AUGUSTA

LePage proclaims day of remembrance for Maine victims

Gov. Paul LePage is proclaiming a Maine Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims.

LePage will deliver remarks at the University of Maine at Augusta on Tuesday at a ceremony that pays tribute to the hundreds of murder victims in Maine history.

Family members of murder victims, domestic violence prevention advocates, Attorney General William Schneider and a Maine State Police crimes commander will attend.

The ceremony is held in conjunction with the National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims.

Panel: W. Gardiner firefighter victim of sex bias

A state board has unanimously ruled in favor of a West Gardiner firefighter who said selectmen refused to appoint her as chief because of her gender.

The Maine Human Rights Commission also found Monday that Vicki Dill was subjected to retaliation because she was demoted after expressing her frustration to a newspaper.

Commission findings are not law, but may become grounds for lawsuits.

An attorney for the town tells the Kennebec Journal (http://bit.ly/UOOapL ) the town is willing to try to resolve the dispute through a settlement. Dill’s lawyer said she and Dill would participate in conciliation efforts.

The 41-year-old Dill got the most votes in the West Gardiner Firemen’s Association election for chief in 2009, but was passed over in favor of the person who got the third most votes.

ROCKLAND

Maine man who showed up to court drunk gets 30 days

A Maine man authorities say was drunk when he showed up for his drunken driving trial two weeks ago has been sentenced to 30 days in jail.

John Whoriskey was sentenced to six months Monday with all but 30 days suspended for operating under the influence and violating a condition of release for coming to the trial under the influence. The 47-year-old Spruce Head man was also placed on probation for a year, lost his driver’s license for three years and fined $900.

The Bangor Daily News reports that Whoriskey fled the courthouse on Sept. 11 after a judicial marshal detected alcohol on his breath and a judge ordered a Breathalyzer test. A judicial marshal caught Whoriskey a short distance from the courthouse.

SACO

Drivers on Interstate 195 may hit delays after 9 p.m.

Drivers may encounter delays on Interstate 195 in Saco after 9 p.m. this week.

John Carroll, a spokesman for Central Maine Power Co., said construction crews began installing wires Monday night over I-195, the feeder route between the Maine Turnpike and Old Orchard Beach.

CMP has arranged for state police to shut the road down for periods of about 20 minutes between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. The closures will affect traffic between exits 1 and 2 in Saco. The work is expected to be completed by Thursday.

Carroll said state police asked that CMP install the electrical conductors during slow traffic times to reduce the impact. Carroll said the installation represents the final step in the company’s Saco Bay Transmission Reinforcement project.

The $30 million project will improve the capacity and reliability of the transmission system serving Saco, Old Orchard Beach, Scarborough and Biddeford.

PORTLAND

Court system to tweet when new information is on Web

The Maine Judicial Branch will begin tweeting to announce new information posted to its website.

At this point, that includes new court rules, administrative orders, Maine Supreme Judicial Court decisions and storm closings. But the courts’ use of Twitter may expand, said Mary Ann Lynch, a spokeswoman for the court system.

The goal is to let people know about the availability of useful information on the judicial branch’s website, www.courts.state.me.us, Lynch said. Lynch, Tracie Lammers, the courts’ webmaster, and Matt Pollack, the clerk of the Supreme Court, will be doing most of the tweeting.

Follow the judicial branch at @MEcourts.

Superior Court justice Mills assigned to prostitution case

Superior Court Chief Justice Thomas Humphrey on Monday assigned Justice Nancy Mills to the high-profile case of Mark Strong Sr. in York County Superior Court. Mills normally sits in Cumberland and Kennebec counties.

Strong, 57, an insurance agent and private investigator from Thomaston, is charged with promotion of prostitution, a misdemeanor. No one else has been charged in the case.

Strong was arrested in July, five months after police searched a fitness studio in Kennebunk, a nearby office space and the home of Alexis Wright of Wells, the business’ owner.

Mills is the second judge who has been specially assigned to the case. The first, Justice Joyce Wheeler, recused herself last week, without giving a reason.

There was concern that if a judge who usually sits in York County knew any of the witnesses, he or she might have to be recused from the case or any related cases.

The existence of client records in the case has fueled speculation about who is on the list. Strong’s lawyer, Daniel Lilley, estimated that there were 100 to 200 people on it.

City hosting 5 cruise ships, 7,000 passengers this week

Five cruise ships are visiting Portland this week, carrying more than 7,000 passengers in total. The schedule is as follows:

The Celebrity Summit, with 2,038 passengers and 999 crew, arrived Monday morning in Portland and left at 3 p.m. for Bar Harbor.

On Tuesday, the Carnival Glory, carrying 2,974 passengers, arrives at 8 a.m. and departs at 6 p.m.

On Thursday, the Independence, a small ship with the American Cruise Line, arrives at 5 p.m., returning to port for the end of her “Maine Coast and Harbors” itinerary. It will depart at 9 a.m. on Friday with 98 passengers for another eight-day cruise along the Maine coast. The Independence home ports in Portland.

On Friday, the Yorktown, carrying 138 passengers, will make its maiden call to the port, concluding its two-week cruise from Canada to New England.

On Saturday, the Jewel of the Seas, carrying 2,100 passengers and 869 crew, arrives at 7 a.m. and departs at 6 p.m. for Bar Harbor. The ship has a length of 962 feet and weighs 90,090 tons.

 
Summers seeks to bolster military credentials

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Charlie Summers is seeking to bolster his military credentials in the U.S. Senate campaign in Maine.

Summers, who served in the Navy Reserves in Iraq and Afghanistan, is rolling out his Veterans for Summers Coalition. The first stop was Monday evening in Caribou, followed by events on Tuesday in Bangor and Portland.

Summers is one of two military veterans in the Senate race. The other is Danny Dalton, an independent from Brunswick.

Also in the race are Democrat Cynthia Dill and independents Angus King, Steve Woods and Andrew Ian Dodge.

Vt., Maine senators ask federal dairy price review

Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders is joining colleagues from Maine and Minnesota in calling for a review of minimum federal dairy price supports, given sharply increasing expenses on the farm.

Sanders joined Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, as well as Al Franken of Minnesota in asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture to review its floor price for raw milk.

The senators point to rising production costs on the farm, including sharply higher prices for the corn that goes into animal feed. Corn reserves are at a 15 -year low, which is attributed to drought conditions in many areas.

The letter questions whether farmers can stay in business under such condition

From staff and news services