BANGOR – A federal jury on Wednesday awarded a Prentiss Township boy $215,000 for injuries he suffered in a gruesome accident two years ago when his father accidentally backed over him with a riding lawn mower, severing his right kneecap. Allan Smith, now 8, was… Read More
AUGUSTA – Over the next five years, contracts run out on 4,242 federally subsidized apartments in Maine for low-income people. Officials at the Maine State Housing Authority are scrambling to keep those units available for the poor – those with average family incomes under $10,000 a year –… Read More
BANGOR – Less than three weeks into its new financial year, Eastern Maine Technical College finds itself in a quarter-million dollar hole, with its president looking to cut at least one faculty position to help fill the gap and warning that more personnel cuts could be forthcoming. Read More
WASHINGTON – About 35 million building sprinklers across the country need to be replaced because they might not work during fires, the government and the manufacturer said Wednesday. The sprinklers are installed in homes, offices, day-care facilities, hospitals and other buildings, the Consumer Product Safety… Read More
FALLS CHURCH, Va. – A strong performance by General Dynamics’ combat systems division led the company to an 11 percent increase in quarterly earnings, matching Wall Street expectations. The parent company of Maine’s Bath Iron Works announced Wednesday a profit of $227 million, or $1.12… Read More
BOSTON – The souring capital markets hit FleetBoston Financial hard, dragging second-quarter profits down 45 percent and leaving the bank well short of analysts’ expectations. FleetBoston, the nation’s seventh-largest financial holding company, reported profits for the quarter ending June 30 of $531 million, or 48… Read More
PRESQUE ISLE – David I. Dorsey, president and CEO of First Citizens Bank, has announced the bank’s board of directors approved a dividend of 20 cents per share on second-quarter earnings at its June 26 meeting. The second-quarter dividend for 2001 reflects an 11 percent increase over the… Read More
BANGOR – Edwin N. Clift, president and chief executive officer of Merrill Merchants Bancshares Inc. (Nasdaq: MERB), the parent company of Merrill Merchants Bank, reported a net income for the company of $824,000 for the quarter that ended June 30, an increase of 25 percent over the same… Read More
DOVER-FOXCROFT – A number of Piscataquis County residents have expressed interest in jobs that would be created if a telecommunications firm expanded to the county. Mark Scarano, business development director for the Piscataquis County Economic Council, said Wednesday that 16 people had applied for the… Read More
JONESBORO – Maine’s wild blueberry harvest begins next week amid predictions that this year’s crop could be a repeat of last year’s 110 million-pound record-breaker. More than 100 Maine and Canadian growers and University of Maine researchers participated in Wednesday’s annual crop “guesstimate” at Blueberry… Read More
BANGOR – A local computer development group is being sued by the Maine Attorney General’s Office for alleged failure to pay more than $32,000 in back wages to 14 former employees. The Sunbury Group, formerly known as Janus Development Corp., admits the workers’ jobs were… Read More
Recently, my daughter was involved in a minor traffic accident. Thank God there were no injuries and only limited damage to the vehicles involved. Understandably my daughter was upset and phoned me at work; I arrived at the scene of the accident shortly thereafter. The… Read More
There is no sense in restating what nearly everyone already has said about the case of Chandra Levy, the young California woman who disappeared in Washington two months ago, and how her friend, Rep. Gary Condit, should come clean. But on the question of Rep. Condit’s private life… Read More
Researchers at two of the nation’s most esteemed universities, Cal Tech and MIT, have confirmed what many Americans suspected: A significant number – between 4 million and 6 million, it turns out – of votes cast in the 2000 presidential election went uncounted due to faulty voting equipment,… Read More
I am writing in response to the recent editorials advocating embryo stem-cell research. There is an upcoming decision to be made by the president for federal funding allowing human embryos to be destroyed in attempts to harvest their stem-cell properties in hopes to fight debilitating diseases such as… Read More
I’m glad to see rational reporting on the upcoming machine gun shoot. If you take the curiosity out of the kid by teaching them about firearms, or cars or anything like that, it doesn’t become a big deal anymore. My teen-age kids all shoot and… Read More
Thank you for Susan Longley’s op-ed piece (BDN, July 17) on the attempt by Rep. Christopher Shays to pass campaign finance reform in the U.S. House of Representatives. While I support campaign finance reform, I cannot support moving the date of Shays’ Rebellion from 1786… Read More
