Posted inLocal & State

Mega Millions draws mega interest in Maine

AUGUSTA — In the eight minutes Tim Poulin spent talking about Mega Millions to a reporter, store clerks around Maine sold another 4,000 tickets. “I’ve not seen this, ever,” said Poulin, director of operations at the Maine State Lottery. Just before noon, officials announced that the Mega Millions jackpot had risen to $640 million, the […]

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Webcam records egg-laying eagle

GORHAM — A Web camera has recorded a bald eagle laying its first egg of the season in eastern Maine. Biologists at Biodiversity Research Institute in Gorham said the egg was laid on Monday in a tree in Hancock County. The egg is expected to hatch in about 35 days. The institute monitors cameras that […]

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Posted inLocal & State, sj-web

Missing toddler’s mom seeks answers

PORTLAND — The mother of a toddler missing since December says she was in denial for three months but has come to accept the heart-wrenching possibilities of what may have happened to her daughter, whose whereabouts remain unknown as her second birthday approaches. Trista Reynolds says she continues to pray for Ayla’s safe return but […]

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Wheelchair returned to teen

SCARBOROUGH — The disappearance of a Scarborough teen’s customized wheelchair was apparently a big misunderstanding. Chris Fitzgerald says his wheelchair went missing last week from a neighbor’s driveway. His mother often leaves it there when she works late so he can use it for the quarter-mile trip home because Chris can’t walk that far. The […]

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Temperatures in Gulf of Maine higher than normal

PORTLAND — The winter’s warm air temperatures have helped drive up water temperatures in the Gulf of Maine, in line with a continuing trend, and the warm waters could result in lobsters molting their shells earlier than usual and ocean algae blooming ahead of schedule. In the long run are questions around how rising ocean […]

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Police: Teen set fire in school bathroom

AUGUSTA — A 13-year-old Augusta girl is facing charges in connection with a fire inside a Cony middle school bathroom. Police say the girl was charged with arson and criminal mischief in connection with the fire earlier this week. Her name has not been made public because of her age. The police report says the […]

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Group working to legalize gay marriage in Maine names campaign manager

PORTLAND — The newly named manager of a campaign seeking to legalize same-sex marriage in Maine said he expects the campaign to spend more than $5 million ahead of November’s election. The Maine Freedom to Marry Coalition announced Tuesday it has created a political action committee called Mainers United for Marriage to spearhead the campaign […]

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Maine court: Parents not liable for suicide

PORTLAND — Maine’s highest court has ruled that parents of a 25-year-old woman who committed suicide while living at their house were not legally obligated to prevent her from killing herself. In Tuesday’s unanimous ruling, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled that James and Jadzia Davies of Norway did not have a legal duty to […]

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State Democrats charge computer-glitch cover-up

AUGUSTA — Using rhetoric rarely heard in the Maine State House, Democrats accused the Republican administration of lying and covering up information about malfunctioning computers that resulted in as many as 19,000 people erroneously receiving MaineCare. “It is time for the administration to first, take responsibility for their mismanagement and second, and most importantly, take […]

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Maine the most rural state, Census data shows

Maine was the most rural state in the nation in 2010, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The nationwide trend was toward a growth in urban populations. According to the new data, 61.3 percent of Maine’s population lived in rural areas. “Rural areas” are all those that aren’t classified as “urban.” The […]