PORTLAND

Police ask for public’s help in finding missing woman

Police are asking for the public’s help in locating a Portland woman who has not been seen since March 1.

Karen Tangeman, 53, was reported missing March 20. Police said she does not have a vehicle or the financial means to support herself. She also could be in need of medical attention.

Tangeman is described as a white female, 5 feet 6 inches tall, 195 pounds, with gray hair and blue eyes. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call Portland police at 874-8533.

AUGUSTA

House: Don’t let governor keep more records private

The House has initially rejected a bill that would allow the governor to keep more written records private, a proposal that drew opposition from open-records advocates.

Representatives voted 98-47 Thursday against a bill that would create an exception in Maine’s public records law for proposed legislation, reports and working papers by the governor and the governor’s office. Supporters said it would create a law similar to the existing Legislature’s public records exception.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Maine said the bill would have clouded transparency that’s important to a democracy. The Maine Press Association, Common Cause and the Maine Association of Broadcasters also opposed the measure.

The bill faces a second House vote.

Bill to allow video gambling at nonprofits sent to Senate

The House has approved and sent to the Senate a bill to allow Maine nonprofits to have up to five video gambling machines per club.

Veterans and fraternal organizations want to set up video gambling machines inside their clubs. They see it as a fairness issue, with two private casinos operating in the state or coming on line soon.

Some groups are alarmed by the proposal. CasinosNO! said it would lead to a casino in every town.

The Christian Civic League of Maine says voters have already said no to an expansion of gambling in the state.

Senate votes to delay action on presidential primary bill

The state Senate wants to delay a decision on whether to make Maine a state that holds presidential primaries instead of caucuses.

After a debate Wednesday, senators gave initial approval to a committee-approved change that calls for a presidential primary bill to be submitted to the next Legislature in 2013.

Senate President Kevin Raye’s original bill would not have had any effect in this presidential-election year anyway because it was submitted too late. The bill surfaced after widespread criticism among Republicans about how their party’s caucuses were handled in February.

Raye, a Republican from Perry, said his proposal would encourage voter participation. It faces additional House and Senate votes.

Group plans rally to push for safety in food supply chain

The advocacy group Food for Maine’s Future plans a rally April 17 outside the Maine Department of Agriculture in Augusta to demand “accountability and real safety in the food system.”

Called “Where’s the (Real) Beef?” the rally was organized in response to stories published in the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram about the recent recall of salmonella-contaminated ground beef from the Hannaford supermarket chain. The series exposed food safety failures by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and retailers.

The USDA wasn’t able to determine the source of the contamination, and Hannaford refused to publicly name its ground beef suppliers.

Protest organizers claim large industrial agriculture businesses are allowed to operate with limited accountability and transparency, while “small and diversified family farms are being regulated out of existence.”

After the rally, the protesters plan to march to the State House to deliver a petition signed by more than 2,000 people demanding that Gov. Paul LePage drop a lawsuit against dairy farmer Dan Brown of Blue Hill. The state of Maine has sued Brown in Hancock County Superior Court for selling milk without a distributor’s license.

Blue Hill is one of five towns in Maine that have passed ordinances allowing small farmers to sell directly to consumers without a license.

The rally is planned for 11 a.m. at 28 State House Station.

BIDDEFORD

Arundel man is third winner of $1 million in lottery game

An Arundel man has won $1 million with an instant ticket he bought this week at a gas station in Biddeford.

Emile Paul Raymond is the third million-dollar winner in the new Maine Millionaire instant ticket game, according to the Maine State Lottery. Karen’s Biddeford Sunoco will receive $10,000 for selling the winning ticket.

“This is so exciting – for Paul and for us,” business owner Karen Green told the Maine State Lottery. “Paul is a regular customer, he comes in every day, we all know him, and we’re all very happy for him.”

Tickets in the Maine Millionaire game, which started in October, cost $20 each. The instant tickets also offer smaller prizes.

City buys South Street land to improve access to park

The city on Thursday completed its purchase of a South Street house that will be demolished to provide better access to a park.

