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Maine News

Friday, September 5, 2008

Maine News for Friday, September 5, 2008

Portland Press Herald
Unemployment claims up, stocks dive
The Dow drops 344 points, as experts predict a gloomy next two quarters for the economy.

Industries adapt to rising oil costs
Despite the pessimistic predictions, most companies have survived, and some have thrived.

'STAND UP AND FIGHT'
John McCain accepts the GOP nomination with a promise for change, bipartisanship and putting people first.

Mid Coast Hospital proposes expansion
The hospital in Brunswick moves to counter a competitor’s plan to take over Parkview.

Collins, Allen swap barbs on Iraq fraud
At issue is whether the committee Sen. Collins headed did enough to oversee contractors.

He's content giving 'good advice'
Dan Wathen stands by his decision to resign as Maine's chief justice and seek the governorship.

Summers praises his wife, McCain in brief address at GOP convention
The House candidate told Republicans he was there because Ruth Summers had campaigned for him.

Editorial
Short school week not best way to save money
Longer days and less-structured weeks would ill-serve many Maine students.

Is keeping newborns' names secret a necessary move?
Some hospitals stop collecting them from parents, which is not a cheering change.

M. D. HARMONSomeday, Alaska governor's talk might become 'The Speech II'
Those who thought they could savage Sarah Palin may have underestimated her just a bit.

Bangor Daily News
ST. PAUL, Minn. — John McCain, a POW turned political rebel, vowed Thursday

ROCKLAND — The City Council is exploring the possibility of hiring an

BANGOR, Maine — Congregation Beth Israel is as old as Moses. The state’s

EAST MILLINOCKET, Maine — Adam Delano is about 6 feet tall and weighs about

State officials are preparing to launch a buy-back program aimed at removing

Editorial
The major party conventions have become prime time opportunities to create biographies – some would say mythologies – of the candidates, free of the media filter. Personal tragedy, adversity and humble origins are the currency in these staged productions. Personal wealth, if it exists, is ignored. It wasn’t always this way.

The Bangor City Council is wise to formally respond to traffic concerns by adopting a policy that set parameters for applying measures to “calm” drivers who speed along residential streets. As appropriate as such action is, it resembles tossing a single sandbag on the levee a week after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans.

It’s the kind of decision that hardly seems like news: The Republican Party, in setting its platform last week, decided to call its opposition by its proper name, the Democratic Party.

Kennebec Journal
McCain takes charge
ST. PAUL, Minn. — John McCain, a POW turned political rebel, vowed Thursday night to vanquish the “constant partisan rancor” that grips Washington as he launched his fall campaign for the White House. “Change is coming,” he promised the roaring Republican National Convention and a prime-time television audience.

Local Republicans still thrilled by Palin speech day later
AUGUSTA — Elizabeth St. Laurent found a quiet desk at Maine Republican Party headquarters Thursday night so she could do the kind of behind-the-scenes work she’s always done to help candidates.

KENNEBEC COUNTY Charities focus on heating aid
AUGUSTA -- When it comes to heating their homes, citizens with income levels too high to qualify for public assistance but not high enough to cover expensive oil bills are likely to fall through the cracks this winter, officials say.

Hanna may offer a tropical punch
Tropical Storm Hanna will soften up the East Coast with body blows today, before Hurricane Ike potentially delivers a knockout punch early next week, the AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center reported Thursday.

Riverview has interim chief
AUGUSTA -- The superintendent of the Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center in Bangor will begin double duty later this month when she fills in as head of the Riverview Psychiatric Center in Augusta on a temporary basis.

Editorials:

City jump starts new skatepark with right site
Anyone who has ever watched a young skateboarder attempt to master a particular move knows how well the sport focuses the mind and body.

JOSEPH R. REISERT : Since U.S. policy affects them, Europeans care about our election
In the 19th century, when Europe's greatest thinkers wanted to understand their own future, they turned their gaze to America. They did so despite the fact that they generally did not like what they saw here.

SANDY FROMAN : Sarah, Get Your Gun!
This week's treatment of Sarah Palin has been an appalling display of sexism and elitism. But the hatchet-men are in for a rude awakening.

