Kennebec Valley Podium

Blue Laws: Easing Up on Sunday Liquor Sales

Outspoken — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 03:24:55 GMT

Blue Laws: Easing Up on Sunday Liquor Sales

Throwing out Prohibition-era laws means more revenue for states

By Justin Ewers

U.S. News and World Report

Cheri Jahn did something last weekend that she had never done before. On her way to a Sunday barbecue in Denver, Jahn, a Democratic representative in the Colorado General Assembly, stopped at a local liquor store, bought a six-pack of Fat Tire beer, and then drove the rest of the way to the party. Her contribution to the gathering was ...

4 Ways a Food Diary Can Help You Lose Weight

Outspoken — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 03:18:11 GMT

4 Ways a Food Diary Can Help You Lose Weight

Writing down what you eat makes it tough to fool yourself

By Katherine Hobson

U.S. News and World Report

There's a reason so many doctors and nutritionists recommend keeping a food diary when you're trying to lose weight: It actually appears to work. The case for food diaries (or food records or journals) got a little stronger today, when weight-loss researchers reported that a large, multicenter study suggests that tracking what goes in ...

One Bowl Chocolate Cake...

Outspoken — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 02:03:10 GMT

One Bowl Chocolate Cake

From Sylvia Gordon for the Clinton Historical Society Bi-centennial Cookbook

Ingredients

3 1/2 c. flour

2 c. sugar

5 Tbsp. cocoa

1 tsp. cinnamon (optional)

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 c. cooking oil (canola can be used to reduce saturated fats)

2 tsp. vinegar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 c. water

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Sift the first six ingredients together into a large mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat well. ...

Deconstructing Salsa In Search of Salmonella

Outspoken — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:12:51 GMT

Deconstructing Salsa In Search of Salmonella

Stakes Are High as Probe Widens to Jalape�os, Cilantro, Peppers

By Annys Shin and Simone Baribeau

Washington Post Staff Writers

The hunt for the smoking jalape�o is on.

Investigators who spent nearly a month searching for the cause of a salmonella outbreak in tomatoes are now holding and testing shipments of imported jalape�os at the Mexican border in hopes of finding the outbreak strain.

Officials from the Food and Drug Administration ...

Shares of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Plummet

Outspoken — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:10:45 GMT

Shares of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Plummet

Report Raises Alarm About Firms' Capital

By David S. Hilzenrath

Washington Post Staff Writer

Investors dumped shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac yesterday based on worries that the two pillars of the housing market could be forced to raise $75 billion of capital, potentially confronting them with an overwhelming burden and crippling already struggling financial markets.

Fannie Mae's stock price plunged 16.2 percent, to $15.74, and ...

Before Games, China Puts Conflict on Hold

Outspoken — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:08:09 GMT

Before Games, China Puts Conflict on Hold

As State Urges Citizens to Keep Quiet On Grievances, Anger Turns to Violence

By Jill Drew

Washington Post Foreign Service

BEIJING -- A dusty black van sits on the street outside the State Bureau for Letters and Visits. The driver puffs on a cigarette, his knit shirt pulled up to expose his belly to the breeze. His license plate shows he's from Liaoning province, more than 200 miles to the northeast. Vans like his are a common sight on this ...

Maliki Suggests U.S. Troop Timetable

Outspoken — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:05:40 GMT

Maliki Suggests U.S. Troop Timetable

Iraqi Premier's Remarks Reflect Political Plight

By Sudarsan Raghavan and Karen DeYoung

Washington Post Foreign Service

BAGHDAD, July 7 -- Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has for the first time suggested establishing a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, a step that the Bush administration has long opposed.

Maliki raised the idea Monday during a visit to the United Arab Emirates, where he spoke with Arab ambassadors about ...

Bush Facing Rebuffs On Key Issues at G-8

Outspoken — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:51:16 GMT

Bush Facing Rebuffs On Key Issues at G-8

Tanzanian Leader Resists Zimbabwe Plan

By Michael Abramowitz

Washington Post Staff Writer

RUSUTSU, Japan, July 8 -- President Bush has worked hard over the past few years to cultivate good relations with many world leaders, but as a summit of the Group of Eight industrialized nations got underway Monday, he was once again discovering the limitations of those efforts.

Bush is pushing here for a new round of sanctions against Zimbabwe and ...

