Elementary school principal charged with drunken driving 

FARMINGTON, Maine (AP) — Police say an elementary school principal in Maine has been charged with drunken driving. 

Brenda Sue Dwiggins told the Sun Journal that she issued verbal and written apologies to the school board, superintendent and community following the incident. 

Police say an officer made the arrest after Friday night stopping the 61-year-old Dwiggins because of a defective headlight. The officer became suspicious that she’d been drinking and performed a field sobriety test. She’s due in court next month.  

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District attorney faces disciplinary hearing 

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A Maine district attorney is facing a disciplinary hearing over an allegation she discussed a child sexual assault case with a judge without defense counsel present. 

Kennebec and Somerset Counties District Attorney Maeghan Maloney tells the Kennebec Journal she’s in talks to resolve the issue without going to a contested hearing. Maloney says she was called into the judge’s chambers and answered his questions. 

Maloney is set for a May 20 hearing before the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar’s grievance commission. 

Last year, the Maine Law Court sided with attorneys who argued Maloney’s conversation with the judge violated due process rights of a Sidney man sentenced to 50 years in prison on numerous child sexual assault charges. The court tossed out the conviction and granted a new trial. 

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Proposal to tighten controls on for-profit colleges approved 

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The Maine Senate is getting behind a push to increase oversight of for-profit colleges in the state. 

Democratic Sen. Eloise Vitelli of Arrowsic says her proposal would require an annual review of for-profit colleges by the state education commissioner. The commissioner would seek to make sure the colleges are demonstrating adequate educational standards. 

The Senate approved the bill in an initial vote on Tuesday. The proposal would give the education commissioner the ability to terminate the degree-granting authority of the college if they find the institution is not up to standards. 

The proposal faces further votes in the House and Senate. Vitelli says it would increase levels of transparency and accountability at for-profit colleges. 

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Portland symphony to be part of Independence Day celebration 

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The Portland Symphony Orchestra is returning after a one-year hiatus to the Eastern Promenade for Maine’s largest Independence Day celebration. 

Brian Corcoran, CEO of the event organizer, tells the Portland Press Herald that the goal is to make “Portland Pops” a long-term sustainable event by combining traditional corporate sponsorships with expanded ticket sales and a fundraising gala. 

The PSO performed on the Eastern Prom as part of the Stars and Stripes Spectacular from 2010 to 2017. But the musicians took last year off because organizers couldn’t afford the $30,000 fee. 

The event with music, fireworks and street vendors draws about 50,000 people to the Eastern Promenade. That doesn’t include others who watch from boats and other nearby locations. 

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Scallops sales to fund ocean research on East Coast 

DARTMOUTH, Mass. (AP) — The federal government says a program that sells scallops to pay for marine science will include a study of how shellfish harvesting impacts sea turtles in this year’s projects. 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the Atlantic Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside will help pay for 13 projects in 2019 and 2020. Regulators use the program to set aside more than a million pounds of scallops, which generates millions of dollars for the science projects. 

Fishermen and scientists collaborate on the program. This year’s awards include a pair to the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth to use underwater cameras to get a better handle on East Coast scallop population health. 

The award to study sea turtles is slated to go to the Coonamessett Farm Foundation and Roger Williams University. 

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CMP: No herbicides, pesticides along transmission corridor 

HALLOWELL, Maine (AP) — Central Maine Power is assuring environmental groups that no herbicides or pesticides will be used to clear vegetation along a proposed 145-mile (233-kilometer) transmission line in western Maine. 

Doug Herling, CMP’s president and CEO, made the announcement on Wednesday ahead of the final day of hearings by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and the Land Use Planning Commission. He said the move goes above current regulations in place in Maine. 

The Bangor Daily News reports that herbicides became a key issue at previous hearings in Farmington. 

Meanwhile, the owner of the oil-fired Wyman power station is appealing the Maine Public Utilities Commission’s approval of the project. NextEra Energy Resources said the PUC didn’t adequately consider alternatives and said there was not sufficient evidence it would benefit Mainers. 

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Lease squabble could threaten major new salmon farm in Maine 

BELFAST, Maine (AP) — A company that wants to build a large, land-based salmon farm in coastal Maine has run into potential lease trouble, and opponents are hopeful it derails the project. 

Nordic Aquafarms plans to build the salmon farm in Belfast, where it would be capable of producing more than 60 million pounds of fish per year. The Bangor Daily News reports two groups that oppose the fish farm filed a brief recently objecting to the firm’s application for a submerged lands lease. 

Upstream Watch and the Maine Lobstering Union say the Norwegian firm doesn’t have sufficient right to cross the intertidal zone. 

Nordic strongly disagrees with the groups’ characterization. The company’s director of operations says the company is confident it will be granted a permit it needs to move forward.