CAPE ELIZABETH

Cape Elizabeth places 34th in mock trial competition

A team from Cape Elizabeth placed 34th in the National High School Mock Trial Championship over the weekend in Phoenix.

Forty-eight teams from 43 states, Guam, South Korea, Australia and the Northern Mariana Islands took part in the three-day competition, won by John Adams High School of Indiana.

The Maine state champs had trials against teams from Arizona, Utah, New Jersey and South Korea.

“Great development for the 10 underclassmen on the team,” said Cape Elizabeth lawyer/coach Richard O’Meara. “Nothing can faze them now.”

At a closing banquet Saturday night held at the Sandra Day O’Connor U.S. District Courthouse in downtown Phoenix, the high school students heard from the building’s namesake, a retired justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

YORK

Businesses report inquiries from Canadian tourists up

The strong Canadian dollar has Maine and New Hampshire businesses confident that they’ll be seeing plenty of Canadian tourists this summer.

With the Canadian dollar now worth about $1.04 in U.S. money, businesses say interest is high from north of the border for the upcoming tourism season.

Gary Grossman, the owner of Long Beach Motor Inn in York, told Foster’s Daily Democrat that inquiries from people in the United States are lagging.

But he’s seeing high interest from Canadians who are watching the value of their currency, allowing them to get good deals in the United States.

The Omni Mount Washington Resort and Hotel in Bretton Woods, N.H., says it’s had more Canadian visitors than usual this time of year.

AUGUSTA

Evacuation route signs going up in coastal areas

Maine’s coastal residents may notice new road signs going up in the coming weeks, alerting them to evacuation routes on state roads in the event of a hurricane or severe storm.

The Maine Emergency Management Agency created the new system of evacuation route signs to help residents move to safety when a storm threatens.

Director Rob McAleer said the agency used storm surge mapping from the Army Corps of Engineers to determine risk areas, examined shelter locations, and then charted the best evacuation routes.

A grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is paying for the signs, which are round and blue and feature the words “Emergency Evacuation Route” and a directional arrow.

A similar design is used by all other states on the Eastern Seaboard.

PORTLAND

Maine boaters to get more pump-out sites along coast

Boaters will have 10 more pump-out stations along the Maine coast this summer where they can dispose of on-board waste.

U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree said Maine is one of 25 states receiving federal Clean Vessel Act grants this year.

Maine’s share of $352,000 will be used to install 10 new stations and to continue operation and maintenance of the dozens of other existing pump-out stations along Maine’s coast.

The new stations will be in Bangor, Bar Harbor, Bath, Bucksport, Rockland, Bucks Harbor, Boothbay Harbor and Pulpit Harbor. Some of the towns will get more than one new station.

DURHAM, N.H.

Unidentified body found along shore of Little Bay

New Hampshire officials say a body has been recovered from the shore of Little Bay in Durham.

Marine Patrol officers responded to a report of a body being found on the shore in the Cedar Point area of the bay shortly before 9 a.m. Sunday.

Officials said the name of the victim is being withheld pending positive identification and notification of family members.