Maine news, sports, weather from Waterville Morning Sentinel

February 8

Arsonist pleads guilty to setting downtown Augusta fire, gets six months behind bars

AUGUSTA — A 24-year-old transient rescued by firefighters following a small blaze at Capitol Computers, Water Street, last April 14 pleaded guilty Tuesday to arson.

February 8

Farmington District Court, Jan. 2 to Jan. 16, 2013

FARMINGTON — The following cases were closed from Jan. 2 to Jan. 16, 2013, in Farmington District Court.

February 8

Morning Sentinel area police log, Feb. 8, 2013

CLARIFICATION: A December arrest log item about Andrew P. Gurney, 21, Winslow, was incomplete and should have showed that police did not charge him.

February 8

Farmington's Whittier Road stabilization plan moves closer to finalization

FARMINGTON — Environmental consultants are a step closer to a plan to stabilize the riverbank that threatens the Whittier Road.

February 9

The snakes in the grass called the 24-hour news cycle

Just as I was preparing to set the back deck on fire to get some warmth in the house, all Gehenna broke loose on the news.

February 8

Augusta schools running out of reserve cash, superintendent warns

AUGUSTA — School officials who’ve tapped into rainy day funds and made cuts to make ends meet are telling city leaders that those cash reserves are nearly tapped out and there’s nothing left to cut.

February 8

Augusta council OKs $50,000 boost to restart Lithgow Library expansion

AUGUSTA — Municipal officials and library advocates hope $50,000 in city money will help advance both the architectural plan and fundraising efforts for a proposed $8 million expansion and renovation of Lithgow Public Library.

February 8

Waterville woman strikes plea deal for causing six-car crash on College Avenue

AUGUSTA — A Waterville woman suffered a psychotic breakdown when she caused a six-vehicle crash last March on College Avenue in Waterville that left six people injured, three of them seriously, according to the woman’s attorney.

February 8

Legislature's budget committee delays $153 million-plus budget stopgap vote

AUGUSTA — The Legislature’s budget-writing committee adjourned late Thursday without voting out a more-than-$153 million emergency budget package.

February 8

Empty Waterville business buildings finding new occupants

Warterville City Manager Michael Roy notes that several buildings that were vacant a long time are now occupied.

February 9

Central Maine battered as high wind, single-digit temperatures and blowing snow pick up overnight.

Wind and snow picked up overnight in central Maine as the blizzard that caused power outages and accidents as it surged north through New England came to life overnight Friday and into Saturday morning

February 8

Power company takes blame for Super Bowl outage

An electrical device that had been installed expressly to prevent a power outage caused the Super Bowl blackout, according to an executive from SMG.

February 8

Some wireless customers got storm alerts this morning

The storm alerts were part of the federal emergency alert system, which began last year.

February 8

King presses for review before drone strikes on U.S. citizens

Sen. Angus King says there should be a legal process before killing Americans.

February 8

Mass. declares emergency, bans travel after 4 p.m.

Patrick said the travel ban will apply statewide and bans all motor vehicle traffic until it is lifted.

February 9

L.L. Bean credit-card purchase wins Maine couple $1 million

Marjorie Thompson went looking for a birthday gift for her granddaughter and wound up with a million bucks.

February 9

'Above average storm' intensifies overnight in central, western Maine

Wind and snow picked up overnight in central Maine as the blizzard that caused power outages and accidents as it surged north through New England came to life overnight Friday and into Saturday morning.

February 8

State officials: Highways will remain open

Slick road conditions may be making travel difficult, but state officials say there are no plans to close either the Maine Turnpike or Interstate 95.

February 8

Fairfield woman stable after minivan collision with logging truck

A woman who survived a collision with a logging truck Thursday is “very lucky,” police said.

February 8

Striped bass seem down for the count in Maine

Overfishing and climate change may be among the reasons for the decline of the once healthy species.

February 8

LePage fires up crowd at gun-rights rally

The rally comes after a coalition announces it will back gun-control legislation in Maine.

February 8

Fired Maine prison warden takes another state job

Patricia Barnhart will serve as policy development coordinator at two-thirds of her previous salary.

February 8

Storm closings in central Maine

Roundup of closures and postponements in central Maine.

February 8

Hacker gains access to Bush family emails, photos

Turns out even former presidents can fall prey to hackers . . .

February 8

19-vehicle pileup on southbound I-295 finally cleared

Traffic had been slowed for nearly four hours in Falmouth, but only minor injuries were reported.

February 8

Waterville police log, Feb. 7 and 8

Burglary, unwanted person, fire

February 8

Airlines halt all Northeast flights

Airlines were generally shutting down operations in the afternoon at the three big New York-area airports as well as Boston, Providence, Portland and other Northeastern airports.

February 8

Old Man Winter is too much for Maine Polar Dip

The annual benefit at East End Beach will now be held on Saturday, March 2.

February 8

Toboggan championships in Camden to go on

With a blizzard warning out, organizers planned to meet this morning and decide whether there will be delays and what the start times will be for the races.

February 8

Asteroid coming close to Earth

But scientists say there is no chance of an Earth impact during the close approach next Friday.

February 8

California lawmakers want nation's toughest gun laws

Democrats who control the state Legislature revealed 10 proposals that they said would make California the most restrictive state for possessing firearms.