AUGUSTA (AP) — Maine’s court system is acting swiftly to prevent domestic violence by tightening up bail rules for alleged abusers, Chief Justice Leigh Ingalls Saufley told the Legislature on Thursday. In her annual State of the Judiciary address to a joint House-Senate session, Saufley drew applause when she announced that effective immediately, bail commissioners […]

PRESQUE ISLE ( AP) — 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 Presque Isle campus, will provide most of […]

PORTLAND ( AP) — A grand jury in Maine has indicted a former podiatrist on drug distribution and health care fraud charges. U.S. Attorney Thomas Delahanty II said Thursday that 50- year-old John Perry, who now lives in Bridgton, is charged with 43 counts of distribution of a controlled substance, one count of conspiracy to […]

AUGUSTA (AP) — A Maine environmental advocacy group is urging legislators to not weaken the powers of a regulatory agency that oversees the state’s vast unorganized territory. Environment Maine on Thursday delivered 17,000 letters, postcards, petitions and emails from Maine residents to the State House in opposition to proposed legislation it says would weaken the […]

AUGUSTA (AP) — A bill to crack down on gang activity by making recruitment illegal has been killed for this session by a Maine 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 […]

ALFRED (AP) — A Maine man who told police he accidentally shot his wife after a night of drug use before changing his story to put the blame on drug dealers has been convicted of murder. Jurors in York County Superior Court returned the guilty verdict against Patrick Dapolito in the killing of Kelly Winslow, […]

ACADIA NATIONAL PARK ( AP) — A Maine hiker described as “tough as nails” is recovering after she fell and hurt her ankle and then crawled for seven hours before rescuers found her. The 57-year-old from Bass Harbor was hiking alone on Mansell Mountain in Acadia National Park around noon on Wednesday when she fell. […]

CAMDEN ( AP) — Hundreds of toboggan teams are waxing their sleds for the 22nd annual U. S. National Toboggan Championships. More than 400 two-, threeand four- person teams are participating in this weekend’s races at the Camden Snow Bowl. Team registration and toboggan inspections take place today, with races on Saturday and Sunday. The […]

PORTLAND ( AP) — The deadline has arrived — again — for Occupy Maine to clear away its tent city in Lincoln Park. The city of Portland granted a four- day extension to vacate the park, and that deadline arrives today. Occupy Maine touted itself as the longest- running encampment, starting two weeks after the […]

SEARSPORT (AP) — The Maine Department of Transportation says a marine crane that has a 144 metric ton lift capacity will be the state’s largest such crane when it arrives. The crane is due to arrive in Searsport today. A specialty heavy lift transport vessel is expected to arrive with the partially assembled crane located […]