Editors Note: This week Gov. Angus King starts his last year in office. Last week, reporter Mal Leary interviewed King at length on his goals over the last seven years and what the governor sees as his unfinished agenda. In this second of two parts, King describes the… Read More
    Maine’s grass-roots consumer organization COMBAT has made and kept the same New Year’s resolution for 29 years: to promote doing business with Maine merchants, to resolve disputes fairly and objectively, to protect Maine merchants and consumers from interstate fraud and abuse, and to be a reasonable and effective… Read More
    I recently moved to Bangor from Baltimore to be with my son and grandchildren. I fell in love with this town and its people from the very first day. It is refreshing to read a newspaper that has good objective reporting, informative current events and is more people… Read More
    In a commentary by Mario F. Teisl and Kelly O’Brien, published Dec. 20 in the Bangor Daily News, the American Forest and Paper Association (AFPA) was inaccurately referred to as an environmental group when it should have been identified as a group representing industry. Read More
    The happy people at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington, D.C., last year issued a book of lists that shows just how good you have it. There’s no better time, at the end of the difficult, at times tragic year of 2001, for just such… Read More
    I appreciated so much your Christmas editorial, “The Christmas message,” including the scripture passage from St. Luke, Chapter 2. Also, Dr. Erik Steele’s column, “Witnessing the birth of Christ in 2001,” was delightful. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes… Read More
    Receiving your paper has always been helpful to me. A recent issue was very encouraging to me because the article by staff writer Susan Young seemed to open the door to good facts concerning our Allagash River (BDN, Dec. 20). I do not know the… Read More
    I am writing in reference to a rape trial that was held recently in Hancock County court. This man was my son, Eugene Merchant, and I know some things in this case were not on the up and up. There was a blood relative on… Read More
    When John Walker went to Afghanistan that country was not on the U.S. list of rogue states, and not accused of harboring terrorists. The United States, without a formal declaration of war (which entails that irritating detail of getting congressional approval), began to bomb Afghanistan… Read More
    How many more homes and families does our Department of Human Services need to be destroyed? How many times have you taken an injured child to an emergency room and next thing you know you are greeted by DHS, facing charges of child abuse or neglect?… Read More
    Consider for a moment an incident at graduation ceremonies at California State University in Sacramento. The speaker was Janis Besler Heaphy, publisher of the local newspaper, the Sacramento Bee. Instead of delivering a typical inspirational address about entering into adult society, she warned against sacrificing civil liberties while… Read More
    I was very pleased to be nominated and confirmed as chairman of the Acadia Hospital board of trustees in July. While I have not had as long a history with the board as other committed volunteer trustees – people like Irving Kagan and former trustee Ralph Leonard –… Read More
    Whether they are oil companies seeking a special tax break or major league baseball teams looking for a publicly financed stadium, corporations routinely make demands for government assistance. And they couple these demands with not-so-veiled threats of layoffs, factory relocations and other devastating consequences for workers and communities. Read More
    ROCKLAND – The Maine State Ferry Service missed the boat in 2002 for federal funding for a new passenger vessel intended to provide service to Vinalhaven. “Our application was turned down,” Leroy Sawtelle, manager of the Maine State Ferry Service terminal in Rockland, said Friday. Read More
    GREAT POND PLANTATION – A family outing turned sour Saturday afternoon when two in-laws were injured in a snowmobile accident and were hospitalized at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. Roger Bond, 42, of Greenfield Township suffered a broken right arm and leg and had… Read More
    DEER ISLE – Fire destroyed a storage and repair shed at the Jericho Bay Boatyard early Sunday, the second fire to hit the boatyard this year. Eight to 10 pleasure boats, mostly powerboats, were in the shed at the time of the fire. The total… Read More
    TRENTON – A man wearing a ski mask and wielding a gun robbed a Route 3 restaurant Sunday evening, fleeing in a pickup truck. The man apparently hid in the restaurant section of Betsy’s Kitchen, a combination eatery and convenience store, until just after closing… Read More