EPA Enforcement Is Faulted

Outspoken — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:48:21 GMT

EPA Enforcement Is Faulted

Agency Official Cites Narrow Reading of Clean Water Act

By Juliet Eilperin

Washington Post Staff Writer

An official administration guidance document on wetlands policy is undermining enforcement of the Clean Water Act, said a March 4 memo written by the Environmental Protection Agency's chief enforcement officer.

The memo by Granta Y. Nakayama, EPA's assistant administrator for enforcement and compliance assurance, was obtained by the advocacy group ...

Candidates Diverge on How to Save Social Security

Outspoken — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:45:55 GMT

Candidates Diverge on How to Save Social Security

By Perry Bacon Jr.

Washington Post Staff Writer

Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain are both proposing dramatic changes to Social Security, taking on the financially fragile "third rail of American politics" that Congress and recent presidents have been unable to repair.

McCain's aides said he favors a bipartisan approach and is open to working with Congress on finding a solution to the long-term solvency of the New Deal-era ...

U.S. Seeks Data Exchange

Outspoken — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:43:26 GMT

U.S. Seeks Data Exchange

Newer European Union Countries Want Waiver From Visa Requirements

By Ellen Nakashima

Washington Post Staff Writer

The United States is negotiating deals with European countries to exchange fingerprint and DNA data in criminal and terrorist cases, and in some circumstances to transfer data on race or ethnic origin, political and religious beliefs, or sexual orientation.

Such agreements are a condition for granting citizens of newer European Union member ...

Hartland man jailed after croquet incident

Outspoken — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:36:26 GMT

Hartland man jailed after croquet incident

By Sharon Kiley Mack

Staff Writer Bangor Daily News

HARTLAND � What reportedly began as a family game of croquet went awry Monday night when a 16-year-old boy allegedly was assaulted, the family home was set on fire and one man ended up in police custody.

The Somerset County Sheriff�s Department would not provide details about the incident on Monday. At the scene, on Crosby Street in Hartland, Deputy David Cole said information would be ...

'Seventeen' magazine profiles Belfast teen

Outspoken — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:33:54 GMT

'Seventeen' magazine profiles Belfast teen

By Aimee Dolloff

Staff Writer Bangor Daily News

BELFAST, Maine - At some point, every woman has opened her closet in the morning only to struggle with finding an outfit to wear in public. Whether it's time to do laundry, you're tired with your wardrobe, or you can't seem to find the right look for a certain occasion, getting dressed can sometimes be a struggle at any age.

One local teen, however, has gotten it right, and for her fashion ...

Red Shield layoffs yield few unemployment agency calls

Outspoken — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:29:28 GMT

Red Shield layoffs yield few unemployment agency calls

By Jessica Bloch

Staff Writer Bangor Daily News

BANGOR, Maine - Unemployment and layoffs, it seems, now may be old hat for some local workers.

The 106 people who were laid off in the wake of Red Shield Environmental LLC�s bankruptcy filing last month were among the topics of conversation Monday morning at a Penobscot County Transition Team meeting.

Jennifer Brooks, community relations manager for the Penquis agency, said ...

Gas costs sap volunteer drivers

Outspoken — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:26:51 GMT

Gas costs sap volunteer drivers

By Meg Haskell

Staff Writer Bangor Daily News

The high price of gasoline is affecting everybody, including agencies dedicated to providing transportation to medical appointments and other health-related destinations. Three area agencies said Monday that they are still managing to transport the poor, the elderly and others who can�t drive themselves, but they anticipate harder times ahead.

At the Penquis agency in Bangor, Galen LaVertue, manager of ...

McLain exhumation funding goal reached

Outspoken — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:24:48 GMT

McLain exhumation funding goal reached

By Nick Sambides Jr.

Staff Writer Bangor Daily News

EAST MILLINOCKET, Maine - Justice For Joyce Committee members have raised enough money to exhume the body of homicide victim Joyce McLain for DNA testing and possibly help reveal the identity of her killer, they said Monday.

With $17,000 to $18,000 raised as of this week and another major fundraiser due this weekend, the victim�s mother, Pamela McLain, is confident the committee can afford ...

Lincoln mill boss calls for energy plan

Outspoken — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:21:32 GMT

Lincoln mill boss calls for energy plan

By Nick Sambides Jr.

Staff Writer Bangor Daily News

LINCOLN, Maine - Forty million dollars for Fraser Papers Inc. of Edmundston, New Brunswick. Nine million for Irving Paper Ltd. of St. John. Ten million to a mill in Nackawic.

