Maine News for Friday, June 27, 2008

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Bangor Daily News

Rockland: Legislator from Camden begins Senate campaign
Friday, June 27 2008
ROCKLAND, Maine - State Rep. David Miramant, D-Camden, launched his campaign Thursday for Senate District 22 at the Knox County Democratic Party headquarters on Maverick Street.

Dexter woman puts in bid for District 24 House seat
Friday, June 27 2008
DEXTER, Maine - Tammy Lockhart of Dexter is the Democratic candidate for the District 24 seat in the Maine House of Representatives.

Court upholds DOT's Sail Inn seizure
Friday, June 27 2008
PORTLAND, Maine - The Maine Supreme Judicial Court on Thursday ruled that the Maine Department of Transportation did not exceed its eminent domain powers in the taking of the Sail Inn Restaurant and the land around it.

Husson, WCCC OK credit transfers
Friday, June 27 2008
CALAIS, Maine - Getting an education in Washington County grew a lot easier now that two local college campuses have agreed to allow the transfer of credits for extended educational opportunities, officials announced Thursday.

Regional high school idea revisited
Friday, June 27 2008
OLD TOWN, Maine - The concept of forming a regional high school for the Orono-Old Town area is nothing new. In fact, over the last several years the idea has been discussed many times only to die out due to old rivalries, or to the desire for smaller schools.

Mainers find victory in decision
Friday, June 27 2008
BANGOR, Maine - The reactions of Maine gun advocates and opponents to a U.S. Supreme Court decision Thursday overturning a handgun ban in Washington, D.C., were mixed with each side claiming a partial victory.

5-4 ruling overturns handgun ban in D.C.
Friday, June 27 2008
WASHINGTON - Silent on central questions of gun control for two centuries, the Supreme Court found its voice Thursday in a decision affirming the right to have guns for self-defense in the home and addressing a constitutional riddle almost as old as the republic over what it means to say the people may keep and bear arms.

State courts to limit hours, do paperwork
Friday, June 27 2008
Maine state courts will take advantage of a shortened workweek due to the July Fourth holiday to catch up on administrative paperwork.

Belfast: Interfaith Fuel Fund to begin summer effort
Friday, June 27 2008
BELFAST, Maine - Winter is coming and the Interfaith Fuel Fund is working this summer to raise money for what it anticipates will be a high demand for assistance from people having trouble paying for home heating oil.

Editorial
Toll Plaza Updates
Friday, June 27 2008
It's a familiar stand-off: local residents fighting to protect their homes and transportation planners trying to move vehicles safely through Maine. This case involves the Maine Turnpike's toll plaza in York - Maine's front gate, generating $35 million in toll revenue annually.

Big Principal Is Watching
Friday, June 27 2008
For decades, teachers held over their students the threat of putting discipline infractions on their permanent record. Such a record, which presumably followed a child from kindergarten to high school graduation, was more myth than reality.

Elizabeth 'Libby' Mitchell : Benefit of beverage tax? Health coverage
The June 17 OpEd 'Maine residents fed up with undemocratic taxes' by Newell Augur, paid lobbyist for the beverage industry, takes the grand prize for confusing fact and fiction.

June 27 Letters to the Editor

Sun Journal
Capitol complex project begins
AUGUSTA (AP) - Make sure you're wearing a hard hat before you walk into the Maine Senate.

Unhealthy ozone forecast in Maine
AUGUSTA (AP) - State environmental officials have issued an air quality alert for Thursday for the midcoast region between Port Clyde and Mount Desert.

U.S. ambassador native of Maine
PORTLAND (AP) - A Maine native who grew up in Falmouth and attended Bowdoin College has been named by President Bush as U.S. ambassador to Algeria.

Quest brings climber to Maine
BANGOR (AP) - A Colorado teacher has climbed Mount Katahdin in his quest to reach the highest points in all 50 states in 50 days.

Maine water buy vote on hold
KENNEBUNK (AP) - The water district that serves towns in the Kennebunk area has postponed its vote on a 30-year agreement to allow the Poland Spring bottled water company to tap into its aquifer.

Right to bear arms wins
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court's landmark gun rights ruling Thursday settled an old debate over the Second Amendment. It's not all about muskets and militia service. Americans do, in fact, have an individual right to bear arms for self-protection.

