Maine

PORTLAND, Maine - The University of Southern Maine and Iceland's Reykjavik University will sign an agreement to make it easier for students and faculty to visit the schools.
 
USM officials say President Glenn Cummings and Reykjavik University President Ari Jonsson will sign the agreement on Friday. The schools began collaborating last August.
 
USM says the new agreement "sets a course for routine visits'' by students and faculty at both schools. The schools are calling it an "internship addendum.''

BANGOR, Maine - Federal officials are set to announce how $1.1 million in forfeited money from a massive marijuana grow operation will be distributed to Maine law enforcement agencies.

The marijuana operation was concealed in the woods and bogs in Washington County. Drug agents in 2009 seized nearly 3,000 plants and 40 pounds of processed marijuana valued at $9 million.

Five men were either convicted or pleaded guilty.

AUGUSTA, Maine - A proposal to try to address marine debris that results from commercial activities on and near the water will be the subject of a public hearing in the Maine State House.

Rep. Michael Devin, a Newcastle Democrat, has proposed the bill, which will be up for a hearing before the Marine Resources Committee on March 22.

Devin's bill proposes to take on marine debris that results from businesses such as commercial fishing operations and aquaculture.

BANGOR, Maine - A new study suggests that as more people retire, inadequate personal savings means the taxpayers will have to take on more of the burden. 

"With an aging Maine workforce moving into retirement increasingly reliant on public assistance, that cost to the state it likewise increasing," says Amy Gallant, advocacy director for AARP Maine, which commissioned the study.

States and the federal governments must address the barriers to saving for retirement, says Gallant, or the burden on taxpayers will continue to grow.

Prices for heating fuels in Maine have come down over the past few weeks.

Lisa Smith with the Governor’s Energy Office says, since late February, the statewide average price of heating oil has dropped 4 cents a gallon to $2.26. Kerosene is also down 4 cents to $2.79 a gallon, and the statewide average price of propane is down a nickel to $2.55.

Smith says the price drops follow an historical trend and reflect supply and demand.

PORTLAND, Maine - The Army Corps of Engineers will conduct emergency dredging operations along a stretch of the lower Kennebec River between Phippsburg and Bath.

The Portland Press Herald reports that the dredging project will begin April 19 and take about three to five weeks to complete. The work is designed to ensure the safe passage along the river channel of Navy destroyers built at Bath Iron Works.

A Lewiston dentist whose license was suspended due to multiple complaints could resume practice this week. A disciplinary hearing has been postponed till after the suspension expires.

Dr. Jan Kippax received an emergency license suspension in February after
the Maine Board of Dental Practice received complaints that Kippax allegedly extracted the wrong teeth, continued with painful procedures despite distress from patients, and physically restrained patients against their will.