BANGOR – A Bangor man was charged with manslaughter Tuesday after allegedly causing the death of a 40-year-old man, who reportedly fell from a second-floor balcony last month. Bruce Mann, 43, remained in Penobscot County Jail on $50,000 cash bail after his Tuesday afternoon arrest… Read More
BANGOR – A former Bangor woman acquitted of killing her husband in one of the city’s most highly publicized murder trials has died, her attorney confirmed Tuesday night. The attorney for 50-year-old Geraldine Malmstrom said he was notified by family members “in the past couple… Read More
BANGOR – Debt-ridden Bangor and Aroostook Railroad officially is under federal bankruptcy protection, a place where it did not want to end up. Now a pending $62 million sale of the railroad system is on hold. In two separate court proceedings Tuesday, a U.S. Bankruptcy… Read More
BANGOR – The brother of double-murder suspect Jeffrey Cookson told jurors Tuesday that his brother was asleep at his home in Guilford when the murders of 20-year-old Mindy Gould and 21-month-old Treven Cunningham are thought to have occurred two years ago in Dexter. Scott Cookson,… Read More
AUGUSTA – Maine is facing a nursing shortage crisis, but the state is not alone. The growing shortage is causing emergency rooms to back up, increasing the risk of medical errors and forcing hospitals across the country to scramble to find new nurses. The shortage led to a… Read More
AUGUSTA – Congress appears deadlocked over legislation that would finally move the federal government toward fulfilling a promise made in 1975 to fund 40 percent of the cost of special education programs. Most Senate members of a joint conference committee support the move, but most House members do… Read More
MILO – Bangor and Aroostook Railroad officials will answer questions about the status of the company at a public meeting at 10 a.m. today at Milo Town Hall. Milo Town Manager Jane S. Jones said the operation of B&A’s line from Brownville to Lac-Megantic, Quebec,… Read More
PRESQUE ISLE – The Maine Potato Growers Inc., recently reported record sales of $69 million and net income of $363,000 for fiscal year 2001, which ended June 30. MPG also reported payment of $197,000 of patronage dividends, paid in a combination of cash and stock,… Read More
Gibson Financial Solutions L.L.C., a registered investment advisory firm established earlier this year, has opened an office at 104 Main St. in Ellsworth. Owner Anne Gibson, who has worked in the trust industry since 1983, prepares comprehensive financial plans, investment plans, retirement plans, and estate plans and also… Read More
The Auburn-based St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad Co., is being sold to a larger railroad company. Genesee & Wyoming Inc. announced plans Monday to pay $18.5 million and assume $10.9 million in debt to acquire Pennsylvania-based Emons Transportation Group, which owns the St. Lawrence &… Read More
AUGUSTA – Energy conservation programs should not be managed by utilities as state law allows, but by the Public Utilities Commission, a coalition of senior citizens, environmentalists, doctors and low-income people says. Companies such as Central Maine Power charge ratepayers for energy conservation programs, then… Read More
Once the state or the federal government takes possession of land, the door has then been opened for the general public to make use of that property for whatever purposes they see fit. In the beginning, this change in land use is generally attributed to some benevolent purpose. Read More
More than half of the newly appropriated emergency federal funding is devoted to increased defense spending. If the Sept. 11 atrocities and the anthrax scare have taught us anything it should be that there is no affordable defense against someone who is committed to killing us or causing… Read More
This is in response to the Bangor City Council’s decision not to allow a rave dance for the area young, old, or other people. The concern was over drug use. I was wondering why it is that the middle part or a free society will not trust its… Read More
Every day we are besieged by the media to spend, spend, spend. Wasn’t one of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal slogans, “Spend your way to prosperity”? It didn’t work then and it won’t work now. With people being laid off across the country, credit cards maxed… Read More
Your editorial, “Expensive turf” (BDN, Nov. 19) referred to a 1997 report titled, “Proposal to Reduce the Cost of Government Through Reform of Governmental Relations”. The report was heard from again in a bill I submitted, LD 1038, in the last session of the legislature. Amendments were needed… Read More