    AUGUSTA – Doctors have officially ruled that the shooting deaths of a young man and woman in South Portland were a homicide and a suicide, the state Medical Examiner’s Office reported Sunday. Dr. Michael Ferenc, deputy chief medical examiner, determined that Keegan Thomas of Casco… Read More
    PRESQUE ISLE – Women, Work & Community is offering a workshop series titled: “Personal Effectiveness Part I” from 9 a.m. to noon beginning Friday, Jan. 18, and continuing each Friday morning through Feb. 22. Part II begins Friday, March 1, from 9 a.m. to noon… Read More
    PRESQUE ISLE – A 30 percent cut in federal funds slated for the United Way of Aroostook will mean less money to area food and shelter programs in 2002. In 2001, federal funds to the regional United Way program equaled $47,357 to supplement emergency food… Read More
    GOULDSBORO – A $25,000 grant has been given to the residents of Franklin, Gouldsboro, Sorrento, Steuben, Sullivan and Winter Harbor to form the Schoodic Area Healthy Communities Coalition. The grant was given to the area by The Bingham Program, a charitable endowment established nearly 70… Read More
    HOULTON – Though the banks of the Meduxnekeag River are quiet now, that is expected to change in the next six to eight months. Armed with more than $980,000, including $650,000 from the Department of Transportation and another $300,000 in private donations, project leaders expect… Read More
    Bangor police arrested a Corinth man early Saturday after it was reported he wielded what appeared to be a gun while trying to break into a motel room. Joseph Scott Reeves, 21, was being charged with criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon and carrying a… Read More
    ROCKLAND – A Madison man was taken Sunday morning to Penobscot Bay Medical Center for injuries he suffered when he allegedly broke into ERA Cousens real estate office on Main Street. Jerome Schoppee, 25, was arrested by Rockland police after he was released from the… Read More
    MACHIAS – The wheelchair-using clients of Sunrise Opportunities are back on the road again, thanks to the generosity of a Machias businesswoman and a family that lost its son to muscular dystrophy. Sandra Bryand, the owner of two Main Street businesses, and Greg and Terry… Read More
    CARRABASSETT VALLEY – A contractor has donated $50,000 to kick off a fund-raising campaign for a 170-mile “hut-and-trail” system for cross-country skiing and mountain biking. The contribution by Clem Begin of Sugarloaf Construction Co. and his wife, Rolande Begin, was announced at the Friday kickoff… Read More
    ALNA – Harry Percival, who led efforts to restore a historic narrow-gauge rail line in central Maine, died Saturday after seeing his dream turn to reality. Percival, who was 71, suffered from cancer aggravated by asbestosis. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes =… Read More
    AUGUSTA – An autopsy Sunday failed to determine the cause of death of a Standish man who was found off the side of state Route 25. Cindy Elliott, spokeswoman for the Maine Medical Examiner’s Office, said toxicology tests will be performed to determine how Andrew… Read More
    BANGOR – The boys were coming off an exhibition tournament and five games in four days; the girls hadn’t stepped on the court against an opponent in 10 days. But Saturday’s results were the same for the Bangor basketball teams against Caribou. The Bangor boys… Read More
    ORONO – For the past month, Errick Greene has gone home each night to an apartment filled with battered Black Bears. While Greene had escaped a Thanksgiving weekend car crash with bruises and scrapes, his roommates – UMaine basketball starters Clayton Brown and Derrick Jackson… Read More
    HIGH SCHOOL At Caribou 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
    HIGH SCHOOL At Davan Pool, Westbrook 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 Top finishers from the Grindle/Berghuis Skimeister Festival held at Big Rock Ski Area in Mars Hill and from the 10th Mountain Cross Country Ski Championships at the Maine Winter Sports Center in Limestone. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]];… Read More
    HIGH SCHOOL At UMaine, Orono 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
    In theaters KATE & LEOPOLD. Directed by James Mangold. Written by Mangold and Steven Rogers, based on a story by Rogers. Running time: 114 minutes. Rated PG-13. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false;… Read More
    Mitchell Chandler wants to wait and see how the new four-stroke snowmobiles will catch on in Maine before filling his showroom at the Chandler Farms snowmobile store in Presque Isle with the new, environmentally friendly machines. But at Arctic Cat in Turner, salespeople rounded up… Read More
