Things You Need to Know: Winter Weather Returns Later this Week
Here are the things you need to know today......
Snow on the way for Wednesday night and Thursday. Winter Storm watch already in effect for Central Maine.
Friday Waterville Police said there were five instances of terrorizing by high school students reported last week. Centralmaine.com reports four were charged with terrorizing.
From the Associated Press:
PITTSFIELD, Maine (AP) — Police say the body of a Maine woman was found in the trunk of her car after it was towed from a Walmart parking lot in Palmyra. Maine State Police say the discovery was made when a mechanic unlocked the trunk on Friday. The woman was identified Saturday as 30-year-old Jenna French of Pittsfield. The state medical examiner's office said more testing is planned before a cause of death can be determined. Steve McCausland of the Maine Department of Public Safety said there's no indication of foul play. McCausland said French was last seen on Tuesday and was reported missing by her grandmother on Thursday. The car was towed to an automotive dealership in Pittsfield because relatives had no keys to the vehicle.
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Republican Gov. Paul LePage's plan to outsource part of the state's Medicaid application process will cost the state more. The Bangor Daily News reports that the LePage administration in a publicly posted contract document acknowledges the move will be a "slight increase in cost." The newspaper's review of budget documents says the move will cost $300,000 each year. The agency didn't respond to request for comment.
WEST BATH, Maine (AP) — Prosecutors are charging the 16-year-old grandson of Beulah "Marie" Sylvester with killing the 55-year-old woman in a Bowdoinham mobile home the two shared. The Bangor Daily News reports that Dominic Sylvester's attorney Tom Berry entered a "denial" on his client's behalf. Police say they responded Feb. 26 morning to the mobile home of Beulah "Marie" Sylvester and found her unresponsive. No additional details about the incident were included in public court documents.
ROCKPORT, Maine (AP) — A Maine congressman who has received support from the National Rifle Association says he doesn't think arming teachers is the best way to curb school shootings. Republican Rep. Bruce Poliquin said Friday that "schools need to be protected," but he prefers the idea of "someone who's trained in law enforcement techniques, not teachers." At the same time, Poliquin said decisions about protection of schools should be left to local districts and not the federal government.
DIXFIELD, Maine (AP) — Officials say a worker has died in an accident at a Maine wood products mill. A spokeswoman for the Irving Forest Products Sawmill in Dixfield, Maine, says the 38-year-old man was performing maintenance on a crane in the log yard when he was killed. The man's name was not immediately released on Saturday. Jerome Pelletier from Irving Forest Products in Maine said in a statement that the company is "devastated by this tragic loss of our friend and co-worker." The mill makes white pine boards. Further details were not immediately available. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is expected to investigate.
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A state report finds that Maine failed to follow proper policy in multiple child welfare cases. Maine Public reports that a state report last year found the Department of Health and Human Services missed key steps in cases involving highly vulnerable children. The report comes as lawmakers call for a probe into the state's child protection system following the beating death of 10-year-old Marissa Kennedy.
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Federal officials will be in northern New England this week to meet with the public about the possibility of searching for oil and gas on the Outer Continental Shelf. The meetings are hosted by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and are scheduled for Monday in Concord, New Hampshire, and on Wednesday in Augusta, Maine.
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — State education officials are proposing to roll back Maine's proficiency-based diploma law, which was one of the first in the nation six years ago. The Maine Sunday Telegram reports that Department of Education officials are proposing the elimination of a key tenet of the law: Students would no longer have to attain a standard level of proficiency in eight learning areas to get a diploma.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Cold War fairy tale "The Shape of Water" is the winner of the best picture Academy Award. Director Guillermo del Toro's film has been considered one of the front-runners for the evening's top honor. It received a leading 13 nominations for this year's Oscars, and won four Oscars on Sunday night.
ROME (AP) — Preliminary results in Italy's election show the center-right coalition winning about 37 percent of the parliamentary vote and the 5-Star Movement getting about 31 percent, with the center-left coalition far behind with 23 percent. With no faction winning a clear majority, the results confirm that negotiations to form a new government that can win a confidence vote in Parliament will likely be long and fraught.
BEIJING (AP) — China's top economic official, Premier Li Keqiang, has promised more market opening and cuts in a bloated steel industry that has inflamed trade tensions with Washington and Europe. The meeting of the National People's Congress is overshadowed by constitutional changes that would allow President Xi Jinping to stay in power indefinitely, but businesspeople and economists also are looking for signs Xi is speeding up reform.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is embracing the potential for a trade war after announcing his intent to place tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, as he rebuffs allies who have pushed to be exempted from the stiff duties. The protectionist policy will be made official in the next two weeks, White House officials said Sunday, as the administration defended the decision from critics in Washington and overseas.
WASHINGTON (AP) — There's much to celebrate but plenty of cause for trepidation, too, as President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet Monday at the White House. For all his talk about brokering the "ultimate deal" between Israelis and Palestinians, Trump's long-awaited peace plan has yet to arrive, even as Palestinians and other critics insist it will be dead on arrival.
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