For decades a Burnham company that made golf tees and wooden toys has kept hundreds of people employed. But it’s now lost its biggest contract – making wooden cigar tips, that is marking the death knell for Pride Manufacturing. The company has announced it is going out of business in April, putting 115 people out of work. “After our largest customer made the decision to relocate their sourcing for cigar tips, our highest volume product,…

A Chinese woman living in New York pleaded guilty on Monday to operating illegal marijuana grow sites at properties she owned in Madison and Norridgewock. [RELATED: Maine Sheriff Raids Three More Black Market Pot Houses, Seizes $39k, 900 Plants, and a Toyota — One “Brooklyn” Woman Arrested…] Jiamin Liao, 30, of New York City, purchased a property at 571 Thurston Hill Rd., Madison, in order to convert it into an illegal marijuana cultivation facility. In…

The Brunswick Police Department arrested a Topsham man on Saturday after he allegedly swapped a Brunswick man’s snowblower for a broken one while taking money to fix the stolen machine. [RELATED: Topsham Felon Found with 20 Stolen Firearms Sentenced to Six Years in Prison…] At approximately 7:00 p.m., the Brunswick Police Department received a report that Benjamin Jacques, 44, of Topsham, had allegedly swapped a Brunswick resident’s snowblower for a broken one. The caller explained…

AUGUSTA, Maine – The state’s newly released Crime in Maine 2024 report paints a picture of declining crime across most major categories, while also underscoring a fundamental shift in how Maine now counts crime. This year’s publication is the fourth consecutive statewide crime report based entirely on the FBI’s Incident-Based Reporting system, known as IBR, which replaced the long-standing Uniform Crime Reporting program at the end of 2020. The old UCR system, in place since…

Democratic state Rep. Deqa Dhalac (South Portland) is facing intensifying scrutiny as a widening state and federal investigation into alleged MaineCare fraud at Gateway Community Services continues to engulf Augusta, raising serious questions about political oversight, conflicts of interest, and accountability inside Maine’s one-party power structure. Gateway, a Portland-based nonprofit that once employed Dhalac in senior leadership, was recently cut off from MaineCare funding after the Maine Department of Health and Human Services determined there…

Maine residents will see higher taxes and fees across multiple everyday purchases starting January 1, 2026, as a slate of new state laws take effect, raising costs on tobacco, cannabis, digital subscriptions, and fishing licenses. One of the largest increases targets tobacco products. For the first time in roughly 20 years, Maine’s cigarette tax will jump, with the tax on a pack of cigarettes rising from $2 to $3.50. Taxes on other tobacco products will…

More than two years after the deadliest mass shooting in Maine history, victims and their families say they are still searching for answers — not only about how to recover from the violence that shattered their lives, but about how millions of dollars donated in the tragedy’s aftermath were ultimately spent. The October 25, 2023, shooting at a bowling alley and bar in Lewiston killed 18 people and wounded 13 others, prompting an outpouring of…

The controversies surrounding Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows continue to pile up, raising serious questions about competence, accountability, and whether Maine’s top elections and motor vehicle official is focused more on her official duties or politicking. The most recent questions followed a legislative oversight committee hearing, on Wednesday, examining the deaths of Mainers linked to drivers who allegedly used paid interpreters to fraudulently pass driver’s permit tests. Whistleblower Jon Moran has stated that the…

Governor Janet Mills (D) has again opted not to sign a controversial piece of legislation, allowing new “ghost gun” regulations to become law in Maine without her signature. The bill, LD 1126, updates state law to require serial numbers on homemade firearms and bans guns that cannot be traced. The measure is scheduled to take effect in January 2027 and includes exemptions for rare and antique firearms. The ghost gun bill is the second contentious…

The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office released the name of the Bonny Eagle School District bus driver who was behind the wheel on Tuesday when a bus tragically struck and killed 5-year-old Simon Gonzalez in Standish. [RELATED: Child Killed in Crash With Bonny Eagle School Bus in Standish…] The Sheriff’s Department identified the driver as Lori Ann Merrifield, 64. According to her Facebook page, Merrifield has been working as a bus driver for the district for…

Lewiston Police arrested a man early Sunday following a reported domestic altercation in which a gun was fired inside a residence, authorities said. Police were dispatched shortly after midnight December 14 to a home at 148 Old Webster Road, where officers investigated reports of an altercation involving a firearm. Following the investigation, Kenneth Foster was arrested and charged with criminal attempt to commit murder, reckless conduct, domestic violence aggravated assault, and domestic violence criminal threatening.…

Getting her car fixed with federal trail-maintenance money gave prosecutors a hint she wasn’t operating on all cylinders. They ended up charging Melanie Luce with embezzling $91,000 from the White Mountains Trail Collective, of which she was executive director. Luce, 48, has entered into a plea agreement calling for her to serve two years in prison and pay $193,724 in restitution, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. Cops say she opened a credit card in 2021…

Cameron Clark, photo from Facebook

An MSAD 72 elementary school student being transported to an out-of-district placement by a substitute van driver went missing for several hours Wednesday, prompting a police search before she was ultimately located safe. District officials called the incident “deeply concerning” and said the transportation company involved will no longer be used. MSAD 72 serves Fryeburg, Denmark, Sweden, Lovell, Stoneham and Stow, as well as Chatham, New Hampshire. According to a post the girl’s mother made…

The fallout from the indictment of City Councilor-elect and school committee appointee Iman Osman continued to spiral Friday, triggering a fresh round of internal conflict among Lewiston School Committee members and exposing deep fractures inside city leadership. What began as a routine email exchange erupted into a public controversy after School Committee Chair Megan Parks accused unnamed individuals of “encouraging chaos” and said she had received threats against herself and her family. Parks told colleagues…