BATH — A skunk killed Sunday in Bath has tested positive for rabies, according to Bath Police. Police say a dog killed the skunk after it wandered into a fenced yard on Varney Mill Road. Animal Control Officer Ann Harford had the skunk taken to the State Lab in Augusta, where it tested positive for […]

An excruciating pothole season is taking its toll on Maine vehicles and drivers’ wallets.  Some Portland-area mechanics say the number of vehicles damaged by potholes and frost heaves has skyrocketed this year, and highway agencies are getting more complaints than usual.  “It is ridiculous,” said Mark Duval, owner of Duval’s Service Center on Park Avenue […]

AUGUSTA — A bill to protect Mainers who face rent hikes and evictions and a competing proposal to protect landlords from growing local regulation drew split testimony during a four-hour public hearing Wednesday.  Renters and anti-poverty advocates said the increased tenant protections are needed in the tight market, especially for renters with lower incomes. Landlords […]

The Maine hemp industry caught a break Wednesday when Gov. Janet Mills signed a law allowing a popular hemp byproduct, cannabidiol, to be added to food products, treating the wildly popular cannabis extract as a food rather than a medicine.  “Happy planting, hemp farmers,” said Rep. Craig Hickman, D-Winthrop, the bill’s author.  Hickman introduced the […]

AUGUSTA — At a packed public hearing Wednesday, dozens of supporters and opponents of legal abortion debated a bill that would require abortion be covered by Medicaid and require private insurance to cover abortion services.  Opponents testified before the Legislature’s Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee that abortion is morally objectionable and that tax […]

BRUNSWICK — The winter months are generally a busier time for food pantries, but Midcoast Hunger Prevention Program in Brunswick and the Bath Food Pantry both experienced “staggering” increases in visitors in January and February, with the trend stretching into March. January and February were the two busiest months on record for Midcoast Hunger Prevention, […]

FREEPORT — Maine Beer Company has a sign in its new tasting room promising to “Do what’s right,” by its employees, customers and the environment. Wednesday, the brewery took this promise one step further by joining 12 other Maine breweries and the Natural Resources Council of Maine in the Maine Brewshed Alliance, a new initiative […]