BOSTON (AP) — A former high-ranking Boston Fire Department official convicted of stealing almost $50,000 in public funds for personal use has avoided prison. Edward Scigliano IV, of Kingston, was sentenced Thursday to three years of probation, 750 hours of community service, and ordered to repay the money. He was convicted this month of larceny […]

HAVERHILL, N.H. (AP) — A mother who fled the U.S. with her daughter to Central America more than a decade ago amid a custody dispute with her ex-husband has been released from jail after five months. Genevieve Kelley pleaded guilty in June to a misdemeanor charge of custodial interference for taking her then-8- year-old daughter […]

AUGUSTA Maine trails the rest of New England in the amount of energy generated by solar power and in jobs tied to the industry, but a bipartisan group hopes to change that with a bill that aims to increase solar power in the state tenfold in five years. The bill would open the market for […]

AUGUSTA A Maine resident tested positive for the Zika virus after traveling to a country that’s dealing with an outbreak of the mosquito-borne virus, representing the first case of a traveler from the state contracting the virus, officials said Thursday. The resident was identified only as a Hancock County adult, age 65 or older. No […]

AUGUSTA (AP) — An outpatient at the Riverview Psychiatric Center who was shot by an Augusta police officer last year is suing the cop and the city, alleging his civil rights were violated. Police said 37-year-old Jason Begin was shot last January inside the offices of an outpatient clinic, when Officer Laura Drouin responded to […]

GREENVILLE (AP) — Maine’s warm winter weather has claimed another casualty. Organizers of the 10th annual Plum Creek Wilderness Sled Dog Race have canceled the Saturday event altogether after an earlier postponement because of warm weather and rain in the Greenville area. The race is organized by the Wilderness Sled Dog Racing Association, a Greenville […]

AUGUSTA (AP) — A bill proposed by a Maine senator would allow for construction of a new courthouse in York County and renovations to courthouses in Waldo and Oxford counties. The bill proposed by Sen. Linda Valentino, a Saco Democrat, went up for a public hearing before the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. She says […]

AUGUSTA (AP) — A legislative panel is supporting a bill that would create a used battery collection and recycling program funded by manufacturers that would allow consumers to discard batteries at participating retail stores. The proposal is part of an ambitious waste reform bill being reviewed by the Legislature’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee. The […]

BARNSTABLE, Mass. (AP) — Massachusetts high school students are calling for the cancellation of a concert by “American Pie” singer Don McLean because of a domestic-violence charge against him in Maine. The Cape Cod Times reports student presidents of violence prevention programs at four high schools in Cape Cod recently sent a letter to the […]

PORTLAND (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a 35- year-old Lewiston man has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for his role as a leader in a conspiracy to distribute drugs in Maine. U.S. Attorney Thomas Delahanty says Romelly Dastinot led a drug trafficking organization that brought crack cocaine, heroin and oxycodone from Massachusetts to […]