Maine News for Thursday, May 15, 2008

Portland Press Herald
Gardening in Maine shows signs of growth
High food prices and concerns about pesticides and global warming fuel a planting revival.

Quick thinking keeps class safe in China
A former Falmouth teacher working at a school in Chengdu helps her students stay unharmed.

Meister a newcomer to politics, party
Election 2008: The pediatrician from Winthrop wants to work to provide health insurance for all Americans.

Auburn lets residents join its heating oil deal
Having more participants gives the city more power to get the lowest price, and "everybody wins."

Federal aid expanded for flooding victims
Six Maine counties that suffered damage two weeks ago are in line for public assistance.

Verso Paper cuts back on IPO shares, price
The coated-paper company operates mills in Jay and Bucksport.

Editorial
Latest idea to lower gas prices just another political gimmick
Halting contributions to the strategic oil reserve won't do anything meaningful.

JOE KUMISZCZA and PETER MURRAY
Maine needs venture-capital stimulus
A plan to create a 'Fund of Funds' to aid emerging companies with high potential will return.

Letters
Time for an ultimatum on oil prices

What rights will we lose next after smoking ban?

Bangor Daily News
Biologists keeping eye on red tide
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Marine biologists say 2008 could be a bad year for red tide in coastal Maine waters based on recent shellfish surveys and current weather patterns.

Appeal involving Tobin of Bangor still pending
Thursday, May 15, 2008
WASHINGTON - A former Republican consultant who served three months in prison for his role in the Election Day 2002 phone-jamming operation against New Hampshire Democrats said Wednesday he knows of no connection between the White House and the plot.

Disaster relief expanded to more counties
Thursday, May 15, 2008
FORT KENT, Maine - Towns and cities throughout the state that were affected by the recent flooding and are struggling to find the money to repair roads, bridges and other infrastructure will receive additional help.

Labor Department offers flood assistance
Thursday, May 15, 2008
AUGUSTA, Maine - News of more assistance for those affected by the recent flooding in the state was released Wednesday afternoon.

Kenduskeag: Farmers meeting seeks dairy solution
Thursday, May 15, 2008
KENDUSKEAG, Maine - State, local and federal officials sat shoulder to shoulder with dairy farmers Wednesday, trying to solve what some are calling a crisis in farming. In the end, the two-hour forum, called by a local dairy farmer, was as much about frustration at current pricing policies as it was looking ahead toward solutions.

State investments: safe or lucrative?
Thursday, May 15, 2008
AUGUSTA, Maine - Legislation putting tighter restrictions on state investments died when lawmakers adjourned last month, but the controversy continues and likely will be before lawmakers next year.

Editorial

Spring Has Sprung
Thursday, May 15, 2008
So far, despite the recent destructive rainstorm, spring has made a fine start, a great relief from the cold and wet conditions that often seem to linger later in the year than hoped for.

Hillary's Heartbreak
Thursday, May 15, 2008
If the race to the Democratic presidential nomination has been like the Boston Marathon, Hillary Clinton might rightly claim that Heartbreak Hill was named for her.

Opinion

Anne Harper : Tax funding health care beneficial in long run
I read that a group has formed to try to rescind the recently passed tax increase that will help fund the state’s Dirigo health program. The same day, I filled out my renewal forms for my own participation in Dirigo.

May 15 Letters to the Editor

Kennebec Journal
EX-CONY TEACHER SURVIVES QUAKE
Former Cony High School teacher Denise O'Toole was teaching her 28 students at 2:28 p.m. on Monday in a fifth-floor classroom in Chengdu, China, when the building she was in began to sway and the plaster crumbled off the walls.

Vachon new Cony AD; unsure if he will keep coaching
The Augusta Board of Education on Wednesday night approved Paul Vachon as the new athletic director for Cony High School and Hodgkins Middle School. He replaces Dan Bowers, who resigned after seven years on the job to pursue an assistant principal’s position.

1ST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT Pediatrician from Winthrop vows fight for change, real solutions Gulf War vet says he, too, has confronted inept government
Fourth in a series of profiles of candidates running in the 1st Congressional District primary races.

AUGUSTA YES TO CONDO CHANGES
AUGUSTA -- The Planning Board unanimously approved changes Tuesday to a planned 24-unit, condominium development for residents 55 and older.

