BIDDEFORD

Ex-presidential adviser will lecture Friday at UNE

The national security adviser to former Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush will lecture at the University of New England on Friday.

The presentation by Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft, titled, “Reflections on the End of the Cold War,” is part of the George and Barbara Bush Distinguished Lecture Series. It will take place at 5:30 p.m. in the Riverview Tent on the college’s Biddeford campus.

The program is free and open to the public.

Scowcroft, a graduate of West Point, now serves on numerous corporate and nonprofit boards.

PORTLAND

Ecomaine’s recycling plant to open for tours Saturday

Ecomaine’s recycling plant at 64 Blueberry Road in Portland will be open for tours from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday.

Ecomaine operates the state’s only automated single-sort recycling facility. The free open house will feature tours, breakfast and the chance to win a kayak made entirely of recycled materials.

Ecomaine is a nonprofit recycling and waste-to-energy facility owned and operated by 21 cities and towns and contracted with 18 other communities. It handles the trash for 24 percent of Maine’s population.

More information about the open house is available at 773-1738 or online at www.ecomaineorg.

 

Sports teams offering 11 $1,000 scholarships

The Maine Red Claws, Portland Pirates and Portland Sea Dogs sports teams are offering college scholarships through the NextGen College Investing Plan administered by the Finance Authority of Maine.

The scholarships were announced today. This year, the teams will offer 11 scholarships of $1,000 each.

NextGen is a Section 529 plan with more than 39 investment portfolios to choose from.

More information is available at the Finance Authority of Maine at (800) 228-3734.

AUGUSTA

Completed foreclosures drop during second quarter

Completed home foreclosures decreased during the second quarter, based on figures from state-chartered banks and credit unions, Maine officials said.

Bureau of Financial Institutions Superintendent Lloyd LaFountain III also said the number of delinquent mortgage loans declined for the second consecutive quarter.

But the total number of mortgage loans in the foreclosure process increased after holding steady in the first quarter. In general, foreclosure activity at Maine banks and credit unions remains lower than in many other states and it does not pose a threat to the stability of Maine state-chartered financial institutions.

The survey does not include data from financial institutions regulated by Maine.

LINCOLN

Paper mill worker burned during annual shutdown

A co-owner of a paper mill in Lincoln says a worker was hospitalized after suffering burns during the mill’s annual maintenance shutdown.

Keith Van Scotter, co-owner of Lincoln Paper and Tissue LLC, said the worker suffered hot water and steam burns while inspecting one of the tissue machines at the plant on Thursday.

Van Scotter told the Bangor Daily News that the worker’s injuries are serious but he’s expected to recover.

The company employs about 400 workers.

BOSTON

Earthjustice files lawsuit to save river herring, shad

An environmental group says populations of river herring and shad are being decimated by commercial fishing along the Eastern Seaboard.

Earthjustice demands in a lawsuit filed on Monday in U.S. District Court in Washington that the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission develop a plan to protect those species.

The plaintiffs include the Martha’s Vineyard/Duke’s County Commercial Fishermen’s Association in Massachusetts.

Earthjustice says fishermen trawling for mackerel and sea herring are also scooping up millions of river herring and shad, resulting in as much as a 90 percent decline in the species since 1985.

A spokeswoman for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission says it has already asked regional fisheries councils to address the issue.

The National Marine Fisheries Service said it does not comment on pending litigation.

BOURNE, Mass.

Bourne Bridge’s repairs continuing until December

After fixing up the Sagamore Bridge, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is now working on Cape Cod’s other bridge.

Maintenance work on the Bourne Bridge started Monday and is expected to continue until December.

The work on the bridge’s deck will limit traffic to one lane in each direction between 7 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. on weekdays for one or two weeks.

Traffic will be limited to one lane in each direction for 24 hours beginning on Oct. 12 during waterproofing and repaving work.

The corps said to expect traffic backups during the morning and evening commutes. Wide loads will be barred from the bridge during repairs.

Work on the Sagamore Bridge ended in May.