Maine News

An immigrants' rights coalition says Gov. John Baldacci's proposal to make driver's licenses more secure targets the most vulnerable and does little to make Maine safer. via WLBZ

Gov. John Baldacci joined with the head of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care today to urge support for a bill advocates say is needed to shore up Maine's troubled Dirigo Health program. via WLBZ

A delegation of business, tourism and elected officials from Northern Ireland are coming to Maine to explore Gov. John Baldacci's 'creative economy' initiative.

The delegation will visit Portland, Brunswick, Augusta, Bangor, Orono and other locations in the coming week. Meetings will held with the Department of Economic and Community Development, GrowSmart Maine, MidCoast Magnet and the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, among others.

It's the latest trade mission dating back six years between Northern Ireland and Maine. Northern Ireland led the first trade delegation to Maine in 2002 and Maine reciprocated the following year. After that, there were back-to-back visits to education officials. Read more

Campsite reservations at Maine state parks have hit an all-time high for this time of year as Mainers look ahead toward summer.

In the first two months of taking reservations at Maine's 12 state parks with campsites, the Bureau of Parks and Lands processed 4,511 reservations for a total of 21,084 nights. The number of reservations is up 9 percent over last year.

Tourism officials say the reservation count is on the rise because more people in the region plan to travel shorter distances on vacation this summer to save fuel and money. Read more

“If the normal supply and demand forces were at work today, you would see prices start to decline around now”

Along with robins and crocuses, a welcome sign of spring across northern New England is watching the heating season wind down. That usually signals a drop in the price of heating oil, but that hasn't been the case this year.

After months of soaring fuel bills, prices remain at least as high as they've been at any time this winter, offering little relief to hard-pressed households.

In Maine, the average cash price for No. 2 oil hit a season high of $3.78 a gallon three weeks ago when the state Office of Energy Independence and Security compiled its final price survey of the season. That was $1.39 higher than at the same time last year. Read more

Government officials say more people are applying for and receiving food stamps in Maine, bringing the state' enrollment in the federal program to 176,000 people.

The increase of 15,000 people since January coincides with an increase in national figures. It also reflects the effects of higher fuel and grocery prices.

Statistics from Maine Department of Health and Human Services show more than one in eight Mainers use food stamps to supplement their buying power in the grocery store.

Barbara Van Burgel of the state Department of Health and Human Services says that with the higher cost of heating fuel and groceries, people are stretching their dollars a little more. Read more

“Strategically, Bangor is located about 18 minutes flying time from one of the most heavily used operational aerial refueling corridors in the world”

Maine leaders used a weekend visit by the director of the Air National Guard to make a pitch for bringing new refueling tankers, and possibly an active duty unit, to Bangor International Airport, home of the 101st Air Refueling Wing.

Gov. John Baldacci and Maine's congressional delegation met Saturday with Lt. Gen. Craig McKinley, who was invited to come to Bangor by Maj. Gen. Bill Libby, commander of the Maine National Guard.

Bangor's 101st Air Refueling Wing plays an important role in refueling military aircraft coming and going from Europe and the Middle East, delivering more jet fuel than any other Air National Guard Base in the country, said Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine. Read more

Autum Aquino, who captured the hearts of Mainers after her mother disclosed that she and Autum had HIV, died Thursday. She was 23.

Aquino, who became a poster child for AIDS, died at Eastern Maine Medical Center, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Aquino was 6 and newly arrived in Portland from Bangor when her mother, Terry Dannemiller, went public in 1991 that she and her daughter were infected with HIV. Dannemiller got the virus from her husband, who was a drug user.

Dannemiller wanted to dispel common misperceptions about HIV and in so doing put a public face on the virus and pushed the discussion about AIDS into the forefront. Read more

“There is a clear need to establish minimum license standards across the country to reduce our vulnerability to fraud by terrorists, identity thieves and illegal aliens.”

Gov. John Baldacci's decision to seek changes in Maine's driver's license standards to satisfy federal officials' demands has cranked up the volume of public debate in Maine and beyond over the government's Real ID program.

The law aimed at making state-issued licenses more secure, already fodder in Maine political campaigns, has drawn comments of support and disdain within the state and was the subject of a report on CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight last week. The coming days promise to bring more commentary. Read more

Officials said the job eliminations, which include two department heads, represent 5.4 percent of Portland's 1,400 workers. via The Citizen

“We had our good days and our bad”

She was only six years old when Mainers--and the rest of the country--learned that Autum Aquino was born with the aids virus. via WCSH 6 Portland

Maine is poised to become the latest state to enact a ban on smoking in cars in which children are riding. via Seacoast Online

“We found we could increase over 12 years, we could increase the Maine economy by 1,500 to 2,000 jobs, and over a couple hundred-million dollars in additional gross domestic product”

Saving energy is a good way to save money. That is the basic message of a report delivered Thursday at Governor John Baldacci's summit on energy efficiency. via WLBZ

Guilherme Malaquias, 23, of Newton, Mass., allegedly drove fellow Brazilian Marison Celante, 19, to Biddeford, where they were arrested March 20 at the U.S. Post Office. via The Citizen

Monday marked the deadline day for Maine to file a request to catch a break from the Real ID Law. via WABI-TV Bangor

“It's a crucial time for the state and we want to make sure if anything goes wrong we know about it first and can react to it proactively”

FairPoint Communications Inc. becomes northern New England's biggest phone company on Monday after an eleventh-hour tussle with regulators. Customers, however, will barely notice the change.

FairPoint's purchase of Verizon's wired phone lines and Internet operations in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont is the largest telecommunications deal in the region's history. But the only immediate difference customers will see is FairPoint's logo and contact numbers on their April phone bills.

'Monday for most Mainers will be just like any other Monday,' said Maine Public Utilities Commission Chairman Kurt Adams. Read more

“We're trying to figure out if there is another solution that is possible”

As budget talks continued away from the State House over the weekend, Monday was shaping up as a make it or break it day on the floor of the Maine Senate and House of Representatives. via The Citizen

By Mark Hinson * DEMOCRAT SENIOR WRITER * March 28, 2008 According to the legend, American painter and illustrator Winslow Homer was a grouchy hermit who lived in rugged isolation in a freezing New England art ... via Tallahassee Democrat

“It's not the most bizarre bill I've presented”

Studded tires work best on snowy and icy roads across the nation's snowbelt, but highway officials wince at the damage they cause when roads are dry. via MSNBC

Operators of commercial vehicles in Maine who leave their motors idling for long periods will have to change their habits if a bill in the Legislature is enacted. via WLBZ