Many a would-be gardener has been deterred from growing veggies or flowers outdoors because they’ve had a bad time with houseplants. “Garden? Not me! I’ve got a brown thumb.” If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it dozens of times. When I inquire, people tell me they’ve killed houseplants, even the so-called “bullet proof” ones. […]

NEW YORK O scar de la Renta, say hello to Kohl’s and QVC. Carolina Herrera, wave to Bebe and Levi’s and J.Crew if you’ve got a second during New York Fashion Week. Like never before, mall brands and chain stores are strutting their affordable stuff alongside far pricier glitz and sought-after hipster swank, throwing parties […]

NEW YORK Some things are fashion, and some are necessity. Where do men’s undergarments fall? Increasingly, right in the middle. There’s a guaranteed market that needs to replenish supplies no matter what the economy is doing. But innovation in style and technology has made boxers, briefs and undershirts that were once an afterthought into a […]

BAGHDAD I raq’s capital is embracing Valentine’s Day this year with a huge public display of affection in what its residents say is the nation’s most amorous celebration of the holiday ever. Street corners across Baghdad are blanketed with the synthetic red fur of teddy bears, while silken nighties and lip- shaped satin pillows hang […]

WASHINGTON President Barack Obama feels he has struck just the right budget balance between providing more short-term support for the economy while putting forth a longterm plan to get control of the government’s soaring budget deficits. Republicans vehemently disagree, attacking his 2013 budget as a replay of the failed economic policies they say have resulted […]

BANGOR ( AP) — Police working the early shift at the Bangor Police Department got quite the surprise. Officers reported hearing a loud explosion from the boiler room at about 6: 40 a. m. today and seeing a plume of smoke coming from a roof vent. The building was evacuated and the fire department was […]

PORTLAND ( AP) — A Sebago man whose right arm was amputated after he was shot by sheriff ’s deputies has filed a federal lawsuit alleging police used excessive force. Douglas Tenczar says in his suit filed in U. S. District Court that he grabbed an unloaded shotgun to frighten away what he thought were […]

HINCKLEY ( AP) — The Good Will-Hinckley School in central Maine is going solar. President Glenn Cummings says the school has begun powering its campus with renewable energy from a new $125,000 rooftop solar project. The 25.6-kilowatt solar system was financed and installed by ReVision Energy, Maine’s largest solar energy installation company. ReVision will own […]

AUGUSTA (AP) — An organization representing retired Maine state workers and teachers has filed a lawsuit challenging retirement system reforms implemented last year to save money. The 15,000-member Maine Association of Retirees on Monday sued the state retirement system over the elimination of cost-of-living adjustments for three years and a new cap on cost- of- […]

AUGUSTA ( AP) — Gov. Paul LePage is due back in Maine just as the Legislature takes up a budget package that closes a $120 million hole with program cuts and savings initiatives. LePage left for Florida on Saturday and is due to return today. In Augusta, the House and Senate are scheduled to be […]