Maine news, sports, weather from Waterville Morning Sentinel

December 4, 2012

Investigators continue to probe Spring Road fires in Augusta

AUGUSTA -- Investigators are still trying to determine what sparked a pair of fires several hours apart that destroyed a Spring Road home over the weekend.

December 4, 2012

Morning Sentinel area police log, Dec. 4, 2012

IN BELGRADE, Monday at 12:45 p.m., an assault was reported at the Central Maine Learning Center on Oakland Road.

December 4, 2012

Felled tree chops power to 3,500 customers in seven towns on Tuesday

SKOWHEGAN -- Electrical power was knocked out to more than 3,500 Central Maine Power Co. customers in seven towns Tuesday morning after a logger reportedly cut down a large tree that fell onto a transmission line.

December 6, 2012

Feds pump $1 million into Bingham Water District mains replacement

BINGHAM -- The water district will be updating its distribution system with a million dollars in federal money.

December 4, 2012

Sticker shock prompts Franklin County commissioners to revise dispatch center plans

FARMINGTON -- Franklin County commissioners said they will seek a better price with the low bidder to build the Franklin County Dispatch Center after the offer Tuesday came in at $22,600 more than the building's budget.

December 4, 2012

Waterville cracks down on personal property tax scofflaws

WATERVILLE -- Business owners beware: If you move to another location or go out of business and do not pay your personal property taxes, you will be denied license renewals and new licenses and permits.

December 4, 2012

Somerset County administrator quits unexpectedly, escorted from courthouse

SKOWHEGAN -- Somerset County Administrator Larry Post abruptly resigned Tuesday afternoon after a closed meeting with county commissioners.

December 4, 2012

Oakland Town Council to try posting meeting video on Web

OAKLAND -- In response to public demand for improved meeting access, the Oakland Town Council has asked the local school district for help in posting video of an upcoming meeting on the Web for the first time.

December 4, 2012

Health care expert lauds Maine's management of frequent hospital users

AUGUSTA -- Maine is at the forefront in trying to improve health care for the patients who make multiple trips to the hospital and drive up costs for everyone else, a national health care expert said Tuesday.

December 4, 2012

Kennebec County Superior Court sentencings, Dec. 3 to 4, 2012

AUGUSTA -- A Rome woman was sentenced Monday to four years in prison with all but one year suspended and two years of probation after pleading guilty to operating under the influence and aggravated operating after habitual offender status.

December 4, 2012

Republicans block UN disability treaty

Despite support from prominent Republicans like John McCain and Bob Dole, the GOP successfully blocks a treaty to protect the rights of disabled people in America and around the world.

December 4, 2012

PHOTOS: Blaine House Christmas decorations

About 30 members of the Kennebec Valley Garden Club decorated the downstairs, public areas of the governor's mansion, at the corner of State and Capital streets in Augusta, on Tuesday.

December 4, 2012

Tea party leader quits group, cites internal split

Eased out with an $8 million payout provided by a Republican fundraiser, former GOP House Majority Leader Dick Armey says he has left FreedomWorks.

December 7, 2012

Maine Democrats likely to retake four top positions

Matthew Dunlap, Janet Mills, Neria Douglass and Pola Buckley are virtual locks to become the state's constitutional officers.

December 4, 2012

Prosecutor-turned-fugitive ordered back to Maine

James Cameron, whose child porn convictions were upheld, will face charges of violating bail.

December 4, 2012

Salmon snagged as FDA moves slowly

The agency says the modified Atlantic salmon are safe to eat, but a final OK may be years away.

December 4, 2012

Hallowell police probe apparent suicide in city lot

HALLOWELL -- Police believe an Augusta man found dead in a city-owned parking lot Monday died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

December 4, 2012

Augusta, Gardiner city clerks to open for marriage licenses Dec. 29

AUGUSTA — City Center will open for three hours to issue marriage licenses Dec. 29, the first day gay couples in Maine may get married.

December 4, 2012

Burger joint becomes a political hot potato in Maine

Three of Maine's congressional delegates ask local Five Guys Burgers and Fries franchises to use Maine potatoes.

December 4, 2012

George H.W. Bush still hospitalized but improving

Doctors are being "extra cautious and are in no hurry to send him home."

December 4, 2012

Gorham company recalls gas fireplace inserts

Jotul North America has received a report of an electric shock and burn injury.

December 4, 2012

Portraits of Nelson differ in murder trial's closing statements

SKOWHEGAN — Defense lawyers and state prosecutors painted different pictures of the man charged with the murder of Everett L. Cameron during closing statements of the trial Tuesday morning.

December 4, 2012

Slain NH police chief to be honored on national memorial

Greenland Police Chief Michael Maloney, 48, was shot to death during an April 12 drug raid just days before he was scheduled to retire.

December 4, 2012

Man accused of assaulting Bangor officer, mental health worker

The officer says he and the mental health liaison were punched and kicked several times before 24-year-old Anthony King gave up.

December 4, 2012

Fort Hood shooting judge removed for showing bias

December 4, 2012

New England fiscal forecast: Expect more slow growth

Economists cite overall weakness in global and U.S. economic conditions as the reason for the tepid forecast.

December 5, 2012

LePage's ultimatum disappoints Democrats

The governor refuses to meet with incoming State House leaders until Democrats call off a paid 'tracker' who films his public events.

December 4, 2012

Tuesday's earthquake in York County no cause for alarm, expert says

A few small earthquakes close together in time are not unusual in Maine, the state geologist says.

December 4, 2012

Jan. publication of Jesus' wife research unlikely

A Harvard spokesman says tests aren't completed to authenticate a papyrus fragment containing Coptic text, in which Jesus is quoted using the words "my wife."

December 4, 2012

Child-porn trial delayed for former Maine sports star

A judge has ordered 62-year-old Dana Wilson of Brewer to undergo an evaluation to determine whether he is competent to assist in his own defense.

December 4, 2012

Oxford Casino nets $30M in first 6 months

The casino has generated nearly $13 million in tax revenue to the state.

December 4, 2012

Former baseball star Dykstra sentenced for bankruptcy fraud

The former Mets star has racked up numerous criminal charges since his financial empire began to crumble in 2009.

December 4, 2012

Maine woman accused of sex with boy withdraws guilty plea

Katie Dube of Glenburn opts for a jury trial after the judge determines that an agreed upon sentence was too short.

December 4, 2012

18-month warm streak ends in northern Maine

November's temperatures for all of northern and eastern Maine ranged from about one-half to 2 degrees below normal across the region.

December 4, 2012

Blind activists concerned about sentence for Maine thief

A Rumford man who's legally blind pleaded guilty last month under an agreement in which a felony burglary charge was dismissed.

December 4, 2012

Navy: No US drones missing after Iran claim

A spokesman for the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet says all U.S. drones in the region are "fully accounted for."

December 4, 2012

Republicans offer $2.2 trillion deficit-cutting plan

The proposal to trim Medicare and Social Security while capping tax deductions is called "nothing new."