Maine Political News: Maine News for Thursday, June 26, 2008

Portland Press Herald
The boom in scrap
To earn top dollar in this rough-and-tumble business, haulers have to be -- well, scrappy.

Alliance aims to get out the vote in Maine
Election 2008: The Maine People's Alliance isn't backing candidates but might help Democrats.

If Pingrees both win, is it mere novelty, or more?
Election 2008: At the very least, they say, there would be 'constant communication.'

Kittery doubles goal for heating oil fund
The town wants to raise $50,000 so that it can serve the same number of families it did last year.

Turnpike fleet to use more biodiesel
By later this summer, about half the authority's maintenance equipment will use a 5 percent mix.

Vote on Poland Spring deal gets delayed
With protesters outside, water district trustees for the Kennebunks and Wells decide to wait on the company's proposal.

Editorial
Mortgage bailout rewards bad behavior all around
This election-year fix could have the effect of making the current downturn worse.

Zimbabwe's misery seems likely to continue
Its strongman ruler has driven off his chief political opponent, but some options remain.

Former Maine Yankee land would make bad housing site
Wiscasset residents should consider that the best use of the property is industrial.

WILLIAM S. LINNELLNuclear power no solution to energy woes
Their expense and waste-disposal problems make them far worse than windmill farms.

Letters

On wheels or foot, it's everyone's road

Health care system's ills require strong medicine

Effort to disparage Collins distorts her sterling record

Article fails to represent views of secular Mainers

Bangor Daily News

Feds seeking Medicaid repayments
Thursday, June 26, 2008
AUGUSTA, Maine - Maine is continuing to pay the price for a computer system that has never met expectations. The Office of the Inspector General in the federal Department of Health and Human Services is auditing Medicaid overpayments caused by computer problems and requiring the state to pay back federal funds overpaid to nursing homes across the state, including one in Bangor and another in Calais.

Bankruptcy likely for Red Shield
Thursday, June 26, 2008
OLD TOWN, Maine - Red Shield Environmental LLC, the pulp manufacturing facility, is expected to file for bankruptcy in the very near future, but attorney Robert Keach of Portland said it's a short-term problem and the facility isn't expected to close its doors forever.

Education aid for disabled kids spurs suit
Thursday, June 26, 2008
BANGOR, Maine - A class action lawsuit filed this week in U.S. District Court charges Maine's top human services official with failing to follow federal Medicaid regulations in meeting the educational needs of the state's disabled youngsters.

Ski areas wary about energy costs
Thursday, June 26, 2008
CAMDEN, Maine - Ski areas large and small, concerned about the impact the rising cost of energy could have on their operations in the coming season, are already talking about how to meet the challenges.

Porn adds time to sex abuser’s sentence
Thursday, June 26, 2008
BANGOR, Maine - A local man serving 10 years at the Maine State Prison in Warren for sexually assaulting a 6-year-old girl in 2006 was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court to 10 additional years in federal prison for downloading child pornography.

Editorial

Oil party politics
Thursday, June 26, 2008
If the consequences were not so serious, the antics of Democrats and Republicans as they try to stake out positions on the energy crisis would be amusing.

Web of confusion
Thursday, June 26, 2008
If the state has learned anything from its online sex offender registry debacle, it is that putting a lot of personal information on the Internet without thinking of the consequences is an invitation to litigation, or worse. That's why it was smart to slow down the process for making information about prisoners and those on probation more readily available.

Josh Tardy: Exploring other areas to drill

Mark Ishkanian: Government understates ozone threat
The warm weather that we yearn for in the depths of winter is finally here, but with it comes a serious health threat: ground level ozone. Weather, geography and our modern lifestyle conspire to create a serious air pollution threat from ozone here in Maine. It can affect the health of people young and old, healthy and sick. It affects our ability to exercise and to enjoy the great Maine outdoors. And thanks to a recent decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the threat of ground level ozone to our health is being deliberately and knowingly understated by the government.

