PORTLAND (AP) — The entire peninsula of Portland, including the city’s downtown, is under a boil-water order because of a water main break. The water main break Wednesday on Somerset Street, near Whole Foods, flooded the road with water that reached a depth that topped headlights of parked cars. Two elementary schools had to close […]

BANGOR — Dick’s Sporting Goods has pulled “modern sporting rifles” from its shelves in the wake of the school shooting in Newtown, Conn. Dick’s has four locations in Maine: Bangor, Portland, Augusta and Topsham. A statement posted on the company’s website said that “during this time of national mourning,” it had removed all guns from […]

PORTLAND (AP) — Hospitals are lobbying state lawmakers to begin paying off Maine’s Medicaid debt. The state owes hospitals $186 million dating back to 2009 and officials say the debt must be paid to free up nearly $300 million in matching federal funds. Some hospitals say the lack of reimbursement has forced them to cut […]

GLOUCESTER, Mass. (AP) — The Coast Guard resumed its search Wednesday for a missing fishing boat after a lifeboat and other equipment belonging to the vessel were found washed ashore in Massachusetts. The Coast Guard began its search for the Foxy Lady II and its two-member crew on Monday after the captain’s girlfriend reported that […]

MADAWASKA (AP) — Maine Secretary of State Charlie Summers will unveil a new commemorative license plate that the state is issuing for the 2014 World Acadian Congress. A news conference will be held on Wednesday to show the design and sell the first plates. Representatives of the Maine Credit Union League will discuss their partnership […]

AUGUSTA (AP) — Maine energy officials say the average statewide price of home heating oil remains unchanged from a week ago. The Governor’s Energy Office says heating oil prices were averaging $3.64 a gallon Tuesday in its weekly price survey. The lowest prices are found in southern Maine, while the highest are in northern Maine. […]

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — An early-arriving flu season has claimed the life of a healthy youngster for the first time in years in Maine, officials said Tuesday, prompting pleas for people to get vaccinations. The victim was an otherwise healthy elementary school-aged child in central Maine, a heartbreaking case that flies in the face of […]

SKOWHEGAN — The Anson man accused of fatally shooting a man over drugs was found guilty in Somerset County Superior Court Tuesday morning. Robert Lee Nelson, 41, was accused of shooting Everett L. Cameron, 60, to death as the victim sat in his pickup truck on Town Farm Road in North Anson on Oct. 31, […]

WATERVILLE (AP) — Scores of well-wishers have turned up for a vigil and candlelit walk intended to raise awareness to missing toddler Ayla Reynolds who disappeared a year ago from her father’s home in Waterville. Ayla was 20 months old when she was reported missing the morning of Dec. 17. Police have called it a […]