HARRINGTON — Maine State Police say that a standoff at a home on Sharon Lane has ended safely, with two men in police custody and a woman taken to the hospital for treatment of an illness. Elliot Robinson, 60, and his father, Vernon Robinson, 78, surrendered to police and have been charged with criminal restraint […]
Maine
Posted inMaine
Lawmakers ax bills on pot and welfare reform; accept human trafficking and veterans housing proposals
AUGUSTA — Legislative leaders Thursday rejected a bill that could have put the issue of legalizing marijuana on the lawmaking agenda for the session that begins in January. Portland voters earlier this month overwhelmingly approved a city ordinance that makes legal the possession of up to 2½ ounces of marijuana for recreational use by adults […]
advertisement
Posted inRiver Valley, The Franklin Journal
Dixfield American Legion Auxiliary stuffs Christmas stockings for Marines in Afghanistan
DIXFIELD — Three American Legion officers with the Swasey-Torrey Unit 100 Auxiliary filled 30 handmade Christmas stockings Thursday night with goodies for Marines in Afghanistan. The colorful stockings were filled with Sudoku and crossword puzzle magazines, lip balm, lotions, colored pencils, candy, meat and cheese sticks and hand and leg warmers donated by Maine American […]
Posted inRiver Valley
Rumford, Mexico police awarded $10K OUI enforcement grants
RUMFORD — Rumford and Mexico police departments were each awarded $10,000 grants this week to increase patrols for drunken drivers. The grants are from the Maine Bureau of Highway Safety. “It’s definitely needed,” Mexico interim police Chief Roy Hodsdon said Thursday afternoon. Rumford police will conduct extra details over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend for underage […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Shotgun slug hits Old Orchard Beach home; wardens explore charges against hunters
OLD ORCHARD BEACH — Maine game wardens are investigating a gunshot that allegedly hit an Old Orchard Beach residence Wednesday morning, and say charges against two local hunters may be forthcoming. Doug Rafferty, spokesman for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, told the Bangor Daily News on Wednesday afternoon a stray shotgun slug […]
Posted inOur View
Governor adds pricey consultant to political staff
Taxpayers get suspicious when they hear the words no-bid contract because, well, that’s not the way government normally works. Detailed specifications are usually followed by multiple bids, which usually result in the highest quality work at the lowest price. Failing to seek bids invariably means paying top dollar for the work to be done. And […]
Posted inMaine
Lawmakers challenge LePage on contract for Medicaid critic
AUGUSTA — Key state lawmakers, including a Lewiston senator, are questioning a nearly $1 million contract to hire a consultant to study an expansion of Medicaid in Maine. Lawmakers also are questioning the consulting firm’s objectivity and why Department of Health and Human Services officials in Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s administration awarded the no-bid contract under […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Police: Scam costs woman $70,000
MOUNT DESERT — Local police are investigating a scam that has resulted in a local woman losing $70,000, but they aren’t optimistic about being able to recover any of the money. The woman, who police will not identify, appears to be another victim of the so-called Jamaican Lottery scheme, according to Lt. Kevin Edgecomb. Over […]
Posted inRiver Valley
Rumford town manager ‘disappointed’ with mill’s machine shutdown after tax reduction
RUMFORD — Town Manager Carlo Puiia said Tuesday that he is disappointed that NewPage Corp. will shut down its No. 12 paper machine indefinitely by mid-February. Ron Hemingway, president of the Local 900 United Steelworkers, told the Sun Journal that “around 120 people” may be affected by that shutdown. “Well, the mill’s been very forward […]
Posted inLocal Sports, sj-web
UMaine football climbs to No. 4 in nation
ORONO (AP) — The Maine Black Bears have climbed to No. 4 nationally in both major Football Championship Subdivision polls. The ranking comes two days after Maine clinched the Colonial Athletic Conference championship with a 41-0 rout of Rhode Island. It is the team’s first conference championship since 2002. The Black Bears are now 10-1 […]