The house at 56 South St. had been owned by Janice Appel and was damaged in a fire, said Keith Jacques, the city’s attorney. It’s adjacent to a house owned by Rory Holland, who is serving two life sentences for killing brothers Derek and Gage Green in June 2009 outside his house.

Jacques said the city bought Appel’s property, which is about one-eighth of an acre, to improve access to Williams Court Park. The city created that park a couple of years ago, but access is currently limited to a narrow lane, Jacques said.

Once the house is demolished and the lot is clear, officials will have a better idea whether there is sufficient access to the park. If not, Jacques said, they may try to buy Holland’s property at 58 South St.

SANFORD

Police say man who stole gun gave up after standoff

A Sanford man was arrested Wednesday night after a seven-hour negotiation at a house on Calvin’s Way, and police recovered a .22-caliber pistol with a mounted scope that had been stolen the day before from a home in Wells.

The case began after Wells police were notified of a burglary to a house on Branch Road where a pistol, prescription drugs and jewelry were taken. Early Wednesday, Kennebunk police learned that

Jeffrey Labelle, 31, had the gun, according to a news release issued by Wells police.

Wells police, working with the York County Sheriff’s Office, Maine State Police and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, found Labelle at 7 Calvin’s Way in Sanford.

Labelle did not respond to police efforts to contact him, and the Southern Maine Special Response Team surrounded the house. Just before 6 p.m., Labelle surrendered and was arrested.

Labelle was charged on an outstanding warrant alleging that he received stolen property, and also with burglary and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. He was being held on $11,000 bail at York County Jail.

BELFAST

Gay couple says employers discriminated against them

A lesbian couple from Maine has sued their employers in federal court, alleging they were discriminated against by their bosses because of their sexual orientation.

Shelly Flood of Searsport said in the lawsuit filed March 29 that she received positive evaluations from her supervisors while working at the Bank of America in Belfast, until her boss found out she was a lesbian. Her treatment then went “from cordial to hostile,” according to the lawsuit.

Her partner, Keri Flood of Searsport, worked for the company that cleaned the bank, ABM Janitorial Services-Northeast Inc. The suit alleges the company treated her well until it found out about her sexual orientation, then fired her.

Bank of America and ABM both told the Bangor Daily News that the allegations in the lawsuit are untrue.

OGUNQUIT

Emmy winner Kressley to star this summer at the playhouse

Emmy Award-winner Carson Kressley will return to the Ogunquit Playhouse this summer to star as the devil himself in “Damn Yankees.” He will play Mr. Applegate in the Ogunquit adaptation of the long-loved Broadway hit.

The show opens July 25 and runs through Aug. 18. Ogunquit is retooling this show for local audiences. Instead of pitting the hated Yankees against the Washington Senators, this version includes the Boston Red Sox.

Kressley is best known as the fashion expert on the popular TV reality series “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” which won the 2004 Emmy Award for “Outstanding Reality Program.” He will head to Ogunquit after a 12-week run in a new production of “Dancing with the Stars: Live in Las Vegas.”

ELLSWORTH

Man gets two years in prison for sexually molesting girl

A Bucksport man has been sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually molesting a young girl.

Adam Scott was arrested in November 2010 after he reportedly was seen molesting a girl who was under age 12 at the time.

A Hancock County Superior Court judge this week sentenced Scott, 28, to six years in prison with all but two years suspended after he pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful sexual contact. He faced a maximum of 10 years behind bars.

After release from jail, Scott will be on probation for eight years. He will be prohibited from having any contact with his victim and her family or with children younger than 16.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H.

Couple offers money toward veterans memorial at bridge

A New Hampshire businessman is offering to contribute $25,000 toward construction of a memorial to American veterans near a new bridge that will connect the state to Maine.

Jim Teetzel owns Wilcox Industries in Portsmouth, which makes tactical equipment for U.S. Special Forces. In a letter to the city, he and his wife, Laurie, said the offering is to share their commitment to reinforcing the concept of the Memorial Bridge as a tribute to American veterans.

The Portsmouth Herald reported that the couple wants to work with the community to construct a fitting tribute, with flags and a base built with local material, such as granite.

The nearly 90-year-old bridge that connected Portsmouth to Kittery in Maine is being dismantled. A new bridge is being built for next year.

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