Bangor Savings branches part of Portland expansion

Bangor Savings Bank plans to open two branches in Portland next month. The branches at 883 Forest Ave. and 180 Middle St. will have nine new employees.

The new branches are part of an expansion in the Portland area that the bank announced last month.

The Forest Avenue location is a former TD Bank branch that closed this spring. Bangor Savings Bank has hired Darrell Gill and Robin Reed — the former branch manager and head teller for TD Bank at that location — as branch manager and assistant branch manager. 

City hopes a big pose will get Google’s attention

A Colorado city is planning to show Google just how much it hearts the Internet company.

Dozens of Longmont residents plan to use their bodies to spell out a love note to Google in the parking lot of Silver Creek High School today.

They plan to form a red heart between the words “Longmont” and “Google,” which will be spelled out by about 82 cars. A DigitalGlobe satellite passing overhead between 12:27 and 12:29 p.m. today should be able to photograph the scene.

Organizers hope the photo will boost the chances that the Mountain View, Calif.-based company will choose Longmont over thousands of other cities to test a speedy Internet service. 

Spirit Airlines back in sky, if not passengers’ hearts

Spirit Airlines passengers began trickling in to its departure terminal Thursday at the Fort Lauderdale airport, even as the airline geared up to resume a full schedule of 150 flights today.

It flew 22 flights Thursday, including nine from Fort Lauderdale, as it scrambled to reposition pilots and planes after a five-day strike.
Spirit’s job now is to rebuild customer support among the nearly 100,000 passengers who were inconvenienced by the pilots’ walkout.

“I’m not very happy with Spirit,” said Megan Doepker, a student from Canada who was on her way home after a backpacking trip.

Doepker said she was not notified about the pilots’ strike nor that the insurance she purchased for her ticket would not cover her because it was purchased after May 11. To get home, Doepker had to purchase a more expensive ticket on another carrier. “I’m a student,” she said. “Money is tight, and I had to spend the money.” 

Three officials indicted in death of worker in Ohio

A grand jury indicted an Ohio company and three officials in the 2008 death of a treatment plant worker who authorities say was overcome by toxic gas.

The indictments issued Wednesday charge United Oil Recovery Services Inc. and its environmental health and safety manager with involuntary manslaughter, reckless homicide, criminal endangering and environmental violations. The company president and plant manager are charged with endangering.

The Ohio attorney general’s office says sodium hydrosulfide used to speed up a wastewater treatment process at the company’s Middletown plant caused a chemical reaction, killing 45-year-old Thomas Rogers.