BINGHAM – A few days ago, Somerset County Sheriff Barry DeLong, dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt, was taking out the garbage at his rural home. Outside he found two young men looking around his home. They had driven up in a battered pickup truck with a… Read More
    AUGUSTA – Following through with a warning issued four months ago, Moody’s Investor’s Services announced Tuesday it would drop Maine’s bond rating from Aa2 to Aa3, increasing slightly the amount of interest the state will pay when borrowing money. The announcement hardly caught legislative leaders… Read More
    AUGUSTA – The Legislature’s Judiciary Committee on Tuesday unanimously endorsed the nomination of Bangor lawyer Warren M. Silver to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. “I am overwhelmed,” Silver, 57, of Bangor said after hearing his fellow attorneys’ comments in support of his nomination. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
    A story published in the May 13 Final edition about a joint meeting between the Brewer school committee and City Council and local budgets incorrectly stated the state subsidy for Brewer schools. The article should have said the state subsidy for Brewer schools increased to more than $1.3… Read More
    Northern New England senators from both parties applauded a compromise that averted – at least for now – a showdown over filibusters to block some of President Bush’s judicial nominees. Maine Republicans Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe were among a bipartisan group of 14 senators… Read More
    WALTHAM, Mass. – The U.S. Navy has awarded Raytheon Co. a $3 billion contract to develop radar, electronic and weapons systems for a new class of destroyers envisioned as the high-tech future of the U.S. fleet. The award, one of the largest ever won by… Read More
    AUGUSTA – A Virginia-based senior citizens watchdog group is lobbying Maine’s state legislators to dump a proposed milk-handling fee the group claims will hurt seniors on fixed incomes. The proposed fee legislation is being carefully watched by dairy and other groups across the country as… Read More
    BANGOR – More needs to be done to promote sustainable tourism in the northern part of the state, according to an official who spoke Tuesday at Eastern Maine Development Corp. Steps have been taken in Piscataquis County to promote the area’s cultural and natural heritage,… Read More
    Imagine this. President Bush places more value on embryonic stem cells than walking, talking human beings. Should more extensive embryonic stem cell research be voted into legislation, Bush says he will veto it. Why? Because he does not approve of federal monies being spent to… Read More
    An agreement among senators Monday to avoid a fight over the use of filibusters on judicial nominations was a reassertion of that body’s elevated practices of debate that had all but collapsed in recent years. The seven Republicans, including Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, and seven Democrats,… Read More
    Brokerages and bond traders are cheering, but the recent news that the Treasury Department is considering issuing 30-year bonds again could be bad for the average American. The move confirms that the United States will be running budget deficits for years to come and that interest rates are… Read More
    It is a mystery to me what motivates those who would deny lovely people like my adult male and gay son and my adult female and gay goddaughter the same rights and privileges all the rest of us enjoy, or why those same apparently fearful people would systematically… Read More
    Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is the Navy’s designated lead shipyard for submarine overhaul, modernization and repair and holds multiple records for low coast and ahead of schedule performance. It’s considered the “best” submarine shipyard in America. Brunswick Naval Air Station is the only operational airfield on… Read More
    By negotiating a peaceful and logical compromise to the festering Senate judicial nominations crisis, once again Maine’s senators have acted in this state’s long tradition of measured and principled centrism at critical junctures in national history. Sen. Olympia Snowe and Sen. Susan Collins are to be applauded for… Read More
    Once again Maine’s senators, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe – together with 12 other thoughtful colleagues – have done our country a service that deserves our gratitude. The group of 14 legislators who arrived at the accommodation/arrangement, whatever name is put to it, to avert… Read More
    It is of the utmost importance that we connect the Northeast with the TransCanada Highway for security, defense and economic reasons. The TransCanada Highway, running from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Halifax, Nova Scotia, will be completed by 2008. This highway, the main Canadian artery, represents the best logical… Read More
    BANGOR – Lisa Baldacci, the younger sister of Gov. John Baldacci, was injured in an accident Tuesday afternoon when the car she was driving collided with a tractor-trailer on Interstate 95. The 42-year-old Bangor woman was being treated at Eastern Maine Medical Center for what… Read More
    OLD TOWN – Police used drug-detecting dogs Tuesday morning to sniff around students’ vehicles at the Old Town High School parking lot, as school officials and police ramp up efforts to curb drug use at the school. “Like a lot of high schools in Maine… Read More
