http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/me-news/ en-us Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:39:23 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050070/posts JONESBORO, Maine - When John Cox heard about plans to turn 87 miles of inactive rail bed in Washington and Hancock counties into public trails, he hoped someone would start a petition against it. Bangor Daily news http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050070/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:39:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047065/posts Rotting holes in steel support beams, enormous rust patches, small splits in steel girders and broken bracing are evident all along the underside of the John Greenleaf Whittier Bridge, the heavily traveled Interstate 95 span that crosses the Merrimack River between Amesbury and Newburyport. A just-released state safety report filed in the wake of last year's disastrous collapse of the similarly designed Interstate 35 bridge in Minneapolis gave the 57-year-old Whittier Bridge "poor" ratings due to deterioration. On a 10-step ranking system, the rating is just two steps above the point where engineers consider closing a bridge due to safety... Daily News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047065/posts#comment Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:06:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2042298/posts Portland, Maine - An adult adoption involving lesbian partners and a claim to a share of a family fortune built on IBM has been annulled, bouncing the case to Maine's highest court. At issue is whether it was legal for a judge to allow Olive Watson to adopt Patricia Spado in 1991 in Knox County, where the longtime partners spent several weeks each summer on an island in Penobscot Bay. Watson was a daughter of Thomas Watson Jnr, who took International Business Machines Corp from punch cards into electronic computing. The relationship between Spado and Watson ended a year after... News 24 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2042298/posts#comment Tue, 8 Jul 2008 11:36:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2037208/posts The Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram are eliminating 31 jobs and closing their four news bureaus in response to a continuing decline in advertising revenues, their publisher said Thursday. The cuts come more than three months after The Seattle Times Co. said it was seeking to sell the Portland newspapers, along with the Kennebec Journal in Augusta and the Morning Sentinel in Waterville. The Portland newspapers have had two earlier rounds of job cuts this year aimed at offsetting rising costs and declining revenues. In the latest cuts, 25 employees accepted voluntary severance packages and six were laid... http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008019406_apnewspaperjobcuts.html http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2037208/posts#comment Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:38:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2036688/posts Lancaster Morgan Funeral Home Darlene L. Brennan (August 6, 1942 - June 7, 2008) DARLENE L. BRENNAN CARIBOU – Darlene L. Brennan, 65, passed away Friday June 6, 2008 at a Caribou hospital. She was born August 6, 1942 in Thomas, West Virginia the daughter of the late James and Lillian (Watring) Nutter. Darlene served in the U.S. Military and then as a civilian worked as a travel agent. She is survived by a daughter Robbin Persing and her husband Henry L. Persing of Madison, Alabama, as well as a grandson Brennan Persing. A memorial service will be conducted... Lancaster-Morgan Funeral Home http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2036688/posts#comment Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:24:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2035092/posts Mainers call the black fly the state bird. Residents and tourists have long steeled themselves against the flies' annual warm-weather onslaught, sometimes duct-taping pant legs and wearing screened hoods to keep the deceptively small bugs from delivering bloody bites or crawling into seemingly every body crevice. But there are now more black flies in more places in Maine, and the reason may be surprising: It's the success of the environmental movement. Boston Globe http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2035092/posts#comment Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:09:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2033882/posts That’s the word not from Chicken Little, but from former Maine Governor Angus King, who says he doesn’t use the term “catastrophe” lightly. “This is a human catastrophe coming at us in the state of Maine in terms of energy supply and costs,” King said last week at a daylong seminar on harnessing tidal energy and offshore wind to confront runaway energy costs, costs he sees as a direct threat to Maine being habitable. “This winter, the cost of fuel oil is going to more than double,” he said. “What’s being quoted now is $4.96 — $5 a gallon. That’s... The Ellsworth American http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2033882/posts#comment Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:58:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2031915/posts Last week my husband and I were fortunate enough to spend some time with former President George H. W. Bush and Mrs. Bush in Kennebunkport, ME. The first evening, a group of us gathered at Walker's Point, the Bush family compound that sits on a rocky outcrop on the Maine coast. As former President Bush showed us around, I was struck by how many times this man had contributed to the nation, in position after position, crisis after crisis. Yet many, even those in his own party, have tended to overlook his extraordinary accomplishments. After drinks at the Bush home,... FAMILY SECURITY MATTERS http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2031915/posts#comment Mon, 16 Jun 2008 20:11:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2031455/posts