AUGUSTA – Supporters of independent candidate Ralph Nader predicted Tuesday the veteran consumer rights activist will be on the fall ballot in Maine, a targeted battleground state in the race for the presidency. After Democrats in New Hampshire accused Republicans of trying to split the… Read More
AUGUSTA – A panel that Gov. John Baldacci ordered to come up with ways to support the state’s beleaguered groundfish industry offered some 30 ideas Tuesday, including subsidies and tax breaks to rebuild an industry that provides 1,500 Maine jobs. Groundfish stocks in the Gulf… Read More
WASHINGTON – Fewer people were killed or injured on U.S. highways last year, a decline that regulators said owed much to an increase in seat belt use and a decrease in accidents involving drunken drivers. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said Tuesday that 42,643 people died… Read More
COLUMBIA – Down East law enforcement agencies used aircraft and all-terrain vehicles Tuesday to comb a large area in search of a Columbia teenager not seen since Saturday midnight. Missing is Crystal Higgins, 17, who last was seen leaving a friend’s house in Columbia in… Read More
A story published in the State section on Monday about the departing University of Maine image and marketing director contained an inaccuracy. In September, Luanne Lawrence will become vice president for university advancement at Oregon State University, where she will be the chief communications and marketing professional. Read More
Allen’s Blueberry Freezer of Ellsworth and its sister company, R.T. & Allen Sons Inc., are contesting more than $31,000 in fines assessed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for violations that resulted in a worker losing his arm in an industrial accident Down East last November. Read More
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia – Nova Scotia has moved one step closer to having its own liquefied natural gas terminal. The province’s Environment Department and the federal Fisheries Department gave the green light Monday to a proposal by Access Northeast Energy Inc. googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More
BANGOR – A U.S. Senate committee hearing on small business that Sen. Olympia Snowe was to convene on Thursday in Lewiston has been canceled. U.S. Commerce Department Undersecretary Grant Aldonas is ill and will be unable to attend. Read More
WISCASSET – A Greenwich, Conn.-based company has bought a 431-acre parcel of undeveloped land formerly owned by Maine Yankee with plans to turn it into a technology business park. Town officials announced Monday that National RE/sources completed its purchase of what is known as the… Read More
As a lifelong Mainer who has spent his career at sea, and 21 years sailing as a U.S. Coast Guard-licensed engineer aboard liquefied natural gas tankers, I have watched with more than passing interest the ongoing debate concerning the safety of a new LNG marine terminal. Like many… Read More
Darrell Gilman’s op-ed, “UMS: system and change” (BDN, Aug. 6), may have some positive – if rather simple-minded – ideas for restructuring the University of Maine System, but his repeated criticism of system faculty for allegedly being the primary opponents of changeis unfair and inaccurate. Read More
In the spirit of George Will’s op-ed column, “Questions for John Kerry” (BDN, Aug. 5), I offer a single question to George Bush: When will you make your first decision that turns out to be for the better of our nation? Christopher Lamb googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
Regarding the article, “Targeted buildings open warily” (BDN, Aug. 3), that featured a photo of a New York City policeman and his dog on guard outside the New York Stock Exchange, and the Associated Press article, “Nuke plant safety lapses going black.” The report says,… Read More
As a gun owner, avid sport shooter, licensed dealer and life member of the National Rifle Association, I want to thank the Bangor Daily News for publishing the Associated Press article, “Guns sold illegally to more than 7,000” (BDN, July 27). It points out what… Read More
When John Kerry presented himself as a decorated war hero based on his service in the Vietnam War, it probably became inevitable that 30-year-old conflict would emerge as an issue in the 2004 presidential campaign. Read the statements by the swarm of veterans speaking out… Read More
President Bush’s choice to head the Central Intelligence Agency, Florida Rep. Porter Goss, brings a unique blend of experiences to what has become one of the most critiqued jobs in America. While Rep. Goss’ time working for the CIA and nearly a decade of overseeing it as chair… Read More
A new survey indicates that 1.1 million children are home schooled. As with many deviations from the norm, the Aug. 3 Associated Press article regarding home schooling left the reader with an incomplete and somewhat misleading understanding of home schooling. Ted Feinberg, assistant director of the National Association… Read More
On July 29, 28 professors of the University of Maine System, meeting with system senior administrators, rekindled the flames of constructive faculty participation in campus and system level governance. Shared governance as an issue caught fire. The ideas and opinions expressed here are my own;… Read More