I was gratified to read the editorial concerning China’s bid for the 2008 Olympic Games (BDN, July 12). China has shown blatant disregard for “fundamental ethical principles [which] include respect for freedom of speech and religion.” In this day when our government seems to be focused solely on… Read More
The article on Pine Tree Camp (BDN, July 16) was wonderfully written, but I was disappointed to see the captions to the pictures depicting the campers as “suffering from cerebral palsy.” The campers in the pictures seem to be enjoying their time at camp. They… Read More
I continue to be amazed by the audacity and arrogance of RESTORE: the North Woods, the Massachusetts-based group which wants to create a national park from Maine’s working forests. I read and reread the front-page Bangor Daily News story of July 10 about Roxanne Quimby’s… Read More
DANFORTH – For the fourth time in about two months, selectmen in this Washington County town have decided not to confirm the appointment of the town’s fire chief, who was elected unanimously by the Fire Department members. After an executive session during Tuesday night’s regular… Read More
WARREN – A Band-Aid approach to fixing Route 1 in Warren won’t cure the headaches that people opposed to the state’s proposed widening of the highway have had for the past year, but it will make the road safer. Brad Foley, a state Department of… Read More
BANGOR – David T. Flanagan, a longtime Democrat who once was president of the state’s largest utility, will become an independent candidate today when he files papers to run for governor with the Secretary of State’s Office. Flanagan, who grew up in the Bangor area,… Read More
SKOWHEGAN – Nicholas Irving’s car traveled nearly 300 feet out of control before striking a tree broadside on Oct. 27, 1999. The impact split the car in two pieces, sending each in a different direction. Passenger Gary Massey, 18, of Clinton, Irving’s friend and classmate,… Read More
PORTLAND – A defendant may be found guilty of vehicular manslaughter even if he was not behind the wheel at the time of the fatal crash, Maine’s highest court said Wednesday. In upholding the conviction of a Biddeford man, the Supreme Judicial Court said the… Read More
BANGOR – A former Rite Aid pharmacist from Pittsfield pleaded innocent Wednesday to theft and drug charges and remains free on bail. Plea negotiations have been under way between 35-year-old Christopher Comfort and the Penobscot County District Attorney’s Office, but certain “details” of that plea… Read More
BELFAST – Families all over Waldo County and beyond are brimming with anticipation for this year’s running of the Belfast Bay Festival. The 54th edition of the annual event will swing open the gates to City Park today for three days of family fun, food… Read More
CARMEL – The 12th annual Open Farm Day will include the Ash Hill View Deer Farm, which will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, July 22. More than 275 red deer may be seen at the farm, and there… Read More
HAMPDEN – The American Red Cross will hold a lifeguard training course from 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays and 6 to 9 p.m. Sundays and Tuesdays, Aug. 4-21, at the Lura Hoit Pool. Candidates must be at least 15 years old and meet swimming prerequisites. For information, call… Read More
An 87-year-old Waterville woman was injured after she pulled out in front of a pickup truck at what was described as an “awful” intersection in Glenburn Wednesday evening. Marion Paige was taken to St. Joseph Hospital in Bangor, where a nursing supervisor could not comment… Read More
EDDINGTON – Based on recommendations from a public advisory group, the Maine Department of Transportation is studying nine possible routes that would connect Interstate 395 with Route 9 in Eddington. MDOT consultant William Plumpton told Public Advisory Committee members Wednesday night that the 45 alternatives… Read More
BAR HARBOR – Residents are evenly divided on whether to regulate the burgeoning weekly home rental industry in town, according to a survey released this week by the futures committee. “If I wanted strangers coming and going in houses next to me, I would have… Read More
CASTINE – The Maine Department of Environmental Protection plans to install an ozone monitoring station in town that will aid a nationwide effort to track the movement of ozone plumes. The department chose Castine as a site for the station in order to fill a… Read More
STEUBEN – The Henry D. Moore Library in Steuben will hold its annual book and bake sale from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, July 21, on the first floor of the Henry D. Moore Parish House and Library located on Village Road. The sale… Read More
