Bangor Daily News

Lobster Dragging Opponents Vocal Hearing On Bill Attracts Hundreds

AUGUSTA - Hundreds of fishermen showed up at a state public hearing Monday at the Civic Center for a bill that would allow draggers to land lobsters in Maine. Applause that occasionally followed comments opposed to the bill was a good indicator of how the majority of people in the room felt about the idea, but the clearest example of which side of the issue most of them were on was evident from two groups of colored sign-up sheets in the back of a second-story ballroom.

Bangor Body Identified As Woman, 43 Police Rule Death a Homicide

BANGOR - A neighbor of the woman whose body was found wrapped in a plastic bag and buried in snow said he has "real uneasy feelings" about the case, which police on Monday ruled a homicide. The body of Christina Simonin, 43, was discovered Saturday night near Union Street.

Demolition of Holiday Inn Under Way On Main Street

BANGOR - A hotel that has stood on Main Street for more than three decades - and once boasted one of Maine's hottest nightclubs - is coming down to make room for a new gambling facility. Demolition crews arrived at the former Holiday Inn-Civic Center property early Monday morning to begin dismantling some of the smaller outbuildings, said Amy Kenney, a spokeswoman for Hollywood Slots at Bangor.

A Year After Man's Burning Body Found, Investigation Continues

It's a lonely, secluded spot. Stand beneath the Harlow Street bridge on the banks of Kenduskeag Stream in Bangor and you can feel an eerie sense of emptiness, even as you hear the rhythm of cars and trucks crossing the metal grates overhead.

Correcting the Record

54 to Lose Jobs in Newport, Pittsfield

PITTSFIELD - At least 54 temporary full-time workers in Newport and Pittsfield, hired through an outside employment agency, will lose their jobs this month when GE Infrastructure Security closes a shipping warehouse in Newport. Company officials said Monday that 24 people employed by the employment agency Adecco at the Newport warehouse will not be re- hired.

Katahdin Trust Notes First-Quarter Dividends

PATTEN - Katahdin Bankshares Corp., parent company of Katahdin Trust Co., has declared a cash dividend of 68 cents per share for the first quarter of 2007. The dividend represents an increase of 23.6 percent over last year's first-quarter dividend, according to Jon J. Prescott, Katahdin Trust's president and CEO. The dividend will be payable on March 30 to all shareholders of record as of March 16.

Canada Leads the Way

Two Canadian actions have restored traditional civil liberties that had been restricted in traumatic reaction to global terrorism. Canada's Parliament voted on Feb. 27 against extending two measures that were part of a package of antiterrorism laws enacted weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. One allowed police to hold terrorism suspects for 72 hours without charges. The other enabled courts to compel witnesses to testify at special hearings.

An Unnecessary Death

The tragic suicide of one of our community's cherished elders seemed so needless and preventable. While we don't know all the details of this terrible incident, it was clear from the news stories that this person needed help paying for his prescriptions and fuel, and that he clearly felt desperate and hopeless. Eastern Agency on Aging works very hard to provide programs that help our senior citizens. We offer nutritious meals, help in getting fuel assistance, and now thanks to Medicare D, hel...

Plum Creek's Plan

It seems important to keep in mind that Plum Creek is a large for- profit corporation, not a nonprofit organization that wants to support communities. In order to understand Plum Creek's standpoint, we need to think like a CEO whose salary is typically tied to the value of the company's shares and whose contract might be up for renewal every five years or so.

Plum Creek's Plan

The issue of transportation and its impact on the Moosehead Region needs to be addressed at length by Plum Creek in any plan put forward. The plan as presented so far would leave transportation to chance. What is most likely to happen is that motor vehicle traffic - along with the sprawl development that caters to motor vehicle traffic - will increase dramatically. Also increasing will be human and wildlife deaths and injuries as well as noise, pollution and fuel use. Options to mitigate the ...

Land Use Questions

Cataloging what land is open to the public in Maine and what activities are allowed on it will be helpful. But a task force created by the governor last week will do a bigger service if it dispels the perception that a growing amount of land is off-limits to hunters, fishermen and those who enjoy motorized recreation at the expense of those pursuing other types of recreation. Hunters, snowmobilers and other sportsmen have long complained that they are losing places to enjoy these activities i...

Hold Augusta Responsible

Reference to "Condition of State's Bridges Growing Worse, DOT says" in the Feb. 24 BDN. The gist of the article indicated that a number of bridges in Maine are in poor condition; the cost of construction materials has increased sharply, and the principal revenue source for highway maintenance is running below projections. Sen. Damon is quoted as calling it a "crisis situation." I would agree there's a problem. However, it has been growing for years, simply getting worse, whether it is this s...