PORTLAND (AP) — The Winter Solstice will mark a vigil in Portland to remember the homeless people who have died. Today’s solstice brings the shortest day and longest night of the year. The homeless observance begins at 4 p.m. with a candlelight procession to Monument Square joined by people who are homeless, have been homeless, […]

PORTLAND (AP) — State health officials say the number of reported cases of whooping cough more than tripled in Maine this year. There have been 701 cases so far in 2012, compared to 202 in the previous year. The number of cases nationally also hit a more than 50-year high. Whooping cough — also known […]

AUGUSTA (AP) — Central Maine Power Co. has energized a substation with a 345,000-volt transformer, the first major part of a $1.4 billion transmission system upgrade to come online. The $57 million substation, which was powered up Thursday, is one of four that are part of the power grid improvements. The transformer will step down […]

PORTLAND (AP) — The heads of six Maine colleges are among more than 160 college presidents nationwide calling for stricter gun control in the wake of the Connecticut shooting that killed 20 elementary school students. A group called “College Presidents for Gun Safety” launched a website Wednesday with an open letter urging lawmakers to oppose […]

AUGUSTA (AP) — A former Maine man arrested for the 1976 stabbing death of a 70-year-old Augusta woman will soon be back in the state. Gary Raub has been held in Seattle since his arrest on a warrant from Maine in October. The Kennebec Journal reports that Raub is now in the custody of U.S. […]

AUGUSTA (AP) — Now that its schedule of hearings is complete, a panel that’s looking to correct problems in Maine’s election process is starting work on its report. The five-member Commission to Study the Conduct of Elections in Maine meets Friday at the secretary of state’s office in Augusta to begin drafting its report. The […]

AUGUSTA (AP) — A Maine organization that tracks campaign spending says legislative candidates in November’s elections were outspent by outside groups making independent expenditures, the first time that’s ever happened in Maine. Maine Citizens for Clean Elections says legislatives candidates spent just over $3.4 million on their 2012 races, but that political action committees, political […]