Sun Journal
Allen, Collins trade barbs over contractor abuse
PORTLAND (AP) - Democratic Reps. Tom Allen of Maine and Henry Waxman of California traded accusations with Republican Sen. Susan Collins on Thursday over contractor fraud as Iraq once again figured into the Senate race between Allen and Collins.

Palin a good fit for ticket, Snowe says
PORTLAND (AP) - Sen. Olympia Snowe says Sarah Palin is a good match for Sen. John McCain in his bid for president.

Deadline extended for vanity plate
AUGUSTA (AP) - Animal welfare advocates have been given more time to pre-sell vanity license plates that aim to benefit Maine's cash-strapped Animal Welfare Program.

Editorial
The right choice for the vice?
Her personal story is touching, starting from a hardscrabble background in a rural, cold-weather state with a reputation for independence, an impressive quality of life, political pragmatism and excellent recipes for moose meat.

MPBN
Governor Says Maine Has Done Well On Curbing Smoking, More Needed On Addiction, Recovery
More than 200 doctors, social workers and other professionals who work in the field of drug addiction treatment and recovery gathered in Bangor today. They discussed current trends in medication-assisted treatment and barriers to recovery, including the shame and stigma addictions carry in the general public. This, after the governor acknowledged yesterday that very little state funding has been allocated to alcohol and drug addiction treatment and recovery.

Maine Lawyers Offered Support For Substance Abuse and Mental Health Problems
Maine has a high rate of addiction. And in some occupations the rate is even higher than that of the general population. There is evidence to suggest that attorneys are one of those groups. Six years ago Maine joined the majority of states around the country in adopting a confidential referral and support program for laywers and judges with substance abuse and mental health problems. As Susan Sharon reports those who have participated in the Lawyer Assistance Program say it is making a big difference in recovery in this state and could be used as a model for other professions.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Maine News for Thursday, September 4, 2008

Portland Press Herald
Campaigns woo the not-so-faithful
The launch of ‘Maine Republicans for Obama’ follows last week’s arrival of ‘Citizens for McCain.’

Credit unions offer heating loans
Some are even offering no interest and are giving people 12 months to repay what they have used.

PALIN PITCHES ROOTS, SLAMS HER CRITICS
The GOP vice-presidential candidate attacks Barack Obama, says John McCain will bring about real change.

Newspaper's owner asks court for ruling on contract dispute
Union disagrees with the company and insists its contract must be honored.

CFO: Paper mill lost $57 million since '04
Katahdin plans to restart its equipment after a biomass boiler is installed.

Job loss grips the heartland
Vise-Grip plant to close; Unibit operations moving to Maine

New smoking ban passed for city restaurants, bars
Portland councilors prohibit smoking in outdoor areas before 10 p.m., despite protests.

Man tried to rent girl for sex, police say
Michael Alan Berk faces charges that he offered to pay the father of a 12-year-old $300 a week to have sex with the man's daughter.

Double standard keeps kids visible
Analysis: Republicans call for the media to back off, but put the family front and center for photo ops.

Lewiston closes the book on sex-ed fight

Editorial
JACK BUSSELL Special to the Press HeraldThe Blue Angels: A 'G-rated' show with 'X-rated' content
Mainers should not support this show, which only serves to glorify the horrors of war.

CAL THOMASHockey mom and reform-minded governor has shaken things up
She's true to her principles and speaks and acts not out of political calculation but common sense.

Bangor Daily News
AUGUSTA, Maine — Tens of thousands of Mainers are struggling with addiction

BANGOR, Maine — City planning board members Tuesday approved construction of

BAR HARBOR, Maine — College of the Atlantic has opened up a new student

McKernan touts McCain on import of education MINNEAPOLIS — Former Maine Gov. John R. “Jock” McKernan hosted members of

Maine delegates praise maverick Palin ST. PAUL Minn. — Somerset County Commission Chairman Philip Roy, a Maine

Wanted: energy auditors Training programs offered by the state for people interested in entering the

Kennebec Journal

Difficulties increase for merger planners
READFIELD -- The committee charged with planning the Fayette, Maranacook-area and Winthrop school systems' merger faces two competing priorities, members decided at a meeting Wednesday night.

