AUGUSTA

Letters, petitions oppose bill to rework land-use agency

An environmental advocacy group is urging legislators not to weaken the powers of the regulatory agency that oversees Maine’s vast unorganized territory.

Environment Maine delivered 17,000 letters, postcards, petitions and emails from Maine residents to the State House on Thursday in opposition to proposed legislation that it says would weaken the scope and power of the Land Use Regulation Commission. The commission regulates development in the 10 million-acre region.

A public hearing on the bill is scheduled for next Thursday before the Legislature’s Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee.

Opponents say the bill would roll back protections for Maine’s North Woods, but the bill’s supporters say the region needs less restrictive regulation to attract jobs and development.

Bill to restrict recruiting for gang membership dropped

A bill to crack down on gang activity by making recruitment illegal has been killed for this session by a legislative committee.

The Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee voted unanimously Thursday to reject the bill after questions were raised about its potential cost and whether Maine has a gang problem that’s serious enough to warrant the legislation.

In its original form, the bill would have enhanced sentences for certain violent and drug crimes committed by any street gang member.

Sponsors of the bill had warned that gang activity is expanding from cities to rural areas, where it can “fly under the radar.”

Man going to jail for perjury tied to worker’s comp checks

A Medway man has been sentenced to two months in jail for lying to investigators so he could get $6,000 in worker’s compensation benefits to which he was not entitled.

David Powers pleaded guilty to a perjury charge this week. He has already paid $6,000 in restitution.

Prosecutors say Powers, 50, claimed in a worker’s compensation hearing in April 2009 that he had not earned wages since 2006 and that he did not have earnings of any kind in 2008. He said money deposited into his bank account was his son’s earnings.

During the time he was collecting worker’s comp benefits for a back injury, he was seen operating a crane, and picking up trees and brush and feeding them into a chipping machine.

BRUNSWICK

Police suspect member stole tens of thousands from group

Police are investigating the theft of tens of thousands of dollars from a fraternal organization in Brunswick.

Officers of the Knights of Pythias reported to police on Jan. 16 that they believed an officer of the organization had taken “tens of thousands of dollars” from an account.

Police Capt. Mark Waltz said a 27-year-old Lewiston man who belonged to the group has been identified as a suspect. He did not disclose the person’s name because charges have not been filed. The man has been cooperative with investigators, and Waltz said charges are expected.

Police told the Times Record that the man stole the money from the summer of 2009 to summer of 2011.

NEW GLOUCESTER

High-speed toll lanes to open at turnpike plaza by spring

It soon will be possible to drive through the New Gloucester toll plaza on the Maine Turnpike without slowing down.

The Maine Turnpike Authority is starting a $5 million project to replace the middle lanes of the plaza with what is called open-road tolling. That allows drivers with EZ Pass transponders to drive through as fast as 65 mph. The Interstate 95 toll plaza in Hampton, N.H., already has the system. Drivers who do not have transponders will still be able to stop and pay cash.

Turnpike Authority Executive Director Peter Mills told WCSH-TV that the new toll system will save money. The turnpike authority expects traffic to be going through the high-speed lanes by spring. It also plans high-speed tolls in Gardiner.

PRESQUE ISLE

College students to benefit from woman’s $5 million gift

Northern Maine Community College officials say a $5 million gift from a Presque Isle native who now lives in California will have a “transformative impact” on the college.

The gift from Mary Barton Akeley Smith of Portola Valley, Calif., announced Wednesday at the campus in Presque Isle, will provide most of the $6 million needed to renovate two campus buildings. What now houses the dining commons will be transformed into a fitness center, and the college gymnasium will become a new student center.

Smith last year gave the college $1.2 million that advanced the school’s alternative-energy program offerings, and gave $1 million to expand the city’s library.

FALMOUTH

Cape seventh-grader spells 21 words to win county bee

A seventh-grader at Cape Elizabeth Middle School correctly spelled 21 words to win the Cumberland County Spelling Bee on Wednesday night at Falmouth Middle School.

Nat Jordan, 12, emerged from a field of eight boys and eight girls to advance to the Maine State Spelling Bee on March 17 at the University of Southern Maine’s Hannaford Hall.

Students from eight middle schools competed. After nine rounds, the field was down to three boys: Jack Clavette, 14, an eighth-grader from Scarborough; Adam Benoit, 11, a sixth-grader from Brunswick; and Jordan.

They sailed through five perfect rounds before Benoit was eliminated in Round 15. Four more rounds passed without a mistake before Clavette missed a word.

Jordan, whose older sister Lily is a two-time state champion, then spelled “Crusoe” and “cosmos” to win the bee.

FARMINGTON

Portland man sentenced in theft of goods from Walmart

A Portland man has pleaded guilty to being the getaway driver in the theft of more than $5,000 worth of merchandise from a Walmart store.

Brian Elliot pleaded guilty to a felony theft charge Wednesday in Franklin County Superior Court.

In April, prosecutors say, two men went into the store, filled containers with computer games, DVDs and electronics, then left in a car driven by Elliot, 35. The car was stopped nearby and the items were recovered.

A judge sentenced Elliot to serve a two-year deferred disposition, meaning if he complies with everything in the agreement he will be able to withdraw his plea to the felony theft and plead to a misdemeanor theft.

CONCORD, N.H.

‘Right-to-work’ bill takes aim at the power of unions

Union members are opposing the reappearance of last session’s so-called right-to-work bill.

The New Hampshire House upheld Gov. John Lynch’s veto of the bill in November, but the bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Will Smith of New Castle, resubmitted it with new reductions to union collective-bargaining powers. Around 300 people gathered Wednesday in Representatives Hall for the bill’s hearing.

Smith’s bill would allow public sector employees to stay out of unions and avoid paying union fees, but it also would leave them uncovered by union-negotiated contracts.

Bill supporters tout it as a measure for economic growth, while opponents call it “union-busting” and say last session’s veto demonstrates New Hampshire’s rejection of the measure.