Provided by the government of New Brunswick, the nearly $60 million in low-interest, long-term loans issued this spring will help the Canadian province�s largest employers upgrade technology, dump traditional energy ...

Prisoner assaults jail guard with own badge

Outspoken — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:11:31 GMT

Prisoner assaults jail guard with own badge

By Walter Griffin

Staff Writer Bangor Daily News

BELFAST, Maine - A prisoner who told officers he had nothing to lose by his actions ripped the badge from the shirt of a Waldo County Jail corrections officer and assaulted him with it.

Scott Noble, 25, of Belfast was charged with assault on a corrections officer after the Sunday afternoon incident at the jail.

"He told the officers he wasn�t worried and that he had nothing to ...

Medicare gridlock looms

Outspoken — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:10:12 GMT

Medicare gridlock looms

By Mal Leary

Capitol News Service

Bangor Daily News

AUGUSTA, Maine - Because the U.S. Senate has failed to block a decrease of more than 10 percent in Medicare payments to doctors, Maine senior citizens on the federal program could have difficulty finding a physician and doctors face the loss of $50 million over the next 18 months.

"If this doesn�t get fixed, it has huge ramifications for Maine," Gordon Smith, vice president of the Maine Medical ...

Less bucks means less bang for Fourth

Outspoken — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:07:54 GMT

Less bucks means less bang for Fourth

By Nok-Noi Ricker

Staff Writer Bangor Daily News

BANGOR, Maine - People who traveled to the city's waterfront to watch the sky during this year's Fourth of July fireworks display say the pyrotechnics didn't compare to years past.

"I think it was great, but it was a little lacking," lifelong Bangor resident Charles Sacobie, 33, said Monday.

A 26 percent dip in funding for this year�s show trimmed the nighttime feature drastically, ...

Car dealers feel impact of changes

Outspoken — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:55:54 GMT

Car dealers feel impact of changes

They can't sell the vehicles that they have in stock and can't get enough of the high-mileage cars that buyers want.

By EDWARD D. MURPHY

Staff Writer Portland Press Herald

A dismal economy and rapid shifts in consumer tastes are making for a rocky year for Maine car dealerships.

With gasoline above $4 a gallon, once-popular pickup trucks and SUVs are sitting on car lots. There's plenty of demand for more fuel-efficient small cars or hybrids, ...

Tourism comes and goes

Outspoken — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:46:35 GMT

Tourism comes and goes

Many businesses are thankful for a strong holiday showing, but questions linger about the season's overall prospects.

By ANN S. KIM

Staff Writer Portland Press Herald

WELLS � The Fourth of July weekend proved to be a bright spot for Maine�s tourism industry in a season that has been shadowed by uncertainty.

Accommodations around Maine�s south coast were busy, said Greg Dugal, executive director of the Maine Innkeepers Association. He said the holiday ...

Red tide sickens three in Maine

Outspoken — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:42:04 GMT

Red tide sickens three in Maine

Red tide causes illnesses in Maine, Canada

The Associated Press

SAINT JOHN, New Brunswick � Eleven people in Maine and New Brunswick became sick after eating shellfish harvested from beaches affected by red tide, public health officials said.

Eight people in New Brunswick came down with paralytic shellfish poisoning during the weekend after eating clams that were apparently taken from an area under a shellfish harvesting ban. Officials said charges ...

Prosecutor: Vermont girl was killed, uncle held

Outspoken — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:39:47 GMT

Prosecutor: Vermont girl was killed, uncle held

Brooke Bennett's former stepfather, a UMaine graduate, is charged with obstruction in the case.

The Associated Press

BURLINGTON, Vt. � The Vermont 12-year-old found dead last week near her uncle's home was killed, a prosecutor said Monday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Nolan made the disclosure at a hearing at which the judge ordered the uncle, Michael Jacques, held until his trial on a federal kidnapping charge.

"He has ...

Growing in a prime spot

Outspoken — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:34:18 GMT

Growing in a prime spot

The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens' waterfront location helps to make it an attraction.

The Associated Press

BOOTHBAY � At one of America's newest public gardens, the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, there are nearly 1,300 varieties of plants, world-class sculptures and a restaurant that uses herbs grown on the grounds.

The gardens also boast trails that offer classic Maine scenery, from evergreen trees to lobster boats.

The gardens -- in the second ...