BREWER (AP) — Regulators say Maine fishermen’s sea urchin harvest was about in line with recent averages in 2017. Fishermen in Maine, California, Alaska and other states harvest sea urchins for their roe, which is used as food. The Maine Department of Marine Resources says fishermen in the state harvested a little less than 2 […]
2018
5 more deaths even as flu cases drop for 4th week in Maine
AUGUSTA (AP) — The Maine Center for Disease Control says five more people have died from the flu in the past week, even as the number of new cases and hospitalizations slowed. The state said Wednesday that the number of new confirmed cases dropped 23 percent from the week before to 497, and the number […]
Police shooting of man holding pellet gun ruled justified
PORTLAND (AP) — The Maine Attorney General’s Office says a Portland police officer was justified in fatally shooting a man who was brandishing a pellet gun because it appeared to be a real rifle. Sgt. Nicholas Goodman shot 22-year-old Chance David Baker in the parking lot of a strip mall in February 2017. In a […]
Heating prices dip as cold weather eases, markets in flux
AUGUSTA (AP) — The Governor’s Energy Office says the price of heating oil in Maine has dipped as cold weather eases. The statewide average cash price for No. 2 heating oil was $2.73 per gallon this week. The office says that is 22 cents less than it was at the end of January. The statewide […]
Fire chief in Portland retiring at end of month
PORTLAND (AP) — The fire chief in Maine’s largest city is retiring at the end of the month. Portland City Manager Jon Jennings says Fire Chief David Jackson is set to retire. Jackson has been chief of the department since February 2016 and has been with the Portland Fire Department since July 1990. Jennings says […]
Maine restaurants, hotels set record with $3.8B in revenue
PORTLAND (AP) — Maine’s hotels and restaurants set a record for revenue last year, bringing in about $3.8 billion. The Portland Press Herald reports that tax records show lodging revenue broke $1 billion for the first time in 2017 after rising 7 percent from the year before. Restaurant revenue rose 4 percent to about $2.8 […]
Man who says boss called him ‘Big Indian’ wins $40k in suit
AUGUSTA (AP) — A man who says his jewelry company employers called him a “Big Indian” has won $40,000 in a lawsuit he filed in Maine. Jason Brown says his employers’ comments about “Indians and firewater” made him feel reduced to his Native American heritage as a joke and a stereotype. Brown is a Penobscot […]
LETTERS
Walkouts Accomplish Nothing I think it is very sad and dangerous for teachers and school administrators to let the students have their planned walkout. There has been so much on the news about all the crazy people out there, that all this walkout is doing is sending them an invitation saying here we are all […]
Looking Beyond BIW’s Beleaguered Tax Break
When I was a child my mom would ask: “Just because all your friends do it does that make it right?” Apparently for some Maine legislators it does, at least regarding tax breaks and nondisclosure. Because other large corporate entities in our state, or as distant as Pascagoula, Mississippi, get benefit from tax incentives without […]