Maine builders, lumber merchants and landowners have mixed opinions about the Softwood Lumber Trade agreement the United States and Canada signed last Tuesday. The deal is designed to stabilize the lumber industry and strengthen U.S. competition in the international market, according to U.S. Trade Representative… Read More
    EDDINGTON – For nearly seven years salmon anglers on the Penobscot River waited for their river to be reopened to fishing. On Saturday afternoon – less than two days after the 30-day experimental fishing season began – it was shut down temporarily after water temperatures… Read More
    PRESQUE ISLE – Every bride deserves the perfect wedding, right down to the spinach salad. At least, that’s how farmer Mary-Ann McHugh felt when she heard the news that a local woman was going to do without after reports of an E. coli outbreak linked… Read More
    SAN FRANCISCO – Federal agents from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention intervened this weekend to help investigate an E. coli outbreak tied to tainted spinach from California’s Salinas Valley. The greens, which appear to be grown by the world’s largest producer of organic… Read More
    Not everyone agrees that the solution to North America’s salmon problem lies in producing more fish from hatcheries, even with the best of science. Critics of hatchery programs often seize upon the high costs and low returns in their campaigns to lessen dependence on artificial… Read More
    Dear Jim: I want to buy a new energy-efficient clothes washer, but I would prefer a top-loader because of back problems. Are top-loading washers really much less efficient than the large front-loading washers? – Leslie L. Dear Leslie: Front-loading washers are the most efficient design,… Read More
    When petroleum prices skyrocketed about a year ago, it put the spotlight on numerous wind and tidal power projects that have been proposed for Maine. In addition, manufacturers of solar power devices have been busy. This is good evidence of an economy adapting to a… Read More
    An amusing article about the L.L. Bean store in The New York Times by one of its cleverer reporters, Alex Kuczynski, included an offhand complaint that “there’s no place colder in the world, it seems, than Maine on a late-summer evening.” Fresh from steamy New York, she found… Read More
    The simple part of a complaint by Green gubernatorial candidate Pat LaMarche is whether a television ad campaign by the Republican Governor’s Association is advocating that voters elect GOP candidate Chandler Woodcock. Of course it is – especially where the campaign, after offering its ideas about the dismal… Read More
    Two hundred and thirty-three years ago in 1773, after repeatedly petitioning the governor of Massachusetts for relief of disastrous taxes on tea, a large band of Bostonians seized three English ships full of tea and tossed it overboard. The Boston Tea Party was the first American Act of… Read More
    Conservationists, we are told, may be defined by the concern they have for the kind of world they’ll leave their great-grandchildren. If that’s the case, Plum Creek Timber Co.’s plan for developing thousands of acres of Moosehead Lake wilderness should give them much to be concerned about. Read More
    CANAAN – A cadre of more than 40 volunteers, 15 game wardens, state troopers, six search-and-rescue horses and a pack of cadaver dogs on Saturday morning began searching several locations in Canaan and Palmyra for a missing Canaan woman. They worked in a grid, sometimes… Read More
    AUGUSTA – Maine exports were up 20.6 percent in the first half of the year, the 13th best showing in the nation. Despite that good news, lawmakers and state officials say, the state is still lagging the nation in sales to other countries. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
    NEWPORT – Barret Ames, 10, bit into a crisp MacIntosh apple Sunday afternoon during a visit to Rowe’s Orchards. Barely able to contain the juices in his mouth, Barret didn’t say a word when asked if it was good – he just kept eating. Nearby,… Read More
    BANGOR – Using a needle that would scare most people, representatives from the Penobscot Valley Kennel Club inserted microchips into dogs on Sunday that will give their location if the canines get lost or run away. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a 4-year-old black Scottish terrier, didn’t… Read More
    PITTSFIELD – In a series of incidents that may not be related, vandals struck early Sunday morning, trashing the Huskies Hut at the Maine Central Institute football field, breaking into cars and strewing their loot over streets and yards. All of the incidents took place… Read More
