Central Maine News: August 19, 2015

These are some of the stories central Maine is talking about today.

A group of Democratic lawmakers will visit the Belfast area this week to meet with workers as part of their statewide "jobs tour." The group visit Belfast and Liberty, where they will meet with workers and officials at Revision Energy, AthenaHealth and Liberty Printing. House Speaker Mark Eves says Belfast is "leading the way when it comes to writing Maine's comeback story." Democrats began the tour in January at Pratt & Whitney's manufacturing facility in North Berwick. They say the goal is to highlight the need and develop strategies for bringing jobs and better wages to Maine. They've also visited Aroostook and Kennebec Counties, among others. (AP)

The FBI is asking for the public's help to find two of six valuable N.C. Wyeth paintings nabbed from a home in Maine in 2013. The agency announced Tuesday that it's now offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the two stolen paintings. The four other stolen Wyeth paintings were recovered from a Beverly Hills, California, pawn shop in December and are estimated to be worth up to $2 million. Three men have been convicted in connection with the stolen paintings, but FBI Special Agent Elizabeth Rivas says the person responsible for taking them remains a mystery. The remaining paintings could be anywhere in the world and like other stolen art, could take decades to find. (AP)

The lobster population has plummeted to the lowest levels on record in southern New England. But it has climbed to heights never before seen in northern New England, in the cold waters off Maine. Scientists say one of the chief reasons for the northward shift is that the ocean is getting warmer. The trend is driving lobstermen in Connecticut and Rhode Island out of business. And some regulators say there's not much they can do about the problem because it's largely environmental. (AP)

Portsmouth police say a Maine woman accused of leaving her brother's dog in a hot car has abandoned the animal, and its owner has made no attempt to contact authorities. Twenty-one-year-old Nakita Haller of Portland was charged with two counts of animal cruelty on Monday, two days after she is accused of leaving the dog in a car in Portsmouth for more than two hours with just the windows cracked. Authorities say Haller called police hours after officers removed the dog and took it to a veterinary hospital, saying the dog was her brother's and that she was on her way to the hospital to cooperate. But police say she never showed up, and has refused to identify her brother. (AP)

Explosives experts were investigating at Colby College for nearly two hours after a suspicious container was discovered on campus last weekend. According to the Sun Journal, security at the college found a fireproof document box near the Davis Science Center around 8:30 a.m. Sunday. Officials were called in to investigate. The area was closed and the box opened. No explosives were found. (Sun Journal)

A proposal to build an automatic, 24-hour car and dog wash business at 145 KMD in Waterville is a no go. According to the KJ, city councilors Tuesday voted 4-3 to rezone the property but needed a two-thirds majority, so the proposal failed. The biggest concerns were from neighbors who felt this was not the right spot for this business. (centralmaine.com)

Police in Thailand are offering a reward for information leading to the man accused of bombing a shrine in Bangkok, killing 20 people. The man is seen in video leaving a backpack at the downtown shrine that authorities believe contained an explosive device weighing more than 6 pounds. Police believe the man did not act alone, but is part of "a network."(AP)

Islamic State extremists have beheaded one of the Syria's most prominent antiquities scholars in the ancient town of Palmyra. Syrian state media and the group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights say 81-year-old Khaled Asaad was beheaded Tuesday in a square outside the town's museum. The head of the Antiquities and Museums Department in Damascus tells state news agency SANA that Asaad's body was then hung from one of the Roman columns at Palmyra's archaeological site.(AP)

The longtime pitchman for the Subway sandwich chain reportedly is expected to plead guilty Wednesday to child-pornography charges. Six weeks ago, authorities raided the suburban Indianapolis home of 37-year-old Jared Fogle, seizing electronics and other items. Fox59 reports that the U.S. Attorney's Office in Indianapolis plans to hold a news conference Wednesday. (AP)