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Maine News

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Maine News for Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Portland Press Herald
Governor issues state of emergency
Tens of thousands lose power and one man dies in a storm-related car crash.

Go light on new bills, legislators urged
State House: With budget problems and other big issues looming, it's time for efficiencies, some say.

Bailout expands to basic credit
The government will use as much as $800 million to stimulate home mortgage and consumer markets.

Plan for higher tolls tries to spread pain
Out-of-staters would pay more, as would Mainers, but E-ZPass users would be spared.

Grocery coop helps those who help others
Those who enjoy the discount food of Serve New England must spend two hours a month volunteering.

Rally today will condemn 'KKK' graffiti in Hallowell
Police are trying to determine who marked the rail trail area and if the meaning is racist.

Augusta searching for its identity
Its Branding Committee plans a pubic forum for ideas at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 3.

Toxic soil fix may cost $100 million
The DEP orders a cleanup of the former HoltraChem site in Orrington.

List of banks in trouble grows 50 percent in quarter
That's a sharp increase, but involves only a small portion of the industry.

Wall Street shrugs off grim data
Third-quarter numbers indicate the economy is weakening faster than previously believed.

Editorial
Strong field doesn't mean AG process is best
The current method for picking an attorney general in Maine heavily favors insiders.

Choices abound for urbanites who crave the outdoors
A new trail along Long Creek in South Portland joins a list of special places in the area.

Bangor Daily News
BANGOR, Maine — Holiday shoppers should carefully do their homework before plunking down hard-earned money to buy gift cards, according to retail experts.

BANGOR, Maine — A U.S. citizen working as a military translator in Iraq who authorities allege was a spy in the United States for the former regime of Saddam Hussein was released on bail Monday after appearing in U.S. District Court in Bangor.

Beginning on Jan. 2, people adopted in Maine who are 18 or older will be able to find out the names of their birth parents.

A late autumn storm brought soaking rains, high winds and heavy snow to northern New England on Tuesday, knocking out power to thousands of people and causing headaches for drivers.

Anticipating a legislative challenge to state laws giving teens access to birth control prescriptions and other reproductive health services without the consent of their parents, the Family Planning Association of Maine will host a series of forums around the state, beginning Tuesday in Bangor.

A Dec. 1 public meeting scheduled to be held in Searsport has been canceled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the request of the Maine Department of Transportation because of a legislative committee vote on Nov. 18.

PORTLAND, Maine — A Dedham woman has lost her bid to register her car in Louisiana while living in Maine.

Shellfish harvesters and dealers warned Tuesday that loss of the red tide monitoring program would likely be the death knell to yet another aspect of Maine’s commercial fishing tradition.

BREWER, Maine — Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems officials bought the Cianchette Building, home to their headquarters on Whiting Hill, earlier this month, saving the company millions of dollars but removing more than $300,000 from city tax rolls.

BANGOR, Maine — In the end, it was all a hoax, but the rumor that began during the day on Monday and spread into the evening put many students, parents, school administrators and police on temporary alert.

DOVER-FOXCROFT, Maine — A Sangerville man who was summoned on two counts of criminal trespass in June 2007 for exercising his dog at the Sangerville recreational field was found guilty of both counts Tuesday by a jury in Piscataquis County Superior Court.

Editorial
Sinking Sears Island
Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, the Legislature’s Transportation …

Today’s Barbary Pirates
The lyrics of the U.S. Marine Corps hymn, “From the Halls of Montezuma to the …

Making a very conservative case for marriage equality
As recently as 1967 there were 16 states in which it was illegal for a black …

Kennebec Journal
City seeks 'brand' for instant recognition
AUGUSTA -- Say "the Big Apple," and everyone knows you're talking about New York City.

Take our reader survey: How should Augusta market itself?
'Capital City' not snappy enough. Brand recognition sought by Mayor Katz, officials. Have your save here.

HALLOWELL Anti-hate rally set for today
HALLOWELL -- So many people called the Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence to condemn graffiti found on the rail trail over the weekend that a rally has been scheduled for today.

BIG BILL
Each year, state lawmakers consider hundreds -- often thousands -- of bills that deal with everything from waterskiing safety to using fallen apples to make cider.

Icy roads likely for holiday weekend
Maine travelers who are driving to reunite with family for Thanksgiving need to be aware of winter weather conditions, officials from the National Weather Service warned Tuesday.

