AUGUSTA

Sen. Dill says payment for writing her blog is legal

Additional Photos

Lee McLaskey, top, and John Maxwell, workers from Portland-based Masonry Preservation Associates, erect scaffolding Tuesday outside the Woodman Building at Pearl and Middle streets in Portland. The historic structure, built in 1867, needs repairs to its gutters. John Ewing/Staff Photographer

A state lawmaker from Cape Elizabeth who was paid by a political action committee for writing a blog says she did nothing wrong.

Democratic Sen. Cynthia Dill says the disclosure by the political blog Dirigo Blue that she was paid $4,000 in 2011 indicates Maine’s campaign disclosure laws are working.

Dill writes a blog called DCW, short for Dill’s Conventional Wisdom, and she says it’s legal to be reimbursed by her Dill Leadership PAC. She said Tuesday that she didn’t have access to campaign finance reports to know precisely how much she was paid.

The Democrat announced last week that she’s running for the U.S. Senate, so the state leadership PAC is no longer active. She says she’ll study federal campaign finance laws before deciding whether to continue the reimbursement practice.

Panel confirms acting chief to lead marine resources

Patrick Keliher won easy confirmation Tuesday as commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources.

Keliher has been the acting commissioner since July. The previous commissioner, Norman Olsen, resigned after saying he didn’t have Gov. Paul LePage’s full support.

LePage nominated Keliher earlier this month and the Legislature’s Marine Resources Committee unanimously voted to confirm him Tuesday.

Keliher joined the department in 2007 as director of sea run fisheries and habitat. Before that, he was executive director of the Atlantic Salmon Commission and head of the Coastal Conservation Association, Greater New England.

Commission: Landlord failed to stop harassment of gays

The Maine Human Rights Commission has ruled that a real estate management company did not do enough to stop the harassment of a gay couple living in a Waldoboro apartment complex it owned.

Realty Resources Management sent a short note to tenants after Joseph Bonnadio II and William Paquet complained in January 2009 that they were being subjected to slurs and told by other residents that “their kind did not belong.”

The commission ruled 3-1 Monday that the note was not enough, the Bangor Daily News reported.

The commissioners voted to find reasonable grounds that unlawful discrimination occurred.

The next step is for the parties to try to reach a settlement. If that fails, legal action is an option.

Commuting by bicycle makes big leap in Maine

A new report says there’s been a big increase in the number of Mainers who pedal to work, and that upsurge in bicycle commuting far exceeds the national figure.

The report released Monday by the Alliance for Biking and Walking says the number of Mainers who commute to work by bicycle increased by 120 percent from 1990 to 2009.

The number of bicycle commuters increased by 64 percent nationally during that period.

While 12 percent of all trips in the United States are by bike and foot, the report notes that only 1.6 percent of federal transportation funding goes to biking and walking.

ORONO

Football players suspended after BB gun shootings

Two University of Maine football players have been suspended from the team indefinitely because of their alleged involvement in BB gun shootings on campus last week.

Freshman defensive backs Aamad Bush and Malik Walker, both 18, were charged with assault and criminal threatening.

Campus police say Bush and Walker fired shots from BB guns at two occupants of a dorm room.

Neither victim required medical treatment.

Athletic director Steve Abbott told the Bangor Daily News that Walker and Bush will be prohibited from practicing with the team during winter workouts and spring practices.

Their scholarships remain in effect through the end of the semester.

They are due in court Feb. 16.

SEBAGO

Police pursue DNA matches after attack on woman

Investigators say they are following up on leads in the case of a 41-year-old woman who was attacked and sexually assaulted on a remote road in Sebago over the weekend.

The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office shipped a sample of the attacker’s body fluids, collected with a rape kit, to the state police crime lab Tuesday to find out if the suspect’s DNA profile matches anyone in state or federal databases.

The woman told police that her car was stuck on ice on a secondary road at 12:30 a.m. Saturday when a motorist in a pickup truck with New Hampshire license plates and towing snowmobiles stopped and offered help.

When she got out of her vehicle, the man punched her in the face and sexually assaulted her, authorities said.

The man then stole money from the woman’s vehicle and drove off, leaving the injured woman on the side of the road.

Investigators say they have received some leads but have not yet been able to identify the suspect.

GARDINER

Episcopal rector suspended over sexual misconduct

The longtime rector of a historic Episcopal church in Gardiner has been suspended by the Diocese of Maine for two years following an investigation that found he engaged in sexual misconduct consisting of “inappropriate language and interpersonal boundary violations.”

The Rev. Jacob Fles has been at Christ Church in Gardiner for about 17 years.

A joint statement issued by Bishop Stephen Lane and Fles said the church’s inquiry did not uncover any evidence of criminal behavior.

Fles declined further comment.

The Kennebec Journal reported that the congregation was told of the suspension on Sunday.

Fles had been on paid administrative leave since September while the diocese investigated allegations of sexual misconduct, financial impropriety and improper clergy conduct.

The investigation did not find any evidence of financial misconduct.

GORHAM

Police searching for woman who held up Big Apple store

Police are investigating an armed robbery Tuesday night at the Big Apple convenience store on Main Street.

A woman wearing a blue hoodie, scarf and knit hat entered the convenience store around 6:20 p.m.

The woman, described as being about 5-foot 3-inches tall with dark eyes, told the store clerk that she had a gun.

She fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Gorham police are asking the public to contact Detective Brian Key at 839-5046 with any information concerning the suspect.

JEFFERSON

Man dead after two vehicles collide Tuesday on Route 32

A local man is dead following a two-car crash on Route 32 Tuesday morning.

Robert Lawrence, 73, of Jefferson, was pronounced dead at Miles Memorial Hospital in Damariscotta, Lt. Michael Murphy of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

The second driver, Johnnie James, 19, of Nobleboro, was not hurt.

The crash happened shortly before 9:30 a.m., as Lawrence was driving his 2002 Jeep Cherokee on Route 32. James was driving his 1999 Chevrolet Malibu on East Pond Road.

“He failed to stop at the intersection of Route 32,” Murphy said of James.

James’ car struck Lawrence’s Jeep, which hit a tree and flipped onto its side, Murphy said.

Police are still investigating, Murphy said. He did not indicate whether any charges would be filed.

Murphy asked anyone with information on the accident to call Deputy Brian Callamore at 882-7332.

YORK

Woman charged with aiding bank robbery as driver

A New Hampshire woman faces federal charges in Maine of aiding and abetting bank robbery in connection with the Nov. 23 robbery at the York branch of Savings Bank of Maine.

A federal complaint charges Christie Hendrix, 33, of Manchester with being the driver when Bernard Subocz allegedly robbed the bank, making off with more than $10,800.

Subocz, 43, also of Manchester, was arrested Nov. 28 at a Manchester hotel for failing to register as a sex offender, according to court papers. He is awaiting extradition to Maine to face bank robbery charges.

The federal affidavit filed in Hendrix’ case said Subocz bought a knit hat at a Dollar Store, cut eye holes in it and used it as a disguise during the robbery.

However, he removed the mask when he left the bank. Witnesses inside saw him and picked him out of a lineup, the papers said.

Subocz was wearing the same black Nike sneakers when arrested as he was seen wearing in the security video, police said.

Police also said Subocz stole a car in Manchester and attached stolen plates to it to use in the robbery.

When arrested, Subocz had 23 $100 bills in his wallet. In the bank robbery, 39 $100 bills were taken in addition to other cash.

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