Editorial
Put the check in the e-mail
Lost in the political bellowing about Sen. Barack Obama's rejection (or was it denouncement?) of public campaign financing was deserved recognition of the earthshaking impact that Internet fundraising has had.

Summer reading list includes trilogy of truth
The future of the media is cloudy. In this brave new world of YouTube, Facebook and 400 cable channels, book publishers are fretting about obsolescence. But books have survived radio and television for the same reason they will survive the Internet. Human life is simply too complex to be represented by a news spot or a blog post - and three new tomes demonstrate how books will always be the necessary instruments for deeper analysis. They are a trilogy of truth in this era of misinformation.

Letters
Don't change my TV
When the digital TV signal transfer takes place in February 2009, the poor, working stiff is getting it put to him.

Nonpartisan unity
This is in response to the columns printed June 22, one about gas prices by Paul Munshine, the other about the new tax on beer, wine, soda and such by J. Paul Spellman.

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.

PolitickerME
Press Herald to lose three political reporters

Politicker photos and video: Protest over bottled water

Linking Pingree and Pingree in power next year

Times Record
Fuel costs burning holes in budgets (full story)

Brunswick board OKs Maine St. Station plans (full story)

Editorials
Institutionalizing injustice (full story)

Capital Weekly

Davis runs against Mitchell for Senate District 24 seat
AUGUSTA — The Honorable Kim Davis of Augusta has launched her campaign for Senate District 24, which includes the towns of Augusta, China, Oakland, Sidney and Vassalboro.

Augusta Dems to pick new House candidate on July 2AUGUSTA—The Augusta Democratic City Committee will caucus Wednesday, July 2 at 6:30 p.m. in the lecture hall at Augusta City Center to help pick a replacement democratic candidate for Maine House District 56—currently held by Rep. Kim Silsby.

Developer taking wait-and-see approach to old YMCA building
AUGUSTA — Developer Lon Walters is taking a wait-and-see approach with the old section of the Kennebec Valley YMCA on the corner of Winthrop and State streets in Augusta.

Editorial

Franco-American Center is needed
Augusta has a lot to be proud of throughout its 159-year-old history, including its large French immigration from Quebec which dates back to the 1880s.

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

Tourism officials from Maine and neighboring Canadian provinces are boosting their efforts to promote a "Two Nation Vacation." Prompted in part by a weak U.S. dollar, the regions have expanded their advertising campaigns and, as Anne Ravana reports, are putting together vacation packages to convince travellers to spend time on both sides of the border.

PolitickerME
Activists bristle over small venue for water contract talks, rally outside

Ethics Commission to examine Gubernatorial MCEA requirements

Ellsworth American
Gas Stations Say Pay Before You Pump

Eco-resort Developers Are Rethinking Conceptual Plan

Petition to Overturn Taxes On Beverages Gathers Steam

Motor Vehicle Excise Tax Collections May Be Economy’s Next Victim

Editorial
The Energy Crisis

Gay Rights Repeal Effort Fails

Reforming Teacher Compensation

Let’s Open the Primary System

Times Record

Tidal energy project given preliminary permit (full story)

Village Soup
Energy forum aims to trim heating costs

Maine News for Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Portland Press Herald
Fuel costs threaten jetport flights
Industry turmoil may force sharp cuts in service at small airports like the one in Portland, a group says.

Maine delegation helps scrutinize speculation
Legislators are trying to determine if energy markets are being manipulated.

Look Mom, more toothpaste skips fluoride
The decay fighter unveiled in 1955 still has its critics, who prefer to go 'natural.'

Sale proposal rejected, plans for Ballpark stall
One group wants to restore the park in Old Orchard Beach for recreational baseball games.

Advice to make job tolerable
In a down economy, changing jobs might not be an option for workers who are dissatisfied.

Editorial
Fed's Real ID grant just a drop in the bucket
Congress should replace this flawed program with a better secure-identity system.

Reycling deserves as much space as the trash
New blue bins in South Portland will encourage more savings for the city.

GREGORY D. KESICHIs America ready for its first organizer-in-chief?
After 25 lawyers, three teachers, two journalists and a tailor, this would be a new resum item.

Bangor Daily News
$39.6M in Medicaid claims on hold
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
BANGOR, Maine - For 28 mentally retarded residents of the Bangor area and the private, nonprofit agency that serves them, the interminable problems in the state's Medicaid program are more than some abstract bureaucratic exercise.

