Game wardens recover body of man who fell into Bangor stream
BANGOR, Maine (AP) — Maine Game Warden divers have recovered the body of a man who fell into a stream in Bangor while trying to take a photo.
Police said 41-year-old John Nadeau, of Indian Island, Maine, fell into the Kenduskeag Stream at about 5:30 p.m. Sunday. He was standing on a platform overlooking the stream, stepped over protective railings, and then lost his balance.
First responders looked for Nadeau, as did divers, who stopped when it got dark. The diving resumed Monday morning. Nadeau was found on the bottom of the stream close to where he fell in at about 8:45 a.m.
Jury: Police shooting was not excessive force
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A federal jury has determined that a police shooting in which the victim was hit three times didn’t represent excessive force.
Jason Begin sued over the shooting that happened when he pulled out a knife and slashed both of his arms at the former Maine General Medical Center in Augusta in 2015.
Begin’s attorneys contend he only meant to harm himself. WABI-TV reports that he incurred over $300,000 in medical bills and lost motor function in his left arm.
The jury deliberated little more than an hour on Friday before finding that Begin posed an immediate threat and the officer’s response wasn’t excessive.
Drouin, who was already cleared of criminal wrongdoing, told WABI-TV that she “never doubted a jury of Mainers would return this verdict.”
New law calls for more advance notice of major layoffs
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A newly signed Maine law calls for more advance notice of major layoffs or relocations.
The Democrat-sponsored legislation only applies to such businesses that employ at least 100 people.
Industrial or commercial facilities that plan to close or relocate would face a $500 daily fine for failing to notify employees and state and local officials. That’s up from a $500 maximum fine.
The bill would also require such facilities to make such notifications 90 days before the proposed closure or relocation. That’s up from 60 days.
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills this month signed the legislation, which goes into effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns.
The bill originally was targeted at requiring advance notice of call center closures.
George, Barbara Bush’s absence noted at Memorial Day parade
KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine (AP) — Maine’s Memorial Day celebrations are absent a prominent veteran who died last year.
The American Legion has two empty chairs in Kennebunkport’s Dock Square on Monday in memory of all of the times former President George H.W. Bush and his wife Barbara watched the Memorial Day parade from that spot.
Mark Matthews from American Legion Post 159 said organizers wanted to acknowledge the absence of Bush, a long-time summer resident and a Navy veteran. He missed last year’s parade after falling ill after attending an American Legion pancake breakfast earlier in the weekend.
He died at age 94 on Nov. 30, months after his wife’s death.
Kennebunkport Town Manager Laurie Smith said the Bushes’ absence is felt every day. She said it will be a “strange” summer without their presence.
Maine to plan to become net energy exporter
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine is on track to come up with a plan to become a net exporter of energy by 2030.
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills recently signed the bill into law as part of efforts to promote renewable energy.
Democratic Rep. Brian Hubbell has said renewable energy such as hydropower, wind and biomass already make up 36% of Maine’s total energy usage.
Federal data shows imported carbon fuels produce 90 of the 120 terawatt-hours of energy that Maine consumes each year.
The legislation directs the Governor’s Energy Office to analyze how the state can become a net exporter of energy by 2030.
The state could do that by developing and expanding its energy generating capacity, energy conservation and energy efficiency efforts at a level to offset Maine’s domestic energy consumption.
More scrutiny for for-profit colleges in Maine
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — For-profit colleges in Maine will likely be subject to stricter scrutiny in the future due to a pending state law change.
The Maine Legislature has voted to enact a proposal by Democratic Sen. Eloise Vitelli of Arrowsic that’s designed to make sure for-profit colleges meet basic education standards.
Vitelli says the bill would require an annual review of for-profit colleges by the state education commissioner. Failure to demonstrate adequate educational standards could result in the termination of degree-granting authority for the college.
For-profit schools will also have to report information such as graduation rates and the amount of money spent on instruction. Public and non-profit private colleges have to report similar data to the state.
The proposal had broad support from Democrats and Republicans.
Gov. Mills names director of Maine CDC
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The former head of the Illinois Department of Public Health has been tapped to lead the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills announced the appointment of Nirav Shah this week. The Portland Press Herald reports that Shah will take over the agency on June 3.
Mills has made it a priority to restore the workforce of the Maine CDC, which many felt was understaffed under former Republican Gov. Paul LePage.
Shah holds degrees from the University of Chicago and Oxford University.
Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew said his expertise and enthusiasm will serve the state well.
Police tried to stop speeding driver that caused fatal crash
FARMINGTON, Maine (AP) — Police in Maine say a deputy tried to stop a man for speeding before he caused a fatal accident.
Oxford County Police say 23-year-old Ethan John Rioux-Poulios, of Woodstock, is responsible for the crash that killed 70-year-old John Pikiell, of Norway, on Route 26 Monday.
The Portland Press Herald reports a deputy tried to stop Rioux-Poulios, who was going 87 mph in a 55-mph zone, but lost sight of the vehicle.