Broken bus, stranded children upset parent
AUGUSTA -- Robin Lloyd's daughter was nervous about her first day of kindergarten at Hussey Elementary School on Wednesday.

Loans latest weapon in armory against winter
SKOWHEGAN -- Roger Seavey had watched his home-heating cost more than double since 2004, and he was ready for a change.

After revaluation, China resets property tax rate
CHINA -- Selectmen set the 2008-09 property tax rate at $10.20 for each $1,000 of valuation on Tuesday.'

Maine parties poach voters
The two presidential campaigns have launched statewide efforts to poach Maine voters from each other's party and entice undecided independents to support their respective candidates.

Legal maneuvering continues between Blethen and Guild
The back-and-forth filings between Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. and the Portland Newspaper Guild continued this week in federal court.

On Maine Politics
Augusta GOP ‘watch party’ Thursday

Editorials:

MAKE YOUR FEELINGS KNOWN

Maine doesn't need another salmon war
Spare us the spectacle of the great leaper -- Salmo salar, the Atlantic salmon -- being turned into the great political football once again.

LUKE ROSIAK WRITES FOR CAPITAL EYE, THE ONLINE NEW : Obama leads McCain in military donations, 6-1
During World War II, soldiers crouching in foxholes penned letters assuring their sweethearts that they'd be home soon. Now, between firefights in the Iraqi desert, some infantrymen have been sending a different kind of mail stateside: $200 to $300 -- or whatever they can spare -- toward a presidential election that could very well determine just how soon they come home.

DAN BILLINGS : Third-party ad implications go beyond Collins-Allen race
The campaign television ads started early this year.

Sun Journal
$2.5 million gift to Bates slated for quality food
LEWISTON (AP) - The amount of local and natural food served at Bates College is growing thanks to a $2.5 million gift that's earmarked for quality food.

'Republicans for Obama' formed
PORTLAND (AP) - Maine's Barack Obama campaign has announced the formation of a group calling itself "Maine Republicans for Obama."

Hospital stops release of birth information
PORTLAND (AP) - In a move aimed at preventing infant abductions, Maine's largest hospital has stopped collecting information about births and passing it on to newspapers.

No one running for school board seats
PORTLAND (AP) - No candidates have come forward to run for two of the three open seats on the Portland School Committee.

2003 casino advocate discusses casino vote
PORTLAND (AP) - The chief architect of a failed 2003 referendum to allow a casino in southern Maine isn't keen on a ballot measure this November asking voters if they want a casino in the western part of the state.

Editorial
Did casino take shape in secret?
In a recent editorial about the proposed Oxford County casino, we accused Evergreen Mountain Enterprises and Seth Carey of lacking a plan. We were wrong.

Palin's common sense wins matchup with Biden
I have never met a weak woman, or a male victim in Alaska. You've got to be tough to survive in a state that is further away from Washington than any other, except Hawaii. In terms of the contrasts between how most Alaskans think and what passes for reasoning by career politicians in Washington, Alaska might as well be a colony on the moon.

MPBN
Regulators Decline To Issue Penalty Against Waterville OTB
State regulators overseeing Maine's offtrack betting parlors has decided to not to impose any penalty against John Martin's Manor in Waterville for operating illegally for more than two months. Through an agreement negotiated by the Maine attorney general's office, the OTB operation will forfeit more than $60,000 from its share of slot machine profits from the Hollywood Slots racino in Bangor. Meanwhile, members of the Maine Harness Racing Commission say the case proves they need more state money for investigators.

Oxford County Casino Opponents Cry Foul Over Closed Door Meeting
Critics of a troubled campaign to build a casino in Oxford County are charging it with back-room dealings. Casino opponents and a newspaper have joined forces in criticizing a closed-door session between Seth Carey, the leader of the casino referendum campaign, and town officials in Rumford, one of the western Maine communities where the casino could be sited. Josie Huang reports.

