AUGUSTA — Lawmakers sparred Thursday over Gov. Paul LePage’s plan to close an estimated $220 million budget gap at the Department of Health and Human Services. Some Republicans lamented what they called an unwillingness by Democrats to nail down savings, while Democrats bristled at the prospect of cutting services for the needy while tax cuts are […]

AUGUSTA — In April 2011, Maine’s largest wind energy developer, First Wind, trumpeted a multimillion-dollar deal that would pay for the company’s ambitious plans to erect more wind turbines throughout Maine and the Northeast. Within the past week, the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) dealt a potentially fatal blow to the deal. Faced with what […]

BRUNSWICK — Developer George Schott expects to place the first batch of former military housing units along McKeen Street up for sale by this spring. In October 2010, Schott bought approximately 700 former military housing units in Brunswick and Topsham from Northeast Housing, a collaboration between the Navy and Balfour-Beatty, a British firm. Because of a […]

TOPSHAM — The new owners of the former Howard Sports facilities in Topsham say they plan to reopen the longtime roller rink in town — perhaps as early as tonight. Seacoast United officials said Thursday that, pending completion of a few last-minute tasks, the Roller World roller skating rink could open its doors to the public […]

FREEPORT — Firefighters and the Brunswick Hazardous Materials Team responded just before 8:30 a.m. today to the Freeport Sewer District wastewater treatment plant on South Freeport Road for a report that 50 to 75 gallons of Sodium hypochlorite had spilled. Freeport Fire Chief Darrel Fournier said from the scene this morning that he believed the spill […]

To be blunt, Peggy Baker is an overweight, middle-age diabetic. Until last year, she had never lifted a kettlebell or done a box jump in her life. The 54-year-old is also a Reebok employee and the poster child for the company’s new mission: to get consumers moving by setting an example with its own work […]

Two weeks after they reopened the Dexter Lake Club, the funky roadhouse featured briefly in “Animal House,” Gregg and Shannon Stewart are still getting “the look” from locals. It’s that skeptical, over-the-spectacles look that says: You think you’re going to revive the joint? What makes you so special? For decades, people have been trying — […]