    It infuriates me to imagine Peter Rees snuggled into his warm home in Trenton whining about the hypocrisy of the actions of our government over the past few weeks, yet I would imagine he is content to enjoy the freedoms our government and our brothers, sisters, sons and… Read More
    Re: the Bangor Daily News of Dec. 25 and the pay raise that members of Congress recently voted themselves. Whatever happened to the 27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states: “No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall… Read More
    Let me tell you of the positive experience I had during my recent emergency admission as a patient at Calais Regional Hospital. I had not been in the hospital overnight since 1967, but any fear that I may have had was quickly dispelled the moment I walked through… Read More
    My congratulations to a long-ago co-worker and, always considered friend, Peter Rees, for his wonderful letter to the editor (BDN, Dec. 25). I wish I could have expressed his issues as well and succinctly as he. Try peace with justice. “War is not the way to peace or… Read More
    It’s wonderful to read human interest stories with happy endings. However, your Dec. 27 editorial about airline passengers becoming involved when the plane is threatened made a misleading observation: “There has been just one air-rage flight diversion to Bangor International Airport since Sept. 11. Passengers, drunk or sober,… Read More
    What a nice Christmas we had. One of the presents I received was my combination hunting-fishing license. It was printed on an 8-inch by 11-inch piece of paper and included a nice 3-inch by 43/4-inch plastic case with two tags within. The only problem is,… Read More
    Among the many large challenges for Sen. Peter Mills and Rep. Bernard McGowan as they try to overhaul the way Maine funds its schools are the following: persuade an uncertain public that this is not a reprise of the defeated uniform property tax of the 1970s; amend the… Read More
    Christmas is past and a new year is upon us. Many families have been touched by lost loved ones and lost jobs. We are in a war to find the ones who caused all the grief of Sept. 11. Who knows what the end will be. Read More
    The Maine transportation commissioner recently stated, “… plans for the north-south highway to the St. John Valley are further along now than ever in the last 50 years.” This is the best news we ever received regarding the improvement of our situation. Of course, we still have other… Read More
    When I read the story about the panel discussion on the proposed Maine Woods National Park sponsored last week by the Action Committee of 50 (BDN, Dec. 14), I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The national park idea is one of the most… Read More
    As “War on Terror” dwindles in Afghanistan, the world (American citizens included) is asking where next and how long this (mostly American) effort will take us. I worry more about time than place, but both issues can be usefully explored in terms of what’s real and what’s not. Read More
    In this moribund week between Christmas and New Year’s Day when the national pulse barely throbs and one’s social status is determined by whether he or she has enough to clout to finagle the week off from work and go “on holidays,” as my Canadian friends put it,… Read More
    MACHIASPORT – Maine’s largest salmon farmer is taking aim at a virtually untapped market. Sometime early in the new year, Maine grocery stores will begin carrying fresh, marinated salmon fillets from the ocean pens of Atlantic Salmon of Maine in Washington and Hancock counties. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
    ROCKLAND – A former Rockland man convicted in late October of his fourth arson will be sentenced Jan. 28 in Knox County Superior Court. After a three-day trial, Malcolm H. Emery, 30, of Westport was found guilty on Oct. 31 of arson and aggravated criminal… Read More
    AUGUSTA – State House construction crews were working flat out Friday, trying to ensure that most of the refurbished building will be open for business when the Legislature reconvenes Wednesday. Legislative staffers who had been situated in trailers outside the building for months were back… Read More
    BREWER – The city has begun foreclosure proceedings on a financially plagued ice rink after a lien for 2-year-old taxes matured this week. The foreclosure on the T.J. Ryan Center comes less than four months after an eleventh-hour refinancing package fell into place, averting a… Read More