Lawmaker Floats Four Day School Week
Rising oil and gas prices have taken a toll on the budgets of rural and remote school districts in states such as Kentucky, New Mexico and Minnesota. In response, those states have presented their public schools with the option of a four-day school week. And, as Anne Ravana reports, at least one Maine legislator believes cutting out one day of school and lengthening other days would save schools and their staff a great deal of money.

PolitickerME

Ellsworth American
Dirigo Health Runs Up Deficit Of $19.7 Million
AUGUSTA — The state’s subsidized Dirigo Health insurance plan has run up nearly a $20 million deficit since November.

Supporters of Tax-cutting Referendums Confident of Signatures
AUGUSTA — Proponents of two tax-cutting measures — a version of the old Taxpayer Bill of Rights and a new proposal to cut the motor vehicle excise tax by 40 percent — say they have enough signatures to get the proposals on the ballot next year.

Editorial
Taxpayer-funded Grandstanding
As you watch thousands of partisan political delegates at this year’s Democratic and Republican conventions screaming, waving signs and otherwise acting like rabid fans at a rock concert, perhaps you wonder who’s paying for these spectacles. One might assume that the costs of these extravaganzas are borne by the political parties themselves. But to a great extent, that assumption would be wrong.

Selling a Pig in a Poke
With less than three months to go before state and national elections, it’s more than a little disturbing that, as of Aug. 25, one could not find anywhere on the Web site of the Maine secretary of state’s office a listing of the bond issues and other referendum questions that will appear on the ballot. One thing we do know, however, is that the ballot will include a citizen initiated question asking: “Do you want to allow a certain Maine company to have the only casino in Maine, to be located in Oxford County, if part of the revenue is used to fund specific state programs?”

Village Soup
Fuel that can grow in Maine

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Maine News for Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Portland Press Herald
Rail line proposal panned in Windham
Officials say the Mountain Division line would cost millions and has little chance of being viable. it would be unwise to invest millions in a line to Fryeburg that has little chance of success.

New finance chief takes on budget challenges
Ryan Low takes office and begins the difficult task of crafting a state budget while revenue is flat.

Student numbers continue to shrink
Statewide enrollment falls to 190,000, down 26,000 from a decade ago, with no rebound expected soon.

Work begins on Maine's largest wind farm
The Kibby project's 44 turbines may be powering 50,000 homes by 2010.

Plant idled by high oil prices
The owners of the Millinocket paper mill say they will lay off 200.

Economy remains sluggish
Construction spending hits lowest level in seven years and experts predict further erosion.

Hospitals get out of the baby-publicity business
Some stop collecting information for newspaper use, trying to avoid tipping off potential infant abductors.

Chorus of McCain praise
President Bush and others hail the candidate for his stance on Iraq and courageous votes when he put the country first.

Editorial
Hard lessons from teachers' contract
Pay increases should be linked to classes teachers teach, not the ones they take.

JOHN W. GRANDYShark tournaments encourage disparaging view of declining species
They teach a lesson that it is a good thing to kill sharks and that science is somehow served by it.

Bangor Daily News
AUGUSTA, Maine — Public school enrollment in the United States will hit an

MACHIAS, Maine — Sarah Gabrielson unpacks the brown paper bag and the

BANGOR, Maine — City leaders are considering a request from Exxon Mobil Oil

MILLINOCKET — It has lost at least $57 million since its June 2004 restart

Hard times hit agency for terminally ill children

Editorial
That slice of pizza you had for lunch on that busy workday could have made you violently ill. If it had, it didn’t necessarily mean that the corner convenience store where the pizza was made was
Hurricane Gustav thankfully spared the Gulf Coast its full fury. Still, the storm was a crucial test of emergency preparedness in the region devastated by Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent

Federal regulators are finally moving ahead on years late, watered-down rules requiring ocean vessels to slow down in some areas to avoid hitting right whales.

Spending secret security agreement with Iraq is so full of conditions, uncertainties and disagreements that it is impossible to know what it means for the end of the U.S. occupation and the move to Iraqi control.

Kennebec Journal

Columns:

STEPHEN BOWEN : School consolidation picture not as rosy as state paints
Readers of this newspaper on Aug. 22 were probably surprised to learn that, according to the Maine Department of Education, "half of Maine students" now attend schools in "consolidated districts."