Laura Bush visits Acadia National Park
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
ACADIA NATIONAL PARK, Maine - First lady Laura Bush visited Acadia National Park and the Bar Harbor area Tuesday, White House officials confirmed.

Bangor: Councilors honor boy for saving mother
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
BANGOR, Maine - A Bangor boy whose 911 call likely saved his mother's life and the city police dispatcher who helped him were recognized for their actions during a City Council meeting on Monday night.

Maine to hold 2009 EnergyOcean conference
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Maine will be host to an international conference on ocean energy next year, which officials hope will give the state an opportunity to promote itself as a leader in the growing renewable energy industry.

MMA schooner to head home from Arctic trip
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
The schooner Bowdoin and its crew from Maine Maritime Academy have reached the northernmost point in their two-month training cruise and are about ready to head for home.

Belfast: Ruling ends lawsuit over big-box stores
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
PORTLAND, Maine - The case of Belfast and the big-box stores officially came to an end Tuesday when the Maine Supreme Judicial Court issued a unanimous two-page ruling that the case is moot.

Tick infestation taking a toll on moose
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
PORTLAND, Maine - New England's moose population is under siege from tiny ticks that have become so numerous in recent years that biologists are concerned about the long-term effect on the ungainly mammals.

Red tide forcing more shellfish closures Down East
Tuesday, June 25, 2008
State officials have expanded shellfish closures Down East and are warning that additional closures are possible as levels of toxic red tide continue to spread in the area.

Editorial

Better review process of petition signatures needed
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
While the secretary of state has cleared independent candidate Herbert Hoffman to remain in the U.S. Senate race, the legal debate over whether he has collected enough signatures to appear on the November ballot revealed troubling shortcomings in the stat's validation process.

Editorial: Foreign surveillance bill has troubling provisions
Tuesday, June 25, 2008
When Congress was poised to let a controversial wiretapping law expire in February, the White House predicted death and destruction if the rules, which allowed eavesdropping without a warrant, weren't extended. Congress let the Protect America Act expire and used the additional time to write compromise legislation, which though improved still contains troubling provisions.

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.

Brad Macdonald: Guns in parks a national right
Recently proposed changes in federal regulations would allow the carrying of concealed firearms in some national parks, something which is not currently allowed. Specifically, the proposed regulations would allow the carrying of firearms if state law would allow the carrying of firearms in state parks. While this is a step in the right direction and should be supported, changes in federal regulations should go even further and allow the carrying of firearms in national parks even if state law would restrict or prohibit the carrying of firearms in state parks without regard to state law.

June 25 Letters to the Editor

Kennebec Journal

AUGUSTA: Downtown ideas still in pipeline
AUGUSTA -- By sometime this fall, if all goes according to plan, it should be easier for visitors to the city to both find the downtown riverfront and find something to do when they get there.

Hylton in court
AUGUSTA -- Leo R. Hylton, accused in a home invasion in May that left a father and daughter critically injured, appeared briefly in court on Tuesday to hear that the charges against him continue.

Gardiner tour will feature historic homes
GARDINER -- Barbara Oesterlin-Heath imagines the Rev. John Hanson going over his sermon one last time in the tiny room at the front of her house before he'd deliver his message at Sunday morning service.

Jail visit leads to more time
AUGUSTA -- As soon as an inmate from Vassalboro had a visitor at the Kennebec County jail in Augusta, he was violating a court order.

Dam will get rubber upgrade
The owners of the Shawmut hydroelectric facility on the Kennebec River in Fairfield and Benton will begin installation this summer of a four-foot wide, permanent rubber dam.

Editorial

Mainers turning to home-grown answers for heat
Punishingly high energy prices are taking their toll all over the landscape. The costs of heating oil and gas are forcing families to make drastic cuts in other areas of the household budget, including food.

BUDDY DOYLE OF GARDINER : Voices on both sides of the aisle say, 'Get rid of the aisle'
1. We don't care a whit about your party, your race or your religion. Get your arms around the fact that you are faced with the most Herculean challenge ever to face any world leader. We are in peril, sir -- lead!

PAUL R. LEPAGE : Voices on both sides of the aisle say, 'Get rid of the aisle'
Now that the primaries are over, the presidential election cycle will kick into high gear.

