MILLINOCKET – Record oil prices will force Katahdin Paper Co. LLC to indefinitely close its Katahdin Avenue mill and lay off all 208 workers in 60 days unless an alternative energy source is found, company officials said Thursday. “Curtailment” is also likely at the company’s… Read More
PORTLAND – Sticker shock. That’s what homeowners who heat with oil are feeling as heating oil prices rise to more than $4.50 a gallon. Heating oil prices are nearly double what they were last year at this time, and some oil dealers have delayed rolling… Read More
AUGUSTA – Democrats from around the state, and at least one from away, are gearing up for their annual state convention this weekend. A handful of well-known Democrats and thousands of lesser-known party members are expected to attend the three-day convention, scheduled for May 30… Read More
Gas has been siphoned out of parked cars, construction equipment and even school buses in recent weeks. Gas station employees across the state are on high alert as more and more patrons are driving off without paying first to avoid the astronomical prices. It doesn’t… Read More
AUGUSTA – An 18-year-old man was arrested Thursday on an elevated aggravated assault charge stemming from an attack two days earlier that critically injured a former state legislator from Pittston and his 10-year-old daughter. Prosecutors are seeking $1 million bail for Leo Hylton of Augusta,… Read More
A story on Page B5 of Monday’s paper about a Massachusetts man who died during a rafting trip on the Penobscot River should have said that fellow rafters and guides on the trip performed CPR on the victim. State wardens performed other duties to assist him. Read More
Vehicle tanks are the latest target for gasoline thieves, who long have preferred to drive off from the gas station without paying or siphoning the gas from a vehicle’s tank. Experts say there’s no surefire way to ward off thieves thirsting for your $4-a-gallon-and-rising gas,… Read More
LEWISTON – A painting by Lewiston-born artist Marsden Hartley has sold for $6.3 million, setting an auction record at Christie’s in New York for an American modernist’s work. Hartley’s oil on canvas titled “Lighthouse” was painted in Berlin in 1915 and was in a German… Read More
Ten states have taken action in recent months to crack down on sexually abusive teachers after a stream of arrests and reports that have documented the problem of educators victimizing students. Governors, state education officials and lawmakers have led the push for new measures, which… Read More
BANGOR – Dollar Tree Inc. announced Thursday that it has opened a new store at Stillwater Plaza, 642 Stillwater Ave. The new 8,088-square-foot-store, located near the new Home Depot, is one of 20 new stores the Chesapeake, Va.-based chain is opening this month. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
Jeff Allen has been named executive vice president for external relations at FairPoint Communications. Allen is responsible for economic development, governmental affairs and community relations for all FairPoint operations throughout the United States. He has worked for FairPoint as assistant vice president of customer operations where he was… Read More
WASHINGTON – Federal regulators are six months into a wide-ranging investigation of U.S. oil markets, with a focus on possible price manipulation. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Thursday said it started the probe in December and took the unusual step of publicizing it “because… Read More
On May 26, the BDN published an editorial from the Vindicator in Youngstown, Ohio (“Other Voices”). It would have been mildly humorous if it hadn’t been pathetically stupid. The Vindicator editors were peeved that Saudi Arabia said no when our president asked them to increase… Read More
For decades, environmental groups rallied to save Sears Island from industrial development. In recent years, proponents of a port on the island began pushing back, noting the island was purchased by the state in 1998 expressly for future transportation needs. When the liquefied natural gas industry began looking… Read More
Here is a scenario worse than gasoline and home heating oil selling at $5 or $6 per gallon later this year: instead, prices drop to and stabilize at about $3 per gallon. When it’s clear those prices will remain long-term, households and businesses adjust their budgets, car manufacturers… Read More
Cheers to Oprah Winfrey for her recent choice to adopt a vegan lifestyle as part of a bodily cleanse. Things can only get better. My wife and I became vegetarians almost 15 years ago and then vegans about six years ago, and we’ve never felt… Read More
I have some unpleasant news for Charles Sykes (“Evolution not supported,” BDN May 26): Reality does not care a whit about human sensibilities. He finds the idea that Homo sapiens descended from apes “ridiculous,” but he neglects to address the mountain of evidence that supports it. Read More
George Bush’s “stimulus” package is nothing more than a political fig leaf to cover his bankruptcy of ideas and inept leadership. As Congress was passing the Bush stimulator this year, the Labor Department announced that the U.S. lost another 279,000 manufacturing jobs in 2007, reducing… Read More
