Buck’s Harbor Prison
(Machiasport) – Lawmakers could vote today on whether to fund the Downeast Correctional Facility for another year, nearly a week after state troopers carted all the inmates off to a similar facility in Charleston. A judge granted a temporary injunction yesterday after the Washington County Commissioners filed suit to keep the Machiasport minimum security prison open. The Department of Corrections agreed to halt removal of fixtures from the prison.
Hampden Fire
(Hampden) – Fire investigators are searching for the cause of a blaze that destroyed several cement mixers inside a Hampden garage. The Bangor Daily News reports Hughes Brothers lost half its fleet of mixers in yesterday morning’s fire. No injuries are reported. The company says it plans to rent equipment until the mixers are repaired or replaced.
Rockefeller Sale
(Mt. Desert) – We now know the billionaire behind the company that purchased the former David Rockefeller property in Mt. Desert. Danaher Corporation co-founder Mitchell Rales paid the $19-million dollar asking price according to the Mt. Desert Islander. Rockefeller died last year and his estate put the property up for sale. Rales and his brother also own other high end properties in Mt. Desert.
EPA Budget Cuts
(Augusta) Environmental advocates say the funding cuts for the Environmental Protection Agency in President Donald Trump’s proposed budget will endanger air and water quality in Maine. Natural Resources Council of Maine spokeswoman Lisa Pohlmann says Maine’s DEP depends on federal grants. President Trump’s proposed budget would cut the EPA’S funding budget by 34-percent, almost three-billion-dollars less than 2017 funding levels.
Ellsworth Fire
(Ellsworth) A garage containing 3 apartments on the Christian Ridge Road in Ellsworth went up in flames late Tuesday afternoon. Two people were injured – one is Jesse Hastings who lived in the apartment where the fire started. He’s in a Portland hospital with burn injuries. The other injury occurred when a Hancock firefighter slipped on ice. Deputy fire chief Gary Saunders says despite the challenges, firefighters saved the house attached to the destroyed garage. Firefighters from Ellsworth, Trenton, Hancock and Lamoine responded. The Fire Marshal’s Office and law enforcement agencies are investigating.
Drug Arrests
(Verona Island) Drug agents hauled four people to the Hancock County jail for allegedly selling drugs on Verona Island. Homeowners 44-year-old Robert Maddocks and 44-year-old Heather Godin face felony heroin and cocaine trafficking charges. Two Massachusetts residents were also arrested. Agents previously made an undercover drug purchase that led to the raid Tuesday night. They seized about $11-thousand-dollars worth of drugs from the home.
Drug Trafficking
(Surry) A Surry man is held without bail after drug agents confiscated 91 fentanyl pills from his bedroom. Drug agents, a local deputy, and FDA officials searched 53-year-old Adam Fitzherbert’s home last week. Fitzherbert was out on bail pending prior drug trafficking charges. The Ellsworth American reports district attorney Matt Foster filed a motion to revoke Fitzherbert’s bail. Drug agents also charged Fitzherbert’s brother 53-year-old James Cox with 2 counts of distributing a synthetic substance and one count of distributing a counterfeit drug.
Pot Cookies
(Bangor) Bangor police are questioning a parent who provided daycare workers with cookies believed to be baked with marijuana. Watch Me Shine daycare on Gilman Avenue closed before 10 yesterday morning after employees called police. Several staff reported feeling high after eating homemade cookies baked by a parent. None of the children at the daycare consumed the cookies. Investigators seized the cookies and sent them to a lab for testing.
Mail Theft
(Fairfield) A Fairfield man has been sentenced for stealing Postal Money Orders. 38-year-old Brandon Knox will spend 39 days in jail and must pay nearly $500 in restitution for stealing a pouch of money orders while working as a subcontractor at the Post Office in Unity. Knox pleaded guilty last October and was sentenced Tuesday.
LL Bean Suit
CHICAGO (AP) – A class-action lawsuit targets L.L. Bean’s new return policy, saying the company has backed down from a promise. The lawsuit by Victor Bondi contends he and other customers bought items because of the unlimited satisfaction guarantee. The company contends the one-year return limit doesn’t apply to purchases made before the announcement on Friday.
Scallop Lottery Proposal
(Maine) Maine’s fishing managers are considering letting new people into the scallop fishery for the first time in nearly a decade. A legislative committee is set to vote on a proposal to create a license lottery system on Wednesday. The average age of Maine scallop fishermen is higher than 50. The fishery has been closed to new people since 2009.
Sports
- Mikaela Shiffrin win the gold medal in the women’s giant slalom at the Winter Olympics.
- LA Clippers 129 Boston Celtics 119
High School Basketball
Boys – Prelims
Class “B”
Belfast Area 49, Caribou 48
Orono 49, Ellsworth 41
Washington Academy 56, Maine Central Institute 53
Class C
Fort Kent Community 68, Dexter Regional 47
Houlton 51, Lee Academy 36
Penobscot Valley 66, Calais 49
Piscataquis Community 59, Bucksport 55
Class D
Bangor Christian 76, Deer Isle-Stonington 65
Machias 56, Shead 45
