in South Portland, on the Fourth of July. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

Old Orchard Beach lifeguard Matt York keeps watch on swimmers near the pier. Last winter’s storms remodeled the underwater topography of the surf zone – leading to dozens of beach rescues in Maine this summer. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Theatergoers take their seats in Hackmatack Playhouse for a July performance. Maine’s rustic summer theaters struggle to keep cool as summers in Maine continue to get hotter. The theater is within an uninsulated barn without air conditioning but does have an array of fans to help keep the audience cool. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer

Trish Hayes and her daughter, Greta, 3, enjoy the splash pad at Deering Oaks Ravine on July 10. Sofia Aldinio/Staff Photographer

A protester is arrested during a demonstration against the war in Gaza outside of Bath Iron Works, where a christening was taking place for its 41st guided missile destroyer, the USS Patrick Gallagher. The destroyer was named after an Irish citizen who served as a lance corporal for the United States during the Vietnam War. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Ailin Montgomery looks back at a computer monitor as she photographs a sea chest becket while working at Maine Maritime Museum in Bath. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

Competitors in the Last Man Standing, Back Cove Backyard Ultra race pass by the “Dancing for Joy (By the Will of the People)” sculpture on July 13. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Audrey Luna rehearses a scene from “The Breasts of Tiresias” at Aura in Portland. Audrey plays the part of Tiresias in the part-opera, part-dance party adaption by Hogfish. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

A worldwide software glitch disrupted flights July 19 at Portland International Jetport. Jenna Lyons waits for her Southwest flight to Baltimore. She was returning to Maryland after attending an Audubon camp in Maine. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

Portland teammates celebrate after winning the All-Stars Little League Maine championship game 1-0 over Biddeford. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Caroline Plimpton of Cumberland bounces a ball for Obie, left, and Pippi at Falmouth Town Landing. Plimpton says Obie, who belongs to her son, is named after the “Star Wars” character Obi-Wan Kenobi “and is our Jedi warrior.” Pippi, named after Pippi Longstocking, “wants to see the world.” Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Abby Bedard, 13, is comforted by her father, Mike, at Redington Fairview General Hospital, where Abby has been staying for more than 200 days. Abby has cerebral palsy and epilepsy, and she also struggles with emotional and mental health issues. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Cookie Mahoney of Cape Elizabeth sprints to the finish in the 2024 YMCA Peaks to Portland Swim. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Signature MiMi was named the eighth Portland poet laureate. MiMi creates with words, sounds, visuals, space, earth and technology to share stories of survival, decolonization, alignment and balance. Sofia Aldinio/Staff Photographer

Jack Ramey, 16, of Auburn, steers a J22 sailboat during an outing with Spectrum Sailing. The organization provides three-day sailing opportunities to children on the autism spectrum. The camp began 7 years ago in Charleston, S.C., and has since expanded to include 10 camps and 200 kids across the country. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Ruth Colucci blasts out of a sand trap during the Maine Women’s Amateur at the Biddeford-Saco Country Club in July. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

A hazy, lazy summer day nears the end at Kettle Cove Beach in Cape Elizabeth. On the left, J.J. Martyn and her son Charlie Woodgate, 6, float on a paddleboard steadied by their cousin Serafina Fontana, 13, of Cape Elizabeth. On the right, Thomas Lenahan, 5, splashes with his friend Jack Casterella, 7, while Grace Lenahan, 7, swims. Michele McDonald/Staff Editor

Barry Amaddou of Portland carries an umbrella through a downpour while walking past a mural on Cumberland Avenue. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer

Marcelo Mayer, one of three Sea Dog players who recently competed in the MLB Futures all-star game, takes batting practice. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Passengers ride a Western Maine Transportation bus that will make stops in Lisbon, Brunswick, Topsham and at Gagné Foods in Bath. Providing workers transportation is among the practical solutions in a tight labor market. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

Gabe Brown, 21, of Biddeford, summons the gumption to grab a crab off his lure while jigging from the Scarborough bank of the Spurwink River. Brown started the day casting for stripers but switched to crabs, which he caught and released, because the fish weren’t biting. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer

Fans celebrate a goal during the U.S. vs. Germany women’s Olympic soccer game at Rising Tide Brewery in Portland on July 28. The U.S. team won, 1-0, to advance to the gold-medal match. Sofia Aldinio/ Staff Photographer

Maeve McDonald gets caught in the net as teammate Sophia Santiago comes to her aid during the Gorham U10 Little League all-star softball practice. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Lily Hayden-Hunt works on cataloging Frances Perkins’ books at the Frances Perkins Center in Newcastle. Hayden-Hunt is one of two interns from Mount Holyoke, Perkins’ alma mater. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

Shane McGrath, 18, of Cape Elizabeth, rides the rail with his scooter at the St. James Street skateboard park in Portland. Carl D. Walsh/Staff Photographer

The schooner Timberwind sails past Ram Island Ledge Light as gentle waves break on the shore at Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer

Jeanie Cannell kisses her husband Roger Cannell in his hospital room. After two difficult years – living in a van at a turnpike plaza, then in and out of shelters and hospitals – they finally found a place to live, a place they hoped could be the end of their long road. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

Anita Verna Crofts of Portland watches for loons from a paddle board on Sebego Lake for the annual Maine Audubon loon count on July 20. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer