BOSTON

National immigration sweep captures 145 in New England

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say 145 of the more than 3,100 arrests of illegal immigrants in a nationwide sweep were made in New England.

The six-day sweep, announced Monday, targeted immigrants who were illegally in the country and who were convicted of serious crimes or otherwise considered fugitives or threats to national security. In New England, 55 of those arrested had multiple criminal convictions.

Officials said Massachusetts had 70 arrests, followed by 32 in Connecticut, 24 in New Hampshire and 13 in Rhode Island. There were three apiece in Maine and Vermont.

Dorothy Herrera-Niles, field office director of enforcement and removal operations, said 50 of those arrested in New England were previously ordered out of the country, and 12 others had illegally re-entered the U.S.

FALMOUTH

Overnight turnpike drivers to hit construction delays

Drivers on the Maine Turnpike can expect long delays in Falmouth for bridge work overnight tonight.

Turnpike officials said motorists will encounter intermittent 25-minute traffic stops in both directions on the turnpike from 10 tonight until 5 a.m. Wednesday.

The traffic stops at the turnpike’s mile marker 52 will accommodate the erection of new steel beams for a bridge over the turnpike at the West Falmouth interchange.

Turnpike officials said motorists should be prepared for long delays or find other travel routes.

AUGUSTA

New law provides wider ban in designer drug battle

Maine is taking another step to control street drugs known as bath salts.

Gov. Paul LePage on Monday signed into law a bill to provide a more comprehensive ban on the possession of synthetic hallucinogenic drugs.

Maine lawmakers strengthened a state law to outlaw bath salts last summer. Since the law went into effect, police have found five more similar designer drugs, which are targeted in the new legislation.

The drugs have been sold at local stores and on the streets.

The new law also bans a synthetic hallucinogenic designer drug not chemically related to bath salts which was found at Marshwood Middle School in Eliot earlier this year. The drug is called 2-CE.

The bill was sponsored by Democratic Rep. Bobbi Beavers of South Berwick

New law tightens rules on sales of copper, other metal

A bill designed to make it more difficult for thieves to cash in stolen copper and other metals has been signed into law.

Gov. Paul LePage on Friday signed a bill that plugs loopholes in Maine’s current law, which prohibits the sale of scrap metal obtained illegally and prevents junk metal dealers from paying cash for metal.

The new law broadens the definition of “scrap metal processor” to include those who operate from trucks and move from site to site.

Also, metal sellers will have to sign statements saying they own or are authorized to sell the scrap metal. Rules for checking the identification of sellers are tightened up.

The bill was requested by police, who said metal thefts have not stopped despite the law already on the books.

Bill to halt unionizing at Turner farm signed into law

Gov. Paul LePage has signed into law a bill that will eliminate workers’ rights to unionize at a Turner-based egg farm and its subsidiaries.

The bill was signed Friday, following legislative votes that closely followed party lines. Democrats said the western Maine farm has a history of workplace violations. Republicans said the workers hadn’t voted to unionize during the 15 years they had a right to do so.

The bill directs the state Department of Labor to review labor relations between employees at large agricultural facilities and their employers after five years.

New law gives landfill owner right to expand

A central Maine landfill owned by Waste Management will be allowed to expand.

Gov. Paul LePage on Friday signed a bill that allows the Crossroads Landfill in Norridgewock to pursue expanding onto 175 to 200 acres contiguous to the landfill site. The facility accepts waste from about 80 communities.

The proposal, which has been in the works since 2009 and was postponed twice, drew opposition from some Norridgewock residents and environmentalists.

Waste Management noted that the expansion can’t take place immediately. The company must still buy the land and go through a lengthy permitting process.

If the landfill doesn’t expand, it’s expected to run out of room in a decade.

Gray man gets 18 months in theft of funds from Amvets

A man from Gray has been sentenced to 18 months in jail for stealing nearly $9,000 from a veterans organization.

Attorney General William Schneider said Peter Bragdon, 33, was sentenced Monday for stealing $8,902 from the Maine Chapter of Amvets. He was sentenced to three years in jail with all but 18 months suspended, and two years of probation.

Bragdon, a former dispatcher for the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s office, was commander of the Maine Amvets chapter and maintained access to the group’s bank account after he was forced to resign in 2009 due to alleged poor management and misconduct. He stole money from the account for nearly two years after his resignation.

Bragdon is awaiting sentencing in Kennebec County Superior Court on unrelated tax charges.

PORTLAND

Casco Bay ferry line, union reach agreement on contract

The company that operates ferries between Portland and the Casco Bay islands has reached an agreement with the union representing its workers.

The Casco Bay Island Transit District and Maine Marine Association agreed on a three-year deal that increases pay by 3 percent each year. Approval was announced Monday.

Gene Willard, union president and a ferry captain for 27 years, says the manner in which the negotiations were completed “has set a new and collaborative path for future labor relations.”

Casco Bay Island Transit District operates the ferry service 365 days per year, carrying 950,000 passengers, 5,300 tons of freight and 25,000 vehicles.