    BAR HARBOR – The local Chamber of Commerce, after more than four months with its top position unfilled, has hired a new executive director. Christopher Fogg, 40, is expected to begin his new duties as head of the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce next Monday,… Read More
    PITTSFIELD – Town councilors have a four-page agenda of business for their meeting on Tuesday, and at the top of list are changes to some town fees. The process of reviewing and changing town fees began several weeks ago, prompted in part by the coming… Read More
    A Bangor man was arrested twice and shocked with a Taser within a 21/2-hour period early Sunday morning. Police were called to the Ramada Inn on Odlin Road because the owner said that Herman Rodriguez, 36, refused to leave the establishment. googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More
    MILLINOCKET – Disappointed that only one construction bid came in and unwilling to spend an extra $500,000 of town money, the Town Council will be working with an engineer to make the proposed community pool project less expensive to build. Peter J. Tuell, an engineer… Read More
    BANGOR – The following are city meetings and other activities scheduled for this week. All will take place in the council chambers at City Hall unless otherwise indicated. . Monday: 5 p.m., City Council’s finance committee, agenda includes contract for waterfront design services, state and… Read More
    HOULTON – Police are investigating two unrelated rollovers that took place early Sunday morning, according to Officer Troy Fitzpatrick of the Houlton Police Department. Fitzpatrick said police are not releasing the names of those involved because both single-car accidents are under investigation. googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
    ORLAND – Four people were taken Saturday to a Bangor hospital after two pickup trucks collided at the intersection of Route 1 and Upper Falls Road, according to police. None of the injuries is believed to be life-threatening but the driver of one vehicle, Sandy… Read More
    Penobscot 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
    PITTSFIELD – John Chappell of Warwick, R.I., a seasonal resident of Dexter, has purchased the former Picnic Basket Restaurant on Route 100 and will be opening a neighborhood tavern by mid-October. Chappell said Friday that the business, to be called Town Tavern, will be renovated… Read More
    PORTLAND – Elder abuse is a crime that often goes unreported, one that family members sometimes try to sweep under the rug. “You don’t air your laundry to the community. You keep things close and quiet,” Debbie DeDominicus, deputy director of the Southern Maine Agency… Read More
    LEWISTON – The director of Maine’s Office of Tourism is taking flak from an outspoken critic of his department for having a license plate that says ILOVENY. The Maine vanity plate, which Searsmont blogger Lance Dutson claims is inappropriate, appears on a sport utility vehicle… Read More
    HARMONY – An elderly Harmony man, who was a former, longtime town treasurer, was struck and killed as he attempted to retrieve his mail just after noon Saturday. Ashley Rowell, 87, of Route 150 was hit by a 2000 GMC pickup truck operated by Gary… Read More
    ORONO – The University of Maine, along with the University of Vermont and the University of Arkansas, has been awarded $666,839 to enhance the production of organic apples. Taking the lead in Maine will be Dr. Renae Moran at Highmoor Farm in Monmouth, and the… Read More
    PORTLAND – A couple from Maine were being held Sunday in a New Hampshire jail, accused of kidnapping their pregnant 19-year-old daughter. After being tied up with rope and loaded into the back seat of her parents’ car, the daughter escaped Friday at a shopping… Read More
    BETHEL – Purple balloons filled the air as Cindy Beatson, one of four people killed in a Labor Day weekend shooting spree near this western Maine tourist town, was buried at Riverside Cemetery. Purple was one of the favorite colors of the 43-year-old mother and… Read More
    PITTSFIELD – Should the TABOR initiative pass this fall, the award-winning school district that he leads will not be just tarnished, but likely debilitated, Superintendent Michael Gallagher said. The Taxpayers Bill of Rights proposal will restrict both school revenues and expenditures, putting SAD 53 in… Read More