In James McCleave’s letter, (BDN May 20), “Evolution not a theory,” he claims that creationism is unprovable, and it should not “meet in a scientific classroom” with evolution. He gives two examples of the natural selection process (observable); one of the moth changing color shade and the size… Read More
FEMA’s at it again, ruling that Aroostook had no problem with snow, so it doesn’t need money to help with snow removal costs, just as New Orleans didn’t need pumps. Last winter’s snow provided Aroostook inhabitants with 15-foot-high drifts and snowbanks. The 17 inches at… Read More
The Bangor Daily News will accept commentary relating to June 10 election issues until noon on June 4 and will stop publishing such pieces on June 7. Not all submissions can be published because of space constraints. Read More
A new book by Jim Douglass, “JFK and the Unspeakable,” not only adds a coherent narrative to the events surrounding the Nov. 22, 1963, assassination, but also sheds new light on JFK, the man and the president. I read this book with intense interest because… Read More
BANGOR – Flames shot over the trees Thursday evening as a Hammond Street apartment building and a nearby office building were destroyed by fire. Tenants of the 1380 Hammond St. four-unit apartment building, many of them barefoot, stood in the middle of the street behind… Read More
In Denver, they have what they call “Mountain Weather.” It took me just three days to fully grasp what that entailed. On my first full day in the Mile-High City, I thought I would die of heat. I was already sunburned, and the warmth seemed… Read More
AUGUSTA – Thousands of Mainers using mail drop services or a post office box are among those getting a surprise when they seek to get a driver’s license issued or renewed. State law now requires an actual street address with some proof a person lives at that address. Read More
CASTINE – With the mainsail reefed against a stiff breeze, the schooner Bowdoin barreled down the Bagaduce River and out of Castine Harbor on Thursday. Friends and family waved from the dock as the schooner began a 60-day training cruise that will take Maine Maritime… Read More
HAMPDEN – The director of a mission house for homeless men that has stirred controversy in town for years has vowed no longer to accept sex offenders. For the past few years neighbors of the Bangor Rescue Mission farm, located at 396 Meadow Road, repeatedly… Read More
VEAZIE – The assets of a local concrete company were seized Thursday morning by Bangor Savings Bank in an attempt to recover approximately $5 million the company owes the bank, according to bank Senior Vice President Yellow Light Breen. Bangor Savings Bank filed legal documents… Read More
BAR HARBOR – Registered Democrats in several Mount Desert Island towns will have a choice next month when they decide who will represent the party in the race this fall for Maine House District 35. Elsie Flemings and Gary Friedmann, both of Bar Harbor, will… Read More
MACHIAS – The two candidates vying for the Republican nomination for House District 32 both said they agree on many issues, but their backgrounds and approaches are another story. David Burns, 58, a former Maine State Police trooper from Whiting, and Tony Maker, 42, an… Read More
WESLEY – Two men have been arrested after an investigation of burglaries to seasonal homes and camps in the Deer Haven area. Maine State Police and the Washington County Sheriff’s Department had been investigating reports of break-ins for the past two weeks. googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
BAILEYVILLE – Voters took about 15 minutes at the annual town meeting Wednesday to approve a $4.55 million school budget – but nearly an hour to approve the town budget. Last year, the total school budget was $4.6 million. This year’s proposed budget is $4.55… Read More
ROCKLAND – A few hours after Knox County commissioners voted Wednesday to terminate a lease agreement for a new dispatch center, sheriff’s office and emergency management center on Old County Road that would have required a 15-foot height increase for the communications tower, the City Council unanimously approved… Read More
Three candidates are vying for the Republican nomination in House District 41: Maxwell G. Coolidge of Orland, Kenneth R. Lindell of Frankfort and Warren D. Southworth Sr. of Searsport. The district encompasses the towns of Frankfort, Orland, Prospect, Searsport, Stockton Springs and Verona Island. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
CARMEL – Despite an increase in the 2008-09 SAD 23 budget, a rise in state subsidy should keep the local expense minimal. Of the nearly $8.5 million budget, which is a 4.68 percent increase compared with last year, Carmel and Levant residents will be asked… Read More
PITTSFIELD – Maine Central Institute has announced its top 10 students for the Class of 2008. Lori Celeste, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Mark Celeste of Huntington, Md., has been named valedictorian for the Class of 2008. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes… Read More
ORONO – Margaret Estapa, a doctoral student in oceanography at the University of Maine’s School of Marine Sciences, was recently awarded a NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship. The fellowship, available to master’s or doctoral students in Earth science, heliophysics, planetary science and astrophysics, is… Read More
