Frustrated by the fight over the proposed John’s Bridge canoe launch, environmentalists and advocates for increased access to the Allagash River will face off in Augusta next week. Many wilderness canoeing guides have joined with environmental lobbying groups such as the Natural Resources Council of… Read More
    In Friday’s story about the shortage of nursing instructors, it was erroneously reported that Suzanne Brunner, director of the nursing program at Eastern Maine Technical College, has been searching for a new pediatrics instructor. Brunner is not engaged in such a search. Read More
    BANGOR – The Telford Aviation Group, a Bangor-based aircraft maintenance and charter service, has been approved for a $4.7 million federally guaranteed loan that could help the company expand its operations. “Investments like these pay off with enhanced job opportunities and improved economic circumstances –… Read More
    AUGUSTA – Three state employee bargaining units approved new contracts this week that include no raises or furlough days, while two other units rejected the contract offer. The supervisory, administrative, and professional-technical units approved their contracts in voting tallied after the deadline of 5 p.m. Read More
    A tradition started nearly a century ago by American mothers whose sons were in the armed forces is being carried on today. During World War I mothers would hand stitch a red-trimmed white flag featuring a blue star for each of their sons in the… Read More
    BANGOR – The number of people who have signed up for service in the military since the beginning of the Iraq war is up for some branches and stagnant for others, according to recruiting specialists in Maine. “Before the war we had almost no applicants… Read More
    Robert Klose wrote an op-ed published in last Saturday’s Bangor Daily News titled, “Compassion, but not support for the troops.” His words epitomize the attitude of the anti-war protesters. However, he takes his disdain for America to a whole other level. In answer to his… Read More
    By completing a first budget of rough cuts and tough choices, the Baldacci administration now has time to refine its work by identifying savings through efficiencies, the elimination of redundant or underused services and using the saved money for needed programs that were hurt in the budget. To… Read More
    After six years on the books and four in practice, the arguments for and against Maine’s fingerprinting law for school personnel are well-known. The criminal background checks that result from the prints are a precaution to keep pedo-philes out of our schools, worth the cost and trouble if… Read More
    In a pre-emptive strike, Maine legislators have bombarded veterans’ benefits over the last year with their own “shock and awe,” but were able to keep it off CNN. The legislative committees of Veterans and Legal Affairs and Cultural and Education Affairs used numbers furnished by… Read More
    On March 10, the Maine State Judiciary Committee held a workshop on LD 733, The Fully Informed Jury Act. As expected, it was turned down, but what was unexpected was the shortness of the session and the unanimous decision of the committee to kill the bill. Read More
    Cecile Pozzuto of Madawaska and people who feel the same way she does about dissident “repulsive diatribe” (BDN, March 27) stand in the way of democracy. When she and others say someone “does not deserve the right to be an American” because of what they say and feel,… Read More
    To all those who participated in last weekend’s “die-in,” your sophomoric attempt to show us the “horrors of war” using a sound-effects tape and some ketchup packets is, at best, amusement for passers-by. At worst, it’s an insult to our troops, some of whom are experiencing the real… Read More
    Ten days ago, in snow and mud, our vehicle crested the Shibar Pass in central Afghanistan. Below lay the Bamiyan valley, famous over 1,500 years for two enormous Buddhist statues carved in a red sandstone cliff. And tragic since March 2001 when the Taliban – unilaterally and with… Read More
    In late 2001, after a column on retired Sixth District Court Judge Paul A. MacDonald of Woolwich and his recently published memoir about his life growing up in a small Maine town, I pretty much had my head handed to me by a couple of former Rockland police… Read More
    This is my last column. After 16 years with this newspaper – 10 as a reporter, six as an editorial writer – it’s time to trade this wonderful experience in for a new one in Washington, D.C. What to write about in this last column… Read More
    AUGUSTA – During an hour-long conversation Friday about the national dairy crisis and its effect on Maine, Gov. John E. Baldacci said no Maine farmer should interpret his promised veto of a proposed milk handling fee as a negative move against Maine’s dairy industry. Baldacci… Read More
    WASHINGTON – Irving Oil recently became the first oil company to win a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Clean Air Excellence Award. The company received the award for producing low-sulfur gasoline three years ahead of regulation. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]];… Read More
    BANGOR – A study on the future ownership of Maine’s forestlands suggests that the North Woods won’t become a national park any time soon. The report, based on anonymous predictions from a panel composed mainly of private landowners and forest industry officials, found that public… Read More
    AUGUSTA – During an informal hallway meeting with University of Maine System Chancellor Joseph Westphal, some newly appointed Baldacci administration appointees asked if they should break into a chorus of “The Maine Stein Song.” Westphal was taken aback, but he shouldn’t have been. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
