PORTLAND

Anthem appeal or rate case rejected because of timing

Maine’s highest court has dismissed Anthem insurance company’s appeal of a lower court ruling that upheld the state insurance superintendent’s setting of a rate that allowed for no profit.

Anthem Health Plans of Maine challenged the decision that reduced Anthem’s proposed 2009-2010 rate increase for individual health plans from 18.1 percent to 10.9 percent — a rate that projected a zero percent profit margin.

In a 5-2 ruling Thursday, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court dismissed the appeal as moot because the year in which the challenged rates were effective has passed and new rates have gone into effect.

In a dissenting opinion, Justices Jon Levy and Andrew Mead said the appeal should proceed because the core legal issues arise each year during the annual rate-approval process.

Tree falls in Cumberland, causing widespread outage

Thousands of households and businesses in Portland and its northern suburbs lost electricity Thursday morning after a tree fell onto a transmission line, according to Central Maine Power Co.

Strong winds knocked the tree over in Cumberland shortly before 11 a.m., according to Gail Rice, a CMP spokeswoman. The outage affected 11,000 customers in Portland, Falmouth and Cumberland.

The outage occurred at 10:18 a.m. and power was restored by 10:58 a.m.

Unitil’s upgrade of gas lines closes piece of Market Street

Unitil began upgrading underground gas lines at the corner of Commercial and Market streets Thursday.

Market Street, between Commercial and Fore streets, will be closed to daytime vehicle traffic for about a week, according to a news release from the natural gas company.

Two-way traffic will be maintained on Commercial Street, but some parking spots may be affected. Pedestrian access to buildings will be maintained at all times.

The work is part of the company’s effort to upgrade more than 100 miles of pipe throughout Portland and Westbrook, according to Unitil’s website. It includes the replacement of nearly 70 miles of older cast iron and steel pipe with plastic.

The work is being done by NEUCO, Unitil’s contractor on the project.

The new pipeline will provide greater capacity to meet the growing energy demands of southern Maine residents, according to the website.

Mysterious apartment fire may never be solved

The cause of a fire that damaged a three-story apartment building on Walton Street remains unknown.

The fire at 15 Walton St. last month started in a corner of the living room in the second-floor unit, but there were no ignition sources in the vicinity, Capt. Keith Gautreau, the Fire Department’s head of fire prevention, said Thursday.

The area where it ignited — roughly 8 feet by 8 feet — contained a sofa and a coffee table, but no outlets, wires or evidence of things such as lighters, candles or cigarettes, Gautreau said. The occupant was not home when the fire broke out and had not been there for a day, he said.

There is no indication that the fire was suspicious, Gautreau said.

“It’s more baffling than it is suspicious,” he said.

The investigation has concluded, but Gautreau said the department will pursue any additional information obtained.

Two people were in the third-floor unit when the fire started. No one was injured.

SCARBOROUGH

Tobacco use now banned on all beaches in town

Tobacco use is now banned on all beaches in town.

The Town Council voted 4-2 Wednesday night to ban smoking of all kinds, as well as the use of chewing and snuff tobacco.

The council was responding to concerns about secondhand smoke and the number of cigarette butts found on town beaches.

Violators may be fined $100 to $500, said Town Clerk Tody Justice.

The ban applies to all town beaches, including Pine Point, Ferry and Higgins beaches.

Smoking was already banned in town parks, recreation areas and schools, and at Scarborough Beach State Park.

BUCKFIELD

Police probe shooting death of 51-year-old BIW welder

Maine State Police are investigating the shooting death of a 51-year-old man inside his home in central Maine.

Police said the body of Gregg Belanger was discovered Wednesday night when his ex-wife stopped by his ranch-style home in the Oxford County town of Buckfield. Belanger was a welder at Bath Iron Works.

Police say detectives spent Thursday gathering evidence and taking photographs and measurements.

An autopsy was performed at the Medical Examiner’s Office, but the results were not immediately available.

BANGOR

Mass. man to be sentenced in June for death of toddler

A Massachusetts man has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of his girlfriend’s 15-month-old son. As part of the plea deal, a murder charge against him was dropped.

Edgard Anziani, 28, of Lawrence, entered his plea Thursday in Penobscot County Superior Court. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for June 24.

Anziani was indicted on murder and manslaughter charges in the Feb. 23, 2010, death of Damien Lynn, son of Cheryl Metzger, 22, of Bangor. Anziani told police the baby fell down some stairs while he was babysitting him at Metzger’s apartment, but the state medical examiner concluded the injuries weren’t consistent with a fall.

Manslaughter in Maine carries a maximum sentence of 30 years.

BELFAST

Woman held in stabbing of live-in boyfriend, 44

A Belfast woman has been charged with aggravated assault in the stabbing of her live-in boyfriend.

Whitney Anderson, 38, allegedly attacked Tracy Roadarmel in the hand and chest Wednesday. Police say the cuts to his hands were defensive wounds.

The 44-year-old man was hospitalized at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

The Bangor Daily News says Roadarmel called 911 about 5:30 p.m. to say he’d been stabbed, and that his attacker was still in the home.

Anderson was being held at the Waldo County jail.