GEORGE SMITH : Hello, my name is George ... and I'm a gas-aholic
On June 12, The Associated Press reported that the federal energy department predicted gas prices would peak this summer at $4.15 cents per gallon. The day before I wrote this column, I paid $4.19. And I'm ready to fire everyone in the energy department for dereliction of duty.

Sun Journal

Man sentenced in hijack threat
BANGOR (AP) - A 44-year-old man from Northern Ireland has been sentenced to 116 days in jail for threatening to hijack an Ireland-bound jetliner on which he was passenger.

Lighting up Little Canada
An $18,000 lighting system gives the Franco center steeple a glow

Council gives OK to sale of Colisee
LEWISTON - Saying they were trying to make the best of a bad situation, councilors Tuesday approved a $1 million sale of the Androscoggin Bank Colisee. The vote was 5-2.

Editorial
Generation gap in river perceptions
If Sen. Ed Muskie were alive, he'd be proud - but unsatisfied - with progress toward improving water quality in the Androscoggin River. The yardstick of his perception would be long, from the river's worst days to today, perhaps its best in memory.

Making the most of passenger rail's resurgence
A train whistle blared just as Marc Magliari answered the phone, obscuring the Amtrak spokesman's words.

Abstinence-only policy never worked
So all we know for sure is that something happened in Gloucester, Mass.

MPBN

Prison Inmates Complain They're Overcharged For Phone Calls

Maine's Department of Corrections is under scrutiny for the second time this week. Yesterday the focus was on the department's plans for a website that would list all prison inmates and others who are on probation. Today it's the prison's phone system, specifically, how much money the prison system charges for inmates to make phone calls. Tom Porter has details.

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.

Black Fly Population On The Increase

While you often hear that "this must be the worst year ever for blackflies", this year it may actually be true. The reason, say entomologists, is actually a good thing: the environmental cleanup of Maine's inland rivers and streams. Keith McKeen reports.

Corrections Inmate Website Plan Draws Opposition

The Maine Corrections department is preparing to launch a website listing all the state's inmates and offenders who are on probation, for any crime. Officials say they hope the site will be online within two months. Deputy Corrections Commissioner Denise Lord says the name, birthdate, offense, physical description and projected release date of offenders will be listed. She says this will provide a valuable service to victims. Tom Porter has details.

Poland Spring Request Meets Resistance in Kennebunk

Plans to a 15-megawatt biomass generator in Millinocket are now on hold. The reason, according to developers of the so-called Katahdin Energy Project, is congestion on the New England power grid. Anne Ravana investigates why the project, which would burn wastewood and employ more than 30 people, appears to be stuck in an electricity transmission bottleneck.

PolitickerME
Ethics commission to examine the use of ‘re-elect’ in campaign ads

Rothenberg V Rasmussen

Times Record
2-by-4 etiquette (full story)

Maine News for Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Portland Press Herald
State gets $1 million for license upgrades
The state had requested twice as much, but says the funds are enough to start improving security.

America is a deeply religious country, survey shows

In Maine, people less religious than nation as a whole

Ticks taking toll on moose, biologists say
More animals are being infested, making it harder for them to survive winter.

Plan to list prisoners online hits obstacles
Top state officials want public scrutiny of the measure before it goes any further.

Police use Taser gun to stop free-ranging pot-bellied pig
The pig, on the lam since May, is being kept in a pen on a farm in Oakland until someone claims him.

A big change for recycling in South Portland
Residents will soon have 65-gallon recycling bins, and the city hopes to save thousands in disposal fees.

Editorial
This FISA deal is no compromise
The White House won its standoff with Congress, leaving the rest of us in the dark.

Route 201 detour shouldn't become a speed trap
Instead of pouncing on motorists contending with a variety of speed limits, provide uniformity.

The season of hope gets under way at a camp in Otisfield
Seeds of Peace has taught 4,000 children the value of seeing past the hate.

RON BANCROFTCourt holds government to fundamental principles
Affirming the right of detainees to a hearing on the cause of their imprisonment is just.

STEPHENIE A. CASTRANELLI, Special to the Press HeraldPoland Spring a good Maine citizen
The company has a payroll of more than $100 million and only uses a tiny amount of water.