MOUNT DESERT – The Great Harbor Maritime Museum in Northeast Harbor will hold a Bunker and Ellis boat parade on Sunday, July 22. The parade celebrates the craftsmanship of Raymond Bunker and Ralph Ellis, who together built 58 wooden boats in Southwest Harbor between 1946… Read More
PITTSFIELD – Pittsfield councilors on Tuesday night gladly accepted a series of grants, money that will aid the airport reconstruction project, the public library expansion study and a new recycling venture. The council accepted $7,000 from the Maine State Planning Office to set up a… Read More
PITTSFIELD – By the time the Town Council unanimously voted Tuesday night to shift emergency police and fire dispatching from a local service to the Somerset County E-911 center in Skowhegan, the changeover had already begun. Although there will be some costs associated with the… Read More
Newport District Court Joyce Crocker, 47, Dexter, violating protective order, $200; violating condition of release, $200. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i < slot_sizes.length; i++) { if… Read More
THOMASTON – A proposal by a Florida-based corporation for a 60-lot subdivision behind Stubby’s Tire on Route 1 will be reviewed Aug. 14 by the planning board. According to Code Enforcement Officer Peter Surek, the preapplication review is for an 82-acre parcel of land owned… Read More
HOULTON – The following divorce was granted on the grounds of irreconcilable marital differences in June in Aroostook County Superior Court by Justice Paul T. Pierson. Randy Henderson of Littleton and Wendy Henderson of Littleton, married on Aug. 4, 1976, in Littleton. Read More
WESTFIELD – The seventh annual Westfield Jubilee will be held on Saturday, Aug. 25. People interested in registering for the parade should contact the Westfield town office at 425-5951. Read More
Houlton District Court Comfort A. Crandall, 19, Smyrna, operating all-terrain vehicle on public way, $50. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i < slot_sizes.length; i++) { if (isMobileDevice())… Read More
Houlton District Court William M. Merchant, 21, Caribou, speeding 30 plus mph more than posted speed, $250, license suspended 30 days; possession of drug paraphernalia, $100. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for… Read More
MACHIASPORT – Voters will consider a 27-article warrant and elect a selectman and a school board member during the annual town meeting on Monday, July 23. Town Clerk Margaret Flaherty said the polls at Fort O’Brien Elementary School will be open from 3 to 6:45… Read More
Machias District Court Evan R. Ackley, 18, Machias, burning outdoors without permit, $50. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i < slot_sizes.length; i++) { if (isMobileDevice()) { if… Read More
DEXTER – A $500 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for damaging the municipal golf course and for the theft of town equipment that occurred last week. The reward funds have been offered… Read More
DOVER-FOXCROFT – The 2002 Project Graduation Committee for Foxcroft Academy has organized and begun to plan fund-raising events. The purpose of Project Graduation is to provide a safe, supervised, alcohol-free environment for seniors the night of their graduation. The goal of the committee is to… Read More
DOVER-FOXCROFT – The Piscataquis County commissioners on Tuesday denied a petition request for winter maintenance to 6 miles of the Frenchtown Road. The commissioners denied the request because it came too late to be considered in the 2001-2002 budget for unorganized territories, which already has… Read More
ROCKLAND – Two of downtown Rockland’s lobster sculptures were stolen sometime late Monday night or early Tuesday morning, but the artwork was recovered soon after it was noticed missing. Deputy Chief Wally Tower said Officer Matt Lindahl was on routine patrol at about 3 a.m. Read More
BELFAST – The Waldo County YMCA is looking for quality yard sale items for its September yard sale. Donations, which must be clean and in good condition, may be dropped off at the Belfast YMCA, starting Monday, July 23. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot… Read More
ROCKLAND – Some of the residents of Ocean and Water streets have mixed feelings about gaining a neighbor but losing a view. In Gary Wheeler’s front yard, a 4-by-8-foot sheet of plywood leans against a tree. On it is painted “Where Is Our View?” An… Read More
EAST MILLINOCKET – Officials representing three area towns are talking about sharing services such as tax assessing, code enforcement and animal control. Another issue town officials want to discuss further with their respective school boards is consolidating area schools, an issue that has cropped up several… Read More
BANGOR – An 18-year-old Brewer man charged in the armed robbery of a Bangor cabdriver last winter pleaded guilty Monday to Class A robbery. James A. Emerson entered his guilty plea before Superior Court Justice Jeffrey Hjelm. Hjelm requested a pre-sentence report that will tell… Read More
