Category — Portland, Maine

JAY — Police say a man fell asleep behind the steering wheel of his truck Monday morning, and the truck hit a pole and proceeded into a parking lot and struck a trailer.

FARMINGTON – A New Sharon woman was injured Monday after her vehicle was struck by another on Route 156, Farmington police officer Michael Adcock said.

Maine State Police are investigating a possible case of weekend vandalism at the Minot Town Office in which the only destruction was two candidates’ petitions.

LEWISTON — Officials and local historians will be on hand Thursday to unwrap a 74-year-old canvas map of the city found in the Public Works shop. Steve Murch, city arborist and traffic supervisor, said he and his crew were clearing some space in the shop in January when they found the forgotten map.

NORWAY – The town has received a $150,000 grant to stabilize the three-story brick Opera House, Town Manager David Holt said Monday. “This doesn’t save the Opera House. What it does is it keeps it upright,” he said.

AUBURN — A proposed windmill installation and servicing company needs a change in city zoning codes before it can move its base to Auburn. Economic Development Director Roland Miller said the company, named Techwind, plans to make Auburn its home base.

JAY — A local man was arrested Friday night after police and drug agents seized 117 live marijuana plants growing in rooms in his mobile home, state Drug Enforcement Agency Supervisor Gerry Baril said Monday.

LIVERMORE FALLS — Police and drug agents are investigating the theft of 2,000 narcotic pills from the Rite Aid Pharmacy on Main Street, Livermore Falls police Chief Ernest Steward Jr. said Monday.

NEW VINEYARD – Voters made a few revisions to articles Saturday during a town meeting, select board Chairwoman Fay Adams said Monday. Incumbent Selectman Frank Forster was elected by a 36-21 vote over William McLatchey, she said.

AUBURN — Revenues from building permits and fees would increase 17 percent in the next fiscal year if councilors agree, making them match Lewiston’s fee schedule and shifting department costs onto developers.

AUBURN — Despite efforts to trim the budget and make city government more efficient, the city still faces a 9.18 percent increase in property taxes in the 2010-11 budget.

With little snow left and temperatures rising, Jeff Dunham from the town’s Public Works Department began sweeping sidewalks on Maple Ave. in Farmington Monday.

PARIS — The Oxford Hills School Board of Directors unanimously approved a new administrative staffing plan Monday that will eliminate 2.5 principal positions and save a projected $210,000.

BETHEL — Wood has been stacked for people who need help, chores have been done for a local church, and flowers planted at the high school, among other things, thanks to a community service requirement that began this school year at Telstar High School.

DIXFIELD — Residents who want to run for one of two selectmen’s seats, or a seat on the board of Western Foothills Regional School Unit 10 may pick up nominating papers at the Dixfield Town Office.

Between 6 p.m. March 7 and 6 p.m. March 14, patrol officers responded to 92 complaints. On March 7 — 8:32 p.m., Joseph Downs, 31, of Rumford was charged by Ptl. Lawrence Winson with domestic violence assault and refusal to submit to arrest on Rumford Avenue.

Less snow and warmer temperatures are starting to add up to real savings for cities and towns, a survey of local government officials on Monday showed.

RANDOLPH, Maine (AP) — Police are investigating a scam that duped a central Maine couple out of $240,000.

ALPINE MEADOWS, California (AP) — On a ridge near the 8,600-foot (2,600-meter) summit of Alpine Meadows ski resort, 17-year-old snowboarder Lucas Fuller scopes out the many chutes and bowls that radiate out from Ward Peak.

AUGUSTA , Maine (NEWS CENTER) - On March 3rd, Governor Baldacci signed a proclamation announcing March as ‘Red Cross Month.” He follows President Obama’s lead - who made the proclamation on the 1st. President Obama steps in the footsteps of every president since Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the first declaration in 1943.

CLINTON , Maine (NEWS CENTER) - State Police say they have found the body of a young mother from New Hampshire who has been missing since mid-December.

TOPSHAM, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — We’re learning more about a Topsham man who police say lured a 5-year old into his home Saturday afternoon and refused to let her go.

VEAZIE, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — A woman from Veazie will be featured on a popular talk show to spread the word about a deadly game that killed her teenage son.

BUXTON, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — Some off-road enthuiasts spent the day inside learning about responsible recreation.

BANGOR, Maine (AP) — Chancellor Richard Pattenaude will provide an update on the University of Maine System’s new long-term initiative to cut costs and reposition the state’s universities for the future.

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Further Maine House and Senate votes are expected this week on a bill to bar annual and lifetime caps on health insurance payments.

ALFRED, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — Heavy rain and high winds caused both flooding and power outages Sunday night.

Topsham, MAINE (NEWSCENTER) — A proposed 75 foot cell phone tower in Topsham is drawing critisism from the three neighborhood that would surround the site.

LEWISTON — The Great Falls Forum lecture series will present professor Alexandre Dauge-Roth speaking on “Lewiston to Kigali and Back: Learning with Orphans of the Rwandan Genocide,” at noon Thursday, March 18, in Callahan Hall at the Lewiston Public Library, 200 Lisbon St.

Nell Wachsberger, left, and Francesca Aborn walk across a wet Bates College campus in Lewiston on Sunday. The freshman roommates from Manhattan were headed to the commons for an early dinner.