KENNEBUNK

Lawyer: No deadly force before shooting of woman

A lawyer for the family of a Maine woman killed in a police shooting says he’s found nothing to suggest that she acted with deadly force toward police.

Attorney Dan Warren, of Scarborough, told the Portsmouth Herald he has no evidence that police were justified in shooting Katherine Paulson, 39, when they went to the Kennebunk home she shared with her mother in response to a report of a domestic dispute.

Police have said she confronted Officer Joshua Morneau with “deadly force.”

The March 27 shooting is being probed by the Maine Attorney General’s Office, which reviews police shootings. Kennebunk police will do their own investigation after the state releases its findings.

AUBURN

Man sentenced to 30 days for seeking retribution

A Maine man is going to jail for 30 days for running into a man with his car in what police say was payback for a fatal accident five years ago.

In a plea agreement, William Panzino, 22, of Auburn pleaded guilty to reckless conduct and driving to endanger Wednesday in Androscoggin County Superior Court. He was originally charged with aggravated assault and reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon.

Panzino was charged with striking Kyle Karkos on a street in Auburn last June, sending him to the hospital with cuts and bruises, the Sun Journal of Lewiston reported. Panzino said it was an accident.

But prosecutors said Panzino ran down Karkos as retribution for a 2006 crash that killed a passenger in a car driven by Karkos, who was then 17.

GORHAM

Man, 57, missing for days, described as despondent

Police were still searching Thursday for a man who was reported missing more than a week ago.

Bernard E. Herring, 57, was last seen walking away from his apartment at 464 Main St. He was despondent and intoxicated at the time, police said.

Authorities and volunteers searched for Herring without success last Friday. The search involved planes from the Maine Warden Service and cadaver dogs, said Detective Sgt. Dana Thompson.

Herring has disappeared for a day at a time before, but has never been missing for this long, Thompson said.

Herring is white, 5-foot-11, with red hair, blue eyes and a slim build. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, a jean jacket, Red Wing boots, Carhartt work vest and tan Bushmaster baseball bat.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call Thompson at 839-5046.

SANFORD

House calls by tow truck leads to auto theft charges

Two men have been charged with stealing cars by backing a tow truck into residential driveways, hooking up the vehicles and driving away.

Police have been receiving reports of cars removed from driveways in Sanford and Springvale.

Bystanders chased and caught a man they said was attempting to take a car from a home after hearing about other missing cars.

Police took John Huot, 47, of Sanford and 44-year-old Mark Ramsey of Buxton into custody, according to The Journal Tribune. Both have been charged with theft.

AUGUSTA

Maine AG joins other states challenging sales of Blast

The attorneys general in Maine and 16 other states want Pabst Brewing Co. to stop selling or make changes to a new drink called Blast, by Colt 45, because of its high alcohol content.

The carbonated malt beverage was introduced this month and comes in fruit flavors in brightly colored cans with an alcohol content of 12 percent.

Maine Attorney General William J. Schneider says it’s marketed to “underage drinkers.” He says it contains the equivalent of five beers per serving and consuming a can in about two hours constitutes “binge drinking” as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Pabst hasn’t responded to requests for comment.

Major brands of caffeinated alcoholic drinks were pulled from shelves last year after the Food and Drug Administration called them unsafe.

Whoopie to be state treat without governor’s blessing

Whoopie pies are now Maine’s official state treat. A bill addressing the issue became law Wednesday without Gov. Paul LePage’s signature. The bill, which drew widespread attention and criticism, takes effect 90 days after the close of this year’s legislative session.

The original version, to make whoopies the official state dessert, was amended to bestow that designation on blueberry pie made with wild Maine blueberries. Whoopies were made the state treat instead.

The bill surfaced as Maine and Pennsylvania each claimed credit as the origin of the chocolate cakes stuffed with white frosting.

LePage’s office said the governor didn’t sign the bill because it’s not a priority. He is focusing on regulatory, pension and tax reform, health care and energy costs.

FREEPORT

Mass. driver rolls pickup after dozing off on I-295

The driver of a pickup truck apparently dozed off before rolling his vehicle on Interstate 295 Thursday morning, according to State Police.

Nelson Stephens of Sagamore Beach, Mass., was heading south when he drove his Chevrolet pickup truck off the right side of the road near mile marker 26, according to Trooper Marvin Hinkley. The truck struck ledge and then veered across both southbound lanes and rolled before stopping against the guardrail, according to Hinkley.

Stephens was treated for minor abrasions.

The left lane was closed for almost an hour after the accident, which took place shortly before 11:26 a.m. Traffic backed up to Exit 28.

WASHINGTON, Vt.

Grave desecration probe leads police to Maine man

Vermont State Police said they have charged two people with unlawfully removing the ashes of a dead woman from a grave.

Police spokeswoman Stephanie Dasaro said a probe that began in September with a report of a grave desecration at Maple Hill Cemetery in Washington led police to file charges Wednesday.

Gene Sargeant, 30, of North Waterboro, Maine, and 30-year-old David Mares Jr., of Barre, are charged with unauthorized removal of human remains. They were cited in Washington Superior Court on June 1.

Dasaro said a family member of the woman was contacted by an anonymous source, prompting an exhumation of the grave that confirmed the removal of the ashes.

Police aren’t releasing the woman’s name.