GEORGE SMITH : Words are not dangerous, but zealots, censorship are
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.


Sun Journal
Utility fights back against wire theft
BANGOR (AP) - Bangor Hydro Electric Co. has installed motion detectors and surveillance equipment at several power substations to cut down on the number of copper thefts.

Maine finance chief sworn in
AUGUSTA - Taking over Tuesday as the point person for a state government budget of more than $6 billion, Ryan Low said he sees major financial challenges ahead as work gets under way on the state's next spending package.

Labor Day turnpike traffic down
PORTLAND (AP) - Nearly 731,000 vehicles used the Maine Turnpike during the Labor Day weekend, 2.2 percent fewer than during the same Friday-through-Monday period a year ago, the toll highway's officials said Tuesday.

Maine enrollment shrinks again as school year begins
PORTLAND (AP) - Enrollment at Maine public schools has fallen to around 190,000 students for the new school year, extending a decade-long decline that is expected to continue for several years to come.

Senate candidate's appeal denied
PORTLAND (AP) - Maine's highest court has rejected an appeal by an independent candidate for the U.S. Senate who was denied a spot on the November ballot because she failed to submit enough signatures prior to the deadline.

Opinion
Politics spark attention deficit
My friends, in these times of struggle and uncertainty, when the future of our very existence seems to tremble on some unseen precipice, I'd like to have a frank conversation with you about the state of things. I'd like to pontificate about the choices we face and how you can best approach them with the well-being of your family in mind. I'd like to share my own views and explore how they dovetail with your own.

McCain helps Obama's experience argument
In his Denver speech, Sen. Barack Obama tried to lay to rest the issue of whether he has the experience to become commander in chief.

MPBN
Not Your Usual Convention Opener
On "day one" of the Republican convention, most of the action was outside the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, not inside. As delegates tackled dry nomination business and tried to come to grips with the news that Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin's 17-year-old daughter was five months pregnant, thousands of anti-Bush protesters marched through the streets, calling for an end to the Iraq war, better health care and a host of other reforms. Barbara Cariddi was there and has this report.

PolitickerME

Bennett: If Republicans take the Senate…

Staples: After 2008, time to focus on the Legislature

Maine GOP scavenger hunt

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Maine News for Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Portland Press Herald
Collins asks Allen to oppose TV ad
Election 2008: Allen says he's also been the target of negative ads aired by third parties.

State campgrounds notice change in habits
Gas prices don't stop people from camping, they're just doing it differently, owners say.

Air base set for last show
The Navy's Blue Angels, the Army's Golden Knights and other daredevils will pull out all the stops for the last extravaganza aat BNAS.

Workplaces, partisan politics don't mix
Employees and managers have to consider what's appropriate to discuss.

Amid farm fields, machine guns get a workout
A farmer in North Anson frees up a secluded area so Maine soldiers can train for potential combat.

A few key staffers leave as governor enters final years
Top officials often look for other jobs at this stage, observers say.

On first day, distractions
Hurricane concerns, Palin revelations grab the spotlight

Editorials
McCain makes a bold choice for his ticket
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin could give the GOP an edge, but her inexperience will be an issue.

Housing market woes will work themselves out
Consumers able to sit tight can do just that and have confidence that values will rebound.

RON BANCROFTWhat's behind those 'card-check' ads? Unions want a leg up
The change a new law would make would turn what is now a private process into a public one.

Bangor Daily News
ST. PAUL — The Republican National Convention convened Monday, but the short official session was all business. Maine delegates attending the

MILLINOCKET, Maine — The Katahdin Avenue paper mill, which was due to cease

Collins, Allen battle over 3rd-party ads
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine’s U.S. Senate candidates, Tom Allen and Susan Collins, are sparring over a new series of campaign ads aired by a

School enrollment expected to decline to below 190,000
AUGUSTA, Maine — Public school enrollment in the United States will hit an all-time high this fall with nearly 50 million students, but in Maine

Editorial
Still no Exit Plan
Spending secret security agreement with Iraq is so full of conditions, uncertainties and disagreements that it is impossible to know what it means

Mike Michaud: Obama-Biden a ticket that Mainers should support
There have been some major developments in the presidential race recently

Kennebec Journal
High gas prices are having an impact, but vacationers are still spending time in Maine
With gas prices on the rise, the age-old tradition of piling into a motor home for a road-trip has seen better days.

