Southern York County towns lose power for several hours

Power was knocked out in much of Berwick and several surrounding towns for several hours Saturday.

About 6,610 customers in Berwick, South Berwick, North Berwick, Lebanon, Eliot and York lost power between 9:40 a.m. and 11:40 a.m., said a Central Maine Power company dispatcher.

Power company officials said the exact cause of the outage has not been determined but the power failure may have been caused by the crash of an automobile into a utility pole.

KITTERY

Bridge work spurs proposal for water taxi service to N.H.

A tour boat captain wants to offer water taxi service between Maine and New Hampshire this summer while a new bridge over the Piscataqua River is being built.

Neal Odams said the service would run between downtown Kittery and downtown Portsmouth while the Memorial Bridge is under construction.

Odams now offers 30-minute leisurely tours on his 14-passenger boat that run from Kittery Point to Portsmouth.

He said a taxi service between the two downtowns would take just a few minutes.

Kittery Town Planner Gerry Mylroie told the Portsmouth Herald that the town is working to find a site in Kittery where Odams could operate.

BANGOR

Former ambassador speaks at Husson commencement

Former Ambassador Patrick Duddy returned to his hometown of Bangor to be keynote speaker at Husson University’s commencement.

Husson held its Bangor ceremony Saturday; its southern Maine commencement in Portland is scheduled for May 12. Husson will award degrees — including more than 200 graduate degrees — to more than 600 students at the two ceremonies.

Saturday’s speaker spent 29 years at the State Department, including postings in Chile, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Panama, Bolivia and the Dominican Republic. Duddy also served as assistant secretary of state for the Western Hemisphere and as consul general at the U.S. consulate in Brazil. He is a graduate of Bangor High School and Colby College.

The valedictorian was Shanna Allen of Mount Desert, who earned degrees in criminal justice and psychology.

ORONO

UMaine confers degrees on nearly 2,500 Saturday

Nearly 2,500 students at Maine’s largest university received degrees at the school’s 210th commencement Saturday.

The University of Maine at Orono held two graduation ceremonies inside the university’s field house.

The commencement speakers were Portland lawyer Owen Wells, who headed the Libra Foundation charitable trust for more than 20 years, and George Sakellaris, head of Ameresco Inc., a Massachusetts-based energy efficiency and renewable energy company. Both are UMaine graduates.

The valedictorian was Rachel Binder-Hathaway of Millinocket, who received degrees in financial economics and business administration.

BOSTON

Agency increases the quota on 2012-2013 dogfish catch

Regulators have approved a 5.6 million-pound increase in the amount of dogfish that fishermen can catch in state waters on the Atlantic coast.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which regulates dogfish in state waters from Maine to North Carolina, on Friday announced the 35.6 million-pound quota for the 2012-2013 fishing year.

State waters extend three miles from shore. Federal regulators have jurisdiction beyond that.

The dogfish, a small shark, is eaten mainly overseas in fish and chips and other dishes. The voracious eater is blamed by fishermen for destroying gear and devouring other, more valuable fish species. Fishermen have long wanted to catch more.

Fishermen with the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen’s Association hailed the increase, saying it’s badly needed with tightening limits on other species.

— From staff and news services