AUBURN – The Port of Auburn could draw more international business, and eventually more jobs, once it gets approved for federal customs inspections. In the works for a decade, the service came a step closer to reality last week when the U.S. Customs Service published… Read More
    LEWISTON – Sometimes we need a little bit of controversy and a little bit of anger to remind us what is important. Sometimes we can’t really show our values unless we are forced to defend them. That’s what happened Saturday in Lewiston. Thousands of people… Read More
    When famine swept through Ethiopia in 1984, more than 8 million people suffered severe food shortages and crippling malnutrition, more than 1 million died. Daily television coverage and a ground-breaking BBC documentary brought the horror to unprecedented global attention. Two immensely popular rock concerts – Band Aid and… Read More
    Congress approved special grants for rural schools a few years ago because the federal money often is based on school-district population and the grants going to low-enrollment schools (fewer than 600 students) were so small that they didn’t buy much and achieved even less. But by giving these… Read More
    PORTLAND – Activists representing Maine’s Latinos want to build a community support center in the Portland area for a minority group, whose population in the state ranges from under 10,000 to 20,000. Latinos from across New England who gathered in Portland on Saturday pledged to… Read More
    BANGOR – The Board of Environmental Protection this week will consider granting a permit that would pave the way for construction of a Wal-Mart Supercenter near the Penjajawoc Marsh. The 10-member BEP conducted several days of hearings last year on the Widewaters Group’s’ proposal to… Read More
    MACHIAS – The “hoax bomb” that federal screeners in California thought they found last week in a Maine couple’s luggage was an electric surge protection strip that was jammed into the bag at the last minute, the man said Saturday. Paul Donahue said he stuck… Read More
    WESTON – Pipes being thawed was blamed for a fire Saturday that destroyed a two-story house on Route 1. John and Carolyn Ficket were not at home when a passer-by reported the fire at their house at about noon, according to Danforth Fire Chief Duane… Read More
    HANCOCK – Two women received relatively minor injuries when their cars collided Sunday afternoon on Route 1, but their cars were demolished in the accident, according to police. Amanda Lee, 22, of Ellsworth was driving a 1994 Dodge at approximately 1:30 p.m. when she pulled… Read More
    PRESQUE ISLE – The Libra Foundation has awarded a $50,000 grant to the Presque Isle Historical Society to help restore the city’s former fire station on Church Street for a museum. “It’s a nice thing to start out our process,” Craig Green, co-chairman of a… Read More
    GOULDSBORO – A special town meeting will be held Tuesday, Jan. 14, to consider proposed transfers among the town’s accounts, according to a local official. If the proposed measures were approved, roughly $73,000 in surplus funds would be transferred to cover summer road maintenance costs… Read More
    PRESQUE ISLE – Finishing up a whirlwind tour of Maine that began that morning in Biddeford, Gov. John E. Baldacci met Friday night with about 40 economic, education and municipal leaders at Northern Maine Technical College and promised continued support for economic development. Looking tired… Read More
    Waldo County Superior Court Cases Jan. 9, 2003 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
    PORTLAND – A Kennebunkport man admitted in U.S. District Court on Friday that he set a $1 million fire at an Arundel boatyard last summer. Christopher Conley, 19, pleaded guilty to arson of a building used in interstate and foreign commerce and aiding and abetting… Read More
    MADAWASKA – Women, Work and Community Center, in cooperation with Madawaska Adult Education, is presenting a career and self-exploration workshop, Uniquely You, 9 a.m.-noon Tuesdays, Jan. 21-March 4, at Madawaska High School. To register, call the office at 728-6314. Read More
    BROWNVILLE – A Brownville couple was hospitalized Saturday afternoon after icy road conditions caused them to lose control of their vehicle and strike some trees on the Lyford Road on Route 11. Police Officer Dennis Dorsey said Gloria Padilla, 47, and her husband, Mauricio Padilla,… Read More
    AUBURN – A local man found guilty of manslaughter in the fatal beating of a neighbor has been ordered to serve 14 years in prison. Robert Alley, 59, was sentenced in Androscoggin County Superior Court on Friday, three months after a jury convicted him in… Read More
