More than a decade has passed since an Atlantic salmon caught in the Penobscot River by a fisherman at the start of the season was presented to the President of the United States, but the current commander in chief may be setting the groundwork for a return to… Read More
PLEASANT POINT – In the past, the Passamaquoddy tribal leader has been called governor, but Rick Doyle, who has been in office since September, said he prefers to be called chief. “The traditional name of governor is ‘sakom,’ which can be best understood as chief,”… Read More
On the packing floor of the Stinson sardine cannery, where the smell of fish is strong and the constant whir of conveyor belts requires ear plugs, Lela Anderson is home. Her feet firm on the cement floor, her silver hair tucked neatly beneath a translucent… Read More
Because of an editing error, Thursday’s Finding a Fix column contained inaccurate data about admissions to addiction treatment in Maine. People age 24 to 34 accounted for 23 percent of admissions in 2000, and people age 25 to 44 made up 35 percent of admissions. The two groups… Read More
WASHINGTON – The Defense Department is giving away free equipment the military no longer needs to state and local police: fatigues for secret surveillance of drug labs in Indiana, a tranquilizer gun to shoot bears in Pennsylvania and a doublewide trailer in Virginia. Cash-strapped law… Read More
House votes Democratic Reps. Michael Michaud and Tom Allen 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
Now that Plum Creek Timber Co. is, for a second time, revising its proposal for major development around Moosehead Lake, the company should take the time to improve the plan by ensuring that both the development and conservation are the right size in the appropriate location. It can… Read More
The announcement by the White House on Friday that it has proposed $10 million in the president’s budget to restoring the Penobscot River gives a mighty push to a worthy project. The administration is right to support this environmental gain, and its contribution will certainly spur even more… Read More
We are used to expecting business, industry and science to innovate. New products replace old and much of the time the new products are better. There are usually many alternative products to choose from. We can meet our individual needs as we each think best and spend our… Read More
Sometime next year, all of us will be expected to show federally approved, standard-issue identification cards whenever we want to board an airplane, open a bank account or use a government service. We’ll be one big, happy, well-monitored American family. Maybe not so happy. Personal… Read More
When I read the Page One headline “LURC stymies western Maine wind power project” in Thursday’s newspaper, it occurred to me that the story might also have legitimately carried the subhead, “Another great idea falls victim to pervasive Not-In-My-Backyard Syndrome.” The 90-megawatt project has been proposed for Redington… Read More
The popularity of granite surfaces in the home is soaring. One doesn’t have to watch too many home-improvement shows on television or look at very many design and decorating books to know that granite is hot, if not hip. Capitalizing on granite’s popularity, a small… Read More
SOUTH PORTLAND – Home sales slumped in Maine for the second year in a row in 2006, while the median sales price was flat, according to statistics released Friday by the Maine Association of Realtors. The association, which tracks sales of homes by licensed real… Read More
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Smith & Wesson may be best recognized as the brand of choice for Dirty Harry, the movie cop who warned punks his .44 Magnum was “the most powerful handgun in the world.” But that was in 1971, and much has changed in… Read More
BANGOR – The formation of a state Department of Commerce would streamline regulatory processes for businesses and strengthen the state’s economic development initiatives, former Maine House Speaker John Richardson told a group here Friday. Richardson, the newly appointed commissioner of the state Department of Economic… Read More
BAR HARBOR – Two local hotels have been a big enough hit with their customers that they’ve been selected among several hundred hotels worldwide as winners in an annual travelers’ choice competition. The Bayview Motel and Bar Harbor Motel, located opposite each other on Route… Read More
Every few weeks, Jimmy Busque delivers maple syrup made by his company, Busque Enterprises of Millinocket, to places such as Newport and Greenville. Along the way, he sees gasoline prices that fluctuate as much as 35 cents to the gallon. Millinocket prices, he said, are… Read More
AUGUSTA – After 12 years at the helm of the Maine Office of Tourism, Dann Lewis is being replaced with Patricia Eltman, a former legislative staffer and lobbyist. Newly confirmed Economic and Community Development Commissioner John Richardson confirmed Friday that Lewis is out, effective Tuesday. Read More
Many years ago my father came home from doing some electrical work at a slaughterhouse and firmly declared that he would never again eat veal. Apparently it had been veal processing day and the sight of all of those baby cows being led onto the… Read More
HOULTON – Sherri Adams knew that it gets cold in Maine – but so cold that ungloved fingers froze when you touched the surface of your car door handle in the morning? “Beyond unbelievable,” she said of the phenomenon, pausing quickly to talk before running… Read More
