Lincoln Loon Festival Crash Indictment
A Penobscot County grand jury has indicted a Mattawamkeag man accused of driving under the influence of methamphetamine and striking a family of four on a Lincoln sidewalk this summer.
Officials say 58-year-old Carl Hartley drove into a couple and their two young children during the town’s Loon Festival in July, pinning a 24-year-old mother beneath the vehicle with serious injuries.
WABI news reports Hartley was arrested a second time days later after allegedly leading police on a chase and ramming a cruiser.
He faces multiple counts including aggravated criminal mischief, criminal OUI, driving to endanger, and reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon.
WABI-TV
Jury Selection Begins in 1984 Calais Cold Case Murder
Jury selection got underway Thursday morning in Machias for a 67-year-old Bangor man accused of murdering an 18-year-old Calais woman four decades ago.
Raymond Brown was arrested and indicted last year in the 1984 death of Linda Maxwell, whose body was discovered along the St. Croix River shoreline in Robbinston two days after she disappeared.
WABI news reports state police cracked the long-unsolved cold case through renewed forensic efforts by the Major Crimes Unit.
Opening statements are scheduled for Monday, and Brown faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted.
WABI-TV
Blue Hill Sues Blaze Restaurant Over Unpermitted Structures
The Town of Blue Hill has filed a lawsuit in Ellsworth District Court against Blaze restaurant and its property owner over multiple unpermitted outdoor structures and noise violations.
Municipal officials allege owner Matthew Haskell built an outdoor kitchen, bar, smoker, and concert stage within shoreland zoning and FEMA flood hazard areas without town approval.
The Bangor Daily News reports the lawsuit asks a judge to order the structures removed and assess daily fines that already exceeded $15,000 this summer.
Haskell stated he disagrees with the town’s allegations but declined further comment on the active litigation.
Bangor Daily News
Mount Desert Restricts Garage Access Over Bear Sightings
Town officials in Mount Desert are restricting public access to the municipal garage after a mother black bear and her two cubs repeatedly raided local dumpsters.
Town Manager Alex Kimball says the bears have become habituated to the Sargent Drive site and are currently ignoring standard wildlife deterrents.
The Bar Harbor Story reports public access to the garage is now strictly limited between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m., with dumpsters removed at night and temporary barricades installed at the entrance.
Officials are pleading with residents not to drop off household garbage after hours so the animals lose interest in the location.
Bangor Daily News / Bar Harbor Story
MaineHealth Awarded $13.2M Rural Health Research Grant
MaineHealth has secured a five-year, $13.2 million federal grant from the National Institutes of Health to expand acute care research and improve medical outcomes across rural Maine.
The funding will support the MaineHealth Institute for Research in developing targeted clinical solutions for conditions like stroke, cardiac arrest, opioid use disorder, and schizophrenia.
Grant funds will also enhance an innovative telesimulation training program to help rural hospital staff practice emergency newborn resuscitation according to the Pen Bay Pilot.
Health leaders say the investment will mentor emerging clinician-scientists while directly improving emergency care access in small communities.
PenBay Pilot
Versant Power Astronomy Center Public Shows
The Versant Power Astronomy Center at the University of Maine in Orono is hosting a full lineup of public shows this fall.
Upcoming feature presentations under the planetarium dome include fulldome music experiences featuring classic rock hits from Styx and Pink Floyd alongside science explorations of Earth and the cosmos.
Families can also look forward to special youth shows like “3-2-1 Liftoff” and Halloween-themed presentations at the end of October.
Tickets and program schedules are available through the university’s astronomy center box office.
University of Maine Versant Power Astronomy Center
Caribou Native Astronaut Jessica Meir Reflects on Maine Roots
NASA astronaut Jessica Meir says growing up in Caribou and stargazing under Aroostook County’s dark night skies helped fuel her childhood dream of reaching space.
Meir, who has logged more than 430 days in orbit and completed seven spacewalks, has been aboard the International Space Station since February.
She tells WABI news she hopes her experience will lead to a spot on NASA’s Artemis lunar missions, recalling a first-grade drawing she made of herself standing on the moon.
Meir and her fellow SpaceX Crew-12 astronauts are scheduled to undock and return to Earth on Monday, October 5th.
WABI-TV