Why am I running?I really like this man's attitude, but in a state whose governor blames all shortcomings on lack of federal funds, I'm afraid he doesn't have a chance...What say you? Professor John Frary for Congress http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2031455/posts#comment Sun, 15 Jun 2008 16:44:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2028334/posts Important Vote in Maine Tomorrow! A key RLC race is tomorrow, so make sure to tell your friends and family in Maine to vote! Please support Charlie Summers in the Republican primary for Maine's first Congressional district. In the RLC's endorsement of Summers, Governor Christie Whitman said, "I am impressed with Charlie Summers' thinking on a number of issues - I know he will fight to end the tax-and-spend culture of Washington, and look for common sense solutions on issues such as alternative energy, health care and immigration. Charlie has the experience, the character, and the commitment to results to... Email from RLC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2028334/posts#comment Mon, 9 Jun 2008 15:53:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2027401/posts AUGUSTA — Thousands of Mainers who were expecting a stimulus check from the federal government have gotten an unpleasant surprise. Instead of a check, they received a notice that the money has been seized by the state to pay overdue taxes or some other obligation, including child support. "As of this afternoon, we have a total of 1,137 stimulus refunds" that were seized, Jerome Gerard, acting executive director of Maine Revenue Services, the state’s tax agency, said Thursday. "That’s a total of $624,000 so far." Another state agency that benefits from the "offset" provisions of federal law is the support... Bangor Daily News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2027401/posts#comment Sat, 7 Jun 2008 00:31:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2026210/posts VIENNA, Maine -- The owner of a machine shop where thieves stole $3,000 worth of scrap steel, iron and aluminum wasn't going to let it happen again. After Saturday night's theft, Joseph Lord loaded his shotgun and laid low, expecting the thieves to return. They came back on Tuesday, in broad daylight. When Lord saw their 2008 F-250 pickup truck, he shot out its tires and windshield and blasted its radiator, Kennebec County Sheriff Randall Liberty said. The startled thieves took off on foot, but investigators quickly tracked down the truck's operator, who will be charged with theft, Liberty said.... Pantagraph.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2026210/posts#comment Thu, 5 Jun 2008 01:24:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2026184/posts SKOWHEGAN — Hold the drawn butter, please. A national animal rights group says it is cruel and unusual to boil and eat Maine lobster and they want to draw attention to the suffering of Maine’s trademark crustacean. So, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have an idea for the century-old Somerset County Jail — turn it into a “lobster empathy center”. The county jail is up for sale, as the sheriff, staff and inmates prepare for a move to a new, modern facility in East Madison this summer. “No building would be more appropriate than a jail to... Maine Today http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2026184/posts#comment Thu, 5 Jun 2008 00:38:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2022630/posts LEBANON, Maine—Authorities say two teenage girls apparently sunbathing on a railroad trestle were struck and seriously injured by a freight train in Lebanon, Maine, on the New Hampshire border. more stories like this Police Chief Mark McGowan in Milton, N.H., says the engineer sounded the horn and tried to stop but the train struck the 13- and 14-year-old girls late Wednesday morning. McGowan tells Foster's Daily Democrat the girls were sunning themselves on the tracks and may have fallen asleep. Lebanon Fire Chief Skip Wood says both girls suffered amuptation injuries. The newspaper says one of the girls lost a... AP via Boston.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2022630/posts#comment Wed, 28 May 2008 21:19:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2019784/posts The get-out-the-vote effort in Maine broke new ground Wednesday when more than 200 inmates in the Maine State Prison registered to cast ballots. Prison officials said it was the first prisoner education and registration drive held at the facility. Deputy Warden Leida Dardis said the event, which was organized by Maine chapters of the NAACP, allowed representatives from the state Democratic, Republican and Green Independent parties to meet with prisoners in morning and afternoon informational sessions. Maine and Vermont are the only states that give people convicted of felonies the right to vote while in prison. Some states bar felons... Portland (Maine) Press Herald http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2019784/posts#comment Thu, 22 May 2008 17:34:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2017283/posts A lobby for homosexuals and transgenders in Maine has announced plans to shadow individuals who will be working to collect signatures on the "YES for Marriage and Equality" pro-family referendum, which is intended to put a marriage protection plan on the 2009 election ballot. In a report in the New England Blade this week, Betsy Smith, executive director of the Equality Maine activist organization, outlined "a plan that asks volunteers to stand with the people the [Christian Civic] League recruits to collect signatures for the petition." "I think it is disgusting that so-called 'gay' groups plan on harassing dear Christian... WorldNetDaily.