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine sits on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that will review Porter Goss’ qualifications for serving as head of the Central Intelligence Agency. Upon learning of Goss’ nomination while traveling in Maine Tuesday, Snowe said she thought… Read More
CHARLESTON – Police were searching Tuesday for a Charleston Correctional Institute inmate from Auburn who apparently escaped on foot from the minimum-security facility. Stanley Wetmore, 39, fled shortly before 10 p.m. Monday, but was not reported missing until 11:20 p.m., the state Department of Corrections… Read More
SEDGWICK – The Maine Department of Transportation is planning to repair one landmark bridge in Hancock County and replace another. Testing on the Deer Isle-Sedgwick Bridge earlier this year showed that the bridge, although old, was safe but needed repair and maintenance work. The department… Read More
BANGOR – A discrimination lawsuit filed by a University of Maine scientist who was born in India was dismissed Friday after a U.S. District judge ruled in the university’s favor. Dilip Lakshman of Old Town, who has worked in UM’s biological sciences department for 17… Read More
AUGUSTA – The Maine Senate is scheduled to convene in two weeks to consider the latest round of gubernatorial nominations and that could dovetail with a special session of the full Legislature, if Gov. John Baldacci and House and Senate leaders can strike a bargain soon. Read More
PORTLAND – Middle school pupils who used laptop computers for two years performed about the same on a standardized test as pupils in the past without the technology in their hands. Critics of laptops say the scores are the first real evidence that the program,… Read More
PITTSFIELD – A car with three men apparently heading from Canada to their homes in New York led police on a 90-mph chase Monday. The men were held at the Pittsfield police station for several hours while the U.S. Border Patrol checked their backgrounds. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
FORT KENT – The following divorces were granted in 1st District Court in July by Judge Ronald A. Daigle on grounds of irreconcilable differences. Bruce R. Marquis of Fort Kent and Diane Lagace of St. Pamphile, married Sept. 2, 1978, at St. Pamphile, Quebec. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
SULLIVAN – More than $1,000 worth of live lobsters was reported stolen Monday from a local business, according to police. The lobsters were taken from the Route 1 business between 9 p.m. Sunday and 10 a.m. Monday, Hancock County Deputy Sheriff Ken Mitchell said Tuesday. Read More
HOULTON – In 1992, town councilors banned skateboarders from riding on sidewalks. Nine years later, a formal discussion about building a skate park has begun. On Monday evening, councilors took the last administrative steps toward plans for the Cutting Edge Skate Park, set for construction… Read More
HOULTON – The Shiretown Development Corp. gained two members at Monday evening’s meeting and voted to release funds for a structural and marketing feasibility study on newly acquired property. The board of directors, which acts as an economic development arm for the town, approved the… Read More
EASTON – Registration for new students will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. through Friday, Aug. 13. The first day of school is Tuesday, Aug 17. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner =… Read More
FORT KENT – The Fort Kent Town Council filled two positions at a short meeting Monday night. Daniel Nicholas was re-appointed to a three-year term on the Fort Kent planning board. The board is left with one vacant alternate seat. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define… Read More
GREENVILLE – An evening of astronomy and science activities will begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 19, in the all-purpose room of Nickerson Elementary School. John Herrmann and Mary Capriotti will demonstrate new software that enables viewers to see solar and lunar eclipses, planets and… Read More
LIMESTONE – The Department of Homeland Security is awarding $22,500 to the Limestone Volunteer Fire Department as part of the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. The grant will assist in fire operations and firefighter safety training. Read More
DOVER-FOXCROFT – The Dover-Foxcroft Congregational Church will hold its 29th annual fair from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 21, at the church, 828 West Main St. Crafts, plants, jewelry, books and other items will be on sale. Kids games, a silent auction and… Read More
HOULTON – When interim Town Manager Phil McCarthy checks into the council chambers for a meeting tonight, he will already have some insight into the town’s vast array of projects. At a council meeting on Monday evening, Town Manager Peggy Daigle distributed a list of… Read More
FORT KENT – “Come to Campus” days will be held Friday through Sunday, Sept. 17-19, at the University of Maine. The festivities will begin with an 11 a.m. brunch Friday, Sept. 17, in Nowland Hall, featuring dishes from the cultures of UMFK students. At 3… Read More