    PRESQUE ISLE – A Washburn man was finally brought to court Friday for his initial appearance on charges that he broke into a Madawaska house, bound a man with duct tape and robbed him at gunpoint. Since 31-year-old Eugene Allen’s arrest on Monday afternoon, he… Read More
    MACHIAS – Gov. John Baldacci’s $5.3 billion budget restores funding for veterans outreach centers in Machias and Portland, but the effort wouldn’t have succeeded without Washington County’s help, according to a legislative official. The budget was passed by the Legislature and signed into law Thursday,… Read More
    Like most Americans, Lamees Hanna spends a lot of her time monitoring the war on TV, in the newspapers and through a variety of independent sources on the Internet. She hopes for a quick end to the bloodshed in Iraq, for the long-awaited removal of… Read More
    Bangor police said they arrested a man early Friday for driving a car with expired plates. On Dec. 18, 2002, Officer Shawn Green pulled over 23-year-old Bangor resident Centrale Williams on Main Street because the license plate of the car he was driving had expired… Read More
    BANGOR – A proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter proposal took another hit this week. In a decision issued Wednesday, Superior Court Justice Jeffrey Hjelm upheld the city planning board’s 2001 decision to deny New York-based Widewaters-Stillwater LLC’s application for a site location of development permit. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
    PITTSFIELD – Pittsfield firefighters were called to Cianbro Corp.’s fabrication shop on River Road after a main propane line broke Friday afternoon.The line was the main connector from a 10,000-gallon tank located at the rear of the property. Assistant Fire Chief Dean Billings said the frost apparently shifted… Read More
    Sara, 13, has blue eyes and blond hair and hopes to be placed in an adoptive home in the near future. Sara has been listed twice before in the Maine-ly Children column and some calls resulted. According to her caseworker, a decision to reissue her profile was made… Read More
    LAMOINE – Town officials will invite the public to an April 9 workshop on proposed changes to the harbor ordinance, including increasing annual fees and tightening regulations for use of the town harbor. Selectmen and the town’s harbor masters are especially interested in discussing the… Read More
    GOULDSBORO – After several months of research, dialogue groups and interviews, Schoodic Healthy Communities has identified three major areas and issues needing work. The top three identified priorities were transportation, after-school programs, and the development of recreational options for working adults and seniors. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
    BANGOR – A man who summers in Southwest Harbor lost his lawsuit against the Bar Harbor Whale Watch Co. when a jury ruled against him Friday in U.S. District Court. The jury deliberated for 50 minutes in the three-day trial before announcing its verdict. James… Read More
    ROCKPORT – Northeast Health Inc., the parent organization of several Knox County health care facilities, is tightening its belt in the face of a $1.2 million cut in Medicaid and Medicare funding. The budget changes include job cuts and fee increases that were announced Friday,… Read More
    BLUE HILL – Due to continuing operating losses, 14 positions have been cut at Blue Hill Memorial Hospital, hospital officials announced Friday. The job cuts are part of the hospital’s attempt to limit losses in 2004 to $600,000, according to a hospital official. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
    AUGUSTA – Democratic and Republican bargainers have tentatively agreed on how to redraw the boundaries of Maine House of Representative districts to reflect a decade’s worth of population shifts around the state. Participants on both sides had been saying a deal was possible, but the… Read More
    ELLSWORTH – Every dog has his day, and for a longtime employee at the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department, a pretty big day came Friday. Robert “Red Dog” Larson, having seen three different jails in the county and having worked under four different sheriffs, wrapped up… Read More
    MACHIAS – The hiring of SAD 19 Superintendent Scott Porter by School Union 102 may open the door for the two school districts to share a superintendent. Union 102 includes Jonesboro, Machias, Marshfield, Northfield, Roque Bluffs, Wesley and Whitneyville. SAD 19 in Lubec is a… Read More
    Voters in New Canada and Wallagrass have made strong declarations at their town meetings against combining administrative services for the two towns. Residents were responding to a petition circulated by a group of 19 people from both communities asking town officials to investigate whether a… Read More
    FRIENDSHIP – Maine State Police have charged a local teenager with a felony for allegedly cutting down more than two dozen fruit trees on a resident’s property last Halloween night. Knox County District Attorney Geoffrey Rushlau said Justin Overlock, 18, has been issued a summons… Read More
    PORTLAND – The city will fund two soup kitchens affiliated with churches that do not provide benefits to domestic partners, even though it has denied the same money to two religious charities. The City Council has agreed to provide $7,940 of the federal housing and… Read More
    PORTLAND – Police have begun to post the names, addresses and photographs of convicted sex offenders on the Internet. Portland, the largest city in Maine, began posting the information Thursday afternoon, becoming the latest of a handful of law enforcement agencies to do so. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
    AUBURN – A Lewiston man accused of strangling his former roommate to death was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to the reduced charge of aggravated assault. Keith Doyon, 26, had been charged with manslaughter in connection with the December 2001 slaying… Read More
