The article concerning the state’s efforts to collect taxes on free employee lunches (BDN, March 12) seems to me to underline a serious problem in Maine government. Somewhere, someone has lost sight of the big picture. Over $56 million dollars was lost in just one… Read More
    Without knowing where mercury emitted from power plants and other facilities ends up, it is hard to know how best to minimize such pollution. To rectify this problem, Sen. Susan Collins last week introduced legislation to create a mercury monitoring system. The information collected by the system will… Read More
    Wherein Bangor is a relatively small city, I wonder why it is not taking excellent care of its homeless. The slots provide Bangor with a lot of previously unexpected revenue which could greatly help the homeless. Where are the priorities? Most of these folk are… Read More
    Before there is peace in the entire Mideast there must be a peace settlement between the Israelis and their Arab neighbors. Foreign news media such as Deutsch Welt TV and the BBC have news items regarding the Israeli-Palestinian peace problems daily. President Bush devastated his… Read More
    Where is the Maine Coalition on Liquor and Drinking? Oh, I guess there is none! So here we go again, increase the cigarette tax, and poof, we will all stop smoking overnight. Well, it does not work that way. Cigarette smoking is an addiction, one… Read More
    Numerous senators, congressmen, Cabinet members, the president and vice president and other government officials have stated they have made numerous trips to visit our wounded troops. Is it reasonable to assume that none have visited those on outpatient care? Had anyone visited the outpatient care… Read More
    In response to Elizabeth Payne’s letter, “Right to hunt, or not” (BDN, March 12), I’m a little confused. People like Ms. Payne have the authority to post their land now if they so desire. And I have no problem with that if they so choose. Read More
    OK, I think I’ve got it. A man, Ashton L. Moores, set fire to a home in Orono in 1973 that killed a man, then he set five more fires in Waterville and was released from prison in 1989. He was tied to a series of fires in… Read More
    The public doesn’t make decisions about what drugs best manage diabetes or what treatments are most effective for lowering cholesterol. Yet, Maine law allows local voters to decide whether fluoride should be added to their water. This leads to situations like the recent vote in which Mount Desert… Read More
    Praise is deserved for Brewer city officials and Bangor Daily News reporter Toni-Lynn Robbins for their sensitivity in the handling of the tragic suicide death that occurred last month at Brewer City Hall. The BDN article’s closing paragraph included the following quote from Brewer Mayor Michael Celli: “I… Read More
    BANGOR – Students from Nazareth College in Rochester, N.Y., had expected to spend St. Patrick’s Day catching up on their sleep, doing laundry and regaling their classmates about their adventures in Ireland over spring break. Instead, they spent Saturday in Bangor International Airport, playing cards,… Read More
    LINCOLN – Dustin Faloon has an indirect relationship with the war in Iraq. His ex-girlfriend’s brother is deployed there, and her stories of her sibling’s life in Iraq fill him with dread and disgust. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var… Read More
    ROCKLAND – Karen and Dan McLean, two of Maine’s few remaining lighthouse keepers, will give a presentation on their decade of service at three different lighthouses. The presentation will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 24, at the museum. It is free and open… Read More
    ROCKPORT – Penobscot Bay Media recently became one of 45 companies in the nation to receive a share in $5 billion in contracts over the next 10 years. Penobscot Bay Media added 16 new jobs in 2006 and plans to add around the same number… Read More
    BARING – The Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge has completed a long-term assessment of the environmental impact of migratory bird, upland game and big-game hunting programs. The draft of the assessment will be available for public viewing until April 15. Copies are held at the Moosehorn… Read More
    ROCKLAND – The Mid-Coast School of Technology Adult Education program will offer a six-week course on feature writing beginning Monday, March 26. George Chappell has 30 years of journalism experience and will be teaching the course. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes =… Read More
    BAR HARBOR – The Whole Health Center will offer a workshop from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 24, at 162 Gilbert Farm Road. The program will teach about the importance of breathing, smiling and touching to maintain a happy, healthy and stress-free life. Read More
    PARKMAN – Neither snow, hail or freezing rain kept about 60 people away from the annual town meeting Saturday when residents voted to give riders of all-terrain vehicles continued access to town-maintained roads. An article to deny access by ATVs was placed on the warrant… Read More
    Canaan About 100 hardy Canaan residents showed up to handle annual town meeting business 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())… Read More
    INDIAN TOWNSHIP – He is experienced in the ways of state government, and that is why newly re-elected tribal state Rep. Donald Soctomah is looking forward to the next four years. Since 1994 the nonvoting lawmaker position has alternated every four years between the tribe’s… Read More
    PITTSFIELD – Residents have silenced critics in recent years by demonstrating that not only is recycling good for the environment, it also saves money. In 2006, Pittsfield recycled some 1,000 tons of material, according to town statistics, and most of that was sold, bringing in… Read More
