The Portland Press Herald / The Maine Sunday Telegram

Dispatches

From Staff and News Services

Originally published in the Portland Press Herald on Friday, August 14, 2009

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PORTLAND

New certificate programs being introduced at USM

The biology department at the University of Southern Maine will offer two new undergraduate certificate programs starting this fall.

The pre-medical and pre-veterinary certificate programs are designed for students who already hold a bachelor's degree but need science courses to apply to medical, physician assistant, dental or veterinary schools.

The certificate programs formalize the way some USM students have prepared for medical and veterinary schools. As undeclared majors, they had to wait for open registration to sign up for courses, when availability can be limited.

By enrolling in the certificate programs, students will be able to sign up before open registration and take advantage of the university's advising services.

USM is the first school in the University of Maine System to offer these certificates.

USM professor selected for international task force

Barbara Fraumeni, an economist at the Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine, has been named to an international task force on sustainable development.

Fraumeni, who lives in Dresden, is a professor, associate dean of research and chairwoman of the school's doctoral program in public policy and management.

The task force is a joint venture of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and Eurostat, the European Union's statistical information service.

Fraumeni will be among more than 20 international experts seeking new ways to understand and measure sustainable development and its impact on people and societies.

DAMARISCOTTA

Damariscotta River Grill garners a pair of awards

The Damariscotta River Grill has won two awards that highlight its wine offerings and menu. The restaurant earned Wine Spectator's 2009 Award of Excellence in the magazine's August issue. The award ''recognizes restaurants whose wine lists offer interesting selections, are appropriate to the cuisine and appeal to a wide range of wine lovers.''

For the second year, the restaurant also was awarded a special designation in the ''affordability class,'' which acknowledges the diversity of the wine list and its pricing options.

The restaurant hosts regular wine dinners that focus on different varieties and origins of wines. The wine selections are complemented by chef Rick Hirsch's several-course tasting menus, which are designed to reflect the wines' countries and topography.

The restaurant also was recently voted ''Best Brunch in the Northeast'' by readers of TastyThoughts, a food/cooking/restaurant Web site that focuses on regional offerings.

The restaurant is owned and operated by a husband-and-wife team, executive chef Rick Hirsch and general manager Jean Kerrigan.

AUGUSTA

TABOR chairman criticizes public safety commissioner

The campaign pressing for a Taxpayer Bill of Rights is attacking Public Safety Commissioner Anne Jordan for an e-mail in which she says the proposal would eliminate a $50,000 payment to families of law enforcement officers, firefighters and EMTs who die in the line of duty.

TABOR NOW State Chairman David Crocker says the proposal does indeed make changes to the Budget Stabilization Fund through which the payouts are made. But he says the end result is the same: The payments can be made only if there's funding available.

He accused Jordan of using her position in state government to spread misinformation. He said she didn't complain when state lawmakers drained the fund last May.

Students show improvement on state assessment tests

The Maine Department of Education says schools saw improvements nearly across the board in grades 3 to 8 in reading and mathematics in the Maine Educational Assessment.

The percentage of students meeting standards grew by as much as 8 percentage points in fourth-grade reading to 1 percent in eighth-grade mathematics. Eighth-grade reading was the one area where there was no improvement; scores were unchanged from the year before.

The past school year marked the final testing under the 25-year MEA reading and mathematics testing program.

Beginning in October, Maine will join New Hampshire, Vermont, and Rhode Island in the New England Common Assessment Program for math and writing assessments for grades 3-8. Maine will significantly reduce its costs for testing under the new program.

Bail set at $500,000 for accused bank robber

A man charged with robbing five central Maine banks will remain jailed in lieu of $500,000 bail.

Paul Rivera, 43, of West Gardiner was arrested Aug. 7 by police investigating an armed robbery three days earlier of Northeast Bank in Augusta. He's also charged with four other bank robberies.

A police affidavit says Rivera confessed to the crimes after police found cash from one of the robberies in his motel room. They also reported finding a silver toy gun during a search of his vehicle.

BANGOR

Man accused of murder being held without bail

A Bangor man charged with murder in the death of a 19-year-old Old Town woman will be held without bail for the time being.

Colin Koehler, 34, was returned to the Penobscot County Jail after his initial court appearance Thursday. Penobscot County Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy said a bail hearing will be held within five days.

No details emerged because affidavits have been impounded.

The body of the victim, Holly Boutilier, was found Sunday in a makeshift shack along the Penobscot River.

-- From staff and news services