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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.