    CALAIS – The Calais Rotary Club would like to help stamp out polio worldwide in this decade, and it has mounted a fund-raising effort to help do that. At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 5, the Katahdin Valley Boys will perform at Calais High School. All… Read More
    MACHIAS – In preparation for a countywide distance learning system, the Washington County Consortium for School Improvement is sponsoring a public forum from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, March 31, in Torrey Hall at the University of Maine at Machias. Within a short time, all… Read More
    MACHIAS – Mudd Alley’s Bad Little Coffee Shop will sponsor a benefit supper for the Down East AIDS Network at 6 tonight. The coffee shop is located at the top of Main Street across from the Machias One Stop below the Robin’s Nest. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
    Mariaville Residents are expected to consider approving funds next week at the annual town meeting for improvements to the town’s transfer station, according to a town official. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false;… Read More
    DOVER-FOXCROFT – Having probation and parole under the same roof as the Police Department will add another layer of supervision to those convicted of crimes, say local and state officials. The probation and parole department serving Piscataquis County hopes to relocate to the new Dover-Foxcroft… Read More
    PITTSFIELD – Even before Thursday night’s recreation meeting began, Pittsfield Town Manager Kathryn Ruth said she had received more than 10 telephone calls from residents wishing to volunteer. “Everything from a Twilight League for children in Hathorn Park to jazz groups to a skateboard park,”… Read More
    Perry Hoping to hold the tax rate at $15.80 per $1,000 in property valuation or to lower it a little, voters on Tuesday approved a municipal budget $4,355 less than last year. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes =… Read More
    WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded Maine a $136,853 grant to fund the development of a system to make health insurance benefits available to those who have lost their jobs to foreign trade, according to U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins. Read More
    The May Festival, where the University of Maine Center on Aging was introduced to the community, is back with bigger and better plans to please all who participate. Sponsored by the Center on Aging and Eastern Agency on Aging, this year’s festival is chaired by… Read More
    SHERMAN STATION – An eighth-grade pupil at Katahdin High School could be charged with filing a false report for allegedly writing a bomb threat Friday morning in a restroom at the school. “Bomb, 10 o’clock” was written in one of the stalls in a girls restroom, according to… Read More
    BANGOR – A Chain of Concern will be held from noon to 1 p.m. today, when peace activists will join Veterans for Peace to line sidewalks along Route 2 from Eastern Maine Medical Center toward Mount Hope Cemetery with photos of Iraqis taken by Bangor resident Jim Harney… Read More
    OLD TOWN – The Old Town school board is developing its 2003-04 budget and will hold a workshop at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 2, to discuss issues with administration and parents. The meeting will be held in the Old Town High School cafetorium.Before the meeting,… Read More
    BANGOR – Beginning Sunday morning, March 30, traffic will be reduced to one lane southbound and one lane northbound between Exits 46 and 48 on Interstate 95 in order to aid rehabilitation work on the Kenduskeag Bridge, according to the Maine Department of Transportation. This is one day… Read More
    AUBURN – The family of a man killed by a snowmobile in December is suing the Sabattus man charged with causing his death. Robert Levesque, 59, was walking with a flashlight on frozen Sabattus Lake when he was struck by a passing snowmobile going about… Read More
    WASHINGTON – Nearly $2 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have been awarded for continued operation of Head Start programs in Hancock, Washington and York counties. U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins announced the grants in a joint… Read More
    ELLSWORTH – An auction to raise funds for the Lamoine Habitat House will be held at 9 a.m. today at the Father Kenny Center at St. Joseph’s Church. Lamoine Baptist Church is joining Hancock County Habitat for Humanity to sponsor a Habitat House in Lamoine. Read More
    WASHINGTON – Northern Maine Medical Center in Fort Kent will receive a $325,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture loan to install heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration equipment in its operating room, which now is unusable because of high humidity and heat from poor ventilation and cooling. Read More
    WASHINGTON – The College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor will receive $72,750 in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to improve response capabilities for rescuing stranded whales and other marine mammals. U.S Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan… Read More
    AUGUSTA – The first-ever coordinated statewide survey of homeless people in Maine will take place March 31, according to Maine State Housing Authority Director Michael Finnegan. “The information we will gather … will provide us with an accurate picture on the number of homeless people,… Read More
    Graphic communications and motorcycle service technology were among the dozens of categories drawing students from Maine high schools and colleges in a recent Maine SkillsUSA-VICA competition. SkillsUSA is a national organization serving 250,000 high school and college students in technical, skilled and service occupations and… Read More