Letters

Collins' actions not those of a centrist

Upgrades in nuclear power make it worth another look

Editorial dodges query about restricting freed offenders

Desire to leave overtaxed state fully understandable

Bangor Daily News

Top spots filled on Maine education board
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
AUGUSTA, Maine - A retired teacher and a former superintendent will take on the No. 1 and No. 2 spots on the State Board of Education on July 1.

School union plans OK'd
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
AUGUSTA, Maine - The Department of Education is approaching the halfway point in its quest to reduce the number of school districts in the state.

Maine receives $1M Real ID grant
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
AUGUSTA, Maine - Gov. John Baldacci on Monday defended his administration's application for and receipt of more than $1 million from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as part of its Real ID demonstration grant program.

State motor vehicles official cleared in bank robbery case
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
AUGUSTA, Maine - The state official who helped an Irish national obtain a Maine driver's license that later was instrumental in the purchase of a handgun used in a bank robbery has been cleared of any wrongdoing.

Editorial

ClickBack
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
This week, ClickBack, the BDN's editorial page interactive feature, seeks reader opinion on campaign finance, the Christian Civic League's petition drive and Hollywood Slots.

Editorial: FairPoint's Readiness
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Continued problems with 911 systems, which have now spread to Penobscot County, are a good reason for FairPoint Communications to slow down its takeover of phone and Internet service in northern New England.

Carlos L. Yordan: Vice president pick will reveal McCain's strategy
A growing chorus of Republicans has raised serious questions regarding John McCain's electability. Should his campaign try to appeal to independents and conservative Democrats?

Tax oil companies to help energy conservation efforts
In a recent BDN home improvement column, my friend Tom Gocze advises readers to meet the current energy crisis through energy conservation by superinsulating their house.

June 24 Letters to the Editor

Kennebec Journal
The name game in Augusta
AUGUSTA -- The Augusta Civic Center could soon be known, at least informally and temporarily, as the "Your Name Here Center" at Augusta.

$3.50 a gallon: What a deal!
SIDNEY -- How do you spell fuel relief?

GARDINER: City sets reval talks
GARDINER -- Councilors invite property owners to a workshop Wednesday to discuss a recent citywide revaluation.

Editorial

It's time to let go of claims against McGowan
Turns out, the only thing Maine Conservation Commissioner Patrick McGowan is guilty of is being Patrick McGowan.

DAVID B. OFFER : A better way to track SIDS
The nation focused on Florida on Election Night 2000 as TV networks first declared Al Gore the winner in Florida, then called George Bush the winner and then declared the election too close to call.

ERNIE HILTON : Many ATVers turn 'rogue' when on their machines
The recent articles about the incident in which an ATV ran me down failed to reflect the landowners' perspective. Rather, the ATVing community dominated the conversation with talk of a few rogues, $500 rewards, prosecutions, $10,000 grants, clubs, and other distractions so the perception of abuse by ATVers was diminished.

Letters

Economy not so bad among U.S. moviegoers
Could someone explain how, with the U.S. economy as bad as it is, to quote your article of June 16, "Movies took in a total of $173.3 million in just one weekend?"

Consolidation vote in favor, but not 95%
If something appears to good to be true, it usually turns out that way. Earlier figures I received that showed a 95 percent school consolidation approval by the voters of Dresden were in error.

Sun Journal

State to post names of all on probation
AUGUSTA (AP) - Maine's top elected officials reacted with surprise Monday to word that the state Corrections Department is preparing an online list of all state prison inmates and others who are on probation for any offense.

State officials halt challenge to independent's candidacy
AUGUSTA (AP) - Maine election officials are ruling that independent U.S. Senate candidate Herbert Hoffman of Ogunquit should get his name on the November ballot.

Editorial

Sorting out standing on civil unions
The Christian Civic League of Maine may blame intimidation for stymieing its campaign to repeal equal rights laws, but its downfall was more from its support, not its opposition.

Instead of delivering news, Russert became the news
I was looking out on Chesapeake Bay, sipping a chilled white wine and nibbling a pear plucked from a tree outside my window when I heard that Tim Russert was dead. I didn't know him, but like everyone else who follows politics, I recognized him as a media hero for our time. Media heroes - reporters and pundits - are omnipresent if not omniscient in our lives.

Letters

Propane savings
I congratulate Lindsay Tice on her story of June 22. ("Heating headache")

Crucial timing
On June 13, I was in respiratory distress. My husband called 911, and got a busy signal. He dialed again, and again got a busy signal. My son's fiancee dialed 911 and got a recording that all agents were currently busy. (Now I am not only in distress, I am starting to hyperventilate...wonder why?)