    MACHIAS – Dispatchers are becoming Washington County’s lifeline for anyone with a medical emergency, at least while the ambulance is on its way. All you have to do is dial 911. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = [];… Read More
    Officers patrolling sections of Penobscot County will soon be cruising with wireless laptops, enabling them to write up reports and view photos of people sought in all-points bulletins. By combining forces, seven area law enforcement agencies sought the federal money to buy the technology for… Read More
    SKOWHEGAN – Help is on the way for those in Somerset County who have hefty prescription costs but no insurance. County Commissioner Philip Roy recently returned from a commissioners conference in Washington with a discount prescription plan that could cut 20 percent from medication costs. Read More
    ENFIELD – A Dodlin Road man was admitted to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor on Sunday after he suffered smoke inhalation and possibly a burn to his ankle in a fire that destroyed his house. Denis Carmody’s 10-year-old daughter, Christine Carmody, told neighbors that… Read More
    A pickup truck stolen from the D’Estes Road in Milo was recovered Sunday by Dover-Foxcroft police. The 2001 GMC was found at an apartment building on West Main Street in Dover-Foxcroft, according to Milo Police Chief Michael Poulin. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var… Read More
    A flat tire may have saved a Searsport woman’s life early Sunday when she decided to spend the night at a friend’s home and fix the flat in the morning. At about 2:30 a.m., firefighters were called to Sarah Nickerson’s home on Route 1 at… Read More
    JONESPORT – One man was killed and another seriously injured Sunday morning after the vehicle they were in slammed into some trees on Route 187. Joseph J. Bazylak, 25, of Addison was dead at the scene. A second man, James Robinson Jr., 27, also of… Read More
    What a delightful evening the Brooksville Parents, Teachers and Friends Association has in store when you attend a supper and variety show gala beginning at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, March 24, at Brooksville Elementary School, 1527 Coastal Road in Brooksville. The suggested donation is $6 for… Read More
    AUGUSTA – John Kerry, former CEO of Catholic Charities Maine, has been named director of the state Office of Energy Independence and Security, Gov. John Baldacci announced Sunday. Kerry, a former Democratic legislator from Saco who headed the state energy office from 1983 to 1986… Read More
    AUGUSTA – With the NCAA basketball tournament under way, Gov. John Baldacci said Maine’s own political March Madness is playing out in the State House, but the stakes are much greater than winning or losing a sports championship. The Legislature has an opportunity “to do… Read More
    PERRY – Bernadette Maloney and Barbara Hicks are longtime friends – for a quarter of a century, in fact. Their sons, Benjamin Maloney and Theodore Cummings, also are longtime friends – 21 years, in fact. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]];… Read More
    LEWISTON – A music legend in Asbury Park, N.J., as a founding member of what became Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, Bill Chinnock was also a legend among Mainers stricken with Lyme disease. The Emmy-winning singer-songwriter had been waging his own battle with the tick-borne… Read More
    It was the handshake that got me. It was the first week of my first job in the newspaper business at the Aroostook Republican & News, a weekly newspaper in Caribou. Leaning on the office counter on this late summer day was Gerry Duffy, Caribou… Read More
    ORONO – The Mahaney Dome has been a tremendous resource for University of Maine athletics since its completion 14 months ago. However, the air-supported indoor practice facility will temporarily be out of commission after a large tear developed Saturday in the building’s fabric covering. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
    North American and U.S. championships At 10th Mtn. Ski Center, Fort Kent 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 At Rangeley 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
    PALMETTO BAY, Fla. – U.S. Air Force Capt. Kevin Eastler, formerly of Farmington and now residing in Aurora, Colo., won the gold medal Saturday in the 20-kilometer Pan American Racewalk Cup qualifying trials held at the Old Cutler Road Course on Saturday. Eastler edged training… Read More
    GORHAM – Senior Ashley Marble of the University of Southern Maine women’s basketball team has been named the 2007 D3hoops.com National Player of the Year. A 5-foot-9 forward, Topsfield’s Marble is repeating as a first-team D3hoops.com All-American, earning the honor as a junior. Marble was… Read More
    As a graduate of Piscataquis Community High School in Guilford, I had a great time watching the Pirates score the runner-up plaque in the Eastern Maine Class C Boys Tournament. I’m guessing that my numerous cousins in that neck of the woods include young Mike… Read More
    ORONO – Violinist Chen Xi missed his dress rehearsal Saturday night with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra. He was stuck in Philadelphia in the weekend snowstorm that grounded most flights in the Northeast. Concertgoers couldn’t tell Sunday afternoon that the 22-year-old Chinese-born violinist had skipped a… Read More
    Shortly after 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 6, 1907, the bell in the University of Maine’s Wingate Hall began to toll. News about “the battle at Augusta” had arrived. Cheering students poured from every door on the campus. Band members carrying their instruments joined the growing rush to… Read More
    It is from one time to another what remains 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
    In theaters PREMONITION, directed by Mennan Yapo, written by Bill Kelly, 110 minutes, rated PG-13. 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