AUGUSTA – Nationally, the price for natural gas has skyrocketed as stockpiles have dwindled and demand has increased. And while Maine relies less on natural gas for energy than much of the country, state officials are still worried. “I am concerned not only about the… Read More
    BANGOR – Investigators were still working late Monday to determine the cause of a fire Sunday night that claimed the lives of two people in an apartment building at the corner of Essex and Cumberland streets. The fire victims were identified as Lisa Marie McCarty,… Read More
    A story on page B1 in Saturday’s editions incorrectly identified a former partner of newly sworn-in federal Judge John A. Woodcock as John Burlock. His name is Stephen Burlock of the Bangor firm Weatherbee and Burlock. Read More
    Following are petitions for bankruptcy filed at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Bangor: Margaret Kleffman aka Margaret McGurk, housekeeper, no dependents, Ellsworth: assets, $3,120; debts, $30,600. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for… Read More
    PORTLAND – Maine ski areas recorded a 5 percent increase in skier days for the 2002-03 season, placing this winter as the fourth-best season on record. A skier-snowboarder visit is defined as one person visiting a ski area for all or part of one day. Read More
    I read an article about 50 women who were “duped” by an Internet beau (BDN, June 12). One of these 50 women was quoted as saying, “We are not a group of stupid, naive women” and “We are bright, intellectual, professional women.” This is hard… Read More
    California lawmakers are fighting over a state budget even as a new fiscal year starts today. Budget battles in California are nothing new. Even state shutdowns because of fiscal disagreements are not a rarity. Last year, bickering delayed a new budget for 76 days. This… Read More
    About a third of all jobs in Maine fail to pay enough to live on, even by the modest measures of 185 percent of the federal poverty level or $10.29 an hour for a family of two. The Maine Center for Economic Policy today will describe what it… Read More
    On behalf of every licensed driver over the age of 65, I take personal exception to the article that appeared on the front page of the Bangor Daily News on June 17, titled, “Elderly drivers in special class,” by Lauran Neergaard of The Associated Press. Read More
    On behalf of the board of directors of the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce, I am writing to express our strong support for the Penobscot Theatre Company. Since its start in 1974, PTC has been an integral part of the Bangor region with such organizations… Read More
    Once again vandals have struck the Greer’s Corner one-room schoolhouse in Belmont, smashing window glass and sashes on the back of the building. Two rough two-by-fours were used as a battering ram, with such force as to drive the wood from the sashes and the glass clear across… Read More
    A reader informs us that some people change their identities from gay to straight (BDN, June 10). She omits to mention that far more change their identities from straight to gay. What is the point, unless there is something wrong with being straight or being… Read More
    The tagline at the end of Monday’s commentary by Stanley Ginish, of Weston, should have stated that his two sons have been home-schooled in his family’s own home-schooling program, not the state’s. Read More
    It is probably important for me to begin this commentary with a confession. Many Democrats believe that I am to blame for the ascendancy to office of George W. Bush, John Ashcroft and the neo-conservative power elite. You see, I voted for Ralph Nader in the 2000 presidential… Read More
    Now that the Old Europe has caved in its opposition to U.S. policy on Iraq, President Bush has found a new issue on which to bully Europe. The president portrays widespread European resistance to genetically modified food as not only a violation of “free trade” principles but also… Read More
    Is your car getting better health care than you are? For many Americans, the answer is yes, and tens of thousands of people are dying needlessly each year as a result. When you take your car in for servicing, you expect it to get… Read More
    BROOKLIN – The town was abuzz this weekend with news that the Brooklin General Store had sold the winning $3.4 million Megabucks lottery ticket. It’s a small town and word spread fast, according to Mike Roy, who, with his wife, Cheryl, owns the store. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
    ORONO – Most of us know we should eat several servings of fruits and vegetables a day as part of a healthful diet – yet few of us do it. Researchers don’t understand why we are so loath to change our eating habits. That’s why… Read More
    PORTLAND – The preliminary report on the fatal Pittsfield plane crash June 12 that took the lives of the Pittsfield airport manager and a student pilot indicates that an unknown, out-of-the-ordinary fluid found in the plane’s carburetor is being tested as part of the investigation. Read More
    BANGOR – Armed with cadaver-sniffing dogs, Maine wardens helped end a five-month search when they discovered the remains of a Canadian homicide victim Saturday morning in northern New Brunswick. Miramichi police officials identified the victim as 41-year-old Maria Tanasichuk on Monday morning with the use… Read More