June 26 Letters to the editor

Kennebec Journal
HOME INVASION TRIAL BEGINS
AUGUSTA -- Jacob A. McInnis went on trial Wednesday accused of robbing a Windsor mother and son in their home to feed his apetite for drugs.

'From day one, this was the place'
RICHMOND -- When Hodgdon Yachts first began looking for a place to expand, Peter Horne was quick to sing the praises of his hometown.

GARDINER Residents voice frustration
GARDINER -- More than 100 people showed up to discuss a recent citywide revaluation Wednesday, and everyone had their say.

Hallowell still struggling with budget boost
HALLOWELL -- Several residents implored the City Council on Wednesday to reconsider aspects of a proposed budget that's 11.4 percent higher than the current one.

On Maine Politics

Dems to open Skowhegan office 06/25/08

Editorial

Congress can't even take simple energy step
As everyone knows, oil prices have climbed to record levels during the last year and sent our economy reeling. During the same time, the House of Representatives and the Senate have wrestled with and then refused to pass legislation that would help the country shift from our dangerous reliance on finite and diminishing oil supplies to more sustainable reliance on solar, wind and other renewable sources of energy.

JIM BRUNELLE : A 'spoiler' by any name still has an impact on election
The thing about spoiler candidates is that they tend to deny that's what they are.

Sun Journal

Maine Maritime ship sails north of Arctic
CASTINE (AP) - The historic schooner Bowdoin has reached the northernmost point of its two-month training cruise for Maine Maritime Academy students.

Some clam flats closed in Maine; others opened
BANGOR (AP) - Red tide is forcing the closure of more clam flats in eastern Maine, and officials are warning that even more areas could be shut down as the toxic algae continues to spread.

Maine man gets 10 years for porn
BANGOR (AP) - A Warren man who's serving a 10-year sentence for gross sexual assault of a 6-year-old will now face an additional 10 years for possessing child pornography.

Editorial

City got best deal available
After years of struggle, the Androscoggin Bank Colisee needed a change. The sale to Firland Management cleans the Colisee's slate and opens the future for new opportunities.

Liberal media refuse to publish Iraq successes
There is a reason progress in Iraq is not receiving more attention. It isn't that Americans are "bored" or "tired" or have "moved on" or "don't care" or "have already made up their minds that the war was a colossal mistake." All of these are variations on themes articulated by certain liberals, Bush-haters, Barack Obama supporters (but I repeat myself) inside and outside the big media.

Letters

Don't balance on us
I am a highway worker for the Maine Department of Transportation. I recently read a story in the Sun Journal regarding the discrepancy in pay and benefits between state employees and the private sector.

Take care of our own
I'm writing because of my disgust with the state, Worker's Compensation and Social Security.

MPBN

Protestors Criticize Proposed Bottled Water Deal
At a rally in Kennebunk, customers of the local water district today called for the district's board of trustees to reject a 30 year deal to sell water to Poland Spring. Dozens of people gathered outside the main street office of the district which serves Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Wells. Inside the building, water district board members were deciding whether to delay a vote on signing the agreement with Poland Spring's parent company, Nestle Waters North America. Keith McKeen reports.

Carbonated Soft Drinks Still Outsell Bottled Water

With all the attention on the Kennebunk Water District and the proposed contract with Poland Spring, we thought it was time to look at who the biggest users of water are in Maine and where bottled water falls in the consumption of all water-based beverages. As Susan Sharon reports, while bottled water is growing by leaps and bounds in popularity, it turns out that carbonated soft drinks are still king.

Grub Worms Prompt Lawn Care Debate

Lawns across Central and Southern Maine are in various stages of disrepair thanks to an influx of grub worms feasting and growing beneath the surface. The grubs create large brown spots on lawns, and many homeowners are experimenting with ways to treat them. As Anne Ravana reports, this has stirred some debate between pesticide users and organic lawn care devotees.

"Two Nation Vacation" Promoted