    A political consultant based in Bangor has waived appearance at his arraignment in U.S. District Court in Concord, N.H., and pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to prevent residents from exercising their constitutional right to vote by allegedly jamming get-out-the vote telephone lines on Election Day three… Read More
    BANGOR – With just weeks remaining in this legislative session, the push to get authorization and funding for a new courthouse in Bangor is now under way. On Tuesday, Sen. Joseph Perry, D-Bangor, said that a draft bill seeking $37 million for the project had… Read More
    Maine and New Hampshire senators received some data Tuesday used by the Pentagon to support its recommendation to close the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and to remove aircraft and slash personnel at Brunswick Naval Air Station. But the data were incomplete and Maine Sens. Susan Collins… Read More
    Waldo County Superior Court 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
    BANGOR – If the Friends of Dakin Pool can raise $2,300 to pay the salary of a pool attendant for the summer, the city will waive the fees it was planning to charge patrons. That decision was made Tuesday at a meeting of the Bangor… Read More
    BANGOR – The Penobscot Job Corps Center will hold a free luncheon for military veterans 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursday, May 26, at the Lion’s Den Restaurant on the PJCC campus. The luncheon was organized to show appreciation for veterans’ contributions to the community. The menu… Read More
    VEAZIE – School officials have decided where to make further budget reductions as requested last week by the Town Council. The school committee and Union 87 Superintendent Kelly Clenchy met Monday and cut $33,615 from the budget by making small reductions. The proposed school budget… Read More
    BANGOR – Three years after the state Board of Environmental Protection pulled the plug on plans for a Wal-Mart Supercenter near the Penjajawoc watershed, the city has adopted some ground rules aimed at ending what was becoming an increasingly bitter battle between environmental and economic concerns. Read More
    CARMEL – A bulge in student enrollment is to blame for most of the nearly 10 percent increase in the local share of the proposed SAD 23 school budget, soon to go before Carmel and Levant residents, according to the superintendent. The $7.4 million proposed… Read More
    ROCKLAND – City councilors paved the way Monday for sidewalk improvements in front of the Strand Theatre and Atlantic Bakery that will dress up the east side of Main Street. The sidewalk work, which will incorporate shrubs and other plantings inside the walkway, will be… Read More
    CARIBOU – An Easton man who burned down his own house and assaulted his wife on Father’s Day in 2003 was sentenced last week after pleading no contest in a Caribou Superior Court hearing, according to an official with the District Attorney’s Office. Kevin A. Read More
    BAR HARBOR – After more than a decade of service to the town, Councilor Matt Horton will step down from his post a year early in order to focus more on family and career, he said Tuesday. “I’ve always tried to be a councilor that… Read More
    ELLSWORTH – A 44-year-old man was arrested Monday for allegedly forcing a woman’s hand down his pants. Sheldon Paul of Ellsworth was charged with assault and unlawful sexual touching. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner… Read More
    TRENTON – Two people were hospitalized Tuesday afternoon with injuries they suffered in a six-vehicle accident on Route 3. Few details were available Tuesday evening. According to initial reports, four people were injured in the accident and two of them, one man and one woman,… Read More
    WINTER HARBOR – Town officials may have to schedule a special meeting to decide how to pay for local water, sewer and sidewalk improvements. Town Manager Roger Barto said selectmen had hoped to use grant money to cover $1.7 million in planned infrastructure improvements. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
    NORTH HAVEN – Islanders will vote on a $1.4 million budget June 22 that would hold spending to a 1.4 percent increase, compared with the current spending plan. “I recognize that any increase has a real impact, but this year’s will not influence school taxes… Read More
    LINCOLNVILLE – Selectmen again will ask voters about disposing of the former Dean & Eugley garage on Main Street at the annual town meeting June 18. The town acquired the property in February 2002 when its owner failed to pay property taxes. The building on… Read More
    PRESQUE ISLE – Plans for the development of a Lowe’s Home Center at the Aroostook Centre Mall are back on track after a Superior Court justice upheld two decisions by the Presque Isle Zoning Board of Appeals to grant special exceptions to the businesses. Justice… Read More
    HOULTON – Newly proposed access routes that will allow ATV enthusiasts to navigate lawfully around more streets in town came before town councilors Monday evening. The routes and an ordinance that regulates certain conduct of ATVs on municipal property and municipal rights of way will… Read More
