Teen charged with killing mother agrees to plea deal
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A Maine teenager charged with the stabbing and strangling death of his mother has entered into a plea bargain.
Sixteen-year-old Lukas Mironovas entered the guilty plea on a charge of murder Wednesday in a Kennebec County court. He was charged with the 2018 killing 47-year-old Kimberly Mironovas.
A lawyer for Lukas Mironovas says the deal will result in a prison term of 25 to 35 years. He could’ve faced a life sentence without the plea agreement.
Prosecutors have said Lukas Mironovas and two friends planned to spike his mother’s drink with crushed prescription pills. When that plan failed, they decided to strangle and stab her.
One of the two other teenagers faces trial as an adult, while the other has been sentenced to juvenile detention.
Referee hit in the face by cannon blast suffers injuries
CASTINE, Maine (AP) — A referee who was hit in the face by a cannon blast during a Maine Maritime Academy football game is recovering from his injuries.
The referee was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries Saturday.
The Hancock County Sheriff’s Department told WCSH-TV that an academy alumnus brought the cannon to the game in Castine. The alumnus reportedly loaded the cannon with black powder and a substance that had been made into a wad.
It is tradition for a cannon to be fired with a blank shotgun shell when the academy scores.
Cod fishing off New England shut down for months
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The federal government is shutting down recreational cod fishing in a key fishing area off New England for several months.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says possession of Gulf of Maine cod will be prohibited from Oct. 1 to April 30. The Gulf of Maine touches Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire and is a hotbed of a recreational and commercial fishing.
The Gulf of Maine once teemed with cod, but populations are much lower in the modern era and the fish is subject to tight regulations. Recreational fishermen are still allowed to possess one cod per day until Sept. 30.
Acadia National Park to allow e-bikes on carriage trails
BAR HARBOR, Maine (AP) — Acadia National Park visitors are going to be allowed to ride motorized electric bikes on carriage paths beginning this weekend.
Park officials announced Thursday that Acadia will abide by an Interior Department directive to treat e-bikes like regular bicycles. But the park is limiting trail access to only pedal-assisted e-bikes with a top speed of 20 mph.
Supporters say e-bikes are great for older riders who might not otherwise be able to ride.
But critics say they’re too fast and could startle horses. They also say the Rockefellers who donated the carriage roads didn’t want motorized vehicles on them.
The new rules apply to 45 miles (72 kilometers) of carriage paths managed by the park but not 12 miles (20 kilometers) of paths on private land.
Records to be released regarding child’s abuse
BELFAST, Maine (AP) — A judge is requiring the Maine Department of Health and Human Services to release more than 1,000 pages of records pertaining to a 10-year-old girl who was beaten to death in February 2018.
An autopsy reports Marissa Kennedy was beaten to death in Stockton Springs. Prosecutors say the girl was “systematically tortured” over several months until her “heart gave out.”
Sharon Carrillo currently faces charges for her alleged role in her daughter’s death.
The child’s stepfather, Julio Carrillo, was sentenced to 55 years in prison in August.
The Bangor Daily News reports the documents will not be released publicly. Only prosecution and defense teams working on the case will have access.
Sharon Carrillo says that both she and her daughter were the victims of her husband’s abuse.
Shaheen speaks at USS Thresher memorial dedication
By The Associated Press
U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire on Thursday told family members of the sailors killed in the deadliest submarine disaster in the nation’s history that they did not die in vain and their sacrifice will be memorialized.
Shaheen delivered the keynote address at the dedication of a memorial in Arlington National Cemetery honoring the crew about the USS Thresher. U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire said the monument will serve as a lasting tribute.
Built at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, the first-in-class Thresher was the world’s most advanced fast attack submarine when it was commissioned. But a malfunction during a deep-sea drive off Cape Cod on April 10, 1963, claimed the lives of all 129 aboard.
A 129-foot flagpole memorial in Kittery also pays tribute to the sailors.
“The loss of these men and their shipmates inspired the creation and implementation of the most comprehensive naval submarine safety program in the world, the Submarine Safety and Quality Assurance Program,” Shaheen said in prepared remarks. She said the program “has helped ensure that Navy crews are able to operate with maximum protection. … Submariners are safer because of the sacrifices made by the men on the Thresher.”
The stone marker will be on a walkway that runs between the cemetery’s welcome center and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Memorial.
NC company plans to create 100 jobs in Lincoln
LINCOLN, Maine (AP) — A North Carolina company that makes a composite wood material intends to build a factory in Lincoln that would employ about 100 people.
LignaTerra Global LLC says the 300,000-square-foot plant will be built on town-owned land that used to be part of the former Lincoln Paper and Tissue mill.
The Bangor Daily News reports that Lincoln officials plan to sell or lease some of the 76.6-acre site. The operation will be funded by venture capital firms utilizing a new federal tax program thanks to Lincoln’s designation as an Opportunity Zone.
LignaTerra produces cross-laminated timber that’s meant to serve as an alternative construction material to steel and concrete.
The company withdrew a previous plan to build at a former paper mill site in Millinocket because of an unresolved federal tax lien.
Sun Life US is headed to the Portland waterfront
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The U.S. arm of Canadian firm Sun Life Financial Inc. is relocating offices in Scarborough and South Portland to a waterfront property in Portland.
Sun Life U.S. announced Thursday it intends to relocate by 2021 after signing a lease for 77,000 square feet of office space at the former Portland Co. site, now called Portland Foreside.
Sun Life and a subsidiary FullscopeRMS have more than 500 employees in Maine. The company said the new space has room to add another 200 workers in coming years.
Dan Fishbein, M.D., president of Sun Life U.S., said the company is excited to join “the thriving downtown Portland business community.”
Portland Foreside comprises 10 acres. Developers envision office space, hotel lodging and retail space, in addition to a marina.
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