    ACADIA NATIONAL PARK – A Bangor man has been hospitalized after an apparent scuba-diving incident off Schoodic Point, park officials said Sunday. Robert Foss, 52, was scuba diving Saturday off the eastern side of Schoodic Point near Blueberry Hill when he returned to the water’s… Read More
    BATH – The great-granddaughter of the U.S. naval officer who defeated the Spanish fleet outside Cuba’s Santiago Harbor christened the latest U.S. Navy warship to bear the Sampson name on Saturday with a bottle of champagne. Clare Parsons, 68, of Wilmington, N.C., ended the ceremony… Read More
    FREEPORT – Toilets are backing up and tempers are flaring on Bustins Island, where state environmental regulators have ordered a halt to the summer colony’s time-honored method of human waste disposal. Residents have been told that they no longer may dump outhouse contents into a… Read More
    PORTLAND – The Belarus government says the death of a student from the Eastern European nation whose body was found nearly three months ago outside a boarding house in Wells was a murder and that police should pursue the investigation more forcefully. Aliaksei Vasileuski, 20,… Read More
    LOUDON, N.H. – The New Hampshire 125 Busch East race could have been renamed “Survival-Loudon.” But moments after the last piece of metal was retrieved from New Hampshire International Speedway and the final batch of SpeedyDry had been applied Saturday, it was Scarborough’s Kelly Moore… Read More
    LOUDON, N.H. – Kevin Harvick said he has always enjoyed coming to New Hampshire for the Nextel Cup races in July and September. “I like it because it’s cool [weather-wise] and it’s green,” said Harvick after collecting his first ever win at NHIS in the… Read More
    COLLEGE UMF Invitational 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
    HOLE-IN-ONE Charlie Murray 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
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    PORTLAND – Brian Myrow belted a two-run homer, Keoni De Renne tripled with the bases loaded and Devern Hansack pitched eight strong innings as the Portland Sea Dogs beat the Akron Aeros 8-5 Sunday to clinch their first Eastern League Championship three games to two. Read More
    PRESQUE ISLE – Nick Hubbard netted two goals and Ian Bamford added another as the John Bapst boys handed Presque Isle its first loss of the soccer season, 3-2, Saturday. Jon Gagnon and Peter Lundquist each chipped in an assist for the 5-0 Crusaders. Chris… Read More
    NORTHFIELD, Vt. – Husson College continued its stingy defensive play Saturday afternoon, limiting Norwich University to 215 total yards on its way to a 14-13 Division III football victory. Linebacker Ross Salovitch registered nine unassisted tackles to help the Eagles (2-1) claim their second straight… Read More
    BUCKSPORT – Brad Bellemare carried the ball 20 times for 124 yards and two touchdowns to help lead unbeaten Foxcroft Academy by Bucksport 30-0 in Saturday football action. Ben Provost had 11 carries for 94 yards and a touchdown while Ian Imbert rushed for a… Read More
    ORONO – Laura Harper and McKayla Bell each netted an unassisted goal Sunday as the University of Maine women’s soccer team remained undefeated with a 2-0 victory over Rhode Island. Jasmine Phillips recorded her fourth shutout of the season with four saves on eight shots… Read More
    HERMON – John Phippen Jr. of Town Hill wrapped up the Sportsman division points championship at Speedway 95 with a third-place finish in Sunday’s feature race. Matt Eaton of Little Deer Isle took first place and Ryan Deane of Winterport finished second in the race. Read More
    Chief Orono was the great-grandson of Chief Madockawando. And, he was of both Penobscot and French nobility. I’ll remember those points with the help of “Naming Places the Penobscot Way,” a four-page insert you will find in the Sept. 23-24 edition of the Bangor Daily… Read More
    From his vacation house on Squirrel Island a century ago, Frank Owen, the manager of the Bangor Opera House, sent out the press release Queen City theater lovers awaited each summer: The theater would reopen on Aug. 27, and, late in September, the actress Maxine Elliott – who… Read More
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    In theaters THE BLACK DAHLIA, directed by Brian De Palma, written by Josh Friedman, 122 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++)… Read More
    Talk about setting the bar high for this new drama. Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme were the team behind the Emmy-winning “The West Wing” during its glory years. Its cast includes Amanda Peet, slumming from film, and TV stars Matthew Perry (“Friends”), Steven Weber (“Wings”)… Read More