    When Mardi George and her family bought the Pleasant Point Camps two winters ago, she was curious to know something of the history of the old 19th century hunting cabins set deep in the woods east of Moosehead Lake. George already knew that Teddy Roosevelt… Read More
    OLD TOWN – Questions about air quality at Old Town High School and Leonard Middle School caused the superintendent to have the buildings examined by an indoor-air-quality consultant firm. The results conclude the buildings are safe, according to Fred McKnight, chief indoor-air-quality engineer for Turner Building Science LLC. Read More
    RIPLEY – Two women escaped serious injury Monday morning when their vehicles collided at the intersection of Routes 154 and 152. Somerset County Deputy Michael Knight said Beverly Crockett, 51, of Parkman was distracted while listening to an audio book and pulled out in front… Read More
    OLD TOWN – When the city of Old Town recently asked Fire Chief Charles Brush to cut another $50,000 out of the Fire Department’s budget, the chief decided to just take it out of his salary. He said that when his salary runs out this fall, he will… Read More
    WELD – The state has added another 4,200 acres to land being protected from development around Mount Blue State Park and Tumbledown Mountain, officials said Monday. The Maine Department of Conservation is spending roughly $480,000 to conserve nearly 4,200 acres adjacent to the park. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
    BIDDEFORD – Former first lady Barbara Bush on Monday named the recipients of $272,995 in family literacy grants from her foundation. The funds, which will go to programs serving 19 communities from Sanford to Greenville, will be used to improve the reading skills of parents… Read More
    PORTLAND – A judge sentenced Jeffery “Russ” Gorman to 60 years in prison Monday for the fatal shooting of Amy St. Laurent, who disappeared after a night of dancing in Portland’s Old Port in 2001. Gorman, 23, was convicted of murder after a weeklong trial… Read More
    Dr. Gabriela Cherascu, an adult and geriatric psychiatrist, has joined the medical staff at Northern Maine Medical Center in Fort Kent. Cherascu spent the last two years at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, concentrating in geriatric psychiatry. She is completing… Read More
    ELLSWORTH – Police haven’t found the driver of a truck that hit a utility pole early Sunday morning, but phone service into and out of Bucksport has been repaired, according to officials. Service to some Verizon customers in Bucksport and Ellsworth was disrupted after a… Read More
    WASHINGTON – Workers losing their jobs at Nexfor Fraser Paper Inc. will be eligible to receive Trade Adjustment Assistance, according to U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud, D-Maine. In April, Nexfor Fraser Paper Inc. announced it would cut 325 jobs at its Fraser Paper operations in Maine… Read More
    PRESQUE ISLE – The St. John Aroostook RC&D’s annual farm tour and meeting will be held July 11. The tour will depart from the USDA Service Center on Fort Fairfield Road in Presque Isle at 8 a.m. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes… Read More
    PORTLAND – When a 10-year-old boy got third-degree burns from a sparkler last week, state safety officials knew the summer fireworks season was under way. The weeks approaching July 4 are notorious for fireworks-related injuries, even in a state where most of the devices are… Read More
    Washburn District High School 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
    ELLSWORTH – The annual meeting of the Green Lake Association will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 10, at the Ellsworth High School Auditorium. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. The meeting’s primary speaker will be Valerie Whittier of the Maine Department of Environmental… Read More
    ELLSWORTH – Downeast Health Services’ Community Outreach invites women and their preteen daughters to attend the Weaving Connections Campout July 19-20 at Lamoine State Park. The event is for adolescent girls ages 10 to 12 and their mothers or adult female role models to learn… Read More
    CALAIS – The Women’s Business Center at Coastal Enterprises Inc. is holding July workshops on a number of e-commerce topics such as business use of the Internet and planning and creating a Web site. The first workshop, an introduction to e-commerce, will be held July… Read More
    MACHIAS – Malcolm Holmes of East Machias, a nontraditional student at the University of Maine at Machias, has been selected as the institution’s 2003-04 Maine Policy Scholar, according to UMM officials. Holmes will prepare an objective secondary-level curriculum portfolio on climate-change science and policy, and… Read More
    ELLSWORTH – A Superior Court judge could decide this month whether Portland developer Pamela Gleichman has a legal interest in a parcel of land in Bar Harbor where she wants to build a four-story retail and residential building. Although the owners of the land, Paul… Read More