On Maine Politics

Kennebec Dems to meet Thursday 05/14/08

Columns:

DAN BILLINGS : Unlikely face leads people's veto of tax increases
A tax revolt is under way and it is being led by an unlikely revolutionary.

JIM BRUNELLE : Campaign protecting part of economy from inflation effects
The longest, costliest, most overly handicapped presidential horserace in history continues apace and we're still fully half-a-year away from the finish line.

Sun Journal

More Maine counties getting disaster aid
AUGUSTA (AP) - Federal disaster assistance has expanded to include a total of six counties following floods two weeks ago that damaged more than 200 homes and displaced as many as 1,000 people, Gov. John Baldacci said Wednesday.

Editorial
What about a heating oil cooperative?
Like an oil derrick, the Auburn City Council tapped a gusher by proposing to let residents join the city's heating oil contract: the overflowing consumer frustration at being unable to negotiate better fuel prices.

Obama should campaign using his own set of rules
If Barack Obama gets his way, the Oxford English Dictionary will have updated its definition of "distraction" by the end of the campaign: "Diversion of the mind, attention, etc., from any object or course that tends to advance the political interests of Barack Obama."

Qualified candidate
Being a resident of New Gloucester, part of Maine House District 105, I am enthusiastic about introducing an eminently qualified candidate for state representative: David Van Wie. He plans to visit as many voters in the district as possible, canvassing Durham and the Lisbon Falls downtown area.

MPBN
Auburn Oil Plan Would Equalize Fuel Oil Prices
Should the residents of Auburn be able to piggy-back on the city's bidding power when it comes to buying heating fuel? The city council has initially approved a program that would allow private citizens to benefit from the heating oil price negotiated by city government. Skeptics, however, including the city's mayor and the Maine Oil Dealer's Association, are questioning the plan. Keith McKeen reports.

Former Ski Industry Mogul Announces Wood-To-Energy Venture
Former ski industry and Red Sox investor Les Otten announced last week that he has plans for a wood-to-energy venture that will convert thousands of home heating systems in New England from oil to pellets. The company, known as "Maine Energy Systems", will face some hurdles including getting people to make the 12-thousand dollar investment. Otten says pellets have to be part of the plan to make Maine energy independent. As Susan Sharon reports, there are some concerns about the new hype around pellets and about Otten's role on a state wood-to-energy task force.

Farm Bill Has Downside For Some Maine Farmers

The US Farm Bill is one of the biggest pieces of legislation to go through Congress, and this week it's expected to pass through both Houses. The bill has been criticized for offering billions of dollars in subsidies to farmers whether or not they need the money. Not all farmers in Maine however are happy with the Bill. MPBN's Tom Porter has the story.

Stephen King's Debated Remarks Shine Light On Literacy

A deputy under-secretary for the Department of Defense says Maine author Stephen King cruelly perpetuated an incorrect stereotype when he suggested last month that millitary service is a refuge for the illiterate. The under-secretary's remarks are among the latest repercussions for King who announced that the recent uproar in reaction to his comments was forcing him to postpone a June 7 fundraiser for Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Tom Allen. As A.J. Higgins reports, the controversy has inadvertently served to shine a light on literacy in Maine where one in seven adults is rated at the lowest functional level.

Ellsworth American
OPEGA Still Alive and Kicking After Passage of Emergency Bill
AUGUSTA — The fiscal watchdog agency that Democratic leadership tried to eliminate as part of the supplemental budget is still in business thanks to an emergency bill passed at the end of the legislative session.

Secret Voting on School Budgets
One of the many disturbing aspects of Maine’s school consolidation law is the requirement that school budgets now must be approved not only at annual town meetings or by city or town councils but in referendum ballot votes no more than 10 days after that initial approval. Advocates of the secret ballot vote claim, in the words of Sen. Peter Mills (R-Somerset County), that “it’s one way of forcing citizens at the local level to assume responsibility for education costs.” Mills said that the conservatives of his party believe the public referendum vote will “force school committees to be more fiscally responsible.”

Maine News for Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Portland Press Herald
Taxpayers' plans more survival than stimulus
A survey finds that most Mainers will skip the extras and use rebates to pay down debt or beef up savings.

