BROOKSVILLE – Maine’s vintners are closely watching the U.S. Supreme Court this week as justices hear arguments that would allow wineries to ship wine directly to consumers, a move that could see Maine’s wine industry explode. Though Maine’s wine industry is tiny – just seven… Read More
    It’s a joyous time of the year, but also one with many seasonal risks. Last year an estimated 10,000 accidental deaths directly related to holiday decorations occurred in December alone. Most of these deaths and injuries were the result of fire, and most could have been avoided. Read More
    The November elections have come and gone. Some of us are happy, some of us not. With a Republican White House, Senate and Congress, success or failure will be theirs alone to accept or be held accountable for. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var… Read More
    I wonder if I was the only person who experienced a flat tire on Dec. 1 traveling Route 94, between Corinth and Garland. The roads were “sanded” with small sharp rocks, resulting in a puncture to the tread of my rear left tire. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
    The article, “Mainers in chronic pain seek Vioxx alternative” (BDN, Dec. 1), left me shaking my head. The article described how patients with chronic pain would have to find an alternative treatment since the drug was pulled from the market due to serious side effects,… Read More
    A recent letter from Kathy Burke, the new president of the Board of Trustees at Porter Memorial Library, encouraged me. Unlike recent statements from her predecessor, this letter was forthcoming about the fact that this newly restored Machias landmark is still not open tothe entire… Read More
    I disagree with President Bush’s suggestion that “we just had a poll in our country where people decided that the foreign policy of the Bush administration ought to stay in place for four more years.” If we want to pretend for a moment that the… Read More
    Putting projects on a “Dirty Dozen” list may be a good way to attract attention, but in the case of two Maine facilities, it isn’t accurate. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop the Toxics Action Center from including the West Old Town landfill and Bangor’s Griffin Park housing complex as… Read More
    It’s getting harder and harder to get information out of the federal government. Bureaucrats by nature often play their cards close to the chest. The 9-11 attacks gave solid basis for considering new limits on what can be told about the government’s affairs. But the Bush administration has… Read More
    With less than three weeks until Christmas, there is still much to do. One of the more important things we can do, at any time, and most especially at Christmas, is to reach out to others who are in need. The Salvation Army staff and volunteers are working… Read More
    AUGUSTA – A newly constituted committee of the Maine House of Representatives holds its first meeting today to prepare for a review of three disputed House district elections. Panelists were named on Wednesday, when the new Legislature was sworn in. The eight-member committee, composed of… Read More
    BANGOR – Eastern Maine Community College is marking another milestone. Late last week, the college received official word that it has been granted initial accreditation by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var… Read More
    MADISON – Nearly mirroring a debate in the U.S. Supreme Court, the founder of Maine Vocals is challenging Maine’s medical marijuana laws. Don Christen, a marijuana reform advocate who has been arrested several times on marijuana violations, was arrested again last month. googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
    CALAIS – Santa was there along with Mrs. Santa. Several of Santa’s elves also were on hand. 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
    ROCKLAND – The midcoast Maine branch of the American Association of University Women will host a talk titled “Building a Competitive Business in Maine” at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 15, at the Aldersgate United Methodist Church. The talk is a case study of entrepreneurship and… Read More
    EAST MACHIAS – A 23-year-old Cutler man, who allegedly claimed he had slashed his wrists to lure an ex-girlfriend to his mother’s residence, was charged with terrorizing Saturday. Around 2 p.m. Saturday, Jason Martin reportedly called friends to say he had slit his wrists and… Read More
    Mount Desert Island 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]… Read More
    CALAIS – The Downeast Heritage Center may have a new executive director, but he is a familiar face around the city. Jim Thompson, manager of the St. Croix Valley Chamber of Commerce, was named Friday to take over the center’s top job. googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
    NEWPORT – After losing a five-year battle with the town of Hermon to locate an AM radio tower there, an independent station owner has shifted his interest to Newport. Daniel Priestley, who previously owned Newport-based WGUY for 10 years, has received Federal Communications Commission approval… Read More
    NEWPORT – It’s business as usual this year in SAD 48. Basketball teams are busy at practice, elementary pupils work on portfolios, and teachers are trying to keep Christmas-excited children quiet in their seats, according to school Superintendent William Braun. After two years of budget… Read More
    BANGOR – Developers and other businesspeople looking for a place to set up shop might want to keep an eye out on Maine Avenue. The city might put the property – once destined to be the home of its next police station – on the… Read More
    Presque Isle District Court Cases July 1-31, 2004 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
    HOULTON – Despite gusting snow and frigid temperatures on Sunday, which were the same weather conditions when the 152nd Field Artillery Unit left in January, more than 30 family members turned out in Market Square to send seasons greetings to the men and women overseas. Read More
    HOULTON – Just in time for flu season, sick children in southern Aroostook County will soon be able to seek specialized treatment for their fever and sniffles in a new facility focused specifically on treating patients in their age group. Ann Joy, community relations director… Read More
