Healthcare advocates from across the state and corrections officers from Charleston warned the Legislature Monday that proposed funding reductions would decimate the social safety nets they provide.

House and Senate leaders this morning expressed optimism that they might be able to enact the 2009 Emergency Supplemental Budget by the end of the day.

There were school and business closings and cancellations, but otherwise no major incidents were reported following a winter storm that began tracking through Lincoln County Weds. morning and finally left town after nightfall with some gusty winds and mixed precipitation.

The families of Jaime Brewer and Shayne McFarland, together with the couple’s children, are happy to announce their wedding engagement.

Proposed cuts in state funding for hospitals will be mostly avoided for now if the Appropriations Committee and Legislature accept recommendations from a subcommittee which has been working on the issue since last week.

Rep. Joan Nass, (R-Acton), sees a clear path to some solutions to many of society’s problems. That path, she said, leads through high school classrooms.

For the second year in a row, Nass is sponsoring a bill that would strongly urge public schools to teach what she calls “critical life skills” to young people.

A two-part storm on Sun. left a blanket of snowfall over inland areas of Lincoln County and a mix of snow, sleet and rain on coastal areas. A total of 7.5 inches of snow had fallen in Newcastle by 5 p.m. on Sun. during the first stage of the storm, and then another 4 inches fell overnight during the second stage of the storm, leaving a total accumulation of 11.5 inches of snowfall for the event, according to Arlene Cole, a weather observer for the National Weather Service (NWS).

A proposal for the federal government to assume oversight duties related to forest sustainability has been canceled by the Baldacci administration, which deems the program too valuable to not be done in-state.

Kenneth and Jessica Bickford of Bristol are pleased to announce the arrival of a baby girl, Shannon Louise.

As of Monday afternoon, the Legislature’s revisor of statutes had printed the first 63 of what is expected to be several hundred bills submitted in the next few weeks.

Senator David Trahan (R-Lincoln County) has been appointed to the Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IFW) and the Government Oversight Committee (OPEGA) for the 124th Maine Legislature.

State officials and CMP have announced that more than 215,000 people are currently without power as a consequence of the winter storm currently underway, and warn that it may be days before power is fully restored.

A political action committee (PAC) was fined $10,000 Monday for what its CEO called an “administrative mistake,” marking the second time this year that the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices has assessed the maximum penalty allowed by law.

Deliberating slightly more than hour on Dec. 19, a Kennebec County jury determined John A. Okie, 22, of Newcastle to be criminally responsible for the murders of his father and a former classmate in July 2007.