OLD ORCHARD BEACH (AP) — A former fire department chief in Maine will spend a year in prison for setting fire to a large marsh area. Sixty-one-year-old Ricky Plummer, former fire chief in Old Orchard Beach, was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty in October to setting a fire that spread to more than 40 acres […]

LUBEC (AP) — Maine’s scallop fishing season is nearing its final weeks with many scallop fishing grounds still open for harvesting. The Maine scallop season begins in December and runs until April 10 this year. The state’s regulators use targeted closures to protect scallops from succumbing to over harvesting. The Maine Department of Marine Resources […]

PORTLAND (AP) — A new study has concluded Cumberland County is the healthiest locality in Maine and Washington County is the least. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute released the ninth annual County Health Rankings on Wednesday. The study looked at data including tobacco use, access to care, […]

PORTLAND (AP) — Police in Portland, Maine, say a man who died in a crash involving a city-owned snow hauler has been identified. Police say the crash killed 58-year-old Robert Belanger, of Portland, at 3:46 a.m. on March 10. The crash is still under investigation. Police say Belanger was walking on a major street in […]

PORTLAND (AP) — A man who lives on a Maine island is accused of making hundreds of vulgar and threatening phone calls to the Swedish Embassy in Washington, D.C. The Bangor Daily News reports that 39-year-old Eric Malmstrom, of Vinalhaven, allegedly threatened Swedish Embassy officials and their families, and even the Swedish monarch. Court documents […]

PORTLAND (AP) — A lawsuit in Maine says an 11- year-old boy with mental illness at a juvenile detention center was beaten by corrections officers and denied medical care. The American Civil Liberties Union of Maine filed a lawsuit Wednesday in federal court against the state Department of Corrections, medical care provider Correct Care Solutions […]

BANGOR (AP) — A former special education teacher in Maine is charged with secretly shooting videos up women’s skirts. The Bangor Daily News reports that 30-year-old Benjamin Emmott is accused of making lewd videos of at least seven women without their knowledge. Bangor schools Superintendent Betsy Webb says Emmott resigned last month from his teaching […]

AUGUSTA (AP) — A group that advocates for Maine’s organic farmers says it opposes a federal move to get rid of organic animal welfare rules. Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association said late Tuesday the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s decision to stop using a set of rules called federal Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices is […]

AUGUSTA (AP) — The founding director of the Maine Legislature’s government watchdog agency says she is leaving the position this summer. The Bangor Daily News reports Beth Ashcroft is leaving the job in August. The agency, Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability, is in the midst of an investigation into Maine’s child welfare system. […]