Trustees won’t merg UMA, USM

PRESQUE ISLE (AP) – University of Maine System trustees formally scuttled a proposal to merge the University of Maine at Augusta into the larger University of Southern Maine.

Chancellor Joseph Westphal confirmed the proposal’s demise last month and a subcommittee backed him up. Monday’s vote by the Board of Trustees was made during a regular meeting held at the University of Maine at Presque Isle.

The University of Maine System strategic plan was released in 2004.

It recommended that the University of Maine at Augusta be folded into the University of Southern Maine to save money and boost efficiency. But there was a public outcry against the proposal and political pressure to abandon the proposed merger.

Trustees also voted Monday to maintain University College of Bangor as an affiliate of the Augusta campus. Under previous Board action, the Bangor college would have been realigned with the University of Maine nine miles away.

Westphal said that maintaining the status quo will require additional resources for the University of Maine at Augusta to improve the Bangor campus.

Darfur bill advances

AUGUSTA (AP) – Seth Bradstreet III of Newport on Monday won a legislative committee’s unanimous endorsement for appointment as the state’s agriculture commissioner.

The Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry voted 12-0, with one member absent, to recommend Bradstreet’s confirmation by the state Senate.

Supporters say Bradstreet, who is owner-operator of a 550-acre farm specializing in potatoes, has the hands-on experience needed to head the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources. Bradstreet has also served on the Maine Potato Board and the state Board of Pesticides Control.

“We feel that because Mr. Bradstreet owns his farm, lives on the farm and makes his living from farming, he will understand what it is for a farmer to pay his or her bills,” said the Maine Farm Bureau’s Jon Olson.

“We wanted as a commissioner an active farmer who has dirt under his fingernails and mud on his boots,” said Olson. “Mr. Bradstreet meets these qualifications.”

Monday’s strong committee endorsement almost assures his confirmation by the Senate. If confirmed, Bradstreet would succeed Robert Spear, who stepped down in November from his post in Gov. John Baldacci’s Cabinet.

Divestment bill gets Senate OK

AUGUSTA (AP) – A bill calling for the divestment of state funds in companies doing business in Sudan faces a second Senate vote as early as Tuesday after winning an initial endorsement last week.

Sen. Ethan Strimling said passage of his bill will help the people of Sudan’s Darfur region because the Sudanese government is using its revenue to attack and kill Christians and non-Muslims in Sudan. Strimling, D-Portland, said the ruling regime in Sudan is responsible for the deaths of 400,000 of its people and the displacement of more than 2 million.

The bill, which also faces House votes, is supported by Gov. John Baldacci, who described it as “a principled and humane action repudiating the atrocities occurring in Sudan.” Baldacci said he hopes to see the bill on his desk soon.

“Maine is home to many people who once lived in that region but have had to flee in fear for their lives,” Baldacci said. “What’s happening in Sudan is not just a story of people in a far distant land, it is about our neighbors.”

The legislation up for another Senate vote says the divestment requirement applies to all companies doing business in or with Sudan or its instrumentalities. It requires divestment by Jan. 1, 2008.

Eighteen other states have introduced or passed similar legislation, according to Rep. Deborah Simpson, D-Auburn, a co-sponsor of the bill.

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