PORTLAND – A third person involved in a fatal crash in Arundel this month has died. Sharon Poynter, 45, of Arundel died of her injuries Tuesday night at Maine Medical Center in Portland, according to Stephen McCausland of the Maine Department of Public Safety. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
Canadian and American artists and musicians are invited to participate in the Danforth International Art Show, which runs Monday, July 23, through Friday, Aug. 3, at the Union Hall in Danforth. But to do so, you must contact show sponsor Stan Whiteman at 448-7273 by… Read More
JONESPORT – The Maine Solar Energy Association will hold a weekend Photovoltaic-Hybrid workshop beginning at 8:30 a.m. Saturday and continuing through Sunday, July 21 and 22, at Richard Komp’s off-grid home. Sponsor is the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development, Energy Conservation Office. Meals… Read More
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded grants totaling $1,395,367 for Maine environmental protection projects. Funding includes three grants of $1,029,900 to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to improve wastewater treatment systems in Vinalhaven and Corinna, increase efficiency of the DEP licensing… Read More
CANTON – A father and son headed to their summer home were killed in a head-on crash along Route 108 late Tuesday. David Miles, 39, of Austin, Texas, and his passenger, 66-year-old Thomas Miles of Kamuela, Hawaii, were killed when their vehicle was struck by… Read More
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Olympia J. Snowe and Susan M. Collins announced Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will make funds available to Maine farmers who have suffered a loss of crop quality due to weather disasters. Farmers may enroll through the Quality Loss… Read More
SOUTHWEST HARBOR – Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Philip L. Geyelin will speak on “George the Second: The First Two Hundred Days,” at 8:30 p.m. Aug. 2, at the Claremont Hotel. Geyelin, former editorial page editor of The Washington Post, plans to give low grades to President… Read More
PORTLAND – Catholic Charities Maine Social Justice and Peace Services became Catholic Charities Maine Parish Social Ministry on July 1. The Aroostook Building Materials Bank and the Caribou Food Distribution Center have become a separate program within Catholic Charities Maine on July 1 as well. Read More
PRESQUE ISLE – The Maine Potato Board will be host for the annual Industry Dinner at 5:30 p.m. Friday, July 20, during Aroostook County’s annual Maine Potato Blossom Festival. The dinner is part of the annual festivities of the weeklong celebration of Maine’s potato industry held during the… Read More
BRUNSWICK – Town officials said they have reached agreement to buy 112 acres that will be set aside for walkers and bikers along a Brunswick-to-the-Ocean Trail. The previously unprotected land consists of two undeveloped tracts near the Town Commons – 17.3 acres to the north… Read More
PORTLAND – Officials in Portland are considering a proposal that would make bar owners pay more for police patrols in the city’s Old Port. A plan being reviewed by the City Council would assess downtown bars a fee based on the maximum number of customers… Read More
PORTLAND – A jury deliberated only 30 minutes Wednesday before finding accused serial rapist Michael Chase guilty of raping a 75-year-old Portland woman. Chase, 25, of Waterboro still faces charges for three other rapes in York and Cumberland counties last year. He is also the… Read More
CONCORD, N.H. – Six months after two Dartmouth College professors were slain in their home, prosecutors are leaning toward burglary gone awry as a motive, The Associated Press learned Wednesday. The two teen-age suspects had been accused of burglaries in the past and had no… Read More
BOSTON – A group that promotes sex between men and boys asked a federal judge Tuesday to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the parents of 10-year-old Jeffrey Curley, who was murdered by one of the group’s members. Curley was killed on Oct. 1, 1997. Salvatore… Read More
“All art is quite useless,” wrote Oscar Wilde in the preface of his novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray.” Nevertheless, there’s a useful lesson about artistic beauty in the story of a man whose face stays youthful and alluring while his portrait uglifies with each expression of his… Read More
Louise Henry doesn’t play the violin. No one in her family does. Yet tucked away in a closet of her Burnham home is an heirloom instrument in a ragged case. It is one of the few things she has left of a father who died when she was… Read More
Art in nature Artists return to the elements to create ephemeral sculptures at Montville arts center
Evergreen boughs bent to form a cavern, pine needles spread across the forest floor in the shape of a river, a medicine wheel laid out with rocks, maple saplings woven among the firs. These are some of the “natural” works of art unveiled at last weekend’s opening of… Read More
