LePage went to Spain without public statement
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s office confirms he traveled to Spain to meet with leaders of the company that owns Central Maine Power.
The Sun Journal reports spokeswoman Julie Rabinowitz said Monday that LePage met with Spanish utility company Iberdrola last Tuesday.
LePage’s office disclosed last week that he was leading a delegation to Iceland for weekend meetings.
But LePage’s office didn’t mention LePage’s earlier stop in Spain.
Iberdrola’s $3 billion purchase of a Connecticut company in 2015 included Central Maine Power. CMP is seeking to build a 145-mile transmission line through western Maine.
Rabinowitz told The Associated Press that LePage and company officials discussed lowering energy costs. She didn’t immediately say whether officials discussed the transmission project.
LePage visited at least four countries this year, including Canada and Montenegro.
Death of inmate allegedly denied care is under investigation
WARREN, Maine (AP) — The death of a Maine State Prison inmate who was allegedly denied medical care is under investigation.
Two inmates told a columnist for the Portland Press Herald that they tried without success to get help for Andrew Leighton, who killed his mother in 2015.
They say Leighton complained of discomfort and difficulty breathing before his death on Oct. 1. They say his raspy breathing could be heard up and down the cell block.
A “working copy” of the death certificate cites complications of repeated asthma attacks, an infection of his salivary glands, and life-threatening sepsis.
The Department of Corrections said Leighton’s death was caused by a “medical issue.” Corrections Commissioner Fitzpatrick said the death is being investigated by state police and by his department. He has declined further comment.
Man killed in ATV crash at terrain park
CARTHAGE, Maine (AP) — A Massachusetts man has died in an all-terrain vehicle crash at the Rocky Mountain Terrain Park in Maine.
The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife says the crash happened Sunday afternoon when the ATV 27-year-old Taylor Curtin was driving went airborne and struck a tree.
Curtin was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators say the Belchertown, Massachusetts, man was camping at the Carthage park. Game Wardens say he borrowed a friend’s ATV and was returning to the campsite when the crash occurred.
Wardens say Curtin was not wearing a helmet, and speed is believed to be a factor in the crash.
Opponents in debate hit Maine senator from right and left
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Candidates running against an independent Maine senator used a radio debate to portray the incumbent as beholden to corporate interests and too moderate for the era.
Sen. Angus King responded during Monday’s debate that he has used his first term in office to make decisions that support Maine residents and industries. WGAN-AM hosted the morning debate.
Republican State Sen. Eric Brakey and Democratic activist Zak Ringelstein are running against King. The race is the first in U.S. history to use a ranked choice style of voting. Voters will be able to pick a second-choice candidate, and those votes will be redistributed if no one cracks 50 percent of the popular vote.
King also said during the debate that he continues to oppose Brett Kavanaugh’s ascension to the Supreme Court.
Right whales could drop to levels unseen since 1990
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Scientists say the population of North Atlantic right whales could decline to levels not seen since 1990 in as few as 12 years.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which manages coastal fisheries, received an update on the status of the whales on Monday. The whales are among the most endangered marine mammals and are thought to number only about 437.
The population was only 268 in 1990 before it rebounded to a recent high of 481 around 2010. But the species has been hindered by poor reproduction and several years of high mortality since then.
Scientists say the species is jeopardized by entanglement in fishing gear and ship strikes. No new calves have been born this year, leaving the species’ future even more in doubt.
Maine school strengthens partnership with Icelandic colleges
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A Maine university has signed an agreement with a pair of Icelandic schools about collaborating on a new degree program in ocean food systems.
The University of New England says it signed the agreement with University of Akureyri and Holar University College at the Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavik, Iceland.
The Maine school says the agreement outlines how the master’s program in ocean food systems will align and collaborate with the Icelandic schools’ programs in sustainable production and use of marine bioresources. University of New England says the agreement with create an “international learning environment for students enrolled in both Maine and Iceland.”
UNE says the agreement allows students in its program to work directly with Icelandic faculty. They will also be able to travel to Iceland.
Maine officials hope to stop beavers from flooding road
FARMINGDALE, Maine (AP) — Officials in a Maine town are trying to prevent beavers from flooding an important road.
Farmingdale Road Commissioner Steve Stratton says a “whole new breed of beavers” arrived this summer, and the issue of the animals damming up water pipes have gotten worse. WABI-TV reports the beavers’ dams are encroaching on landowners near the road.
Stratton says if the water gets up too high “which it has in the past” the road would be flooded out and it would take major reconstruction efforts to fix it.
Stratton says he will continue work on keeping the water flowing properly, but says he will get a big help from the start of beaver trapping season next week.
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