AUGUSTA

Senate follows House, sends gay marriage issue to voters

Maine voters will get their second chance since 2009 to decide whether the state should recognize marriage between same-sex couples.

The Senate went along with the House on Wednesday and voted to kill the citizen-initiated bill, sending it to voters this November.

In 2009, Maine voters repealed a legislatively passed gay marriage law 53 percent to 47 percent.

The latest effort to force a referendum comes after gay rights activists say many Mainers have changed their minds about the issue and are now willing to accept same-sex marriages.

Because the bill arises from the citizens initiative process, lawmakers had an option to pass it exactly as proposed or kill it, which sends it to voters.

The Maine Freedom to Marry Coalition says the Legislature has honored the will of voters.

Amended bill – to study, not change, voting – passes Senate

What started out as a voter identification bill will be weakened to a study if a measure that’s advancing through the Maine Legislature is enacted.

The Senate on Tuesday voted to go along with the House and approve the amended bill.

In its original form, the bill would have required voters to provide picture IDs in order to cast ballots. It was carried over from last year, when it was narrowly defeated following a partisan debate.

This year, the bill was weakened in committee to call for a study by state election officials into voter participation and registration issues.

Civil libertarians applauded Tuesday’s final action, saying the Legislature rejected an attempt to make it harder for Mainers to vote.

The amended voter ID bill faces final House and Senate votes.

Deer harvest falls in 2011, the fourth season of low totals

Hunters killed fewer than 19,000 deer in Maine last year, a 6 percent drop from 2010 and the fourth straight season with low harvest numbers.

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife said Wednesday that 18,839 deer were killed by resident and nonresident hunters.

The decline was expected due to a sharp cutback in the number of hunter permits to give the deer population a chance to recover following harsh winters in 2008 and 2009 that thinned the herd.

Biologists say this year’s mild winter should help boost Maine’s deer population and result in a strong deer hunt next fall.

As recently as five years ago, the Maine deer harvest approached 30,000 animals a year. The harvest the past four years has ranged from about 18,000 to 21,000.

Man who pleaded guilty to theft, extortion sentenced

A Somerville man who tried to extort $2,000 from an Augusta couple whose home he broke into has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Jake Pilsbury was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty last week to three burglaries, theft by extortion, theft by deception and theft by unauthorized taking or transfer.

Pilsbury also was ordered to pay nearly $9,000 restitution.

The Kennebec Journal reported Pilsbury apologized in court and his attorney said the offenses were driven by drugs and a loss of a job.

Prosecutors say Pilsbury broke into the home on Oct. 29 and stole a cellphone, digital camera and several sets of keys. He then called the home and threatened to create more trouble if the homeowner did not give him $2,000.

DAYTON

Arundel man jailed, facing charges in armed violence

A York County man who allegedly assaulted three women during an argument at a home late Tuesday night is being held in York County Jail on a charge of criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon.

Maj. William L. King Jr. said Matthew Mills, 21, of Arundel will likely face assault charges as well.

Mills was arguing with his girlfriend when a third person, a woman, intervened, King said. Mills allegedly pointed a .22-caliber handgun at the woman. Police do not know if the handgun was loaded.

When Mills’ girlfriend tried to wrestle the gun from him, he assaulted her and the woman. The woman fled to seek help from a neighbor.

Mills then assaulted the neighbor, another woman, in the yard outside the home, King said. None of the victims needed to be hospitalized after the assaults.

Mills was being held Wednesday night in the York County Jail on $10,000 cash bail.

SCARBOROUGH

Gourmet burger chain plans to open restaurant March 26

Burger fans, take note: Red Robin Gourmet Burgers will open its first restaurant in southern Maine on March 26. It will be located at 800 Gallery Boulevard in the Scarborough Gallery shopping complex across from Walmart.

Red Robin is part of a Colorado-based chain of casual restaurants that has more than 460 locations in the United States and Canada. The chain serves more than two dozen varieties of gourmet burgers and offers free refills on its steak fries. Its signature “Royal Red Robin Burger” is topped with a fried egg.

SANFORD

New radio station bringing ‘The Legends’ to airwaves

A new radio station billing itself as “AM 1220 The Legends” is on the air in York County.

In their announcement, the new owners, Port Broadcasting, said their “Legends” format mixes 1950s and ’60s oldies with standards from the likes of Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra, as well more contemporary artists including James Taylor and Neil Diamond.

Port Broadcasting managers also plan to air local sports, event listings and community announcements. Civic and nonprofit organizations are encouraged to send community announcements to info@1220thelegends.com.

BIDDEFORD

Abnormal chlorine levels at Y force evacuations, treatments

As many as eight people sought treatment at the hospital and about 90 people were evacuated from Biddeford’s YMCA after higher-than-normal levels of chlorine were detected in the pool area.

Authorities say several people went to Southern Maine Medical Center in Biddeford in ambulances and one person drove to the hospital after the hazardous materials situation just after 5 p.m. Tuesday. About 20 people were treated at the scene.

Their injuries were not considered life-threatening.

All the people who suffered respiratory problems and skin irritation were in the pool area on the Northern York County Family YMCA.

The YMCA reopened about three hours later.

BANGOR

Donations returned after fundraiser is deemed illegal

The Penobscot County Law Enforcement Association has had to return all donations collected recently from other law enforcement officers during a fundraising effort to benefit the wife of a sheriff’s deputy who had cancer, because it violated the law.

Sheriff Glenn Ross told the Bangor Daily News an email sent to law enforcement officers around the state months ago telling them about the ill woman was illegal.

The law prohibits a law enforcement agency, association or officer from soliciting from the general public if the money raised benefits the agency, association or an officer.

The woman has since died.

FALMOUTH

Audubon project needs help tracking species along roads

Maine Audubon is looking for volunteers to be on the lookout for endangered species of wildlife.

Volunteers are being asked to survey roads in southern Maine this spring and summer to record sightings of dead and alive endangered species and other wildlife. They’ll enter their observations on Maine Audubon’s “Wildlife Road Watch” interactive website.

Biologists with Maine Audubon and the state’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife will use the information to work with town planners and the state Transportation Department to come up with solutions to reduce the road risks for rare wildlife while improving conditions for drivers.

Species of particular interest include Blanding’s turtles, spotted turtles, black racer snakes and New England cottontails. Find more at Maine Audubon’s website.

MONROE, Conn.

Maine woman faces charge of sexually assaulting teen

A 22-year-old Maine woman has been charged with sexually assaulting a 15-year-old Connecticut boy she met while playing an online video game.

Cassandra Grant of Rockland turned herself in at the Monroe police department Monday and was charged with second-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor. She posted $10,000 bail and is to appear in Bridgeport Superior Court on March 21.

Police say Grant met the teenager about a year ago while playing an online Sony Playstation 3 game. Authorities say the two developed a relationship over the computer and phone, and allegedly had sex in December.

Police say the boy’s parents called authorities after discovering the relationship and Grant’s age.

PARIS

Man pleads guilty to setting fire to his own residence

A Norway man has pleaded guilty to burning down the boarding house where he lived after threatening another resident during a fight over stolen food.

Todd Fickett, 19, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Oxford County Superior to arson charges. He was a resident of the building on Main Street.

The Sun Journal reported that he was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation before sentencing in April or May.

Fickett told police he set a fire in a trash can to create smoke and disrupt the other tenants, but never intended to burn down the building.

Another resident says Fickett threatened him just before the fire.

Twelve other residents lived in the building but no one was hurt.