Maine News for Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Portland Press Herald
Rep. Allen endorses Obama bid
Election 2008: Allen's support helps to widen Obama's superdelegate lead over Hillary Clinton.

Cote says work on energy issues, Army service equip him for office
Election 2008: The lawyer, Guard member and political neophyte touts his 'real-world' experience.
Julie N oil spill fund looking for worthy cause
A cleanup fund set up after the 1996 spill still holds $350,000.

Condo-hotel proposed for Ft. McKinley
Developers are looking to redevelop the old barracks and hospital.

King, Allen postpone fundraiser
Stephen King's comments criticizing the Army alter plans for a Bangor event to support Rep. Tom Allen.

EDWARD D. MURPHYMaine banks rolling with the punches

Snowfall windfall helps ski resorts break record
Sales of season passes and the weak dollar also elevated skier visits at Sunday River and Sugarloaf.

Funeral businesses feel economic pain
While demand for their services remains steady, overhead costs keep climbing, and clients could choose less expensive arrangements, hitting the bottom line.

Editorial
State's cold cases deserve thorough look, but limits apply
Reviewing Maine's 87 unsolved homicides is worthwhile, but it shouldn't be an endless effort.

Donors have to put their trust in Brunswick preservation effort
Selling some land to protect other parcels is a matter best left to the land trust's board.

RON BANCROFTWhat can be done about free-spending lawmakers?
We need to resolve the contrast over discontent with high taxes and the election of high-taxers.

Maine Voices: Teen drinking is not a rite of passage
Science has shown the lifelong damage that can be incurred from underage consumption.

Bangor Daily News

Bangor-area heating oil prices top $4 a gallon
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
A number of Bangor-area oil dealers reported cash prices of No. 2 heating oil above $4 per gallon on Monday. Dead River Co. in Brewer was priced at $4.269, Maine Energy in Bangor quoted $4.049, and R.H. Foster Energy in Hampden charged $4.199.

Revival of defunct Orono hydropower plant to restore fish passage on Penobscot River
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
ORONO, Maine - A power company is preparing to revive the old Orono hydroelectric plant early next year as part of the historic agreement to restore fish passage on the Penobscot River.

Bangor councilor Greene arrested for second time
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
BANGOR, Maine - Richard Greene, the city councilor arrested and charged with misdemeanor forgery in January, was arrested again Monday on charges stemming from an unrelated incident.

Rep. Tom Allen backs Obama for president
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
PORTLAND, Maine - U.S. Rep. Tom Allen threw his support behind Sen. Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential nominee and said Monday it's time for the Democratic primary campaign to come to a 'graceful end.'

Dust-up delays Stephen King reading
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
BANGOR, Maine - Local writer Stephen King, known worldwide for the numerous creepy and best-selling stories he has written over the years, will not be reading his work at a fundraiser scheduled for Tom Allen next month.

Clara Cohen: Bangor bakery icon, Mom to a senator dies at 88
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Clara Cohen raised a man who would become a high school basketball star, a U.S. senator and a secretary of defense.

Irving , Couche-Tard strike deal
Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Rockport Study: Combining police may improve quality
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
ROCKPORT, Maien - Combining police services in Camden and Rockport would not save any money but could improve the quality of services offered by the two departments, according to a feasibility study presented at a joint meeting of the Camden and Rockport select boards.

Editorial
A Health Care Bargain
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
An ambitious universal health plan pending in Congress has just received a green light from congressional budget and tax analysts. They have found that it would not only cut the costs of health care but actually save money.

Window of Opportunity
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Bangor residents may have been disappointed to read that the city's proposed new post office would not include a drive-through window, a convenient option at the post office across the river in Brewer. While a drive-through wasn't included in the original plan for the Bangor building, it has not been ruled out.

Francine Stark: Help stop domestic violence
Since 1985, Maine people have suffered the loss of family, friends and neighbors in about 12 domestic homicides each year. Just four months into 2008, there were already 11 domestic homicides: four women, four men and three children

Food pantries for poor, loans for hungry bankers
A friend recently assisted at a local food pantry on Mount Desert Island, and she was shocked to learn that the pantry had distributed more than $6,000 in food vouchers during that Sunday alone.

May 13 Letters to the Editor

Kennebec Journal
New route, new problems?
As the closure of Interstate 295's southbound lanes looms, emergency service crews are preparing for a summer when the most direct route will not be a possibility.

Cony accreditation warning
AUGUSTA -- Cony High School's accreditation has been placed on "warning" status, despite a long list of commendations from the organization that conducted the review.