The Department of Transportation says it is trying to cut out the confusion by changing the mileage numbers on Interstate 95 at a cost of $700,000. That’s just the beginning cost – consider all the maps and travel guides already printed with exit numbers on them. Then there… Read More
The president keeps assuring us that, with a bit of care, we can safely and openly travel about in public. I want to believe him. So where’s the vice president? If it really isn’t safe, then why isn’t the vice president dashing about the nation making speeches while… Read More
It has been nearly two years since Gov. King unveiled his exciting plan to provide laptop computers to every Maine junior high student. From the start, the governor has promised that being the first in the nation to go statewide with a comprehensive publicly funded program to integrate… Read More
Short of making Maine’s chickadee license plates less attractive (perhaps by drawing the bird, like the red lobster on the previous plate, to look cooked) demand for the alternative and environmentally supportive loon plate will continue to decline. This is especially true if all the state does is… Read More
In Cal Thomas’ column of Nov. 23 in the BDN he writes that Secretary of State Colin Powell is suffering from a “mirage” and not a “vision” for “peace in the Middle East.” He then goes on to make the statement that “Israel ceded land in those deals,… Read More
BANGOR – The Bush administration would be wise to distance itself from the United States’ historically intermittent relationship with Pakistan and develop lasting but distant ties with the Muslim nation, former Bowdoin College President Robert Edwards told a group of students and community leaders Tuesday. Read More
The Maine National Guard is planning to deploy 100 soldiers and airmen along the Canadian border under an agreement signed by U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and Canadian Cabinet ministers. The strategy of using 600 National Guardsmen to augment customs and immigration agents at the… Read More
Thanks go out today to many more contributors to the Santa’s Helper Fund who brought the total raised to $11,187. With 20 days until Christmas, we feel optimistic about reaching the $50,000 needed by The Salvation Army to meet the basic needs of so many families and children… Read More
ROCKLAND – The sheriff of Knox County says enough is enough. Sheriff Daniel G. Davey served notice this week that after Jan. 1 his department will no longer: googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner =… Read More
ELLSWORTH – A Frankfort man accused of driving a truck in a fatal accident in June in Verona was indicted Tuesday on a charge of manslaughter by the Hancock County grand jury. Paul Mason, 28, was driving a pickup truck in which Hope Porter, 14,… Read More
ELLSWORTH – A New Jersey man accused of shooting his father in the back of the head was indicted Tuesday on a charge of murder by a Hancock County grand jury. Alan Michalik, 33, of Sayreville. N.J., allegedly shot his father on Thursday, Nov. 8,… Read More
BUCKSPORT – A Bucksport couple has filed a lawsuit against Maine Medical Center in Portland, claiming a surgical team left a sponge inside the woman after a 1998 surgery. Ethel and Samuel Burgess are seeking unspecified damages for negligence on the part of the surgical… Read More
Eastport’s city manager has been offered the top administrative post on Vinalhaven. George “Bud” Finch, 52, said Tuesday he is considering the offer but hasn’t decided whether to accept. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner… Read More
BANGOR- There will be a “Putting Natural Gas to Work” workshop on burner conversions sponsored by Bangor Gas from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5, at Eastern Maine Technical College in Rangeley Hall. Charlie Aiello of Midco International will discuss and demonstrate proper… Read More
BANGOR – Prompted by a request to hold an all-night rave at the Bangor Auditorium, a City Council committee Tuesday gave its blessing to a 1 a.m. curfew at Bass Park meant to discourage the events. “It’s bad business for the city to be involved… Read More
HOWLAND – The Vision Process meeting for SAD 31 scheduled for Dec. 8 has been postponed. The event will be rescheduled for a Saturday in January to be determined. For more information call 732-3390. Read More
Searsport District High School First quarter honor roll 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 (slot_sizes[i][0]… Read More