    PRESQUE ISLE – A Maine man remained at Aroostook County Jail in Houlton on Tuesday after allegedly assaulting a Presque Isle man with a cast-iron dumbbell, causing life-threatening injuries, according to Detective Sgt. John Cote of the Maine State Police Criminal Investigation Division. Police arrested… Read More
    ASHLAND – A local man is out on bail after he engaged police in a low-speed, 2-mile chase because he didn’t want his son’s car towed away, according to Ashland Police Chief Cyr Martin. Clyde Hafford, 53, was arrested Sunday and charged with obstructing governmental… Read More
    Three local school systems are joining forces to share resources better, meet state and federal mandates, and gain possible cost savings. Officials from the Caribou, Limestone and SAD 20 (Fort Fairfield) school systems agreed last week to move forward in forming the Mid County Collaborative,… Read More
    EAST MACHIAS – Residents will vote next week on whether to accept the proposed school budget and pay nearly $26,000 less than they paid last year in taxes toward their local school system. That’s because the town has formed its own school system after voting… Read More
    BAILEYVILLE – Voters Tuesday elected Dorothy Johnson to fill the unexpired term of longtime town councilor Frank Doug Jones. Jones died in March after being diagnosed with lung cancer the month before while attending a meeting in San Diego. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot… Read More
    CALAIS – An 83-year-old Calais man was injured Tuesday when a vehicle struck him as he crossed the road in front of the post office on North Street. Robert Howbrigg was taken by ambulance to Calais Regional Hospital, where he was stabilized. He later was… Read More
    Rockland District Court Cases April 25-May 9, 2005 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
    BREWER – City councilors will discuss moving City Hall to the administration building at the defunct Eastern Fine Paper Co. mill on Thursday at a special City Council meeting. Minnesota-based developer Michael Stern earlier this month offered the historic 1917 building for a city hall… Read More
    DETROIT – There were a lot more questions than answers Tuesday night at a public hearing on the selectmen’s attempt to restructure the Detroit Volunteer Fire Department. It was the public and firefighters who were asking the questions and the selectmen who were not providing answers. Read More
    BREWER – City councilors will continue their discussion about forming a regional fire district with several area communities, including Brewer’s neighbor to the south, on Thursday during a special council meeting. After discussing the fire district, the council will consider an order to “authorize the… Read More
    MACHIAS – The first of the public outreach meetings to discuss the 10-year strategic plan for recovery of Atlantic salmon statewide is scheduled between 6:30 and 9 tonight at the University of Maine at Machias. The plan describes broad recommendations that the Maine Atlantic Salmon… Read More
    Registration must be made by Wednesday, June 1, for anyone who wants to be trained as an English As A Second Language volunteer tutor for Literacy Volunteers of Bangor. The 18-hour training schedule is 9 a.m. to noon Monday, June 6; Friday, June 10; Saturday,… Read More
    WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded $1,556,969 in business development grants for rural Maine, according to U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins. “Encouraging the growth of small businesses is the best way to provide economic prosperity and stability throughout our state,”… Read More
    PORTLAND – A federal judge on Tuesday imposed a 171/2-year sentence on a Massachusetts man whose original sentence led to an appeal in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the way federal judges have been sentencing defendants is unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge D. Brock… Read More
    AUGUSTA – Gov. John Baldacci on Tuesday appealed to veterans for help in persuading federal officials to reconsider closings and curtailments of Maine military installations, saying, “We need to attack these base closures on every front.” Flanked by representatives of a spectrum of veterans organizations… Read More
    PORTLAND – The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department said Tuesday it was restricting visitor access to the county jail after an infectious disease outbreak among inmates. A half-dozen confirmed cases of an antibiotic-resistant staph infection were reported among jail inmates, and officials were awaiting results of… Read More
    AUGUSTA – Novice drivers in Maine soon may be barred from having radar detectors in their cars. The state Senate gave final approval Tuesday to a bill prohibiting anyone under 18 who has an intermediate license from driving a vehicle that’s equipped with a radar… Read More
    WARREN – Two men were arrested Monday afternoon when $30,000 worth of heroin was found during a search of an Oyster River Road home. Frank Capizzano, 36, of Warren and Shawn Rainey, 34, of Pawcatuck, Conn., were taken to Knox County Jail, where they were… Read More
    ORONO – The University of Maine is requiring that students working toward Maine teacher certification have a laptop computer and specific educational software as part of their learning tools. The faculty of the university’s College of Education and Human Development recently approved the new policy,… Read More