DOVER-FOXCROFT – Few questions were asked of SAD 68 officials Wednesday before about 30 residents approved a $10.2 million spending plan for education. As required of all school districts and unions, residents must reaffirm their approval of the budget during a referendum vote on June… Read More
Pine Tree camper Bradley Thibodeau of Carmel will open Maine’s first handicapped-accessible treehouse on June 17 at Pine Tree Camp in Rome. The ceremony, beginning at 10 a.m., will represent the culmination of the hard work and support of Pine Tree campers, friends, and volunteers whose commitment made… Read More
PITTSFIELD – Friends of the Pittsfield Public Library will hold a reception from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, June 7. Everyone is invited to join current members for coffee, tea and light refreshments. Visitors will be able to get information about the Friends organization… Read More
OLD TOWN – One of the largest teams participating in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life this year is also one of the youngest. So far, 26 members of Old Town High School’s Army Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program have entered the relay,… Read More
Southbound traffic just before mile marker 182 on Interstate 95 in Bangor was reduced to one lane for more than nine hours after a tractor-trailer went off the road and into the median around 8:15 p.m. Wednesday. The driver in front of the truck in… Read More
BANGOR – A baseball game featuring Red Sox alumni will be played at Mansfield Stadium next month. The game will be at 6 p.m. Saturday, June 28. Read More
MACHIAS – The Sunrise Trail Coalition invites everyone to State 98 on the dike at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 7, for an update on the Down East Sunrise Trail. There will be news about construction that is expected to begin in the next month with… Read More
BLUE HILL – They weren’t enthusiastic, nor were they optimistic. But members of the Blue Hill Peninsula regional planning committee, RSU 10, agreed Thursday to begin work again on a plan that will attempt to meet the demands of the amended school consolidation law. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
CALAIS – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has awarded a $47,645 contract to Border Electric Inc. for an upgrade fire alarm system in Jonesport. The U.S. Coast Guard’s Civil Engineering Unit in Providence, R.I., awarded the contract. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var… Read More
PROSPECT – A son’s love for his mother led him and his wife to reopen a store at a historic location. Maddie Swift was heartbroken when the store across the road closed its door seven years ago. Swift loved crossing Bangor Road (Route 1A) for… Read More
ELLSWORTH – An Otis man was arrested Tuesday evening for allegedly punching his teenage daughter in the face during a dispute over homework. Ellsworth police Lt. Harold Page said James Hamilton, 37, was arguing with his 14-year-old daughter shortly before 8 p.m. about whether she… Read More
CORINNA – The town will celebrate Old Home Days June 27-29. The theme for this year’s celebration is “Celebrating Corinna’s Agricultural Community.” Celebration events include a parade, agricultural fair (including farm animals and sheep herding demonstrations), spin-in of hand spinners from throughout the state, a… Read More
Rhode Island resident Elizabeth Strout, who is a graduate of Johnson & Wales University and a 2004 Bangor High School graduate, has registered to participate in the Breast Cancer 3-Day, in August, in Boston. The event is a meaningful one for the young woman whose… Read More
PORTLAND – A new coalition has been formed to take on opponents of newly enacted taxes to bolster Maine’s Dirigo health insurance program. The coalition, which held a news conference near Maine Medical Center in Portland on Thursday, includes doctors, seniors and others who say… Read More
BLUE HILL – A Blue Hill middle school pupil made it to the quarter-finals of the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., but was tripped up in the third round of spelling on Thursday. Imogene L.B. Page, 13, of East Blue Hill, a seventh-grader at… Read More
GLENBURN – Firefighters from more than a half-dozen communities worked for most of the afternoon Thursday to keep a small brush fire from growing into something far more serious. When units from Glenburn and Hudson first arrived at the scene around 12:30 p.m., the brush… Read More
LEBANON – The section of railroad track where two girls lost limbs on Wednesday is a popular draw for the area’s young people, a police chief said, and more than once, kids have had to push panicked friends out of the way to avoid being hit by trains. Read More
TOWNSHIP 22 – Motorists traveling on Route 9 between Calais and Brewer will have access to modern year-round public restroom facilities located adjacent to the Airline Snack Bar and Lodge in Township 22, thanks to the efforts of a state senator. Sen, Kevin Raye, R-Perry,… Read More
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has awarded $650,000 in combined grant funding to Maine for ocean and coastal research projects as part of its Integrated Ocean Observing System funding for fiscal year 2008, U.S. Sen. Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine, announced Wednesday. Read More