BAR HARBOR – The Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce will face a threefold increase in its monthly rent as a result of a new policy on rental properties within the Bar Harbor Municipal Building passed by town councilors Tuesday night. The Chamber, which rents much… Read More
PITTSFIELD – Town councilors Tuesday night approved the temporary installation of an antenna by Cianbro Corp. on the Grove Hill water tower that will allow the company high-speed Internet access for a hospital construction project. Mike Dow of Cianbro told the council that while working… Read More
PITTSFIELD – The Pittsfield Community Garden Club will meet at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 8, at Barbara Kenniston’s home for a holiday brunch. For more information, call 487-3762. Read More
Knox County Superior Court Brian C. Murphy, 44, Belfast, Ireland, operating motor vehicle while under influence of intoxicants, dismissed. 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
ST. AGATHA – Within the next couple of days, residents of SAD 33, Frenchville and St. Agatha will receive a survey concerning future municipal assessments for the local cost of education. Generated by an ad hoc committee looking at the current funding formula, the survey… Read More
Presque Isle District Court Michael L. Allen, 26, Van Buren, possessing marijuana, $400. 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
PRESQUE ISLE – The City Council voted 6-1 at its meeting Monday night to approve the 2002 budget of $8,999,875. The new budget, which will require a municipal appropriation of $4,835,850, is a net increase of just $125,100 over the 2001 appropriation. googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
HOULTON – The adult education programs in the Vocational Region 2 School of Applied Technology will take registrations through December. Many classes begin Jan. 7. There is no charge to Maine residents for high school completion and basic literacy classes. Adults also may choose from… Read More
HOULTON – New Books New Readers is an informational reading and discussion group using children’s books to improve a parent’s “first teacher” skills and the reading comprehension skills of any adult. Susan York will lead the group’s discussion and invites participants to attend the December session on the… Read More
ORRINGTON – By this time next year, residents might be able to experience town meetings and other aspects of community life without leaving the comfort of their homes. During a school committee meeting Tuesday at Center Drive School, an update was provided by a member… Read More
GUILFORD – Robert Littlefield has filled almost every role in his community over the years, from Santa Claus to sanitation engineer, but his greatest contribution to this mill town is the 31 years he has served as town manager. The Guilford native told selectmen Tuesday… Read More
ELLSWORTH – An issue debated off and on for decades in Hancock County has sprung back to life with the results of a survey conducted by the city’s comprehensive plan review committee. City and state officials have heard many and often opposing arguments about how… Read More
BANGOR – Several Hancock County staff members of Community Health and Counseling Services were honored for their years of service to the agency during its recent 2001 annual meeting on Oct. 17 at the Spectacular Event Center. The staff members were among 96 CHCS and… Read More
BELFAST – Deadbeat taxpayers and out-of-town taxpayers were on the minds of city councilors at their meeting Tuesday night. The council agreed to create a more aggressive policy for dealing with business owners who fail to pay the personal property tax. googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More
WINTERPORT – Legal maneuvering by the group attempting to tear down the West Winterport Dam has forced the Board of Selectmen to delay its plans to recommend taking the dam by eminent domain. The legal sleight-of-hand was pulled off by attorney Clinton B. Townsend of… Read More
SEARSPORT – Six nonprofits in the midcoast region received money through the Maine Community Foundation, through a bequest from the late Robert and Muriel List of Searsport. The organizations are the Searsport Volunteer Ambulance, Volunteer Fire Department and Carver Memorial Library; the Salvation Army Center… Read More
ROCKLAND – Two women were arrested this week on drug trafficking charges after secret indictments were issued against them by a Knox County Superior Court grand jury. On Thursday, the grand jury issued 31 indictments against 29 people, but three of the cases remained sealed… Read More