MPBN
Corrections Inmate Website Plan Draws Opposition

The Maine Corrections department is preparing to launch a website listing all the state's inmates and offenders who are on probation, for any crime. Officials say they hope the site will be online within two months. Deputy Corrections Commissioner Denise Lord says the name, birthdate, offense, physical description and projected release date of offenders will be listed. She says this will provide a valuable service to victims. Tom Porter has details.

Poland Spring Request Meets Resistance in Kennebunk

Plans to a 15-megawatt biomass generator in Millinocket are now on hold. The reason, according to developers of the so-called Katahdin Energy Project, is congestion on the New England power grid. Anne Ravana investigates why the project, which would burn wastewood and employ more than 30 people, appears to be stuck in an electricity transmission bottleneck.

Supporters of Energy Project Lament Bottleneck

Plans to a 15-megawatt biomass generator in Millinocket are now on hold. The reason, according to developers of the so-called Katahdin Energy Project, is congestion on the New England power grid. Anne Ravana investigates why the project, which would burn wastewood and employ more than 30 people, appears to be stuck in an electricity transmission bottleneck.

Allen Criticizes Collins For Failing To Prevent War Profiteering

For months, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Tom Allen has maintained that if a Republican-controlled Congress had insisted on greater accountability five years ago, lawmakers could have prevented the loss of billions of dollars to war profiteers in Iraq. Now, new reports appear to bolster that claim. Allen says the U.S. House has initiated inquiries into war profiteering and that it's time for the Senate to do the same. A.J. Higgins reports.

PolitickerME
Portland Press Herald still on the market

After tie-vote, Yarmouth House seat still up for grabs

Maine News for Monday, June 23, 2008

Portland Press Herald
Portland to invest in energy efficiency
With annual costs at $8.3 million and rising fast, the city will retrofit buildings to save on heat and power.

Riding out the detour
A Route 201 driver finds the good, the bad and the grumpy

Wiscasset irked about Yankee land
Town officials want to build homes on Bailey Point, but Maine Yankee says it's not safe.

Hospital visitors to find 480 new places to park
Maine Medical Center opens its new Congress Street parking garage.

Residents oppose Poland Spring deal
Water district trustees will vote Wednesday on a plan to draw 250,000 gallons of water day in Wells.

Saudi oil pledge disappoints U.S.
The world's top crude exporter says it will produce more if needed, but that vow falls short.

Editorial
Obama opens new era in campaign financing
The Internet may be a way for money to get into the system with fewer strings attached.

Financial regulation reforms deserve careful debate
Congress should take its time and develop clear rules – not guiding principles – for investors.

Smoking bans should not be used to punish those who smoke

A proposed ordinance in Biddeford may go too far in trying to force smokers to quit.

Commentary

LEIGH DONALDSONWill age be an issue in the presidential race?
Wet behind the ears or over the hill, candidates are judged in ways that weight the calendar heavily.

ARTHUR CANNON, Special to the Press HeraldHit-and-run drivers rational, when drunk
If drivers flee an accident scene, the law should take that as proof they have something to hide.

Letters

Real ID protects privacy, safeguards U.S. security

Oil companies seem to be overlooking shale reserves

Bangor Daily News

Health care priority for veterans
Monday, June 23, 2008
BANGOR, Maine - Maine's political leaders lauded the state's American Legion on Saturday, recognizing the organization's commitment to nation, community and fellow veterans.

Highway funding shrinks
Monday, June 23, 2008
AUGUSTA, Maine - The federal Highway Trust Fund is in deficit, and if Congress does not act this year, Maine will lose nearly one-third of the funds it is expecting for highway and bridge improvements next year.

Allen’s talk with lawyers centers on oil, FISA
Monday, June 23, 2008
NEWRY, Maine — U.S. Rep. Tom Allen of Portland met Saturday with about 30 members of the Maine State Bar Association as the group’s summer meeting was ending.

Editorial
Our digital future
Monday, June 23, 2008
Amid the big shift from print to the Internet, Rupert Murdoch, who has a foot in each camp as chairman and chief executive officer of the News Corp., probably knows more than most about what's ahead.