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Olympia J. Snowe, chairwoman of the Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Fisheries and Coast Guard, on Friday introduced the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2003. “This historic law positions the Coast Guard as a cornerstone of the new Department of Homeland Security… Read More
    BANGOR – A 24-year-old Corinth man died Friday afternoon after he lost control of his motorcycle and struck a car on Broadway. Bangor police closed down a section of Broadway from Griffin Road to Kenduskeag Avenue to most traffic for much of the afternoon as… Read More
    BELFAST – The Belfast Veterans of Foreign Wars is holding a rally to support the troops from noon to 2 p.m. today in front of the post office on Main Street. Membership applications for the VFW and the men’s and women’s auxiliary will be available. Read More
    Cooper The annual town meeting and elections will begin at 7 p.m. Monday, March 31, at the Cathance Grange Hall. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i… Read More
    CALAIS – Architects for some school projects are going to have to sharpen their pencils to cut more than $900,000 from two bids that were over the top. The architects met with the Calais school committee Tuesday night to talk about the bids and what… Read More
    Machias District Court Cases Feb. 1-28, 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 () { // Define Slot… Read More
    Warren Nearly 160 residents turned out for Tuesday’s annual town meeting and passed all of the budget articles, which results in a $1.5 million gross municipal budget. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false;… Read More
    CAMDEN – A local man was taken to a Rockport hospital after the bicycle he was riding got knocked to the road by an opening car door. The injury was reported at 10:02 a.m. on Atlantic Avenue, near the entrance to the Camden Public Library,… Read More
    ROCKLAND – The Lincoln Street Center for Arts and Education will hold a March Hare’s Faire, a giant indoor yard and book sale, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today at the Lincoln Street Center. The center is in the old Rockland High School gym,… Read More
    GREENVILLE – The Moosehead Historical Society and Museum is planning 23 bus trips in New England and eastern Canada from May through October. The trips include excursions to Willowbrook at Newfield, Lakewood Theater in Skowhegan, St. Andrews-by-the-Sea in New Brunswick, train rides in Portland and… Read More
    DOVER-FOXCROFT – Plans for this year’s Homecoming Celebration on Aug. 2 are well under way. A recent Maple Sunday breakfast raised $1,711 for the event and other fund-raising events are planned. More than 500 people were served at the breakfast by 47 volunteers. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
    ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The questions will finally be answered. Will the University of Maine hockey team’s three-week layoff prove costly? googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i… Read More
    ANN ARRBOR, Mich. – The first thing that stands out when you look at Maine junior defenseman Prestin Ryan’s stat sheet is the number of penalty minutes: 114. That has set the school single-season record. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]];… Read More
    ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Maine Black Bears’ defense looked more like a M.A.S.H. unit three weeks ago as senior defenseman Cliff Loya and junior counterpart Francis Nault suffered nasty knee injuries. Loya severely lacerated his knee while skiing, and Nault sprained a medial collateral… Read More
    Friday was a great day for fishing at Green Lake. The sun was out, the breeze was slight (just enough to raise a bit of a salmon chop, as they say in these parts), and the temperature hovered around 50 degrees. Of course, there were… Read More
    The Portland Sea Dogs unveiled their new-look uniforms Friday. The team has changed its colors because of its change in affiliation from the Florida Marlins to the Boston Red Sox. The home white jerseys are similar to those that the Red Sox wear with the… Read More
    KINGSTON, R.I. – Alain Picard’s two-run double keyed a five-run, two-out rally in the ninth inning as the University of Maine baseball team beat Rhode Island 6-2 Friday. Maine entered the ninth inning trailing 2-1 before putting together the comeback. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define… Read More
    NCAA MIDWEST REGIONAL MAINE vs. MICHIGAN 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
    Spring has sprung -if not in your neighborhood, at least on the show circuit. (In my yard four crocuses were in bloom next to the foundation.) Snow is disappearing as fast as $2,000 wedding dresses on sale for $100 at the Calais Marden’s. Faster, even,… Read More
    Near the east entrance into the University of Maine’s Fogler Library, where I work, the first small spring crocuses are poking out of the sodden earth. So far they are tiny and few, but they haven’t escaped notice. “Have you seen the crocuses yet?” googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
    “Anyone else for Pluto and Goofy?” asked the tram driver at Disney World. As part of my fading hippie ethic, I always considered Walt Disney an ally of the devil, the man who commercialized childhood and produced decades of boring movies. His very name evoked… Read More
    BANGOR – The 65th National Folk Festival’s organizers are recruiting hundreds of volunteers to produce the mammoth, three-day event expected to draw more than 80,000 visitors to Bangor’s waterfront. Volunteers are needed to assist festival organizers before, during and after the festival on Aug. 22-24. Read More
    BELFAST – The Belfast Maskers is offering for the first time a summer theater day camp for boys and girls 7-14 in two 2-week sessions in July and August at its downtown waterfront theater. Each session will include workshops in movement, dance, set design, lighting… Read More