    NORTHEAST CARRY TOWNSHIP – A Portland woman was airlifted Saturday by helicopter to a Bangor hospital after she was injured in a snowmobile accident in a remote area north of Moosehead Lake. Mary Sue Tibbetts, 47, was reported in fair condition Sunday at Eastern Maine… Read More
    SOLON – A Waterville man died early Saturday morning as the result of a snowmobile accident on the banks of the Kennebec River, the eighth death of the season so far. Richard J. Labreck, 41, was found about a quarter-mile south of the camp where… Read More
    WALLAGRASS – Two people were left temporarily homeless Sunday afternoon after a kitchen grease fire went out of control. More than 20 Fort Kent firefighters traveled the nearly 13 miles to Joyce Hill’s 11/2-story home on the Sly Brook Road shortly after 1 p.m. Sunday,… Read More
    PLEASANT POINT – Always colorful and at times controversial, Fred Moore III is going to Augusta, again. The Passamaquoddy leader has been elected to another four-year term as the tribe’s state representative, and Moore will represent tribal members at Pleasant Point near Eastport and at… Read More
    CALAIS – Take a hike for your heart and win a prize. Indeed, that’s the plan in an exercise program sponsored by St. Croix Valley Healthy Communities, a department of Calais Regional Hospital. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes… Read More
    WINTER HARBOR – Gerald Sprague supposedly was doing a good deed for an acquaintance last week when he went to help a man whose truck had become stuck by the side of the road outside his home. Sprague did not know his good deed would… Read More
    Rockland District Court Cases Dec. 23, 2002-Jan. 3, 2003 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] googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More
    HOWLAND – State education consultants are recommending that SAD 31 study the feasibility of sending its high school students to neighboring Mattanawcook Academy in Lincoln. The recommendation is contained in a 95-page state study of SAD 31’s proposed $9.6 million project to build a new… Read More
    BANGOR – Brides from as far away as Canada and Augusta were all on a mission this weekend – to make headway on their wedding preparations. Wedding party members had the opportunity Saturday and Sunday to visit the booths and displays at the 2003 Bridal… Read More
    BELMONT – A two-story home on Back Belmont Road just west of Belfast was destroyed by fire Sunday morning. Belmont Fire Chief Ron Wellman said a neighbor saw flames coming from the Greg Grass home and summoned firefighters at 10:55 a.m. googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More
    LINCOLN – A Lincoln man was hospitalized Saturday after the all-terrain vehicle he was driving collided with a pickup truck on a sharp corner of the Phinney Farm Road. Clifton Carlow, 73, was taken by ambulance to Penobscot Valley Hospital in Lincoln, Officer Brian Hughes… Read More
    Dozens of reports of a plane crash in Charleston turned out to be much ado about nothing, according to the pilot who flew a single-engine Cessna on Sunday. “I got stuck in the raspberry bushes and my brother helped me out, and that’s the story,”… Read More
    PITTSBURG, N.H. – The government has gone to extraordinary lengths to increase security along the Canadian border since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but life continues as usual for most of New Hampshire’s northernmost residents. Visiting Canada for an afternoon of shopping or an appointment… Read More
    HALLOWELL – A 35-year-old man was charged with aggravated assault Sunday after a card game argument led to a gunshot that wounded an Augusta man, police said. Donald Hipkins was arrested after a 911 operator heard him fire the shot that wounded David Storkson, 34,… Read More
    In the Bangor Daily News’ discussion of genetically engineered food, no one has mentioned the Iowa pig farmers. According to an article in the Iowa Farm Bureau Spokesman, the birth rates of sows belonging to veteran farmer Jerry Rosman dropped almost 80 percent last year. After checking all… Read More
    Alan Gerowe, in his letter to the editor on Jan. 6, said, “we were attacked.” Gerowe is correct, but we were attacked by al-Qaida, not Iraq. Unlike many of my friends, I supported President Bush when he responded to the Sept. 11 attacks by going… Read More
    The recent article about Richard Reid, the man accused of attempting to blow up a plane with a shoe bomb, was very disturbing. His lawyer is upset because prison officials denied Reid a radio in his cell. His lawyer says Reid’s First Amendment rights were violated. Read More