PORTLAND – U.S. Attorney Paula Silsby says the government’s entered a settlement with Rumford Group Homes Inc. in a Medicaid billing case. As part of the settlement, RGH paid $167,463 to address state and federal claims. Silsby says the case involved the improper submission of… Read More
PORTLAND – Republican congressional candidate Charlie Summers has a former heavyweight boxing champion in his corner. Smokin’ Joe Frazier, the undisputed world champ during the early 1970s, traveled to Maine to appear with Summers at a South Portland fundraiser. The campaign says Frazier is helping… Read More
PARIS – A former middle school secretary must spend more than half a year in jail and pay back more than $14,000 she stole from a school vault in Rumford. Susan Lizotte of Rumford was sentenced Wednesday by a Superior Court judge to serve seven… Read More
BANGOR – A federal judge has shut down an Old Orchard Beach man’s lawsuit against Caribou police over his drunken driving arrest two years ago. U.S. Magistrate Judge Margaret Kravchuk last week recommended that summary judgment be granted to the defendants – the city of… Read More
One of track and field’s greatest dynasties and some of the state’s best individual athletes will be on display at today’s Penobscot Valley Conference Class C championship meet at Foxcroft Academy in Dover-Foxcroft. Action gets under way at 3:30 p.m. at Oakes Field. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
BANGOR – Expectations for Bangor High girls tennis team this spring were modest, given the Rams finished 4-8 and out of the Class A playoff picture a year ago. Have a winning record, don’t get shut out in any match and qualify for postseason play… Read More
Speedway 95 co-owners Del Merritt and Alice Baker paved the corners in turns two and four at the Hermon track last fall to try to create a second racing groove and provide more side-by-side racing. That paving was done because the outside groove had been… Read More
BANGOR – Sometimes, you’ve got to score runs any way you can. The John Bapst softball team cashed in on its best opportunity Thursday, and its pitching did the rest. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var… Read More
Hall of Fame honors typically involve great achievement in the major spectator sports that result in public name recognition, or in Olympic endeavors or the most popular of spectator sports. When Jerry Perkins accepts induction into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame in Portland on… Read More
HIGH SCHOOL Downeast Athletic Conference 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
PORTLAND – Voting for the 2008 Eastern League All-Star Game will begin Friday, and fans will be able to select one position player and one pitcher from their hometown team to the game, which will be held July 16 at Manchester, N.H. To vote for… Read More
Tryouts for Bay League summer baseball teams will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Winkin Baseball Complex on the campus of Husson College in Bangor. The tryouts are open to players age 18 or older, and interested participants should wear proper attire to… Read More
HIGH SCHOOL At Ellsworth 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
ASHLAND – Jeremy Tarr doubled, singled and drove in two runs while striking out 11 to lead Ashland to an 8-1 high school baseball victory over Central Aroostook of Mars Hill on Thursday. Carl Nemer tripled and scored two runs for the Hornets. Lucas Belanger… Read More
HARRINGTON – Tashia Daley pitched a two-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts and three walks and also stroked two singles to power Sumner of East Sullivan to a 9-0 Class C softball victory over Narraguagus on Thursday. Lona Sargent hit a solo homer and two singles… Read More
CORINTH – Ashley Kelley struck out 21 and scattered seven hits and Hermon scored a pair of two-out runs in the 10th inning on an infield error to earn a 3-1 Class B softball victory over Central on Thursday. Kelley didn’t walk anybody. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
Kathleen Edwards “Asking For Flowers” 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
We know him mostly as Mr. Big, but in the last episode he was called by his first name. (Answer: John) Many celebs have made cameo appearances on “SATC.” Who appeared as himself in the episode “The Man, The Myth, The Viagra”? googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
Everybody’s talking about it – well, at least the ladies. That’s right, the “Sex and the City” movie opens tonight. And if you’re wondering what all the hype is about, this is like Jackie Chan or James Bond for women. While I realize that “SATC”… Read More
After being gone four years, the beloved “Sex and the City” returns today. Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte move from HBO to the big screen, to see if a pure chick flick can become in vogue at the box office. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define… Read More
Hold on. Let me get comfortable. Ahhh, there we go. Sorry, I had to take my shoes off and put on some flip-flops. Would you care for a frosty, cold beverage? No, no, don’t get up. This round’s on me. Something about a balmy June… Read More
On DVD “SEMI-PRO,” directed by Kent Alterman, written by Scot Armstrong, 87 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