BELFAST – Big Brothers-Big Sisters of Waldo County will wrap up its silent auction of Christmas wreaths at KeyBank on Saturday. More than 60 local businesses have decorated wreaths this year with inventive, artistic and, sometimes, whimsical touches. The wreaths are on display in several… Read More
UNITY – A public ham dinner is planned from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7, at the Unity Union Church on Depot Street. Adults will be charged $6, children $3. Read More
GREENVILLE – The future operation of two state departments that occupy prime shorefront property on Moosehead Lake will be discussed at a meeting later this month. The Department of Conservation operates an office on Lakeview Street and the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has… Read More
Dover-Foxcroft District Court Laurie Worster, 34, Brownville Junction, operating under influence of intoxicants, $600, 48 hours in jail, license suspended 90 days. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0;… Read More
DOVER-FOXCROFT – The following divorces were granted in 13th District Court during October on grounds of irreconcilable differences: Chester F. Loomis III and Laura J. Mallett, both of Dover-Foxcroft; married at Dover-Foxcroft on Oct. 23, 1999; shared custody of one child. googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More
GREENVILLE – The lighting of the annual Christmas tree at the monument in front of the town office will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8. Refreshments will be served and Santa Claus will visit with children. Read More
DOVER-FOXCROFT – The Piscataquis County commissioners announced Tuesday that five snowmobile clubs would receive state grants for snowmobile trail maintenance in unorganized territories. On behalf of the snowmobile clubs that maintain trails in unorganized territories, the county submitted a request to the Department of Conservation’s… Read More
COLUMBIA – Nearly a month after a devastating fire, a building committee will gather tonight to begin work on applying for a $250,000 state grant to help build a new Town Hall. In the meantime, an area bank plans to present the Columbia Fire Department… Read More
MACHIAS – The voices of the Washington County Children’s Chorus, including those to be heard during Sunday’s Christmas concert at the Centre Street Congregational Church, will be recorded for a compact disc. Chorus board member Doug Guy said the CD will be created with a… Read More
WEST BATH – Four homemade bombs have been placed in mailboxes in the area, but none has caused injuries, authorities said. One of the devices found in the home mailbox of labor lawyer Patrick McTeague was detonated safely on Monday, and law enforcement officials were… Read More
BANGOR – An effort to aid those in need in Maine and Honduras began with an idea from one Bangor High School student. Eighteen-year-old Ben Sprague always wanted to help people. After his 11-day visit to Nuevo Sacramento in Honduras with his youth group last… Read More
Working to purchase gifts for children of firefighters, police officers and other emergency personnel who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks in New York City on Tuesday, Sept. 11, are volunteers with the Christmas in New York fund-raiser. Lisa Hardy reports the group has… Read More
WASHINGTON – Seven schools and three libraries throughout the state will share more than $53,020 under the latest wave of funding in the federal e-rate program, written by U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., as part of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. This… Read More
PITTSFIELD – A 20-year-old dormitory student from Cleveland, Ohio, was arrested Monday night at Maine Central Institute and charged with gross sexual assault on a 15-year-old female student. Police said Tuesday that they believe there may be other victims and are asking the public for… Read More
NEWCASTLE – An elderly Danish woman who was blamed for last summer’s crash that killed two people at a roadside stand off U.S. 1 in Newcastle will not face prosecution. District Attorney Geoffrey Rushlau said Edith Beyer, 87, of Copenhagen is responsible for the deaths,… Read More
BANGOR – A year ago, hotel clerk Matthew Sliker, 21, faced a short-barreled shotgun pointed at his jaw during a robbery in Waterville. On Tuesday, Sliker gingerly took the weapon during a jury trial at U.S. District Court in Bangor and confirmed it was the gun that had… Read More
HOULTON – Houlton officials were surprised to learn Tuesday morning that they had hired a new police chief. The Lewiston Sun Journal reported Tuesday that Daniel N. Soucy, the police chief in Jay since 1997, had been hired by Houlton. The report said Soucy had… Read More
