PORTLAND

Police arrest man suspected in robbery of credit union

The man suspected in a credit union robbery that took place Monday morning has been apprehended by Portland police.

Lt. Gary Rogers said 40-year-old Sean Dolstad of Portland was arrested around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday while talking on a pay phone at the Mellen Street Market.

Dolstad, who was identified by a video surveillance camera, was arrested without incident.

Rogers credited a citizen with tipping off police to Dolstad’s whereabouts. Dolstad has been charged with robbery, burglary and violation of probation.

Dolstad allegedly entered the TruChoice Federal Credit Union at 272 Park Ave. on Monday morning, handed the teller a note and fled with an undetermined amount of cash.

Rogers said Dolstad also stole a safe on Monday from the YMCA office at 70 Forest Ave.

Man assaulted during apartment break-in

Police are investigating the motive for an assault that occurred Tuesday night in an apartment building on Grant Street.

Lt. Robert Ridge said two black men climbed a fire escape to the second floor, smashed a window and hit the apartment’s occupant on the head with a rock or brick.

The men fled by getting into a vehicle. Police were unable to get a description of the car. Ridge said it did not appear that the victim, a man in his early 20s, would need to be hospitalized.

The assault occurred around 10:20 p.m. at 142 Grant St.

City lands $100,000 grant for Art at Work program

The city has been awarded a $100,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The city landed the grant for its Art at Work program, which helps encourage art projects created by a partnership of city workers and the public.

Under the four-year-old program, art – such as posters, photographs, prints and poems – produced by city workers is exhibited in city galleries, parking garages, lunchrooms, libraries and city buildings, such as the Portland Police Station.

The grant was awarded under the NEA’s new Our Town program. It will fund Portland’s new “Meeting Place” initiative, which will create a partnership with the city’s neighborhood associations for exhibits that reflect Portland’s diverse neighborhoods.

 

Commission seeking input on civic center renovation

Cumberland County Commissioners will hold a series of public hearings to gather input on the possible renovation of the Cumberland County Civic Center.

The commissioners are scheduled to vote Aug. 8 on whether to put a bond referendum on the November ballot to pay for the work.

Among the projects likely to be included are new club-level seats, an upgraded concession area, improvements to the box office, increasing the size of the loading dock and other upgrades.

The exact cost of the renovations is still being determined, but the commissioners have put an informal cap of $35 million on the amount to be borrowed.

The meeting schedule is:

• Monday, July 18, 6 p.m., in the Raymond broadcast studio adjacent to Jordan Small School

• Thursday, July 21, 6 p.m., Freeport Town Hall

• Tuesday, July 26, 6 p.m., Scarborough Town Hall

• Monday, Aug. 8 at 5:30 p.m. in the Peter J. Feeney conference room at the Cumberland County Courthouse in Portland, followed by the bond-referendum vote.

BATH

Two men and teenage boy arrested in vehicle break-ins

Bath police said they have arrested two adults and a juvenile in connection with a series of vehicle break-ins.

Police Chief Michael Field said three males, including a 16-year-old boy, were apprehended Monday night after police responded to reports of suspects going through cars parked on Cherry Street.

Field said his officers searched the area and found 18-year-old Taylor Hanson of Phippsburg. Hanson’s backpack and pockets were bulging with stolen items.

Bath used its police dogs to locate two other suspects who were trying to hide from police. Ethan Zwaan, 20, of Woolwich and the juvenile were also wearing backpacks stuffed with items stolen from cars, police said.

All three were charged with burglary. Hanson and Zwaan were summonsed for illegal possession of alcohol by a minor.

Police recovered two wallets. Field urges drivers to lock their cars and to keep valuables out of sight.

FALMOUTH

Officials propose new rules for local cable TV Channel 2

Town officials are updating the use policies for community-access television Channel 2 to ensure balanced political programming and to limit its cost to taxpayers.

The proposed new rules would prohibit programs that promote a particular candidate or cause. Political forums or debates would be allowed if they were open to all candidates in an election or all positions on an issue.

The new rules grew from concern over recent local cable presentations for and against the proposed reuse of the Plummer-Motz and Lunt elementary schools, Town Manager Nathan Poore told the Town Council on Monday.

The hour-long presentations were made separately, one after the other, and each production was staffed by town employees.

The new rules also would prohibit promotional programs for religious beliefs and commercial products or services, including gambling, lotteries and free gifts.

 

Official: No town funds used for failed library campaign

Falmouth Memorial Library trustees used no town funds to promote the recent failed referendum proposal to convert the former Lunt Elementary School into a larger public library, the library accountant told the Town Council on Monday.

The library took in $550,000 in revenue in the fiscal year that ended June 30, including $376,000 from the town, said Vicki Swerdlow, library accountant.

Library revenue also included a $50,000 bequest that was designated to be used for the trustees’ expansion effort, Swerdlow said.

The trustees spent $33,000 of the bequest on informational materials related to the expansion effort, but not on campaign materials promoting the referendum proposal, Swerdlow said.

LEWISTON

Police investigating death after remains discovered

State and local police are investigating the death of a woman whose decomposing remains were discovered in the basement of an apartment in Lewiston.

Police described the death Tuesday as suspicious. The body was taken to the state Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy and identification.

Police, who were alerted late Monday, said the woman had been dead for weeks.

State police said one of the building’s tenants, 20-year-old Robert Ryder, was taken into custody and was being held at the Androscoggin County jail on a probation violation.

LAMOINE

Police release name of man who died while kayaking

Officials have released the name of a New Hampshire man who died while kayaking off the Maine coast.

Marine Patrol Officer Colin MacDonald said 43-year-old Steven Brooks of Stratham died after his kayak capsized Sunday afternoon in the waters between Bar Harbor and Lamoine off Mount Desert Island. His kayaking companion tried to rescue him, but was unable to keep him above water.

Police told the Bangor Daily News that officials haven’t determined whether Brooks died from drowning or a possible medical condition that might have contributed to the accident.

WESTBROOK

Three juveniles charged with burglary of vehicles

Police charged three juveniles with 12 counts of burglary to a motor vehicle and two counts of possession of alcohol by a minor, after residents reported seeing a large group of minors rummaging through cars early Saturday morning.

Westbrook police Capt. Tom Roth said residents in the area of Constitution Drive and Pioneer Road called police about 2 a.m. Saturday to report the burglaries.

Officers caught two juveniles, who led police to a larger group. An investigation led to charges against three of the minors.

Roth said all of the items stolen from the cars, including sunglasses, CDs and loose change, were recovered. He said nearly all car burglaries investigated this year have involved unlocked cars. Police urge residents to lock their vehicles at all times.