    BANGOR – Friday’s Fourth of July fireworks show “will be the biggest that I know of in the history of Bangor,” according to Rick Briggs, president of Blue Hill Pyrotechnics, the company that has been organizing the show for a year and has provided Bangor’s shows for at… Read More
    Three Bangor men chased and held a woman accused of stealing change from a car Sunday night. Bangor police Officer Brandon Vafiades said he went to a Deer Isle Road address at about 9:50 p.m. A man there said he had noticed his car’s dome… Read More
    LEVANT – Resident and developer Bob Bemis thinks that much of the “public” in public boards is missing in his hometown, and said so Monday night. A former selectman, Bemis made an unsuccessful bid at the special town meeting to curb town legal fees and… Read More
    GREENVILLE – An investigation into last week’s boat crash on Moosehead Lake that injured six young people is expected to be concluded soon, according to authorities. The heavily damaged 18-foot, open-bow boat from the crash was impounded and taken to the Maine State Police Crime… Read More
    BREWER – Assembly of a sculpture designed to represent the city’s economic growth began Monday in front of Rite Aid on Wilson Street. The concrete base and aluminum trunk of a life-size fruit tree will be set up this week, with construction expected to be completed in two… Read More
    DEXTER – Starting today, a crew from Mayo Regional Hospital will respond to ambulance calls in Dexter. Dexter has operated its own ambulance service for many years, but staffing and billing problems and training issues made it difficult to maintain the service. After months of… Read More
    BUCKSPORT – The cost to replace the roof and heating system and to repair the ventilation system at the Jewett school will be about $500,000, according to estimates from a consultant. A town committee is reviewing a report from Carpenter Associates of Old Town, which… Read More
    ELLSWORTH – Communication skills were cited Monday as a top priority when City Council members met to discuss the process of hiring a new city manager. The City Council held a workshop meeting Monday night with David Barrett, Maine Municipal Association’s manager of personnel services… Read More
    WARREN – The historical society will meet for a presentation on Park Spear’s “Historical Facts of Warren, Maine” at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 2, at the Dr. Campbell House on 225 Main St. Attendees should bring their own place settings for the potluck supper and… Read More
    ELLSWORTH – A Southwest Harbor developer has asked the court to dismiss a challenge to the April decision of the town’s appeals board which cleared the way for a six-lot subdivision on Fernald Point Road. An attorney for Steve Gillespie, in a brief filed last… Read More
    Since Gov. John Baldacci proclaimed Operation Yellow Ribbon Day on May 17, members of Operation Yellow Ribbon Support our Troops have been collecting funds to assist families of members of the military serving in Iraq. The money is distributed by officials at Camp Keyes in… Read More
    GARDINER – Police are investigating the death of a 39-year-old man from Farmingdale whose body was found Monday morning in the Kennebec River. Gardiner police said a boater found Kirk Whitmore shortly after 6 a.m. south of Gardiner Landing. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot… Read More
    BAR HARBOR – Australian-born Dr. Wesley Kingston Whitten, scientist emeritus at The Jackson Laboratory, has been named the recipient of the Australian Centenary Medal for his service to science in agriculture and biodiversity, according to a recent announcement by the prime minister of Australia and the laboratory. Read More
    AUGUSTA – Four Maine school superintendents and one assistant superintendent were presented the Outstanding Leadership Award on June 23 at the 92nd annual Maine Superintendents’ Conference. Recipients are Sandra Bernstein, SAD 27 superintendent; Ronald Jenkins, Maine Indian Education superintendent; Harvey Kelly Jr., Union 96 superintendent;… Read More
    AUGUSTA – The Maine Department of Transportation will continue its 2003 brush-control spray program during July in 185 communities in the following areas: central and northern Aroostook County, coastal Washington County and inland to Route 9, central Penobscot County, the Route 201 corridor of Somerset County, inland Lincoln… Read More
    AUBURN – The Maine Technical College System board of trustees has selected Brian Hamel to serve as chairmen of the board for the coming year at a June 25 meeting at Central Maine Technical College. Hamel is the president and chief executive office of Loring… Read More
    HODGDON – Three Maine fire departments will receive nearly $250,000 in assistance through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Firefighters Grant Program. West Forks Fire Department received funding for a new vehicle. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes =… Read More
    PRESQUE ISLE – The Maine Potato Board will give a legislative tour of Maine’s potato industry July 16-18, during the annual Maine Potato Bloom Festival. The Legislature’s Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee, as well as the natural resources, taxation and appropriations committees, was invited to… Read More
