Destroyer leaves discord behind

Hundreds of people gathered on the banks of the Kennebec River on Thursday to bid farewell to a $1 billion Navy destroyer that was built at Bath Iron Works.

The USS Spruance’s departure for Key West, Fla., marked the end of a controversy in which the town of Phippsburg, commercial fishermen and others whose livelihoods depend on the Kennebec River challenged the federal government’s decision to dredge the river during the height of summer.

Central Maine on course to restore power to all its customers

Only 1,500 customers are still without electricity tonight

Irene fails to dampen Labor Day predictions

Officials say storm damage will not be an issue, and some innkeepers report solid advance bookings.

Portland seeks input on benches for trail

The Portland Public Arts Committee wants to make sure the public has its say before selecting a design.

Generator fumes kill two people, sicken six in Maine

An elderly man and woman are poisoned by carbon monoxide in their Raymond seasonal home.

Two former city officials run for mayor in Saco

A former mayor and a former councilor seek the largely ceremonial post.

After Irene: Outages reducedas recovery begins in Maine

Central Maine Power Co. said Monday night that it will take several more days to restore electricity to all of its customers who lost power because of Tropical Storm Irene.

Across Maine on Sunday, Irene brought 2 to as much as 9 inches of rain, sustained winds of 40 mph and gusts up to 52 mph – enough to knock down trees and cut power to nearly 280,000 homes and businesses at some point during the storm.

CMP spokesman John Carroll said the scope of the damage and the number of customers affected – more than 110,000 were still without power at 9 p.m. Monday – have kept crews busy around the clock.

Wells fire damages seasonal boarding home for foreign exchange students

No one is injured after fire causes moderate damage to the building’s third floor

Fire causes extensive damage to a home in Wiscasset

When the power came back on, it may have overheated an appliance causing the fire to start

The force of nature

Tropical Storm Irene blew through Maine on Sunday, knocking out power to more than 190,000 customers and causing scattered flash flooding but failing to produce the widespread damage that had been feared.

The punishing hurricane had been downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it reached Maine, but Irene still brought powerful sustained winds and gusts that caused rain-soaked trees and limbs to fall on power lines in widely scattered locations. The wind was expected to continue gusting to 50 mph through the night, the National Weather Service said.