BUCKSPORT – Town councilors are itching for a fight. They want a sign on Interstate 95 directing motorists from Augusta down Route 3 to the new Penobscot Narrows Bridge and Observatory that links Waldo and Hancock counties. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes… Read More
PRESQUE ISLE – The governor’s office has added a fifth forum – this one in Presque Isle – to discuss a proposed administrative restructuring of the state’s kindergarten through grade 12 education system. The additional forum will be held 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. Read More
ROCKPORT – The Samoset Resort will be the location for one of five informational meetings on the upcoming Working Waterfront Tax Program. Sponsored by the Island Institute and Maine Sea Grant, the workshops will focus on the specifics of the new tax relief program and… Read More
Guard members ready to redeploy Many Maine soldiers not surprised by possible return to duty in Iraq
PORTLAND – Maine National Guard Sgt. Tenny Noyes knew after serving a year in Iraq that rules prevented him from returning. Nonetheless, he’s not surprised that the rules have changed and that he might have to go back after all. Noyes, who serves in the… Read More
HOULTON – After town officials spent more than a month strategizing ways to put forth a budget that will not balloon its current mill rate, town councilors are poised Monday evening to adopt a more than $8.1 million fiscal year 2007 budget for the municipality. Read More
MONTPELIER, Vt. – One of the region’s biggest heating oil dealers, Irving Oil Corp., must pay $100 each to 155 customers in the Barre area whose oil supplies were allowed to run low in late 2005, the attorney general’s office said Thursday. “Irving’s customers in… Read More
PORTLAND – A Portland mortgage broker charged with murdering a friend after a night out on the town says he shot the man in self-defense and then suffered “a nervous breakdown” that led him to hide the body. Steven Clark’s testimony continued into a second… Read More
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Susan Collins’ Washington, D.C., office has a new address: 413 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510. Constituents wishing to contact the senator should send mail to the new address. Collins may also be reached through her Web site at www.collins.senate.gov. Read More
TOWNSHIP 17, RANGE 5 – A Connecticut man suffered multiple injuries Thursday afternoon after a snowmobile crash in Township 17, Range 5 near Cross Lake. Game Warden Chad Abbott of the Maine Warden Service said Friday that Kenneth Johnson, 45, of Southington, Conn., was riding… Read More
BANGOR – The Parent Teacher Fellowship of Penobscot Christian School will hold its annual dessert auction and talent show at 6 p.m. today at the school at 1423 Ohio St. All are welcome. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. For information, call 947-2704. Read More
UNITY – Unity’s Boy Scout Troop 233, a quality award winner in 2006, is looking for youth interested in the Scout experience. The troop’s biggest event during the past year was a trip to New York City, where they stayed at a friend’s art studio… Read More
HOULTON – Three people escaped injury but a North Street convenience store was damaged significantly Friday after a driver slammed into the building with her car. Officer Charles Wampler of the Houlton Police Department said Friday that Phyllis Oliver, 77, was pulling into a parking… Read More
ELLSWORTH – Most of the public bus routes run by Downeast Transportation haven’t changed since they were created in the early 1980s. Recently, though, increasing demand in some areas and decreasing ridership in others have prompted the Hancock County private nonprofit bus service to take… Read More
Ellsworth District Court Cases Oct. 15-Dec. 15, 2006 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… Read More
A three-vehicle accident at the intersection of Broadway and Stillwater Avenue in Bangor Friday sent three people to the hospital with minor injuries. Responders used the Jaws of Life to remove one person from their car, according to the police report. The chain-reaction crash started… Read More
VERONA ISLAND – There may be some light at the end of the tunnel – or bridge. Crews have begun reinstalling some of the lighting along the deck of the new Penobscot Narrows Bridge and the Maine Department of Transportation could begin testing some lighting… Read More
BANGOR – The Rev. Thomas G. Long sits through about 700 sermons a year. He knows good preaching. He knows bad preaching. And he teaches preachers at Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes =… Read More
Editor’s Note: BDN copy editor Tracy Collins spent six weeks in Guatemala last summer mentoring teenage girls through the Safe Passage program. Seven years ago, Hanley Denning watched the dump trucks unload. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes =… Read More
In 1979, I was about to enter rabbinical school. It is a five-year postgraduate program – quite a commitment for a 25-year-old man. I remember talking with my father about how uncertain I was to embark upon such a long program of study, given the… Read More
MILLINOCKET – Located on Route 11 just east of Medway Road, Peddler’s Hill is little more than a rough unpaved lot, and it looks rather trashed, until you see it through the eyes of Kathy Gagnon and Rose Weymouth. They envision a paved farmers market… Read More