    AUGUSTA – Labeled by critics as an irrelevant piece of legislation, a “gay gene” bill that tied together gay rights and abortion issues has been killed for the session. The House and Senate were formally notified Monday that the bill to outlaw abortion based on… Read More
    AUGUSTA – Gov. John Baldacci has named Nancy E. Fritz as director of Homeless Initiatives, serving as his primary liaison on homeless issues. Fritz will begin work in the newly created position in June. The position, funded by the Maine State Housing Authority, will provide… Read More
    ORONO – The University of Maine’s student newspaper recently won a first place and two second place awards in regional collegiate competition sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists. Competing against other school papers from colleges and universities across the Northeast, including Yale, Penn State,… Read More
    Recipe won’t spear you wrong Meet asparagus. The food of love. Known as an aphrodisiac in some cultures (perhaps because of its suggestive shape), these slender spears are the ultimate finger food. Plus, they have a mild, seductive flavor if you can get past their… Read More
    Using their noodles Students from Monmouth Academy will have spaghetti at the ready for the third annual Spaghetti Bridge Breaking Competition this morning at the University of Maine in Orono. Thirty freshmen, sophomores and juniors are working in pairs to design and build bridges from… Read More
    Bangor: European Farmers Market, 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays, year-round, Sunnyside Florists & Greenhouses, 117 Buck St. 326-4741. Bar Harbor: Eden Farmers Market, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Sundays, through October, YMCA parking lot, Main Street. 223-2293. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var… Read More
    Do you remember that Saturday at the National Folk Festival on the Bangor waterfront last summer? The sun was scorching and even the breeze, scant as it was, was balmy. It really didn’t help matters. So you sought shelter only to discover that nobody was… Read More
    SEARSPORT – When the Deer Isle-Stonington baseball team checked out the latest Heal Point Ratings, there was a disappointing discovery. Despite an 8-2 record, the Mariners were ranked seventh in Eastern Maine Class D. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var… Read More
    University of Maine athletic director Patrick Nero said he expects work to begin on the third phase of the Shawn Walsh Center at Alfond Arena within a couple of weeks. “Our goal was to build a first-class facility and, from the standpoint of our student-athletes… Read More
    PORTLAND – Tuesday’s Portland Sea Dogs-Binghamton Mets game was postponed due to rain. This marks the second straight day the Dogs have been washed out and a record seventh home postponement this season. No makeup date has been announced. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot… Read More
    Hartford University and Binghamton University were chosen to host the America East women’s and men’s basketball tournaments, respectively, Tuesday. This is the fifth straight year Hartford will host the women’s tourney and the second straight Binghamton will be the home site for the men. Both… Read More
    HIGH SCHOOL At Bangor Indoor Tennis 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
    COLLEGE Kim Jones 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
    HIGH SCHOOL Official standings for baseball, softball and tennis through May 21, as reported by the Maine Principals’ Association 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;… Read More
    Two Hermon High senior student-athletes were among the four random winners of a $2,000 scholarship from the Penobscot Valley Conference at Sunday’s banquet in Brewer. Chris Harding and Jenna Redman of Hermon High each won a scholarship, along with Gina Luchini of Ellsworth and Nokomis… Read More
    David Evans has guided high school football teams to state championships in Dexter and Millinocket. Now he’ll get the chance to build a program from scratch. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for… Read More
    Caribou High basketball and track and field standout Monica Selander will head to Division III Norwich University in Northfield, Vt., to play basketball for the Lady Cadets. The first-team All-Maine forward was still trying to decide between Norwich and the University of Maine as late… Read More
    BANGOR – Back-to-back run-scoring triples by winning pitcher Travis Dunton and Dusty Thomas keyed a four-run first inning for Orono en route to an 8-4 high school baseball win over Mount Desert Island Tuesday. Travis Bryant had a triple and two singles and drove in… Read More
    MILLINOCKET – Collin Henry fired a complete-game five-hitter and aided his own cause with a double, a single and an RBI as George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill collected a 4-1 schoolboy baseball win over Stearns Tuesday. Lucas Marks hit an RBI double and Jeremy… Read More
    FORT FAIRFIELD – Britteny Strout threw a one-hitter, striking out three and walking one, and Ruthie Arata knocked in five runs with three singles as Fort Fairfield avenged its only loss with a 13-1 softball win over Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook Tuesday. Southern Aroostook… Read More