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2017283/posts#comment Sat, 17 May 2008 11:08:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2017220/posts The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Maine voters shows that the state’s U.S. Senate race has gotten a little bit tighter this month. In her bid for re-election, Republican Senator Susan Collins now leads Democratic challenger Tom Allen 52% to 42%. Collins’ lead has decreased from sixteen percentage points last month to ten points this month. But, the incumbent still earns support from 89% of Republican voters and 34% of Democrats. The candidates are tied at 44% among unaffiliated voters. When it comes to voter ideology, Collins earns support from 74% of conservatives, 55% of moderates and 27% of... Rasmussen Reports http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2017220/posts#comment Sat, 17 May 2008 03:41:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2016857/posts Having finally worked out the kinks in using more biodiesel in its 600-bus fleet, TriMet is not sure it can afford it because of skyrocketing biodiesel costs. Portland Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2016857/posts#comment Fri, 16 May 2008 14:11:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2016655/posts The Perpetual Motion BS Generator: Democrat Propaganda for the 21st CenturyWARNING: CONTAINS VULGARITY Both Democrats and Republicans have long understood one of basic truths about the US: "In America, you never outgrow your need for bullshit." The difference is that the Republicans seem to want to apply that maxim to make profits and get rich, while the Democrats want to use it to obtain power to take away the profits from the rich -and everyone else - through taxes and regulations. When it comes to making money, the Republicans utilize bullshit brilliantly. Advertising, Marketing, Point-of-Sale, Packaging, Sales Pitches -- all... americandigest.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2016655/posts#comment Fri, 16 May 2008 02:16:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2014230/posts The Navy's newest guided missile destroyer was christened Saturday with the name of a fighter pilot who spent 7 1/2 years in captivity in North Vietnam, received the Medal of Honor and served as presidential candidate Ross Perot's running mate. Four Medal of Honor recipients and seven former prisoners of war attended the ceremony at Bath Iron Works that marked a milestone in construction of the 9,200-ton ship named for Vice Adm. James Stockdale. Stockdale's widow, Sybil, who suffers from Parkinson's disease and uses a wheelchair, let loose a champagne bottle propelled by rope that swung across the Stockdale's bow.... Yahoo News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2014230/posts#comment Sat, 10 May 2008 23:46:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2012388/posts <p>BANGOR, Maine â€” Stephen King has fired back at conservative critics who attacked him over a remark he made a month ago at a writers symposium for high school students.</p> <p>A blogger jumped on King’s statement at the Library of Congress about the importance of reading in which he suggested poor readers have limited prospects, including service in the Army.</p> Bangor Daily Snooze http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2012388/posts#comment Wed, 7 May 2008 11:31:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2011882/posts AUGUSTA, Maine - It is only partially true that in presidential elections "as Maine goes, so goes the nation." The term emerged in the 19th century because at the time Maine held its elections for statewide and congressional offices in September, not November. The proximity of the September-November voting made Maine a bellwether for forecasting how the rest of the country would vote. In modern elections, held with the rest of the country in November, Maine chose Richard Nixon over John F. Kennedy in 1960; Hubert Humphrey over Nixon in 1968 (it went for Nixon in 1972), Gerald Ford over... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2011882/posts#comment Tue, 6 May 2008 12:29:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2010502/posts AUGUSTA, Maine --GOP organizers welcomed Maine caucuses winner Mitt Romney on Friday while warily watching insurgent supporters of Ron Paul as the Republican State Convention got under way. Invited to make the keynote address, Romney praised putative presidential nominee John McCain repeatedly as "tested and proven." "He is a known individual and a strong leader," Romney told reporters. The former Massachusetts governor shrugged off questions about assuming second place on a Republican ticket. "I don't think that's very likely," Romney said, adding he came to Maine to support McCain's candidacy and was not worrying about the vice presidency. "I just... Boston.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2010502/posts#comment Sat, 3 May 2008 00:49:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2005459/posts Each Sunday, worshippers file into the York-Ogunquit United Methodist Church beneath a cross and, since February, a symbol of another sort. The church's roof is now partly covered by an array of solar panels that make electricity to run the lights and heat inside the sanctuary. It's perhaps the most visible evidence yet of a growing environmental ethic spreading through Maine's religious communities. "Certainly we want to lower our power bill," said William Wieting, chairman of church's board of trustees. "But the enthusiasm didn't derive from the monetary value to the church as much as it was the right thing... Portland (Maine) Press Herald http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2005459/posts#comment Tue, 22 Apr 2008 23:06:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2004703/posts The state’s top drug prosecutor was fired on Friday, hours after reports were published that he was under investigation for possessing child pornography. Assistant Attorney General James Cameron of Hallowell, who worked as the drug prosecution coordinator for the Attorney General’s Office, had been on paid administrative leave for several months, according to one law enforcement source. Bangor Daily News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2004703/posts#comment Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:06:27 GMT