PORTLAND

Casco Bay Bridge to close early Wednesday for repairs

Drivers heading from South Portland to Portland early Wednesday will have to avoid the Casco Bay Bridge.

The bridge will be closed from 1 to 3 a.m. for repairs to a warning gate. The gate, used to stop traffic before it crosses the bridge, was broken in a crash Dec. 26.

Local police will detour drivers into Portland via the Fore River or Veterans Memorial bridges, said the Maine Department of Transportation.

Motorists heading from Portland into South Portland will not be affected; both lanes will remain open. Marine traffic will not be affected because officials will be able to open the bridge.

NORWAY

Attempted murder, arson counts follow house fire

A Paris man has been charged with arson and attempted murder in connection with a fire at a house where three people were sleeping. No one was hurt.

The state Fire Marshal’s Office said Andrew Freeman, 21, was charged Friday with arson, two counts of attempted murder and burglary for allegedly setting fire to a home on Round The Pond Road in Norway in the early morning hours of Dec. 5.

Officials said Freeman broke in to a house owned by Edgar McCloud and set a couple of fires while McCloud, his wife and granddaughter were asleep inside. McCloud put out the fires before there was any major damage.

Freeman was notified of the charges at the Androscoggin County Jail, where he’s being held on an unrelated charge.

YORK

Warden: Charges likely after hunter shoots family’s dog

Officials say charges are likely to be filed after a hunter fatally shot a family dog in southern Maine.

Matthew and Heather Henriksen of York said their 5-year-old mixed-breed dog bled to death Tuesday after a bullet from a .22-caliber rifle severed an artery on her back leg.

The Portsmouth Herald said a hunter told wardens he was hunting red squirrels in a wooded area behind the Henriksens’ home when he mistook the dog for a coyote. It’s legal to hunt red squirrels and coyotes year-round.

The Maine Warden Service said charges are likely to be filed in the coming days, but that the name of the hunter isn’t being released because the case is under investigation.

AUBURN

Former firefighter admits setting blaze at restaurant

A former volunteer firefighter has pleaded guilty to setting a fire at a Mechanic Falls restaurant that caused an estimated $30,000 in damage.

Joshua Michaud pleaded guilty to arson Thursday in Androscoggin County Superior Court, but sentencing was delayed until June so he can complete counseling.

Authorities say Michaud, a volunteer with the Minot department, was 18 when he started the fire in July 2010. Witnesses say they saw him at the scene fully dressed to fight a fire even before the alarm was sounded.

No one was hurt.

The Sun Journal reported that Michaud received support in court from Minot’s fire chief, a former high school teacher and a neighbor, who all described him as a conscientious young man.

His lawyer said Michaud’s actions were out of character.

NORRIDGEWOCK

Blinding sunlight blamed in crash that killed motorist

Officials say blinding sunlight was a major factor in a single-car accident on a central Maine road that killed an Anson woman.

The Somerset County Sheriff’s office said Louise Wyman, 87, drove her car off Route 201A and into an embankment in Norridgewock on Thursday. She later died of her injuries at Eastern Maine Medical Center.

Lt. Carl Gottardi told the Bangor Daily News that a witness who was driving behind Wyman’s car was also blinded by the sun at the time of the accident.

AUGUSTA

State official announces young-driver safety effort

During the past year, Maine had about 50 fatal crashes involving young drivers.

Secretary of State Charlie Summers says that’s almost one crash involving someone between the ages of 16 and 24 per week, and it’s too many.

Summers, the state’s chief motor vehicle official, announced Thursday an effort to address the safety of young drivers.

“Conversations With the Communities” will be held at Bureau of Motor Vehicle offices starting Thursday in Lewiston at 6 p.m. The public meetings will continue Jan. 9 in Kennebunk, Jan. 12 in Portland, Jan. 17 in Bangor, Jan. 18 in Caribou and Jan. 19 in Calais.

Summers has also established a technical review panel that will examine young-driver requirements to find areas where they need to be improved.

BRUNSWICK

Ship-modeling center plans to add 16 people to payroll

A high-tech ship-modeling organization that set up operations in Maine last summer plans to add 16 people to its payroll next year.

The American Bureau of Shipping said it now has 30 employees at its modeling center, which opened last summer at Brunswick Landing, the former Brunswick Naval Air Station.

In a letter to Gov. Paul LePage, Chairman Robert Somerville said ABS plans to add 16 people to its Maine work force in 2012.

The Brunswick modeling center creates computer-aided design models of client vessels.

BOOTHBAY HARBOR

Ocean research lab receives $603,631 in federal funds

An ocean research laboratory is to receive a federal grant of more than $600,000.

Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, both Maine Republicans, said the National Science Foundation has awarded the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in Boothbay Harbor a $603,631grant to conduct biological oceanography research. The study will be in the area of iron oxidizing bacteria.

The National Science Foundation is an independent federal agency that funds research in many fields, such as mathematics, computer science and the social sciences.

— From staff and news services