    You have to love the spin-doctors in the White House for the sheer enormity of their gall. It’s a double tax to tax investment returns because the corporation’s profits have already been taxed? In the first place, many major corporations have offshore mail- drop headquarters and pay no… Read More
    I want to remind the residents of SAD 31 that the time has come to take action if you want to see a new Penobscot Valley High School built in Howland. On Jan. 15 the State Board of Education will meet at the Augusta Armory on Western Avenue. Read More
    Editor’s Note: Student Union is written by students at Hampden Academy, Brewer High School, John Bapst Memorial High School, Old Town High School, MDI High School, Ashland Community High School and Schenck High School in East Millinocket. The weekly column is a joint effort among the schools, the… Read More
    This week’s column was written by Ashland Community High School students. Their adviser is Laura Howes. Jae Young Choi is a foreign exchange student from Youido, South Korea. Choi traveled a long journey before coming to stay with Sherri and Matt Calhoun in Ashland. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
    ORONO – Considering the fact it’s the mid point of the Eastern Maine Indoor Track League regular season and there are still two meets left before postseason begins, Saturday’s Penobscot Valley Conference-EMITL meet wouldn’t seem that critical at first glance. However, for the coaches and… Read More
    PORTLAND – The University of Maine women’s basketball team demonstrated Saturday that unselfishness leads to great team chemistry. The Black Bears showed off tremendous teamwork while ambushing Yale with a 20-3 first-half scoring run that opened the door for a lopsided 92-62 victory in front… Read More
    Eric “Rick” Ylagan, a respected Bangor High School earth science teacher and coach of that school’s state championship boys tennis team, died in his sleep early Saturday morning at his home in Brewer, apparently of natural causes. He was 39. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define… Read More
    HIGH SCHOOL At Big Squaw, Greenville 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] googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var… Read More
    HIGH SCHOOL At Old Town 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] googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes… Read More
    HANOVER, N.H. – Brewer High senior Heather Clark finished fourth Saturday in the girls high school mile at the prestigious Dartmouth Relays. Clark clocked a time of 5 minutes, 8.84 seconds, in the meet at Dartmouth College. Clark’s finish surpasses her previous season-best 5:14.92 and… Read More
    ELLSWORTH – People who are suspicious that a medical problem runs in their family or wonder whether a particular medical problem could be inherited can participate in a genetics clinic from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Jan. 25, at Maine Coast Memorial Hospital. The free… Read More
    HIGH SCHOOL AT UNIVERSITY of MAINE, Orono 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] googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot… Read More
    CASTINE – Julia Knights of Brookton had 23 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots to lead the Maine Maritime Academy Mariners past the visiting Castleton State Spartans 71-60 in women’s college basketball action Sunday. Erinne Magee of Levant had 16 points and Meghann Burnett… Read More
    There is something deliciously compelling about Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto in B-flat minor. It is, at once, bombastic and delicate, harrowing and cajoling, confusing and lucid. There is also something wickedly inviting about soloist Masanobu Ikemiya, a classically trained, internationally known pianist with an unquenchable passion… Read More
    In theaters STANDING IN THE SHADOWS OF MOTOWN. Directed by Paul Justman, written by Walter Dallas and Ntozake Shange, 108 minutes, rated PG. Now playing, Movie City 8, Bangor. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner… Read More
    FINDING THEIR OWN VOICES: MAINE WOMEN AT THE MILLENNIUM: THEIR STORIES, text and photographs by James Andrew Mitchell, Down East Books, Camden, 2002, 144 pages, paperback, $14.95. Camden writer and photographer James Andrew Mitchell set out three years ago to compile the life stories of… Read More
    My great-great grandmother was born this day in 1859 in Greenville, and in 1913 she started recording the birthdays of friends and relatives in her Emerson Birthday Book. Often, she would put in the year of birth, as well. Printed in the book was a little verse for… Read More