Oil-reserve moratorium approved by Congress
U.S. energy officials estimate that halting the purchase of oil for emergency reserves could reduce gasoline prices by 4 to 5 cents a gallon.

Lawrence runs in 1st District on record as York DA, legislator
Election 2008: His chief concerns include the rise in presidential powers, taxes and the Iraq war.

New Maine law allows 'blended sentences'
Under Marlees Law, prison time can be split between juvenile and adult facilities in certain cases.

Same old story for oil, retail sales
Prices for the former are up, numbers for the latter are down, and investors wait to see whether it will get any worse.

Editorial
Whale rules should move forward for all
Fishing and shipping interests should both do their parts for right whale preservation.

Concern over 'designer baby' research should focus on standards
Holding back the technology is not an effective way of addressing ethical issues.

SEAN FAIRCLOTH and PHIL BARTLETTDirigo funding plan widely misreported
Too many accounts of the new levies on beverages misstated their impact or left out vital details.

Cigarette butts pollute, pose health risks for all

Superdelegate for whom? Don't come home, Mitchell

Does ethanol cost less and create less pollution?

Bangor Daily News

Gas prices put strain on police budgets
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
AUGUSTA, Maine - When lawmakers adjusted the state budget earlier this year, they assumed gasoline would average about $2.55 a gallon at the pump. This week it is a dollar higher throughout most of Maine, and those higher costs are affecting law enforcement more than other governmental agencies.

Maine resident receives France's highest honor
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
AUGUSTA, Maine - Tuesday was a proud day for Mainers of French heritage.

AG cites benefits of educating youth
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
BREWER, Maine - At a talk Tuesday morning, Maine Attorney General Steven Rowe spoke to the audience as a child would speak to a parent.

Bangor councilor enters plea of not guilty to theft charge
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
BANGOR, Maine - A city councilor arrested on Monday for allegedly stealing grocery items from a local supermarket told authorities he was "disabled, hungry and had no money, and it was not like him to steal," according to a police report released Tuesday.

Editorial

Editorial: Schoodic discovered
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
The Schoodic peninsula east of Mount Desert Island is the part of Acadia National Park typically overlooked by visitors.

Richard Jagels: When lawn and order collide
The front-page story in Friday's Bangor Daily News, "Pest infests Bangor lawns," provided a cogent testimonial to our ever-growing disconnect with the natural world - a hubris that continues to lead us toward destructive consequences.

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

May 14 Letters to the Editor

Kennebec Journal
French ambassador bestows award on Augusta lawyer Severin Beliveau
AUGUSTA -- Lawyer Severin Beliveau received France's highest honor Tuesday in a Statehouse ceremony, saying he accepted the award on behalf of the thousands of Franco-Americans who work to keep their culture alive.

French ambassador muses about French tourism, Maine
AUGUSTA -- When the French visit the United States, they like to go to New York City, French Ambassador to the U.S., Pierre Vimont, said Tuesday.

MANCHESTER Forum focus is health Congressional candidates air ideas for fixing the system
MANCHESTER -- The Maine Medical Association on Tuesday challenged candidates running for the 1st Congressional District to get specific about how they would fix the nation's health-care crisis.

Background as a lawyer plays key role for Lawrence
Third in a series of profiles of candidates running in the 1st Congressional District primary races.

SIDNEY Hard-pressed farmer fields roaming cow complaints
SIDNEY -- State trespass law allows Mark Gould 12 hours to track down a wayward cow when it leaves the shelter of the fold in search of greener pastures on the other side of Drummond Road.

AUGUSTA RIGGS BROOK WINS OK
AUGUSTA -- The first major subdivision proposed for the city's much-heralded Riggs Brook Village District faces opposition, obstacles and uncertainty.

HALLOWELL Driver hits building; none hurt
HALLOWELL -- Patti Burnett, owner of Dom's Barber Shop, had just finished giving a haircut Tuesday when a Subaru Outback came crashing through the window.

Editorial

Do school budgets really need two votes?
After months of debate over Gov. John Baldacci's school reorganization proposal, lawmakers wrangling at the end of the 2007 legislative session produced the tangled mess of a law that directs the state's school districts to consolidate. It was, despite its convoluted aspects, pioneering legislation. If its promise is borne out, the plan will lead to fewer school districts statewide, less administration and lower costs for Maine taxpayers.

