WARREN — A Maine prison inmate is facing charges he caused the death of another inmate at the state prison in Warren two years ago. On Thursday a Knox County grand jury indicted 32-year-old John Thibeault, formerly of Brewer and Orono, on a manslaughter charge in the death of 64-year-old Sheldon Weinstein in April 2009. […]
Maine
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Former fire captain receives 18 months for sexual abuse
AUGUSTA — A former Maine fire captain is going to prison for 18 months for sexual abuse of a minor. Forty-year-old Robert MacMaster was sentenced Friday in Kennebec County Superior Court. He was convicted July 1 of having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl at his home in 2007 and 2008. MacMaster was on […]
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Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Portland pot petition drive comes up short
PORTLAND — An effort to have residents vote on a proposal to make marijuana possession the Portland Police Department’s lowest enforcement priority has fallen short. A group called Sensible Portland turned in 2,100 signatures to the city clerk’s office last week to put the question to voters in November. But city officials said Friday that […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Officer shoots attacking pit bull
BIDDEFORD — Maine police say an officer shot dead a pit bull after it bit him in the leg and then attempted to attack him a second time. Biddeford Deputy Police Chief JoAnne Fish said the snarling dog lunged and bit the officer when he got out of his patrol car shortly after 11 a.m. […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Sheriff: Jail guard placed on leave
PORTLAND — The Cumberland County sheriff says a Maine jail guard is on administrative leave pending an investigation into allegations he assaulted an inmate. Sheriff Kevin Joyce on Friday said Nicholas Stein didn’t follow jail procedures after a prisoner jumped from a second-story balcony inside the jail in June. The sheriff said Stein should have […]
Posted inOur View
Time to restore some sanity to Auburn Council
They say life is 10 percent about what happens to you and 90 percent about how you react. The same goes for governments: Bad things invariably happen; it’s how elected leaders respond to them that counts. By this measure, the City of Auburn has been ill-served by the current council, and it’s a relief to […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Mother of infant mauled to death by dog arrested in Maine
FRANKFORT, Maine (AP) — State police have arrested a Maine woman on a charge of endangering the welfare of a child after a dog killed her child in the town of Frankfurt. Twenty-nine-year-old Katrina Mitchell was arrested at her home Wednesday night. The charge was filed after consulting with the district attorney’s office. Her daughter, […]
Posted inOur View
Maine voters deserve proof elections stolen
Maine GOP Chairman Charlie Webster should stop talking about stolen elections until he can prove it has actually happened. Otherwise, it’s starting to sound as if Webster simply doesn’t want young people to vote. A coalition of groups last week kicked off efforts to restore Maine’s 38-year-old same-day voter registration law. Despite a nearly total […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Maine, NH and VT count their loons
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s loon tally could go down this year following last year’s record numbers because of the wet spring. Up to 1,000 volunteers across the southern half of the state aim to find out Saturday as they scout out lakes and ponds in Maine Audubon’s 28th annual loon count. Loon surveys are […]
Posted inLocal & State
Pension crisis averted, but retirees pay a price
The year is 2020, just nine years from now, and the state is facing the worst budget crisis in years. A new governor and Legislature are grappling with the inescapable fact that before they can spend a penny on schools, roads or welfare, they have to pay a $760 million bill — almost all of […]