The commander of the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Mason has been relieved of duty, military officials announced Sunday.They didn’t disclose the reasons for firing Capt. Chavius Lewis as the top officer of the guided-missile destroyer.Lewis, who had led the ship for just 15 months, was canned Friday by Rear Adm. Alexis Walker, head of a carrier strike group, “due to a loss of confidence in Lewis’ ability to command,” according to a Navy press release.The…

Penobscot County Sheriff’s deputies responded on Friday night and into Saturday morning to two unrelated domestic violence incidents in Garland and Hermon. [RELATED: Brewer Man Arrested on Domestic Violence Charges…] At approximately 8:00 p.m. on Friday, deputies responded to a Garland residence for reports of a family fight. Deputies mounted an investigation and reportedly developed probable cause to arrest Wade Bigelow, 54, of Garland. Law enforcement believed that Bigelow had strangled his partner and tried…

LEWISTON, Maine — Hundreds of tips about adult autism group homes have poured into The Maine Wire in recent days after the outlet reported on conditions inside a residence managed by Lighthouse Health Services in Auburn. Conditions were so severe that one resident’s sister removed her brother herself. In that case, the sister told The Maine Wire that promises made by Lighthouse Health Services about her brother’s care turned out to be fictional. She said…

Maine Director of Elections and Voter Registration Heidi Peckham sent out a notice to municipal clerks warning them to follow procedures requiring voters to be citizens after an independent journalist exposed how easily non-citizens can vote in the state. [RELATED: ‘Honest Mistake’ or Cover-Up? Maine Officials Offer No Answers After Ballots Found in Amazon Box…] “A group in Maine is calling towns and pretending to ask about how to register their friend to vote, and…

Maine lawmakers are poised to support a bill expanding the state’s sales tax exemption for the sale and delivery of residential electricity. Originating as a proposal to establish a refundable tax credit worth as much as $600, LD 2078 has since been amended to a more straightforward expansion of the existing structure. Under current state law, the first 750 kilowatt hours of electricity are exempt from sales tax, as well as “off-peak residential electricity used…

A Maine Democratic lawmaker is using the state’s “concept draft” policy and the extremely vague bill title “An Act Regarding the Laws of the State of Maine” to conceal a proposal to use taxpayer funds to install security systems at legislators’ homes. [RELATED: Rep. Laurel Libby Seeks to Eliminate the Use of Place-holding “Concept Drafts” in Augusta…] The bill would appropriate $450,000 from the state’s general fund to create the “Legislator Residential Security Fund,” which…

AUGUSTA, Maine — State Rep. Reagan Paul (R) introduced a joint resolution Thursday, in the Maine House honoring Turning Point USA founder Charles “Charlie” James Kirk, praising his faith and activism while condemning what the measure describes as his assassination in Utah last year. Paul announced the move in a social media post, writing that she was “honored to sponsor and introduce” the resolution in the House. The measure is filed as House Paper 1485…

The Rockland Police Department arrested a 47-year-old man on Friday during the execution of a search warrant in the city’s Thorndike Apartments. [RELATED: Bangor Man Arrested in Rockland on Drug Trafficking Charges…] Officers executed a search warrant at the Thorndike Apartments as part of an ongoing investigation into drug trafficking activities. Police did not specify whether the warrant covered more than one apartment in the building. During the execution, police allegedly discovered evidence of drug…

An ICE enforcement action targeting one man in Brunswick on Tuesday prompted the Bowdoin security office to warn students about the law enforcement action. [RELATED: ICE Surge in Maine Ends, But the Political Fight Is Just Getting Started…] “We have been made aware that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers are conducting an operation near the train station, northwest of campus. We have no information that ICE intends to come to Bowdoin’s campus,” said Vice…

A southern Maine fire department didn’t have to go far to put out the most recent blaze.  While Biddeford firefighters were sleeping, one of them awoke to the smell of smoke shortly after 3 a.m. on February 13. He traced the smoke to a stainless bin containing recently laundered kitchen towels. Fireman put out their own fire with an extinguisher and water from the kitchen sink. Biddeford Fire Chief Larry Best says the blaze caused…

On Thursday, the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reversed an Obama-era declaration that has served as the basis for the government’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Known as the Endangerment Finding, this 2009 declaration states that the “current and projected concentrations” of greenhouse gases “threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations.” This stemmed from a 2007 Supreme Court ruling that greenhouse gases are a category of air pollutant covered by…

The Somerset Sheriff’s Department executed a search warrant in Madison on Tuesday, which led to the arrest of two people on drug charges. [RELATED: Somerset Bust Leads to Seizure of Over a Pound of Drugs and Arrest of Out-of-State Traffickers…] Deputies executed the warrant at approximately 9:30 a.m. at the residence of Allison Brown, 42, of Madison, on Naomi Avenue. They obtained the warrant after a month-long investigation into alleged drug sales from the residence.…

The United States House of Representatives voted Wednesday to oppose the tariffs levied against Canada by President Donald Trump, approving the measure by a narrow but bipartisan margin of 219-211. Maine’s Rep. Jared Golden (D) of the Second Congressional District was the only Democratic lawmaker to join the majority of Republicans in rejecting the move and expressing support for the president’s policy. “I’ve loudly supported tariffs as a tool to make America more self-sufficient,” Rep.…

PORTLAND, Maine — More than a dozen residents at Portland Center for Assisted Living say they have been living with what they describe as a year-long bed bug problem, allegations flatly denied by facility representatives, as broader questions intensify about Maine’s oversight of assisted living and home health care providers. The Maine Wire visited the facility Thursday after receiving multiple tips as part of an ongoing investigation into health care facilities across the state. Residents…

Milo Hanson of Saskatchewan remains an untouchable hero in the eyes of Maine deer hunters.Hanson, 81, who died last week, holds the claim to taking down the biggest whitetail buck ever shot in the world. He killed it with a .308 on his farm in Saskatchewan in 1993. It’s a record deer hunters globally can only dream about. When deer hunters speak of records, they use a language foreign to mortals.To wit, Hanson’s record takedown…