On Maine Politics
Cummings goes back to school 11/25/08

Editorials:

Tax repealers' failure to file reports a big deal
Sometimes, being a couple days late with a report is no big deal. If it's a fourth-grader's book report, it might get you knocked down a grade. If it's the first-quarter financials, the boss might get a bit steamed, then forget about it.

EVERT FOWLE : Fewer assistant DAs equals less justice
A recent editorial in this newspaper about the state budget lamented that allowing department heads to identify cuts in their budget invited them to only "cut the football team," suggesting that we would always find the most popular or necessary program to cut.

GEORGE SMITH : Be thankful for family, friends, even a glass of healthy clean water
And just like Santa Claus, Thanksgiving Day is inside of you, waiting to drop down the chimney and bless your family and friends with gifts and a great day of sharing.

Sun Journal
Maine AG race down to last week
AUGUSTA (AP) - The race for Maine attorney general is down to its final week.

Food banks struggle in lean times
LEWISTON - The declining economy has pinched nonprofit organizations from both sides, reducing donations and increasing the number of people seeking help.

Inauguration team run by Maine man
AUGUSTA (AP) - A Maine native is coordinating events for the upcoming presidential inauguration for President-elect Barack Obama.

4 men charged with poaching
AUGUSTA (AP) - The Maine Warden Service has issued summons to four men from eastern Maine, charging them with illegally killing or possessing moose, deer and turkeys.

Judge sentences con artist to 4 years
PORTLAND (AP) - An admitted con artist who fleeced six Mainers out of $205,000 has been sentenced to four years in prison.

Editorial
The great education policy swap
Susan Gendron, commissioner of the Maine Department of Education, is asking school superintendents for advice on repealing costly mandates, without harming the quality or delivery of education in the classroom.

Tree-stand Buddha spies no deer
To me, there's nothing like getting up ahead of the sun on Thanksgiving morning, hiking deep into the woods and squatting in frozen silence to watch for a deer to kill with my rifle.

'Why believe?' says God. 'Isn't that a fair question?'
I was crammed into a middle seat. The guy in front was practically in my lap and I had my arms drawn in tightly as I pecked furiously on the keyboard. God glanced over. "What are you working on?" He asked.

MPBN
Mallinckrodt Ordered To Finish Hazardous Waste Cleanup

November 25, 2008 Reported By: Josie Huang

The state Department of Environmental Protection has ordered a former owner of an Orrington chemical plant to remove hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of soil and sediment from the site, which has tested positive for eight types of hazardous waste. After several months of negotiations failed to produce an agreement, the DEP set a May deadline for Mallinckrodt Inc. to begin the soil cleanup at the former HoltraChem facility on the banks of the Penobscot River. As Josie Huang reports, the Missouri-based company has already spent several million dollars to remove contaminated storage tanks and buildings from the site. From the mid-1960s to 2000, HoltraChem produced chlorine and other chemicals and was New England's largest polluter of toxic mercury.

CMP's Proposed Transmission Upgrade Troubles Nearby Residents

November 25, 2008 Reported By: Susan Sharon

Central Maine Power Company's 1.5 billion dollar plan to upgrade 350 miles of transmission lines, mostly through an existing corridor in dozens of Maine towns came under fire Monday night in Lewiston. More than 30 residents told members of the Public Utilties Commission that they think the plan will put their property values in a nosedive, create more noise, disrupt the environment and potentially harm children's health. As Susan Sharon reports, several people also questioned its true benefits. Robert Fogg of Lewiston lives next to existing powerlines which would increase from 115 to 345 volts.

Shellfish Operations Fear State Budget Cuts

November 25, 2008 Reported By: Josie Huang

The hallways of the statehouse in Augusta are a long way from the muddy beds where James West harvests mussels for the company he co-owns, Eastern Maine Mussel Company. But, as Josie Huang reports, West says he sure is feeling the reach of the state's current budget crisis.

Downeast Physician Accepts Cash Only

November 25, 2008 Reported By: Anne Ravana

A handful of primary care physicians in Maine are chosing to go it alone, forgoing the stability of working for a hospital or a hospital-run clinic. Instead they've opened their own private practices and to keep costs and paperwork to a minimum, they're doing away with insurance contracts and charging cash. As Anne Ravana reports, they want to revive the concept of the old-fashioned family doctor, complete with house visits.

Times Record

New cuts to programs for disabled Mainers start on Dec. 7...(full story)

Editorial

Let the voters decide ...(full story)