ORONO – It was a memorable second period for Northeastern University freshman center Greg Costa. Costa cleared a puck off his goal line with the score tied 1-1 and then capped a three-goal flurry with his first collegiate goal as Northeastern extended the University of… Read More
The top cheerleading teams in Eastern Maine, as well as the field for the state championships, will be decided today in regional championships at the Bangor Auditorium and Augusta Civic Center. The top four teams advance to the state championship meet, which will be held… Read More
One of the top wrestlers in Maine schoolboy history will join a championship program on the collegiate level beginning next fall. Jeremiah Barkac of Parkman, a senior at Dexter Regional High School, recently accepted a scholarship offer to wrestle and study at Dana College, an… Read More
BANGOR – Now that’s racing. The Bangor and MDI swimming and diving program provided fans – and each other – with some of the best action of the season so far as the Rams girls and Trojans boys picked up team wins Friday in dual… Read More
Each year, thousands of people head to Carrabassett Valley and Sugarloaf/USA to spend some time enjoying the Maine winter. None of those visitors, I would assert, has any more fun at the mountain and its varied venues than the group that will take over Sugarloaf… Read More
HIGH SCHOOL At Presque Isle 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
Dressing for winter comfort really is an individual matter. What’s good for me may not be so great for you. After all, we’re all a little different, aren’t we? One major factor in trying to stay warm (but not too warm) is our level of… Read More
I have yet to go ice fishing this season. It’s been more years than I can remember, if ever, since I’ve not been setting out tip-ups for trout or handlining for smelt well before the fourth week of January. There’s no question we’ve had an odd winter thus… Read More
Baxter State Park officials held their opening day of reservations for the 2007 camping season on Monday. In all, 70 campers made reservations in the park during the event, reserving less than 3 percent of the total spots available during the summer. More than 80… Read More
DYER BROOK – Whitney Flint scored seven of her 15 points in the fourth quarter to lead Ashland past Southern Aroostook 52-46 in girls basketball action Friday. Mindy Chasse led the Hornets with 20 points. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]];… Read More
BAR HARBOR – Susan Falt scored all 13 of her points in the fourth quarter and overtime to lift Mount Desert Island to a 69-61 girls basketball victory over Bucksport Friday night. Amethyst Cousins paced the Trojans with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Lindsey Lewis… Read More
MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Bangor’s Zak Ray hit a 3-pointer to open overtime and give Bates College of Lewiston the lead for good as the Bobcats edged Wesleyan 59-56 Friday night for their fifth-straight NESCAC victory. Ray finished with 13 points and five assists and Bryan… Read More
LEE – Dana Houghton hit two free throws with 1:06 remaining to give Lee Academy the lead for good as the Pandas held off Woodland 56-53 in schoolgirl basketball action Friday night. Aarika Ritchie led the way with 19 points, and Amanda Gifford and Karin… Read More
Women’s basketball MAINE vs. HARTFORD 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
America, what were you thinking? It was so frustrating to watch Dustin Wilkes be voted off “Nashville Star” that I may have lost faith in the voting TV public. Wilkes may not have won in the end, but I think his time to get booted… Read More
Oh man. Oh man. They are so cool. I totally want to be a derby girl,” said a magenta-haired female spectator at the first-ever scrimmage of the Maine Roller Derby, held Jan. 14 at Roller World in Topsham. “It’s just, like, so badass.” “Go Vex!… Read More
As soon as the temperature dips below 20 degrees, I go into hibernation mode. Long underwear, wool socks and a fur-lined hoodie become my unofficial uniform. When I arrive home after a day’s work, I migrate toward the couch, where a comforter, “Grey’s Anatomy” and two snuggling dogs… Read More
Each week, BDN film critic Christopher Smith will review the latest DVD releases. “Dallas: The Complete Sixth Season”: Where there’s oil, there’s usually drama – this series is a case in point. The sixth season of “Dallas” found J.R. ousted from Ewing Oil, Southfork in… Read More
Now, winter begins. It doesn’t ever start, really, until the Patriots lose. The water torture in Indianapolis is finally over and the Patriots are not going to the Super Bowl, let alone going to win it. The brand new Patriots serving dish (Reny’s, $1.99) is… Read More
Sublimely surreal. So I thought as I sat on a bench near the barren vegetable garden under a sky glowing in gold and gray as the sun broke through the fog streaming across the yard. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]];… Read More
The seed catalogs keep coming, each featuring new 2007 introductions, both vegetable and flower. It occurred to me to provide a snapshot of some of these new offerings as a service to readers who have escaped inclusion on one or two mailing lists – if that’s possible. Of… Read More
What a wonderful bunch of “cabbage and” recipes you all have sent along. We were talking about brussels sprouts awhile ago, and the beauty of these recipes is that they are good for cabbage and brussels sprouts, too, and possibly other items in the cabbage family. In fact,… Read More