BATH

OSHA proposes $171,300 in fines for BIW safety problems

Federal workplace safety officials are proposing $171,300 in fines for Bath Iron Works for safety violation at the shipyard.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration says an inspection revealed a lack of fall protection and a variety of mechanical and electrical hazards. It cited three alleged repeat violations with $93,500 in fines and 15 serious violations with $77,800 in fines.

William Coffin, OSHA’s director for Maine, said the agency focuses on boatbuilding and shipbuilding because they have higher-than-average injury rates.

Shipyard spokesman Jim DiMartini said safety is a priority and workplace injuries have been reduced.

He said the problems cited during the OSHA inspections in October and November have been fixed and the company will be seeking an informal meeting to discuss the findings.

ROCKPORT

Contemporary Arts center announces exhibition artists

The Center for Maine Contemporary Art announced artists for the CMCA 2012 Biennial Exhibition, which will open in the fall.

Co-curators Suzette McAvoy, director of the center, and Daphne Andereson Deeds, an independent curator from Connecticut, have chosen 17 artists for the exhibition.

“There were 415 artists who submitted to the 2012 Biennial and over 3,350 individual works in a wide range of mediums,” McAvoy said in a press release. “After thorough review and much difficult decision-making, Daphne and I ultimately selected 10 artists from the open submissions and invited seven others to participate.”

The seven invited artists are: Tom Butler, Rockland; Lauren Fensterstock, Portland; Cassie Jones, Brunswick; Luc Demers, Portland; Lisa Kellner, Rangeley; David Stess, Cherryfield; Kitty Wales, Vinalhaven.

The 10 selected artists are: Kenny Cole, Monroe; Grace DeGenarro, Yarmouth; Lynda Litchfield, Cape Elizabeth; Robin Mandel, Cushing; James Marshall, Brunswick; Jonathan Mess, Jefferson; Benjamin Potter, Belfast. Kate Russo, Rockland; Aaron Stephan, Portland; Erik Wiesenburger, South Portland.

The 2012 biennial will be on view Sept. 29 through Dec. 2.

PLEASANT POINT

Interior Department settles Passamaquoddy claim

The U.S. Department of Interior has agreed to pay Maine’s Passamaquoddy tribe $11.4 million to settle a claim of federal mismanagement of tribal assets.

The lawsuit was filed in 2006 by 60 tribes from throughout the United States. The Passamaquoddies’ Joint Tribal Council met March 6 and voted to ratify the settlement, but the council also agreed not to discuss it.

Hundreds of tribal members who live within the Pleasant Point and Indian Township settlements have signed petitions asking the Joint Tribal Council to distribute the money equally among tribal members.

The tribe’s current census shows 3,369 tribal members.

Councilor Leslie Nicholas told the Bangor Daily News that the funds will be deposited and frozen for the time being.

LINCOLN

Pilot receives minor injuries when wind flips small plane

The pilot of a small experimental plane escaped serious injury when a gust of wind caught his aircraft at Lincoln Regional Airport, flipped it forward onto its nose and then onto its back.

Pilot Brian Souers was landing the Glasair 1 just before 3 p.m. on Sunday when the wind took him by surprise and pushed him off the runway.

Firefighters treated him at the scene for some minor cuts and bruises and police took a report that will be passed on to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The plane had damage to its nose and propeller, a cracked cockpit canopy and a break at the top of its tail.

Souers told the Bangor Daily News that it can be repaired.

PORTER

N.H. teen killed, two injured in single-car crash Sunday

Authorities say a New Hampshire teenager was killed and his two passengers were injured in a car crash in western Maine.

Steve McCausland of the Maine Public Safety Department says the one-car crash occurred Sunday afternoon on Route 25 in Porter.

He said 18-year-old Darren Duncanson of New Durham, N.H., lost control of the car and it rolled over and slammed into several trees. McCausland says Duncanson, who wasn’t wearing his seat belt, was pronounced dead at the scene.

His passengers, a 17-year-old girl and an 18-year-old boy, were taken to a Portland hospital with injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening.

State police are investigating the crash.

SEBASTIAN, Fla.

Skydiving instructor dies from injuries during jump

Authorities say a New England skydiving instructor who worked for Skydive New England in Lebanon, Maine, died after a hard landing in central Florida.

Sebastian police said Jason Eisenzopf, 30, originally from Fitchburg, Mass., died after being injured during a jump Friday evening. Police say initial reports indicated that he came in too fast, clipped his foot on a ditch and sustained head trauma during his landing.

Indian River County Fire Rescue reported that Eisenzopf was airlifted to a Melbourne hospital, where he died later that evening.

The death remains under investigation. An autopsy is scheduled for later this week, and an expert will inspect Eisenzopf’s equipment.

Eisenzopf’s mother, Barbara Eisenzopf, told Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers that her son was spending his second winter at Skydive Sebastian and was planning to return to his job at Skydive New England in Lebanon.