GEORGE SMITH : What's best for those who own, use wild Maine woods?
We are blessed to use the private lands in the 10 million acres of unorganized territories, often without knowing who owns the woods we enjoy. It is important to understand that our use of those lands is a privilege, not a right.

Sun Journal

Quebec company to operate Irvings
BANGOR (AP) - Hundreds of Irving Oil convenience stores will get a new name and a new look as part of a deal between Irving Oil and a Quebec-based company.

Mainers likely to save checks or pay bills
PORTLAND (AP) - Mainers are more likely to save their economic stimulus checks or use them to pay bills than to buy clothing or furniture or go on vacation, according to a poll released Tuesday.

New law lets courts blend juvenile, adult jail sentences
AUGUSTA (AP) - In a ceremony that stemmed from tragedy, Gov. John Baldacci joined the family of a teenage manslaughter victim Tuesday in marking passage of a bill to allow blended adult and juvenile sentences in certain cases.

Many taking Toyota up on truck recall
AUBURN - Emerson Toyota in Auburn has inspected the frames of more than 250 Tacoma trucks for rust perforation as part of a nationwide recall due to faulty anti-corrosion undercoating used on trucks sold between 1995 and 2000.

Editorial

Evolution debate pops up in Maine
Perhaps it was only a matter of time before one of the biggest distractions in American politics and education, evolution, arrived in Maine.

Sniffing the green
I blame the economy. Rising gas prices, the housing market crunch, it's got you people thinking backward. The very structure of our social network is all mixed up and something needs to be done. It's as though one group of you climbed into some crazy machine and traded heads with another.

Letters

Repeal the unfair taxes
I thank Sen. Lois Snowe-Mello not only for voting against LD 2247, regarding DirigoChoice, but also for her efforts on the floor of the Maine Senate in debating against tax increases on beer, wine, syrup and also a 1.8 percent surcharge/tax on health insurance claims. These new tax increases came to the floor of the Senate on the day before the session ended, and had no public hearing. Isn't this taxation without representation?

MPBN

Stephen King's Debated Remarks Shine Light On Literacy
A deputy under-secretary for the Department of Defense says Maine author Stephen King cruelly perpetuated an incorrect stereotype when he suggested last month that millitary service is a refuge for the illiterate. The under-secretary's remarks are among the latest repercussions for King who announced that the recent uproar in reaction to his comments was forcing him to postpone a June 7 fundraiser for Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Tom Allen. As A.J. Higgins reports, the controversy has inadvertently served to shine a light on literacy in Maine where one in seven adults is rated at the lowest functional level.

Congressional Candidate Chellie Pingree Profiled

Her resume is diverse: She's owned several small businesses, been a farmer, served in the Maine State Senate, run and lost a race for U.S. Senate and worked in Washington as the head of the national election reform group Common Cause. Now Democrat Chellie Pingree is back in Maine on the campaign trail in the first congressional district seeking to fill the seat being vacated by Tom Allen. Susan Sharon continues our series of candidate profiles with a look at Pingree's priorities.

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.

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)

Maine News for Monday, May 12, 2008

Portland Press Herald
Michael Brennan sets himself apart with a tone of collaboration
Election 2008: The Democrat tries to understand other points of view and is known as a consensus-builder.

JUSTIN ELLIS Youthink: More than a booster seat at the table

Maine Greens set to select delegates May 18
The state is behind only California in the number of delegates it sends to the national convention.

Editorial
Policy should not try to stigmatize smokers
Ordinances should protect nonsmokers, not protect smokers from themselves.

Bans on personal watercraft bring Mainers back to lakes
The state's high court brought cheers from people who feared to go back in the water.

LEIGH DONALDSONGovernment regulation of the Internet will not halt abuses
The issue is content, not the way it's conveyed. We should prosecute criminals, not free speech.

Letters
Conserve energy to fight high prices

Sudden pullout from Iraq is not the answer for U.S.

Bangor Daily News

Joe Perry : Business associations ignoring Maine's promise
Saturday, May 10, 2008
The recent editorial 'Doom, Gloom and Taxes' (BDN, April 26) puts Maine's economic challenges and opportunities in the right light. It also rightly described how Maine's hurdles are made more difficult because prominent business lobbyists constantly brand our state as a bad place to do business.