Station's new format not pleasing to everyone Switch to all-sports on WLOB has many missing the voices of Fox Morning News hosts
Rep. Thomas Saviello didn't always agree with the opinions of WLOB Fox Morning News hosts Ray Richardson and Ted Talbot.

Baldacci to be surrounded by new faces
Gov. John Baldacci will enter his last two years in office with a slightly altered staff lineup.

Editorials:

McCain pick of political newbie a bit dicey
President of what? A college? A trade association? A community group?DAVID B. OFFER :

Obama's listeners heard about the power of dreams
Barack Obama delivered a powerful speech to the Democratic convention and -- more importantly -- the nation Thursday night.

Letters

Moderate Republicans can't moderate GOP
Maine's Republican-owned media continues to softball Sen. Susan Collins. If Maine wanted a senator completely independent of party we should have elected an Angus King.

Bicycle users should share cost of road maintenance
Now that by law we share the roads with bicycles, maybe it's time that bicycle users share the cost of maintenance with us.

College presidents should fight binge drinking
On college presidents and reducing the drinking age -- Some college presidents have identified the law about when you can drink legally as "part of the problem."

Sun Journal

Maine candidates spar over ads
AUGUSTA (AP) - Maine's U.S. Senate candidates, Tom Allen and Susan Collins, are sparring over a new series of campaign ads aired by a third party.

Navy base to host last air show
BRUNSWICK (AP) - The Navy's Blue Angels will roar overhead in a demonstration of jet-powered precision flying. Other nationally acclaimed stunt pilots will perform daring rolling and tumbling acrobatics, and a couple will engage in mock dogfights.

Maine delegation: Response appropriate
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Maine delegation leaders say canceling highlights to the Republican National Convention was an appropriate response given the threat to the Gulf Coast posed by Hurricane Gustav.

Gustav, Palin issues buffet GOP convention
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Republicans, determined to propel John McCain to the White House, opened their storm-shortened national convention on Monday amid distractions involving running mate Sarah Palin. Police made more than 250 arrests in the surrounding streets as anti-war protests turned violent.

Editorial
Fault the law, not the schools
The annual troubles of the Lewiston school system's diversity and the strict standards of No Child Left Behind are growing worse. This year, four schools failed to make "adequate yearly progress," which some consider equal to a "failing school."

State leads efforts to protect workers
Rising unemployment, home foreclosures, unaffordable fuel and heating oil: these tidings of our nation's economic downturn under the Bush administration's failed policies were hardly cause for celebration this Labor Day. However, when misfortune becomes the common thread of a people, their solidarity can unravel policies that have put them at a disadvantage and failed the common good. This solidarity is central to the history of Labor Day and to Maine's commitment to empower and protect the rights of our workforce.

End of summer means real campaign begins
It's hard to be a hero in America. John Kerry learned that the hard way. He returned from the war in Vietnam, decorated by his grateful country, and turned on the men he had left behind, accusing them of crimes and atrocities. Years later, after he "reported for duty" as the nominee of his party, he was "Swift-boated" by men with whom he had served. Turnabout may or may not have been fair play, but it was enough to sink Kerry's boat.

MPBN
Maine Delegation Reacts to Suspension of Convention
GOP nominee John McCain yesterday announced that all but essential business would be suspended on Monday, the convention’s opening day. The address scheduled by President Bush has been cancelled, as has an appearance by Vice President Dick Cheney. It appears to be the first time a natural disaster has disrupted a national political convention. The Democratic National Committee is also changing its plans, announcing Sunday evening that it's daily media briefing scheduled for Monday has been cancelled. Republican leaders in Maine have been working on convention planning for two years. Barbara Cariddi is in Minneapolis and she caught up with the state’s GOP chair Mark Ellis, and delegation chair Josh Tardy Sunday, shortly after McCain’s announcement.

PolitickerME

Maine GOP hopes to recoup 2006 losses