ELLSWORTH – A Greenbush man is facing charges after he was involved in an accident on High Street, according to police. John R. Curtis, 28, was driving a 1989 Pontiac around 4:15 p.m. Monday when he struck another car while attempting to cross three lanes… Read More
ROCKLAND – A Rockland woman hit Aug. 2 by a pickup truck while crossing Union Street remained hospitalized Tuesday at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, but she has improved. Katheryn Louder, 20, was in good condition Tuesday, according to a hospital spokeswoman. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
BANGOR – Public safety was a major theme for city officials Tuesday. During a meeting of the City Council’s government operations committee, chaired by Councilor Richard Greene, Bangor’s police and fire chiefs outlined two proposals. One involves improving response to major emergencies and the other,… Read More
ORRINGTON – The town’s volunteer fire department will soon have a cascade air tank filling station and enough new packs and bottles to keep all its firefighters equipped, thanks to a federal grant. “This is actually a huge gift to the community because it allows… Read More
BRADFORD – No one was injured in a 5 p.m. fire Tuesday that gutted a LaGrange Road home. Shane Pennington and his family were not at home when the two-story house caught fire, according to Scott DeMoranville, assistant Bradford fire chief. googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More
PALMYRA – Three people were injured Tuesday evening when a pickup truck struck a motorcycle that was crossing Route 2 and both vehicles went out of control and crashed. The Ford pickup, operated by Leon Sockbeson, 49, of Perry, was headed east around 6 p.m. Read More
CARMEL – The departure this year of the Caravel Middle School principal has prompted some personnel changes in what the superintendent likened to the domino effect. The internal transfers saw Rhonda Sperrey, principal of the Carmel Elementary School since 2001, become principal at the Caravel… Read More
ELLSWORTH – It will be another month before the tax appeal by Home-workers Organized for More Employment Inc. against the town of Orland will be resolved. The Hancock County commissioners on Tuesday heard from both parties in the case, but will wait until their next… Read More
ELLSWORTH – Local officials are looking into ways to help generate business growth within the city. What strategies the Ellsworth City Council is considering, however, are being kept from the public. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = [];… Read More
BELFAST – The captain of a day-sailing vessel has obtained a temporary protection-from-harassment order after claiming the chairman of the city’s harbor committee tried to choke him. Donald DePoy, owner of the charter sailboat Viva, alleged in 5th District Court that committee chairman David Cassida… Read More
FORT KENT – A 6-acre parcel along the Fish River floodplain is being restored by the town with a grant of more than $200,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The site, a public works garage and sand and culvert storage area off Pleasant Street,… Read More
HOULTON – At a Town Council meeting more than a month ago, Councilor Paul Cleary wished aloud that the group could “wipe out” a statement in the town’s codes that prohibits residents from serving more than two consecutive terms on certain boards in town. On… Read More
CRANBERRY ISLES – Residents at a special town meeting Monday voted against giving selectmen the authority to borrow $179,000 to build a new town office and a new public toilet. Approximately 50 voters at the meeting decided instead that the projects should be planned out… Read More
ROCKLAND – The planning commission Tuesday got stuck on traffic issues while reviewing a site plan for an Arby’s restaurant on Camden Street. The 2,557-square-foot fast-food eatery was previously approved for 182 Camden St. several years ago, but its building permit expired before construction began. Read More
BANGOR – Beal College will celebrate its relocation to a new campus with an open house from 2 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 12, at 99 Farm Road. Activities will include campus tours, food, balloons, admissions and financial aid clinics, giveaways and door prizes. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
BANGOR – An act of criminal mischief caused a Guilford Rail System freight train to stop briefly under Interstate 395 Tuesday night. The train automatically stopped at 7:25 p.m. after someone removed a device that measures air brake pressure from a rear car, according to… Read More
DEXTER – A community discussion about the town’s future will be held at 6 tonight at the Abbott Memorial Library. Residents and members of area civic organizations are invited to share their ideas about the direction Dexter should take after the closure of Dexter Shoe,… Read More
Free and open to the public, Woodlawn Museum’s fourth annual “Living History Day” is one in which “history comes alive in Ellsworth,” wrote Karen Dickes of the Woodlawn Education Committee. The event is 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 14, on the grounds of the facility… Read More