Maine delegation supports small-business breaks
Monday, May 12, 2008
AUGUSTA, Maine - With the nation's economy in the doldrums, members of Maine's congressional delegation are supporting efforts to spur small businesses to create more jobs.

Salmon stocking boosts Pleasant River
Monday, May 12, 2008
COLUMBIA FALLS, Maine - There are about 50,000 more salmon in the Pleasant River this week thanks to the annual stocking effort of the Downeast Salmon Federation.

Academic degrees granted across the state
Monday, May 12, 2008
Colleges and universities across the state held commencement exercises Saturday.

FEMA officials land in Fort Kent
Monday, May 12, 2008
FORT KENT, Maine - Officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency were on the ground this weekend ready for business in the wake of Friday's federal disaster declaration for Aroostook County.

Editorial
A better school budget
Monday, May 12, 2008
Even those with misgivings about the school consolidation effort should welcome the part of the law that creates a new school budget approval process.

Miles-per-gallon boosters
Monday, May 12, 2008
Want to squeeze a few more miles out of that next overpriced tank of gas? Tom and Ray Magliozzi aka Click & Clack of NPR's Car Talk fame have a list of miles-per-gallon boosters on their Web site.

Beth Henderson: Chellie Pingree for Congress
It is with certainty that I stand in support of Chellie Pingree for Congress. Several years ago, as a fledgling superintendent-principal of North Haven Community School, my mettle was immediately tested by a host of district issues.

Kennebec Journal
Where are the voters?
Maine voters have their first chance this spring to go to the polls and weigh in on their local school budgets.

Augusta planners face busy agenda
AUGUSTA -- The Augusta Planning Board will be busy Tuesday, slated to consider proposals for a new subdivision in the city's Riggs Brook area, two new commercial buildings in the Central Maine Commerce Center, four new self-storage buildings in a business park, and 24 new condominium units in 12 duplexes.

Green delegates look for exciting convention
AUGUSTA -- Ruth Gabey, of West Gardiner, says it's exciting to be a member of the Maine Green Independent Party.

KENNEBEC COMMUTER: Find another way to get to work
Ditch the car today. Heck, ditch it all week.

Editorials:

Idea a novel way for mentally ill to stay out of jail Hidden danger: Police might arrest people to get them help for their psychological problems
Kennebec County's Co-Occurring Disorders Court is a good thing -- but it's unfortunate that we need it.

MARK HERTSGAARD (WWW.MARKHERTSGAARD.COM) : Law of supply and demand fuels rising oil prices
Never underestimate a politician's ability to pander.

J. SCOTT MOODY : Lawmakers reneged on vow to cut spending
The Taxpayer Bill of Rights was narrowly defeated in November 2006. It was on the ballot to allow voters to put a speed limit on the growth of state spending, with a long-term goal of gradually reducing our tax burden.

Other health-care goals need help from midwives
Ellie Daniels' letter to the editor of April 28 compels me to respond, especially her reference to universal access to childhood immunizations, a cause that I have pursued throughout my career.

Sun Journal
Fight over evolution looms in schools
WATERVILLE (AP) - A Somerset County school district is being urged by one of its members to drop evolution from its high school science curriculums on grounds that it is an unprovable theory that should not be taught as fact.

Maine congressional candidate returns from tour of duty in Iraq
SCARBOROUGH (AP) - Congressional candidate Charles Summers resumes his campaign after returning home this weekend following a tour of duty in Iraq.

Drivers need to be wary of moose
After recent moose-vehicle collisions near the Maine-New Hampshire border in Oxford County, the Maine Department of Transportation issued a moose advisory for drivers Wednesday.

Editorial

Keep it in Maine
Some wise folks, a couple of states over, have an economic notion so mind-bogglingly simple we're smacking ourselves for not thinking of it first. (We'd like to think it's because we think too deeply, so we miss the easy stuff.)

An important choice
Sen. Susan Collins and Rep. Tom Allen agree on a host of issues, such as civil rights, improved funding for education, women's reproductive rights and stem cell research. They are both decent and respectable people who have served Maine very well. But their differences in some critical judgments are noteworthy.

PolitickerME
Congressional candidate Charlie Summers returns from Iraq

Women stump for Scontras, a famous boxer stumps for Summers

MCLU cites difficult civil liberties battles as organization turns 40