    CARIBOU – A local farmer saw a portion of his potato crop go up in flames on Friday after an early morning fire ripped through a storage facility he was renting on the Bailey Road. The one-story structure and all of the potatoes inside were… Read More
    NEW SWEDEN – More than a year ago, Brenda Jepson talked her students at the Caribou Regional Technology Center into making a documentary about German prisoners of war who were detained at a former Houlton internment camp during World War II. At the time, no… Read More
    DOVER-FOXCROFT – The Young Entrepreneurs’ Society, or YES, a free after-school program for 12-15-year-olds, invites middle school pupils from Penquis Valley Middle School and Piscataquis Community Middle School to participate in a variety of activities. Operated by Penquis Community Action Program and funded by the… Read More
    BANGOR – The Penquis Community Action Program has received a $1,500 grant to support civil legal assistance for victims of domestic violence. The Maine Community Foundation and the Maine Charity Foundation funded the grant, which will allow the Penquis CAP Law Project to pay for… Read More
    BLANCHARD TOWNSHIP – The Blanchard Preservation Society will meet at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 10, at the town hall. For more information, contact Susan Ramsey Crippen at 997-3706 or susancrippen@gwi.net. Read More
    ALTON – The State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating a suspicious fire that occurred early Sunday at a single-family home along Route 43. “The fire was arson,” Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland said Sunday. He said few other details were available Sunday… Read More
    A domestic dispute at 12:37 a.m. Dec. 4 led to the arrest of Patrick Geel, 20, of Perry, and the unexpected discovery of drugs hidden in a ceiling at an Old Town home. Geel and his girlfriend had gotten into an argument that escalated. Geel… Read More
    PITTSFIELD – Pittsfield’s five new businesses will be relocating later this month from New Jersey to a century-old converted schoolhouse. Originally based in India, the five software development companies were searching for a location in central Maine and discovered Pittsfield on the Internet. They found… Read More
    LEWISTON – Organizers announced the creation of the Androscoggin River Alliance over the weekend, seeking to safeguard one of Maine’s most prominent rivers. One bond for the organization’s founders is unhappiness over legislation that holds portions of the Androscoggin and St. Croix rivers to a… Read More
    BOSTON – Clams are the star ingredient in New England’s signature chowder, but a team of international scientists is proving there’s more to the region’s famous mollusks than how they taste with boiled potatoes in a creamy broth. The scientists, including a 2004 Nobel Prize… Read More
    NORFOLK, Va. – The second death of a pregnant right whale this year caused by a ship is prompting calls by biologists to change sea lanes and set speed limits in the mid-Atlantic to protect the critically endangered species. Northern right whales were overhunted in… Read More
    SANFORD – A former textile mill and other brownfield sites in York and southern Oxford counties are poised to get federal money that could lead to a cleaner environment nearby and a complete redevelopment. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has now given the Southern Maine… Read More
    Outstanding Nonprofit Entry: All Saints Catholic School. Outstanding Commercial Entry: Bangor Hydro-Electric Co. 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
    PORTLAND – The Coast Guard cut short the fishing trips of eight New England boats, six of which are from Maine, in the final two weeks of November because of safety violations. So far this year, 24 boats have been ordered back to the region’s… Read More
    WATERVILLE – Hundreds of props, costumes and other items that were used in making the HBO movie “Empire Falls” will be put up for sale this week – just in time for Christmas. “Empire Falls,” based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by former Colby College… Read More
    ORONO – The University of Maine Black Bears squandered a valuable point in a 2-2 men’s hockey tie with undermanned Merrimack College on Friday night and were determined not to let that happen on Saturday evening. They didn’t. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var… Read More
    PORTLAND – The University of Maine has been awarded the right to host the national Masters Track and Field Championships for the third time. The four-day competition will be held in early August 2007, and is expected to involve more than 1,100 athletes. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
    COLLEGE At Boston 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
    COLLEGE At Waterville, Saturday 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
    HIGH SCHOOL Maine Soccer Coaches Assoc. 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
    PRESQUE ISLE – The Bowdoin College Polar Bears used a balanced scoring attack to defeat the UMaine-Presque Isle Owls 65-51 in the championship game of the Star City men’s basketball tournament Sunday. Bowdoin advanced by beating Boston Baptist 103-46 on Saturday while UMPI defeated Unity… Read More
    With Maestro Xiao-Lu Li calling forth the first notes of Tchaikovsky’s music for “The Nutcracker” ballet on Saturday at the Maine Center for the Arts in Orono, a reverie arose for more than Clara Silberhaus’ dreamscape holiday fantasy. For 20 years, the Bangor Symphony Orchestra and the Robinson… Read More
    A century ago today, the body of the old man called the “hermit king of Moose Island” by the newspapers was recovered from under the icy waters of Moosehead Lake. John Cusack had died a terrible death late on the afternoon of the day before. Read More
    Coming soon to theaters KINSEY, written and directed by Bill Condon, 118 minutes, rated R. 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())… Read More
    Artist Marsden Hartley called Dogtown “a weird stretch of landscape … all boulders and scrub.” Hikers and naturalists have found it to be so, and these days a goodly portion of the landscape in that portion of Gloucester, Mass., is beneath a reservoir. Some of… Read More