CUMBERLAND

ATV crash leaves 19-year-old dead

A 19-year-old Cumberland man died Monday when he fell off the all-terrain vehicle he was riding and the machine landed on top of him, police said.

Jesse P. Zacks of Mill Road was riding on Pleasant Valley Road at 5 p.m. when he suddenly vaulted over the front of the ATV, which then landed on him, Police Chief Joseph Charon said. Residents pulled the machine off him, and Zacks was taken by LifeFlight helicopter to Maine Medical Center but died en route.

It was not clear whether he had been riding on the road for some distance or was driving from one trail to another, Charon said.

Zacks was not wearing a helmet, though that was not a significant factor in his fatal injuries, Charon said. He did not specify what the injuries were.

PORTLAND

‘Time and Temp’ still not ticking

The lights were still out on the roof of the Time and Temperature Building on Tuesday night.

The property manager at 477 Congress St. had hoped that the digital sign would be blinking again Tuesday. The sign went dark Friday afternoon when a circuit board failed. Installation of the replacement that arrived Tuesday didn’t resolve the problem, according to CBRE/Boulos Property Management.

Engineers will be at the city landmark to work on the clock today.

 

High court rejects inmate’s claims

Maine’s highest court has rejected an appeal from an accused elementary school hostage-taker who claimed his constitutional rights were violated because a jail didn’t provide him the newspapers he wanted to read or let him watch TV news programs of his choice.

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court today upheld a lower court ruling that dismissed 57-year-old Randall Hofland’s claims against the York County Jail.

Justices said Hofland’s claim fell short because the jail did provide him access to newspapers and TV programming – even if they weren’t exactly what he wanted when he wanted them.

Hofland, who is now at the Somerset County Jail, faces kidnapping and other charges for allegedly taking a Stockton Springs fifth-grade class hostage at gunpoint on Oct. 31, 2008. The trial has not yet been scheduled.

 

Free tickets offered for screening

The Maine Women’s Fund, the White House Project and Participant Media are offering free tickets to an advance screening of the movie “Fair Game.”

The screening takes place at 7 p.m. Thursday at Nickelodeon Cinema in Portland. Rosa Scarcelli, former Democratic candidate for governor, and Elizabeth Stefanski, executive director of the Maine Women’s Fund, will lead a discussion.

“Fair Game,” starring Naomi Watts and Sean Penn, is based on the true story of Valerie Plame being revealed publicly as a CIA agent.

The PG-13 movie opens in select cities on Nov. 5. Tickets for Thursday’s advance screening must be reserved online. Go to www.mainewomensfund.org for information and to reserve tickets.

 

CMP to pay $4 million penalty

Central Maine Power Co. will pay a $4 million penalty for service quality problems last year, the Maine Public Utilities Commission said today.

The penalty stems from a settlement agreement between CMP and the Office of the Public Advocate. It involves an elevated number of customer complaints last year, in excess of performance benchmarks set by the PUC under CMP’s alternative rate plan.

Most of the penalty will go to ratepayers, with a portion earmarked for low-income customers who were unable to pay bills in the economic downturn.

CMP has operated under an alternative rate plan since 1995. The plan provides incentives for efficiency savings; any savings above the predicted rate can be passed on to consumers and shareholders. 

CMP’s plan includes a service quality index that is intended to ensure that its service does not deteriorate under this rate plan. A penalty mechanism is triggered if CMP’s performance falls below established baselines for any of six separate service quality indicators. One of those indicators is the complaint ratio, based on the number of customer complaints received by the PUC’s Consumer Assistance Division in a 12-month period.

The maximum penalty under CMP’s current plan in any year is $5 million.

AUGUSTA

Agency awards arts fellowships

The Maine Arts Commission has announced recipients of the 2011 Artists’ Fellowship Awards.

This year’s four fellows are Theresa Secord of Waterville in the traditional arts; Ethan Hayes-Chute of Freeport in the visual arts; Elizabeth Kirschner of Kittery Point in the literary arts; and Deborah Wing-Sproul of Cape Elizabeth in the performing and media arts.

Each fellowship carries a $13,000 award, putting them among the country’s richest awards for individual artists given by a state arts agency. The fellows will be celebrated with a program at 6 p.m. Oct. 29 at Gracie Theater at Husson University in Bangor.

The awards showcase is free and open to the public.

 

Bedbug advice: Don’t close schools

A Maine health official says schools needn’t be closed if bedbugs are discovered in them.

State Epidemiologist Dr. Stephen Sears says schools that find bedbugs should bring in pest management experts who can determine whether the school is infested or has just a few individual insects. Rooms where the bedbugs are found should be treated, but schools do not have to close.

Sears’ comments came after the Sabattus Primary School closed for two days last week because bedbugs were found in a classroom.

In response the state issued guidelines about what to do in similar situations.

Sears told the Sun Journal of Lewiston that bedbugs aren’t likely to overwhelm schools because they hide during the day and come out at night.

SALINA, Kan.

Samaritan grants dying man’s wish

A dying man from Kansas has made it back to Maine to see his family.

Relatives of 28-year-old Anthony Napoleone said an anonymous East Coast donor paid to fly Napoleone from Salina to Maine on Sunday. The donor provided a private jet, nurses and medical care for the flight.

Napoleone’s health deteriorated after he was stabbed in 2008 in Salina during a fight with his sister’s boyfriend. His last wish was to return to Maine to see his family, especially his two sons and stepchildren.

Napoleone’s mother, Rayleen Wright, said he slept through the flight and was staying at an aunt’s house in Raymond.

The donor came forward after a story in The Salina Journal was picked up by The Associated Press and published in The Portland Press Herald and other newspapers in Maine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AUGUSTA

Tour to bolster Clean Election Act

Advocates who helped pass the Maine Clean Election Act are marking the 10th anniversary of the system, which provides public financing for gubernatorial and legislative candidates who qualify.

Maine Citizens for Clean Elections Co-chair Alison Smith said a statewide tour is under way to reconnect with Maine voters who authorized the law. The tour will visit all 16 counties. This week, advocates will visit Kennebec, Somerset, Penobscot, Hancock and Waldo counties.

The tour comes as taxpayer-financed systems are targeted by lawsuits in Maine and other states.

In Maine, only one candidate for governor – Democrat Libby Mitchell – is receiving Clean Election funding.

The system has proven to be popular with legislative candidates from both major parties, with about 80 percent using it.