There’s plenty of talk surrounding the mountain in Rumford right now.The effort by the Mahoosuc Land Trust to purchase summit property on Whitecap Mountain is facing staunch opposition by one landowner, the Kersey family, whose patriarch first dreamed of owning a mountain in Maine as a young Marine atop Mt. Surabachi, following the bloody battle […]

Park Street has seen them come and seen them go. The Blue Elephant, stripped of its liquor license by the Lewiston City Council, is the latest chapter in the saga of the downtown bar scene.Years ago, when Lisbon Street was lined with watering holes, the city passed a “density ordinance” to thin the boozy herd. […]

So let’s get this straight.The Wilton Police Department, under investigation for allegedly failing to properly conduct investigations, won’t release the names of officers suspended from duty because their identities should be protected until the investigation is complete. The department won’t even say how many officers have been suspended.Does anything in Wilton actually get solved? Even […]

Once a year, a state inspector visits to appraise its operation. It is one of 179 facilities the inspector visits, and most likely a private home.The inspector is trained, but probably not formally educated, in their field. Neither is the facility’s owner, in most cases, nor its staff. The inspector’s eventual report will be filed […]

Cigarette taxes make smokers happy. Really.A team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in 2002, found escalating cigarette taxes also raise smokers’ spirits. And not just American spirits, either, as a comparison with our neighbor to the north – Canada – revealed similar smoker sentiment.The joyous overture to this tax – and only […]

Drunken drivers in South Dakota are now subject to a two-breathalyzer minimum.Lawmakers in that state, where a quarter of fatal traffic accidents in 2005 stemmed from drunken driving, have made its pilot 24/7 Sobriety program – which orders OUI offenders to report to their local sheriff twice daily for alcohol breath tests – into permanent […]

Rick Lessard was known to drink too much and let his temper show. Those closest to him tried to lead him onto a better path and away from his demons, but their efforts failed.These details, and many others, have been debated about Lessard, a known rapscallion with a rap sheet, much more than about his […]

If you can’t beat them, join them.This seems to be the sentiment from Capitol Hill and the capital of Maine this week, after key compromises were announced on two divisive policy initiatives: implementation of the national ID card program, Real ID, and Gov. John Baldacci’s “Local Schools, Regional Support” consolidation plan.On the federal level, the […]

Absent from the well-wishers at Mayor Laurent F. Gilbert’s inauguration ceremony Wednesday were some notable faces: The bulk of Gilbert’s new colleagues on the Lewiston City Council, only two of whom appeared to watch their leader take his oath of office.That absence might hint at disunity among the council, and causes speculation whether Gilbert’s agenda […]

The impending departure of Drapeau’s from Lisbon Street should remove any remaining disguise from downtown’s dire straits. New owner Kim Cornish is taking the landmark costume shop, Maine’s largest, to Lisbon Falls, after more than 50 years in the heart of Lewiston.It’s not for lack of trying to stay.“I’m a Lewiston girl,” says Cornish. While […]