AUGUSTA

Rep. Michaud tops list of candidate campaign funds

New campaign finance reports show Democratic U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud has raised $714,192 in his race for a sixth congressional term.

Reports that were due Sunday with the Federal Election Commission show Michaud with $497,398 in cash on hand through the first quarter of 2012.

Michaud’s Republican challenger in Maine’s 2nd District, Kevin Raye, who filed his candidacy in January, raised $152,476 through March 31, and reported $115,900 in cash on hand. The Maine Senate president said his campaign outpaced the incumbent in contributions from Mainers during the first three months of 2012.

Raye’s campaign said Monday that of the Republican’s total, nearly $152,000 of it came from individual donors, with 89 percent of those donors being Mainers. In comparison, Raye said, Michaud raised $84,703 from individual donors during the first quarter of 2012.

In southern Maine’s 1st District, Democratic incumbent Rep. Chellie Pingree reported $512,744 raised overall and $173,651 in cash on hand.

Republican candidate Jon Courtney said he hasn’t raised funds because he’s been busy as Maine Senate majority leader.

PORTLAND

USM events to mark 50th anniversary of ‘Silent Spring’

The University of Southern Maine is planning a series of events marking the 50th anniversary of Rachel Carson’s groundbreaking book, “The Silent Spring,” which is credited with launching the environmental movement.

The events hosted by USM’s Department of Environmental Science also celebrate Carson’s strong ties to Maine and her impact on contemporary society.

The first talk, “Rachel Carson in My Life: Memories and Meaning,” by USM’s Martha Freeman, was Monday night. Other events are scheduled for today  and Thursday. For information, go to www.usm.maine.edu/environmental-science/rachel-carson.

Freeman is the author of a book that presents a collection of letters between Carson and her Maine summer neighbor, Dorothy Freeman, who was Martha Freeman’s grandmother.

RUMFORD

Police setting up collection for old prescription drugs

Rumford police plan on setting up a collection later this month for unused, unwanted or expired prescription drugs.

Chief Stacy Carter said residents can bring their medications to the police station from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 28, no questions asked.

People worried about their privacy can just empty pills into a bin and keep the bottles. Information such as names on bottles of liquid can be blacked out.

Properly disposing of prescriptions is important to cut down on drug abuse, to stop medicines from getting flushed down the toilet and into the public water supply, and to prevent accidental poisonings of children and pets.

WOOLWICH

Two ATVs, chain saw that were stolen are returned

Authorities say two all-terrain vehicles and a chain saw reported stolen from the garage at a Woolwich home last month have mysteriously reappeared.

The Sagadahoc County Sheriff ‘s Department said the items were reported stolen March 29.

Investigators think the vehicles were taken between 9:45 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. the previous day, while the residents were away from the home.

Then one day last week, a deputy on patrol drove by and noticed that the two four-wheelers had been left in a driveway near the house. The chain saw was sitting atop one of the ATVs.

Police said the items were a little dirty, but otherwise fine.

No word on who the remorseful thief is.

CAPE NEDDICK

Vigil remembers woman killed in New Hampshire

Friends and family remembered the woman found dead in a New Hampshire home last week as vibrant, generous, caring and athletic.

Authorities say 26-year-old Brittany Tibbetts was shot by her on-and-off boyfriend Cullen Mutrie in his Greenland, N.H., home last Thursday before Mutrie turned the gun on himself. Police say Mutrie also killed Greenland Police Chief Michael Maloney during a drug investigation.

Tibbetts’ cousin, Aaron Whittier, said at a vigil Sunday in Cape Neddick that he wants the public to know that Chief Maloney was not the only victim. He says his heart goes out to Maloney’s family.
Mourners lit candles and sang, trying to cope with what they said is a senseless tragedy.

Tibbetts grew up in Berwick and was remembered as a top high school softball player.

ORONO

Inauguration Thursday for new UMaine president

Paul Ferguson’s inauguration ceremony for University of Maine president will be held Thursday morning at the Orono campus, capping a weeklong series of events marking the occasion.

Events leading up to the ceremony included student research exhibits, oral presentations and performances, a performance by UMaine’s 38-member Symphonic Band in Portland, a showcase of graduate student research, and a keynote address by historian and author Doris Kearns Goodwin.

The UMaine System’s board of trustees last year approved Ferguson’s appointment as 19th president of the flagship campus. He succeeded Robert Kennedy.

FREEPORT

L.L.Bean gives $1 million to promote outdoor activity

L.L. Bean is making a $1 million gift to a nonprofit to support healthy lifestyles for Maine children.

Olympic gold medalists Seth Wescott and Joan Benoit Samuelson will join CEO Chris McCormick as he publicly announces the beneficiary of L.L. Bean’s gift today as part of the company’s ongoing 100th anniversary celebration.

The Maine-based outdoors retailer is trying to reignite people’s passion for the outdoors.

The company is also donating up to $1 million to the National Park Foundation with a goal of increasing family outdoor recreation and getting children to visit national parks.