PORTLAND ( AP) — A Windham man accused of fatally shooting another hunter has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter. William Briggs was released on personal recognizance and barred from hunting at his brief arraignment on Thursday. Authorities say the 61-yearold Briggs shot 46- year- old Peter Kolofsky in the Sebago woods on Nov. 5. Briggs […]

BANGOR (AP) — Police are calling the death of a man found inside a Bangor apartment this week suspicious. Police were called to a Court Street address for a report of a disorderly person about 9: 35 p. m. Wednesday and found a man in his mid- 40s dead on the floor of an upstairs […]

AUGUSTA ( AP) — After taking a break last year from endorsing state borrowing for public projects, Maine lawmakers on Thursday began considering a list of more than two dozen bond issue proposals totaling nearly $600 million. The Appropriations Committee began two days of public hearings on the borrowing proposals, which call for projects ranging […]

AUGUSTA — A week after a budget-balancing bill fell short of passage, the Maine Senate moved quickly Thursday to pass a measure that would close a $120 million revenue gap while cutting Medicaid coverage for thousands of Mainers. The Senate’s 27-8 vote sent the measure to Gov. Paul LePage. The House last week gave the budget […]

WASHINGTON — Navy SEALs never expected the film “Act of Valor,” starring real, active-duty Navy SEALs, to be this big. Five years ago, commanders allowed a small, independent film company into their elite ranks to turn real-life training exercises into a feature length movie in hopes of drumming up recruits fast. SEAL officers thought the film […]

BRUNSWICK — Mid Coast Hospital’s Diabetes Education Program will offer a four- week series of classes called “Living With Diabetes” on Mondays beginning Feb. 27. Sessions will meet from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Mid Coast Hospital. “The program is designed to help individuals with diabetes learn skills to successfully manage their health,” a release […]

TOPSHAM — The Mid Coast Chapter of the American Red Cross will offer a series of free disaster response training courses, beginning Thursday. The training is “designed primarily for individuals wishing to begin or continue training required to assist with local Red Cross emergency shelter operations; to become a member of our National Disaster Services Human […]

BATH — Bath Police Sgt. Jeff Shiers, a 24-year veteran of the department and Medal of Honor winner, was named the 2011 Officer of the Year during a Feb. 17 ceremony at the Bath Police Department. Also on Feb. 17, Officer Ted Raedel received the Chief ’s Merit Award, Systems Administrator Pat Hutton was named Civilian […]

BRUNSWICK — Each garden has its own personality, distinct oddities that make it unlike any other patch of ground in the world. My current garden amuses itself by sending me a mystery vine every summer. It’s always in a different spot, it’s always something from the squash family, and it’s never the same species. One year […]