AUGUSTA

Two teens charged in pharmacy robberies

An Augusta teenager is facing two counts of robbery for allegedly robbing two pharmacies of prescription painkillers last month.

Police say 18-year-old Carmine Fazzi is being held in New York on $100,000 bail following his arrest on an assault charge in New York. In Maine, he is charged with robbing two drug stores in Augusta on Feb. 13 and Feb. 20.

Police told the Kennebec Journal that a second teenager, 18-year-old Daniel Rines of Pittston, was also charged with one count of robbery for his alleged role in one of the robberies. He was released on bail and ordered to stay away from Fazzi.

LePage signs bill to aid honoring veterans

Gov. Paul LePage has signed into law a bill that will make it easier for Maine municipalities to get information for their veterans’ honor rolls.

Rep. Pete Johnson’s bill allows the Bureau of Maine Veterans’ Services to release information about veterans to municipalities that are establishing or updating a veterans’ honor roll. The Greenville

Republican’s bill was developed in conjunction with the bureau.

Johnson says it’ll ensure that town officials have the accurate information they need to honor their veterans.

Democrats: DHHS delayed revealing error

Maine Democrats say the administration should have come forward sooner with news that a computer malfunction had resulted in up to 19,000 people receiving MaineCare services they weren’t eligible for.

In Saturday’s Democratic radio address, Rep. Peggy Rotundo of Lewiston says the administration knew of the Department of Health and Human Services error in January, but didn’t tell legislators until this week.

Rotundo said officials weren’t forthcoming with the information even as legislators questioned the Maine Care numbers before the problems were made public.

She said Democrats want to move forward with improvements to the state’s health care system, but must have accurate information to do so.

DHHS Commissioner Mary Mayhew told lawmakers Friday that in retrospect, she should have made them aware of the problems earlier.

ROCKLAND

Restructure fails, four weekly papers fold

A Maine newspaper publisher says he’s shutting down his four weekly papers.

Richard M. Anderson, owner of the Village NetMedia publications, said recent efforts to restructure company finances failed and forced the abrupt closure of The Bar Harbor Times, Capital Weekly, VillageSoup Gazette (Rockland), VillageSoup Journal (Belfast) and The Scene, a monthly entertainment publication.

He said changes in the newspaper industry, a weak economy and the company’s investment in other products created financial challenges that couldn’t be overcome.

An announcement on the company’s website site indicated 56 people lost their jobs.

Capital Weekly’s offices on Water Street in Augusta were closed on Saturday. However, a small stack of Capital Weekly newspapers remained on a stand outside the double glass door entrance. Nothing in the March 9 print issue indicates it is the last one.

ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

Carriage roads closed to allow thawing

In a sign of spring, Acadia National Park has shut its carriage-road system until the broken-stone roads thaw.

Park officials say all 45 miles of the roads were closed Friday and will remain off-limits for at least two weeks.

The roads run throughout the interior of the park and are popular among walkers, bicyclists and horseback riders. The park closes the roads each spring so they don’t get damaged during the annual spring thaw.

– From staff and news services

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