AUGUSTA

Bill to let the governor keep more records private is dead

The Maine Senate has killed a bill that would have allowed the governor to keep more written records private.

The proposal, which drew opposition from open records advocates, went down by a 34-0 Senate vote Wednesday. The House had also voted overwhelmingly against it last week.

The bill sought to create an exception in Maine’s public records law for proposed legislation, reports and working papers of the governor and the governor’s office. Supporters said it creates a parallel to the Legislature’s public records exception in existing law.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Maine, the Maine Press Association, Common Cause and the Maine Association of Broadcasters were among the groups that opposed the measure, saying it would cloud transparency in government.

SANFORD

Police seek man who tried to sexually assault woman

Police are investigating a report of an attempted sexual assault on an 18-year-old woman around 7 a.m. Wednesday in Springvale.

Deputy Chief Tim Strout said the victim told police that she was walking on Main Street, near the Sherwin Williams store, when a white man in his early to mid-30s forced her onto a trail that leads to the rear of the business. The victim was not injured.

Strout said police are looking for a man who is about 6 feet tall and weighs 300 pounds. He has dark hair and sideburns, and was wearing a leather jacket, a tan baseball cap, pants and work boots.

Anyone with information concerning the suspect is asked to contact the Sanford Police Department at 324-9170.

BRUNSWICK

Outage ties up traffic, cuts power to businesses, college

An equipment failure at a hydroelectric power substation knocked out power to more than 2,400 homes and businesses in downtown Brunswick on Wednesday afternoon.

The outage also wiped out electrical service to 23 buildings on the Bowdoin College campus. Police said the outage was widespread, reaching as far as Merrymeeting Plaza near Cook’s Corner.

The substation is near Fort Andross on the Androscoggin River.

Central Maine Power Co. said the outage was reported at 1:11 p.m. Power was gradually restored, and by 3:30 p.m. everyone’s power was back on.

Brunswick police said the outage caused several traffic tieups because traffic lights at busy intersections such as Maine and Pleasant streets went dark during the outage.

Police did not report any significant accidents or fires as a result of the fire.

SOUTH PORTLAND

Police arrest man, woman after rash of car break-ins

A man and a woman were charged Tuesday with breaking into a car amid a rash of similar complaints, police said.

Jason Fudge, 38, of South Portland was charged with theft, theft from a motor vehicle and violating bail conditions. Lauren Burns, 20, of Portland was charged with theft and theft from a motor vehicle.

Police said the arrests came after a victim of a car break-in saw someone getting onto a bus while carrying a uniquely marked backpack. The backpack, the victim said, had been stolen from him.

Police stopped the bus on Broadway near Evans Street and arrested Fudge and Burns. Police said their investigation is continuing and additional charges are expected.

South Portland Police said the number of car break-ins this year is 51, not much higher than the 48 that had been reported last year to date. But they said that 26 of the break-ins reported this year have occurred since April 1, and 11 were filed on Tuesday alone.

BANGOR

Woman gets 9-month term for breaking toddler’s leg

A Brewer woman is going to jail for nine months for breaking her 9-month-old son’s leg.

Lynn Crossman, 24, was sentenced in Penobscot County Superior Court on Wednesday to three years behind bars, with all but nine months suspended. She was convicted last month of aggravated assault.

At her trial, police testified that Crossman said she hit her son for crying while she was arguing with her parents on the phone in November 2010.

Crossman, however, testified that she hit her son after he kicked his 3-year-old brother while lying on a bed.

The father of Crossman’s two children told the Bangor Daily News that the children were taken by the Department of Health and Human Services and have been adopted. 

Adult club, landlord feuding over back rent, repair costs

An adult entertainment club in Bangor that features female dancers is behind on its rent and faces eviction just two months after it opened.

Thomas Brann, the landlord of the Harlow Street building where Diamonds is located, said the club’s owners owe him more than $34,000 in rent, taxes and heating oil and he is going to court to recover the money.

A consultant for the club has a different take. Jimmie Ellis told the Bangor Daily News that the club has filed a countersuit.

Ellis said the rent money has been placed in escrow in a dispute over $80,000 in repairs to the building that club owners think the landlords should pay.

Diamonds opened in late February, six months after another adult club at the site closed. 

Local high schools finish well in state math competition

Several high schools from southern Maine performed well in the 2012 State Math Meet, held Tuesday at the Bangor Auditorium.

Cape Elizabeth’s team took fifth place in overall scoring among 91 public and private high schools, according to the Maine Association of Math Leagues.

Scarborough High, Thornton Academy and Cheverus High came in sixth, seventh and eighth in overall scoring.

Scarborough came in third among 22 Division A teams, followed by Thornton (fourth), Kennebunk (fifth), Brunswick and Marshwood (tied for sixth), Mount Ararat (seventh) and Gorham (eighth).

Cape Elizabeth came in second among 22 Division B teams, followed by Cheverus in third place and Falmouth in sixth.

Two Cape Elizabeth students, sophomore Devon Roberts and senior Ethan DiNinno, won awards for top scores in their grade levels.

The Maine School of Science and Mathematics in Limestone took the top spot in the overall competition, followed by Fryeburg Academy, Hebron Academy and Bangor High.

BOOTHBAY HARBOR

Windjammer Days Festival expects a record 11 tall ships

Organizers of the annual Windjammer Days Festival in Boothbay Harbor say two additional tall ships have been added to this year’s lineup.

A record 11 ships will be part of the fleet for the 50th annual festival, which is being held from June 24-27 in Boothbay Harbor.

The festival is an annual celebration of the region’s rich maritime history.

Besides the historic windjammers, the festival features an antique boat parade, a street parade, fireworks over the harbor, concerts, arts and crafts, food and more.

RICHMOND

Man driving ice cream truck charged with possessing pot

An ice cream truck driver has been charged after police say they found marijuana on his truck while he was making his rounds.

Richmond Police Chief Scott MacMaster said an officer stopped the truck about 11 a.m. Saturday after a resident called to report a suspicious ice cream truck was traveling in a neighborhood without any children.

MacMaster told The Times Record that the officer smelled marijuana when he pulled over the truck as it was about to turn into Richmond High School.

The driver, Travis Wilson, 24, of Gardiner, was issued a summons for marijuana possession.