Unionization rally targets medical staff
AUGUSTA -- About 40 members of the Maine State Employees Association rallied Monday at Buker Park to draw attention to their efforts to unionize employees at Medical Care Development, an Augusta-based nonprofit.

At what price an expanded Lithgow Library?
AUGUSTA -- Scaled-back proposals to renovate and expand Lithgow Library could save city taxpayers about $3 million, but cost them about one-third of the library space, compared to the proposed $8.9 million rehab shot down last year by 243 votes.

On Maine Politics

UPDATE: Allen calls for “graceful end” to primary season

Editorials:

Keep science in the science class...and politics out of it
It looks like Athens School Board Director Matthew Linkletter doesn't get Darwin's theory of evolution.

BY DAVID B. OFFER : Offer's advice: How to keep graduates from squirming
Several months friends gave me a new edition of "Lend me Your Ears, Great Speeches in History," selected and introduced by William Safire.

Letters to the Editor:

Never any attempt to bar Augusta people's veto
Before any misunderstanding develops -- I know no member of the Augusta City Charter Commission who favors the abridgement of citizens' referendum rights through the petition initiative.

Where's the fairness in tax stimulus payments?
Does it make sense to give those making "well above" the poverty income level $600 for a single person and $1,200 for a married couple? The only fair part is $300 for each child for both parties. Of course I'm talking about the "stimulus package."

Sun Journal

Highway stretch named for Alfond
DEXTER (AP) - The late Harold Alfond's name can be found on medical centers, sports arenas and other buildings around Maine.

Allen to back Obama at convention
PORTLAND (AP) - Congressman Tom Allen is throwing his support behind Sen. Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Maine may be off list of biathlon sites
FORT KENT (AP) - Prospects for World Cup biathlon races in northern Maine next March are fading.

Brunswick to Augusta train runs
ROCKLAND (AP) - It took nearly 50 years, but passengers finally got to travel again by train from Brunswick to Augusta.

Salmon stocked in Pleasant River
COLUMBIA FALLS (AP) - There are 50,000 more salmon in the Pleasant River this week after the Downeast Salmon Federation released the tiny fish into the river.

Editorial

Canton must protect its water supply
Raymond Fortier has declined Canton's offer to buy his dam on Lake Anasagunticook. Good.

MPBN

Allen Endorses Obama
Congressman Tom Allen has announced he will support Illinois Sen. Barack Obama as the Democrats presidential nominee. That means half of Maine's eight so-called superdelegates have committed to Obama with Gov. John Baldacci the lone holdout for Senator Hillary Clinton. Allen says both candidates are "supremely qualified" to be president, but he believes it is time to bring a "graceful end" to the primary campaign. A.J. Higgins reports.

Fairpoint Ordered to Protect Consumer Privacy

In what could be the first action of its kind in the nation, the Maine Public Utilities Commission has ordered Fairpoint Communications to take steps to guard its customers' privacy. The order, approved last week, requires Fairpoint to appoint a "privacy officer" to ensure that the company's privacy policies are being followed. The officer also has to certify under oath each year that the company is complying with its policies, and has not violated any privacy laws. Civil libertarians in Maine are applauding the PUC's order. Barbara Cariddi has this story.

School Board Weighs Whether Evolution Should be Taught As Science

A debate is brewing in a Somerset County school district over whether the teaching of evolution belongs on the high school curriculum. The issue surfaced at a recent meeting of board members at School Adminstrative District 59 which includes Madison, Starks, Brighton, Plantation and Athens. The controversy was kicked off by a board member who argues that neither evolution nor creationism should be taught as science. Keith McKeen reports.

Snowy Winter Provided Silver Lining for Ski Industry

Despite rising fuel costs and an economic downturn, there was a silver lining to Maine's long winter: visits to the state's ski resorts were up around 25%, according to Ski Maine Association. Tom Porter has details.

Transit-Oriented Developments Hold Promise for Maine

What does re-development of old mill buildings on Saco Island have to do with passenger trains? A lot, says Patricia Quinn, Executive Director of the state's passenger rail authority. She tells Irwin Gratz those mills, visible from The Downeaster's Saco station, represent "transit oriented development" that, a new study says, could occur a lot more along the state's rail lines.

PolitickerME
Two CD1 ads promote self-described political outsiders

King postpones Allen fundraiser

Mutiny on the Pingree?

Times Record
BIW christening attracts 1,000 (full story)

House subcommittee ends support for third DDG-1000 (full story)