Authorities say another person flagged him down and told him about the accident. Pikiell’s vehicle was hit from behind and forced off the road.
Rioux-Poulios has been charged with manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident. Oxford County Jail officials said they don’t yet know who’s representing Rioux-Poulios.
His father’s been charged with hindering apprehension by lying to police.
Maine waste processing facility nearly ready for business
HAMPDEN, Maine (AP) — A commercial waste-processing facility is due to begin operations more than a year after it was originally expected to go into service.
The Bangor Daily News reports that the Hampden plan should be commercially operational by July 1, but it’s already begun receiving some solid waste shipments.
The facility is built by Fiberight. The Municipal Review Committee represents 115 communities that’ll be sending material.
Fiberight is testing specialized equipment that separates recyclables from other types of waste. Before its official opening, the company needs to finish work on areas including a pulper to break down waste and a digester to covert food and organic waste into biogas.
Maine to draw up plan to eliminate food insecurity by 2030
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine is set to draw up a plan to eliminate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in the state by 2030.
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills recently signed the bill into law. It’ll take effect 90 days after the end of the legislative session, which is slated for mid-June.
The legislation calls on the state’s Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to work with statewide advocacy groups, farmers, commercial fishers, state agencies and others to come up with such a plan.
The plan must examine the scope of hunger in Maine, while weighing policy solutions such as promoting food self-sufficiency and investing in family farmers and small-scale fisheries.
The plan is due by Feb. 10.
The bill’s fiscal note says it expects the agriculture department to absorb minor costs under the law.
Aid coming to try to improve Maine’s high cancer death rates
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine health officials are receiving more than $2 million to try to improve the state’s efforts to prevent cancer.
Republican Sen. Susan Collins and independent Sen. Angus King say the money will support the Maine Center for Disease Control’s cancer prevention and control programs. Cancer’s the leading cause of death in the state, and the senators say Maine has higher cancer death rates than most of the country.
The money’s from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Chronic Diseases Prevention and Health Promotion.
The Maine CDC’s programs are designed to conduct cancer surveillance, improve access to screening and improve health outcomes for people with cancer. The senators say the programs also provide evidence for policy and environmental approaches to cancer control, and evaluate those approaches.
Maine’s oldest documented bald eagle dies, was nearly 36
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A nearly 36-year-old bald eagle in Maine, the oldest ever documented in the state, has died after suffering a broken leg.
The eagle, found injured in April 2017, had been banded shortly after hatching on June 21, 1983, on Grand Manan Island in Canada.
She was at the Avian Haven bird sanctuary in Freedom. Executive director Diane Winn posted on Facebook Sunday the eagle was found on the ground Friday, with her left leg badly broken. Her right leg was previously injured and she had come to rely on the left leg.
Winn wrote veterinarians agreed that “we should relieve her of her suffering.”
An eagle believed to be the oldest banded bald eagle in U.S. history was found dead at age 38 in upstate New York in 2015.
Towns can soon avoid fee for broadband devices on poles
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Some Maine towns seeking to set up municipal broadband will no longer have to pay a fee to put equipment on utility poles.
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills recently signed a bill into law to exempt municipalities from such “make-ready fees.”
Owners will be responsible for expenses needed to make poles ready for municipal efforts to provide broadband service to underserved areas. The law takes effect 90 days after the legislative session ends.
A Senate Democrat spokeswoman says state regulations leave municipalities facing fees for attaching equipment to utility poles. Such charges compensate utilities for getting poles ready for new attachments.
An Emera Maine lobbyist voiced concern the bill shifts costs of municipal broadband programs to utility customers.
The bill drew support from a broadband initiative in Arrowsic, Georgetown and Southport.
Maine spring turkey hunt enters final days of year
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine’s spring turkey hunt is entering its final few days of the season.
The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife allows two turkey hunting seasons per year, one in spring and one in fall. The spring season ends on June 1.
The final week of the season differs from most of it because all hunters are eligible to hunt in far northern Maine. For most of the season, the state uses a rotational system that limits who is allowed to hunt the birds.
Wild turkeys are plentiful in Maine, where they were once rare. Hunters are only allowed to hunt bearded turkeys in spring. The bag limit is two in most of the state, but it’s limited to one in far northern Maine.
Stars of former reality show to help library
BANGOR, Maine (AP) — The stars of the former reality television show “American Loggers” are helping out a Maine library’s renovation.
The Bangor Daily News reports the Millinocket Memorial Library will reopen in a temporary location at the Pelletier family’s former restaurant as the library undergoes its $1.7 renovation.
The Pelletiers starred in the “American Loggers” show that ran from 2009 through 2011.
The Pelletier family has agreed to let the library temporarily move into the former Pelletier Loggers Family Restaurant Bar and Grill on Penobscot Avenue. The restaurant closed in 2015.
The library will start moving at the end of May and reopen in the temporary location on June 10.
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