FRANKFORT – A Brooks man was killed Monday night when he was ejected from his rolling pickup truck after it slammed into a railroad trestle on Loggin Road. Stanley L. Wellman, 49, of Brooks had just turned from Route 1A onto Loggin Road and began… Read More
JEFFERSON, N.H. – New Hampshire State Police say a Maine woman tried to use counterfeit money at a Jefferson theme park. Donna Burbank, 40, of Topsham, Maine, was arrested Monday and charged with fraud, theft and marijuana possession charges. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot… Read More
BANGOR – The Republican challenger for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District seat has competed in several marathons, but Brian Hamel admits he’s a relative stranger to the big race he’s in now. Hamel, former president and chief executive officer of Loring Development Authority, officially opened his… Read More
WEARE, N.H. – A 19-year-old man suspected in the case of a tortured poodle last year has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge. Stephen Hess of Weare pleaded guilty Monday to one count of felony falsifying physical evidence in the abuse of a toy poodle… Read More
ST. ALBANS – In June, local residents complained to the St. Albans selectmen that children were playing on the lower dam near the fire station on Route 151, also known as the Palmyra Road. They warned the officials that a child was going to be seriously hurt and… Read More
BANGOR – A free lease giving a brush truck to the unorganized territory of Kingman Township may come with some unwanted costs and is prompting a review by Penobscot County commissioners. Commissioner Tom Davis bristled Tuesday after learning that Kingman, near Mattawamkeag, had signed an… Read More
GLENBURN – The town has denied any wrongdoing in response to a lawsuit filed by two local developers challenging a subdivision moratorium. Plaintiffs Bruce Watson and Aaron Knowles allege they have lost money because of the moratorium on subdivision development that has been in place… Read More
PORTLAND – A restaurant owner withdrew his pledge to share dinner receipts with Trial and Error, a group that supports convicted murderer Dennis Dechaine, after a protester came to a fund-raiser at the eatery. Mac McCabe, chief executive officer of O’Naturals, said he did not… Read More
PORTLAND – The Maine Supreme Judicial Court on Tuesday affirmed for the second time this year the conviction of an Orono man who contended his mother’s statements to police before he murdered her should not have been admissible at trial. In March, the justices unanimously… Read More
AUGUSTA – A workshop on military service and its alternatives for Maine youth will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 21, at the Mediation and Facilitation Resources Center. Larry Dansinger of the American Friends Service Committee Youth and Alternatives to Militarism, and Tim Sturtevant… Read More
Lately, it seems everyone is wondering who will be the next Martha Stewart. Will it be B. Smith? Oprah? One of the Fab Five, perhaps? Amid all the speculation, I can guarantee one thing: It won’t be me. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var… Read More
TARTS WITH TOPS ON, by Tamasin Day-Lewis, Miramax Books, New York, 2004, $24.95. Having already lustily put the tart to bed in her previous book – “The Art of the Tart” – British author-journalist-TV star Tamasin Day-Lewis has decided it’s time for a cover-up. The… Read More
In Arthur Miller’s drama “The Crucible,” the Salem witchcraft trials of the 1690s expose the ugliness of repression in close community life. Miller has said that he wrote the play in 1953 in response to McCarthyism and the witch-hunt tactics employed by Sen. Joseph McCarthy in his search… Read More
Thin is in Does your food storage take up too much storage space? Tupperware has come to the rescue with its new Flat Out! container, which expands to hold 4 cups of food, but flattens to less than an inch when its not in use. Read More
Everyone has an opinion of Lou Janicki, manager of T.J. Ryan Center in Brewer. In recent weeks, the opinion of him in the Brewer Youth Hockey community probably was unanimous – and unfavorable. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes… Read More
The pursuit of excellence in any sport typically requires considerable effort long after the traditional “season” for that sport has ended. For wrestlers Jeremiah Barkac and Chris Remsen, dedication to their sport during the summer months has led to All-American status. googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More
BANGOR – Jim Cox recalls watching the Senior League Baseball World Series the last two years from the Mansfield Stadium stands. “I remember that the players were kids just like us,” said Cox, a 16-year-old pitcher who will be a junior at Bangor High School… Read More
BANGOR – Bangor Lumberjacks rookie lefty Matt Scheuing rebounded from what he termed his “worst outing ever” and first baseman Mark Burke drove in both runs as Bangor edged the New Jersey Jackals 2-1 at the Winkin Complex Tuesday night. Scheuing improved to 8-3 by… Read More
Kirk Hanefeld, head pro at The International Golf Club in Bolton, Mass., will be in the first group today as he opens defense of his title when the 86th Charlie’s Maine Open Golf Championship gets under way at Riverside Municipal Golf Course in Portland. Hanefeld… Read More