Today’s weapons in the war against cancer are surgery, radiation and chemotherapy; researchers, however, hope that a fourth will soon be added to the arsenal. It is one that could scarcely have been imagined a few decades ago and, as John Bonner writes in the… Read More
A noise as raucous as an agitated crow shattered the peace, let alone the quiet, of the summer afternoon. “You’ll have to leave. This is private property,” came a shout from up the beach, barely within earshot of where we were sitting on a giant… Read More
ORONO – The University of Maine men’s hockey schedule for the 2001-2002 season will feature 18 home dates, a return trip to play in a tournament in Naples, Fla., and the season-opening Ice Breaker Tournament. “It’s the type of diverse difficult schedule we like to… Read More
After a six-year hiatus from the high school varsity coaching ranks, Mark Hundhammer is back as the new boys soccer coach for Brewer High School. The former University of Maine-Machias men’s and women’s head coach, who last coached high school ball in 1994, will take… Read More
It’s not that Jessica Stammen wanted to wear the No. 4 jersey. She doesn’t have any particular attachment to the number – she wore a No. 21 in high school – but when the Cooper Union basketball team handed out uniforms last November, she didn’t have much of… Read More
The idea wasn’t supposed to turn out this way. It was an idea attempting to substantively measure if MLB umpires were adhering to this year’s effort to call the strike zone by the rulebook. MLB vice president Sandy Alderson was looking at the pitch count… Read More
A team made up of Bangor-area players won the Maine ASA Class C Softball Championship tournament July 14-15 in Augusta and will head to the national tournament in Alabama Sept. 21-23. Modern Decorators, a Bangor Recreation Department team, went 6-0 over the weekend and beat… Read More
BOOTHBAY HARBOR – The Boothbay Harbor Yacht club will host the second annual Volvo Leukemia Cup Regatta from July 20-22. Festivities will kick off with a junior Regatta, followed by a kick-off party at the J.H. Hawk’s Restaurant in Boothbay. On July 21, there will be a morning… Read More
MILLINOCKET – Millinocket rallied for three runs in the top of the sixth to beat Orono-Veazie 7-6 in Little League all-star baseball action for ages 11-12 Wednesday. Travis Martin scored the game-winner on a wild pitch in the sixth, following an RBI game-tying single by… Read More
HERMON – John and Debbie Luce, kept it all in the family Wednesday night as the married racing duo won two feature races for the second time this season at Speedway 95. In the ladies division, Debbie kept her Saab in front from the third… Read More
Introspective, sensitive folk music isn’t often associated with lots of laughter, but when up-and-coming singer-songwriter Lucy Kaplansky thinks about touring with John Gorka, Cheryl Wheeler and Cliff Eberhardt, she knows a good time will be had. “These guys are all my friends,” said the New… Read More
The smells of popcorn butter mixed with sweet cotton candy return to Bangor during one week every summer. They meld with the sounds of children laughing and thrill seekers screaming. Not far off, pigs are snoring in the fresh hay and Clydesdales stand at attention, waiting to engage… Read More
Once upon a time, a girl with moonlight in her eyes put her hand in mine and said she loved me so. Tony Bennett, that girl would be me. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner… Read More
In theaters LEGALLY BLONDE, 96 minutes, PG-13, directed by Robert Luketic, written by Kirsten Smith and Karen McCullah Lutz. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i < slot_sizes.length;… Read More
I’ve heard plenty of talk about “empty nest” syndrome, but never thought I’d experience it myself. After watching the pair of merlins I first mentioned in my May 5 column raise a family of four, I was somewhat taken aback one day to find the… Read More
Looking for a great little guide to Acadia National Park’s easy day hikes? Look no more. The Globe Pequot Press, which publishes “A Falcon Guide” series, recently printed “Best Easy Day Hikes, Acadia National Park” by Delores Kong and Dan Ring. This $6.95 guide describes 21 fairly easy… Read More
BUCKSPORT – The Alamo Theatre in Bucksport returns to its roots this month with a silent film festival. Northeast Historic Film, which restores and brings classic films of Maine and New England to the public, will present the Northeast Silent Film Festival “Rural Places/Lost Worlds”… Read More
Hey, I’m Tony. I’m the 21-year-old UMaine student who ranted and raved last week about the per-ception among twentysomethings of the Greater Bangor area’s seeming lack of good times in a nightly format. Despite its wealth of plays, concerts and art openings, the Queen City comes up short… Read More