More than 50 people showed up at the Lewiston Multi-Purpose Center on Wednesday night to hear popular former Gov. Angus King, an Independent, speak on behalf of Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama’s energy plan.

King, who recently endorsed Obama, is leading an investment effort to promote and develop wind energy off the coast of Maine. King said the high cost of gasoline and home heating oil were prompting a “catastrophe” in Maine.

“Stop and realize that when you drive down Lisbon Street and see that gas is $3.65 a gallon, you think that’s good,” King said. “That’s a measure of how bad things are.”

King said Obama’s plan calls for a windfall profits tax on oil companies and would provide a $500 rebate per person, a tangible short-term relief from high prices. Obama’s plan also would eliminate current oil imports from the Middle East and Venezuela within 10 years, King said.

King said he’s committed to making several more appearances on Obama’s behalf around the state.

“I’m going to do everything I can,” King said of getting Obama elected.

Register to vote in Auburn

The Auburn Public Library is holding a voter registration drive from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 4. Residents from Auburn, Lewiston and Minot need only to bring a valid form of identification with them in order to register.

Library officials said there will also be a voluntary quiz for registering voters with questions drawn from the U.S. citizenship test. Participants will be eligible to win a book basket.

Allen lauches Lewiston ad

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Tom Allen began airing a statewide advertisement on Friday, featuring shots from a town hall-style meeting held earlier in the summer at Lewiston’s Franco-American Heritage Center.

The ad outlines some differences between Allen and his opponent, incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

“We have a big difference on Iraq, on the economy, on health care, on energy, the creation of jobs,” Allen said in the commercial. “All of those issues are fundamental to our future as a country.”

The ad comes at a critical time for the Allen campaign, who continues to trail Collins by double digits in the polls with a little more than a month left until the Nov. 4 election.

A poll taken by Survey USA released earlier this week showed Allen behind Collins by 16 points, garnering 39 percent of the vote to Collins’ 55 percent, with 6 percent undecided. Last week a Rasmussen Report poll had Collins’ leading by 13 points.

Block party

A free community block party, featuring music from Common Senses, Denise Dill, Dreamosaic, Port Veritas and others, will be held from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, outside of She Doesn’t Like Guthries at 115 Middle Street in Lewiston. The concert will move inside She Doesn’t Like Guthries if the weather is poor.

The event is billed as a “voter registration rock concert” and is sponsored by groups including the League of Young Voters, Maine People’s Alliance, the Western Maine Labor Council, Family Planning Association, NAACP and the Maine Fair Trade Campaign, among others. Members of the Maine People’s Alliance will be registering voters throughout the concert.

Between 75 and 150 people are expected to attend, according to a League of Young Voters spokeswoman.

– Rebekah Metzler