    ELLSWORTH – A 9-year-old passenger suffered a bitten tongue Friday morning in a four-car accident in Ellsworth but otherwise no one was hurt, according to police. Casey Bickford, whose gender Ellsworth police officers did not know Friday afternoon, was riding in the car of Carrie… Read More
    SKOWHEGAN – On a Friday when the county jail was licensed to hold 45 prisoners, there were 77 in custody in the morning. Increased burdens on the jail were some of the reasons for a 14 percent increase in the Somerset County budget, passed Thursday night by the… Read More
    SULLIVAN – A 34-year-old man was arrested early Friday after police went to his home to investigate a report of assault. Richard Greenlaw of Taunton Bay Road was intoxicated when Deputy Tim Cote and Lt. Patrick Kane of the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department went to… Read More
    ELLSWORTH – The Hancock County commissioners have not made a decision on the matter, but they are reconsidering their decision to eliminate the county’s computer specialist position. Commissioner Dennis Damon brought up the issue Friday at the commissioners’ year-end meeting. He said that he is… Read More
    Rockland District Court Justin Blake, 31, Lincolnville, operating motor vehicle while under influence of intoxicants, $650. 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… Read More
    The Maine-ly Children column is 25 months old and has promoted more than 30 children for adoption. Most children appearing in the twice-a-month column have generated calls to adoption caseworkers and three have found permanent families since the column started in November 1999. Two more are on their… Read More
    MADAWASKA – Local residents and the University of Maine at Fort Kent community have been given new logos for Christmas. The Madawaska Board of Selectmen approved the municipal logo at a Dec. 18 meeting. UMFK officials unveiled their logo at a Dec. 20 press conference… Read More
    VAN BUREN – SAD 24 residents will vote Jan. 15 on a proposal to that could bring the district more than $1.5 million of state money to reconstruct roofs on two school buildings. More than two-thirds of the money would be a grant. The remaining… Read More
    PRESQUE ISLE – The Bangor Daily News Presque Isle bureau has moved to 572 Main St., next to the Dead River Co. office. For questions regarding advertising or newspaper subscriptions and delivery, call toll-free (800) 432-7964. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes =… Read More
    PITTSFIELD – St. Agnes Youth Ministry Group will conduct a bottle drive in the Pittsfield area from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 5. All proceeds will help sponsor the group’s trip to Toronto in July 2002 where they will participate in World Youth Day activities, which… Read More
    ROCKLAND – Two men robbed the Big Apple convenience store Thursday night, making off with approximately $300 in cash. “We do have several leads that we’re following up on,” police Deputy Chief Wallace Tower said Friday. The case is being investigated by the department’s detective… Read More
    A mattress fell off a pickup truck and crashed into a car behind it on I-395 in Bangor around 5:45 p.m. Friday, sparking a fire in the car, which in turn resulted in an accident. No injuries were reported in the accidents, although the circumstances… Read More
    CAMDEN -Police are investigating threats allegedly made by a middle school pupil through electronic instant messaging. The text of a message, which included threatening language, was shown to police by a parent, Lt. Cameron Campbell of the Camden Police Department said Friday. googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
    WINTER HARBOR – Cmdr. Edwin F. Williamson will pass on the administration of Naval Security Group Activity Winter Harbor to Cmdr. James W. Guest in an official change of command ceremony scheduled for Jan. 4. NSGA Winter Harbor, a former communications base located at the… Read More
    ROCKLAND – An 18-year-old Rockland man was arrested after police say he assaulted another man and made off with $15,000 in cash. Ricky Coffin was arrested on Dec. 21 by Rockland police, who say he and another man attacked David Bates, 43, of Rockland. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
    AUGUSTA – Anthrax scares are proving costly to Maine’s police departments and the state Bureau of Health lab. More than 350 tests on suspicious substances have been performed at the lab since early October. So far, none of the substances have tested positive for anthrax… Read More
    SOUTH PORTLAND – One person was killed and another seriously wounded in a shooting incident Friday night on the campus of Southern Maine Technical College. Details of the incident remained sketchy, but it appeared that the incident took place in a parking lot near the… Read More