    BAR HARBOR – The Abbe Museum will hold its annual meeting 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursday, July 17, at the Kebo Valley Golf Club at the corner of Route 233 and Cromwell Harbor Road. Guest speakers Dr. William Turnbaugh and Sarah Peabody Turnbaugh, authors who have… Read More
    BANGOR – A refueling plane that was leaking fuel made an unscheduled landing Thursday evening at Bangor International Airport. No one was injured in the incident. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for… Read More
    BLUE HILL – An East Blue Hill woman was arrested this weekend after she allegedly drove into a parked car on Main Street and then drove away from the scene, according to police. Colleen Gibson, 55, was driving a 1987 Volvo around 7:30 p.m. Saturday… Read More
    SURRY – A Bar Harbor man has been arrested on multiple charges after allegedly leading law enforcement officials on a car chase early Monday morning. Shawn Blair, 26, reportedly was found at 6 a.m. unconscious in the driver’s seat of a 1983 Chevrolet Blazer in… Read More
    BAR HARBOR – Town police and Acadia National Park officials are investigating three separate break-ins that occurred sometime overnight Sunday. The Thompson Island Information Center in Trenton was burglarized when someone broke a rear window to gain entrance, park Ranger Richard Rechholtz said Monday. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
    AUGUSTA – Phoenix House, a nonprofit agency operating drug treatment programs throughout New England, announced the opening last week of a residential treatment center in Augusta to serve drug-troubled teens from throughout the state. The Phoenix Academy of Maine will house up to 14 adolescents… Read More
    PORTLAND – The Maine Turnpike Authority is spending $40,000 to get motorists to slow down around toll plazas, where vehicles routinely exceed the 10 mph speed limit. The campaign includes radio advertisements, mailings and stepped-up enforcement efforts. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes… Read More
    Connie Young, 62, of Searsport took up quilting 10 years ago as a way to deal with grief when her husband was nearing the end of his life. She is self-taught, and is drawn to whole-cloth quilting rather than pieced quilts. “In the evening when… Read More
    BANGOR – Penobscot Theatre Company’s Extraordinary Friends Campaign has received a $30,000 challenge grant from the city of Bangor. On April 30, Penobscot announced a new Extraordinary Friends fund-raising campaign, the result of which will determine whether the theater remains a vital anchor in Bangor’s growing cultural district. Read More
    Dear Jim: I am trying to decide between using decorative gravel or ground cover plants near my house. I know the gravel gets hot in the sun, but the plants will make the air more humid. Which is the best to use? – Joe R. Read More
    With apologies to Saturday Night Live’s “Chico Escuela,” beisbol has also been very, very good to Sazi Guthrie. Judging by the statistics from his first professional baseball season, baseball continues to be very, very good to the Belfast native. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot… Read More
    University of Maine goalie Jimmy Howard and right winger Greg Moore weren’t the only Black Bears to be selected in the NHL draft two weekends ago. Incoming freshman right winger Mike Hamilton, the second leading scorer for the Merritt Centennials of the British Columbia Junior… Read More
    The Anaheim Mighty Ducks made seven-time all-star forward Paul Kariya an unrestricted free agent, declining to tender a qualifying offer Monday night. Kariya, who helped lead Anaheim to the Stanley Cup finals, will be available to the highest bidder on Tuesday. The team refused to… Read More
    LOCAL At Phillips Lake, Dedham 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
    LOCAL At Ellsworth 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
    PORTSMOUTH, R.I. – Northeast Harbor’s Tom Brown has been named by the Olympic Sailing Committee to the 2003 U.S. Disabled Sailing Team. Brown was placed in the 2.4 metre class and is part of the annual team selected for the Paralympic Games in two classes: 2.4 and sonar. Read More
    LYNN, Mass. – A four-hit shutout pitched by Miguel Baez allowed the North Shore Spirit to “sweep” a rare, one-game series against Bangor Monday night. The Spirit walked off the Fraser Field surface with a 2-0 victory over the Lumberjacks, who are still struggling with… Read More
    Neff, Red Sox fans need to stop whining I was reading the article (BDN, June 21) by Andrew Neff and I had to chuckle. Will the fans of Red Sox Nation ever stop their whining? They whine about everything when it comes to the Yankees,… Read More
    The Maine Sports Complex in Hampden will host its first ever collegiate rugby tournament the second weekend in November (Nov. 8-10). Englishman Neil Livett, the coach of Maine Maritime Academy’s club team, will run the tournament. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes =… Read More
    BANGOR – Lincoln only had two hits but took advantage of eight Bangor errors to earn a 12-11 Little League Softball District 3 11-12 All-Stars victory Monday in seven innings. Renee Libbey and Brooke Hanscom had a single each for the winners. googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More