PORTLAND – Seiha Srey, who spent 19 months in prison on a murder charge that later was dropped, is back in jail after being denied bail in connection with a Halloween break-in. At a prosecutor’s request, a Portland district judge ordered the 19-year-old Srey held… Read More
DOVER, N.H. – Lawyers for a former Rochester man on trial for the beating death of his girlfriend’s 21-month-old daughter told jurors Tuesday that authorities have the wrong man. Mark Sisti, a lawyer for Chad Evans, said police investigators in Kassidy Bortner’s death jumped to… Read More
Police departments nationwide are breaking ranks over Justice Department efforts to interview 5,000 Middle Eastern men, with officers far beyond Oregon concerned about racial profiling. Others are astounded that their colleagues wouldn’t cooperate with federal agents. Local law enforcement balked at the University of Michigan,… Read More
AUGUSTA – Maine should continue to close all hearings in child protective cases unless a judge decides otherwise case by case, a committee that has been studying custody issues for the Legislature says. Grandparents, foster parents and others can sometimes take part in hearings. But… Read More
Lettice Douffet, a tour guide at Fustian House in Wiltshire, England, likes to tell stories. Big stories. Tall stories. She can take a small detail – about a historical house whose owner tripped on a step – and turn it into a romantic saga about a woman in… Read More
Tom and Jaci Hancock left high-stress jobs in Baltimore and moved to coastal Maine two years ago in search of a “more quiet, subdued lifestyle.” But that’s not exactly how one would describe their frenetic lives as resident-owners, chefs, waiters and dishwashers at their restaurant,… Read More
I have a bipolar kitchen. When I invite company for dinner, out come the cookbooks and the scavenged Martha Stewart back issues. The fussier the better. It makes me happy to have ingredients such as pine nuts and anchovy paste in my condiment-laden fridge. I… Read More
A nutty treat The First Congregational Church of Milford will sell its homemade, salty-sweet peanut brittle through the holiday season as a fund-raiser. The candy comes in 10-ounce bags for $2 each and is available at the church (Tuesdays are the best days to stop… Read More
Herb Beane has spent a lot of time in a bowling alley. For the past 11 or 12 years, the Bangor native has bowled in two leagues each week at Family Fun Lanes in Bangor. So, when things started getting quiet in the lanes a… Read More
A dictionary definition of limbo reads: ‘An indeterminate state midway between two others.’ Welcome to Matt Kinney’s world. 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++)… Read More
The words that officials at Bangor television station WABI (Channel 5) have been aching to say for the past 36 hours can now be uttered: The game is on. And not only in the Greater Bangor market, but statewide. “The game” is Saturday afternoon’s NCAA… Read More
So you’re all fired up to watch the University of Maine play its second-round NCAA Division I-AA football playoff game and you’ve just gotta know something about Northern Iowa. Right? Well, here’s the easy three-step primer: googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes =… Read More
Former Bangor High varsity swimmer Jason Thomas of Bangor has accepted a partial athletic scholarship to attend the University of Tennessee next fall. “I guess it’s in the back of every person’s mind to someday swim at that level,” said Thomas, 19. “It’s great because… Read More
The University of Maine women’s basketball team is gearing up for its second straight weekend on the road coming off a 1-1 effort at Rice University’s Gene Hackerman Invitational Tournament. Coach Sharon Versyp’s Black Bears dropped a 59-47 Friday game to then-No. 21 George Washington… Read More
COLLEGE Derek Lovely 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 (slot_sizes[i][0]… Read More
ORONO – While the injuries sustained by versatile star Errick Greene weren’t as severe as initially thought, University of Maine basketball coach John Giannini will still be without the services of two other starters as they continue to recuperate from the effects of a Nov. 23 car crash. Read More
When people think of great moments in sports history, they tend to envision the triumphs of male athletes. However, women champions have made their own proud contributions. Three fine picture books provide eloquent testimony to their fine achievements. During World War II, because the great… Read More