Editorial: Pancho and Osama
Monday, June 23, 2008
An adviser for Republican presidential candidate John McCain recently accused McCain’s Democratic rival Barack Obama of holding a "Sept. 10 mind-set." Translation: Sen. Obama has a naive view of the nature of the world, a view that should have changed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Susi Higgins Walker: Unspoiled, scenic Maine a salve to the soul
All Maine officials who make land use decisions, such as those regarding Sears Island and Plum Creek, need to hear we cannot afford more "deals" or "agreements" like the ones being pressed upon the public and environmental advocacy groups.

Pam Person: Decreasing CO2 now will pay dividends later
Earlier this month, members of the U.S. Senate blocked action on the Climate Security Act to reduce fossil fuel use and thus carbon dioxide emissions, and the bill was withdrawn.

June 23 Letters to the Editor

Kennebec Journal

CIVIC CENTER: Name sale could net city $100K annually
AUGUSTA -- Having your company's name become part of the Augusta Civic Center's potential new name could cost you between $100,000 and $130,000 a year, according to a report by a company specializing in selling naming rights to public buildings.

ROUTE 201 DETOUR: Week 1 yields some bargains
RICHMOND -- Commuters may have grumbled quietly as they adjusted to the Interstate 295 detour -- Route 201 through Richmond -- but area business owners were singing a different tune.

Not everyone so thrilled
AUGUSTA -- I am driving along Route 201, a stretch of two-lane highway that this summer will serve as one of two detour routes available to commuters travelling between Augusta and Topsham.

Researcher seeks to document wolves in Maine woods
Are there wolves living in the wild in the Maine northwoods? Laura Sebastianelli doesn't know for sure, but she's throwing herself into the search.

Corrections board may have local presence
Kennebec County officials and residents could have a strong presence on the State Board of Corrections, pending Gov. John Baldacci's appointments.

Oil changes needn't be so soon
The Kennebec Commuter is about to say something that will cause our trusted mechanic to smack us : Changing your car oil every 3,000 miles could be a waste of time and an unnecessary consumption of oil.

Editorial

Court ruling in Dechaine case is bad precedent
Government accountability was dealt a blow last week when Maine's highest court in effect said the public cannot see records of an investigation related to a highly controversial murder case.

Letters

Steel from mill could be recycled, used in U.S.A.
I am writing you after reading the article about plans for the former local paper mill.

Sun Journal
Wood pellet stove sales soaring
WATERVILLE (AP) - The big jump in heating oil prices is fueling a boom in sales of wood pellet stoves, with some Maine dealers saying demand is so great that they can't keep them in stock.

Maine peace camp to begin Seeds of Peace starts its summer on Tuesday in Otisfield
OTISFIELD (AP) ­- Seeds of Peace, which brings together children from countries in conflict, begins its 2008 summer program Tuesday at its lakeside camp in this western Maine town.

Maine acts as battleground state
AUGUSTA - Looking toward the presidential election atop the November ballot, Democrats are seeking to carry once-rocked-ribbed-Republican Maine for their national standard-bearer for a fifth consecutive time.

Commentary

Higher gas prices challenge family's ability to adjust
My daughter has adjusted to the new reality of rising gas prices faster than her parents.

MPBN
Allen Criticizes Collins For Failing To Prevent War Profiteering

For months, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Tom Allen has maintained that if a Republican-controlled Congress had insisted on greater accountability five years ago, lawmakers could have prevented the loss of billions of dollars to war profiteers in Iraq. Now, new reports appear to bolster that claim. Allen says the U.S. House has initiated inquiries into war profiteering and that it's time for the Senate to do the same. A.J. Higgins reports.

Bangor's Meals For Me Program Faces Tough Times

As gas prices rise above 4 dollars a gallon and food prices continue to increase, Meals on Wheels and the volunteers who literally drive the program are feeling the squeeze. As Anne Ravana reports, the Eastern Area Agency on Aging in Bangor is cutting costs and hoping for donations to keep its volunteer drivers out delivering meals daily.

Christian Civic League Drops Gay Rights Marrage Ban Campaign

The Christian Civic League is abandoning its citizens' initiative to repeal Maine's gay rights laws and ban gay marriage, even though Maine already has a law that prohibits it. As Susan Sharon reports, the League's executive director is vowing to try the Legislative route instead.

PolitickerME
After tie-vote, Yarmouth House seat still up for grabs