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Maine: Camden

April 6, 2009 - 10:01 pm
NEWS FEED: Bangor Daily News

Student privacy bill spurs debate in Augusta

By Mal Leary

AUGUSTA, Maine — Students, parents and school administrators all told lawmakers the Department of Education should stop collecting the names of students disciplined by schools and keeping them in a database, but Commissioner Susan Gendron warned that could jeopardize all federal funds for education that come to the state.

“If we don’t comply with reporting requirements as the federal government specifies, we can in fact be required to return all and any federal dollars,” she told lawmakers. “IDEA [Individuals with Educational Disabilities Act] alone is $50 million a year.”

Gendron said that while the state is collecting the disciplinary information, it reports the information only as aggregate data without the students’ identification numbers.

Read More at Bangor Daily News >
There have been 162 comments posted in response to this story.

April 3, 2009 - 04:31 pm
NEWS FEED: Bangor Daily News

Recession puts pressure on Maine museums

By Abigail Curtis

Colleen Lowe of Cape Henlopen, Del., strolled happily around the Farnsworth Art Museum’s new exhibit on Maine artists.

She saw dresses made from seashells, a witty multimedia piece and 6-foot-wide panoramic landscapes of Maine and the desert Southwest. It was different, compelling and well worth the visit, she said.

In fact, what’s inside the museum is so exciting that it’s almost possible to forget what’s happening outside the gallery walls, economically speaking.

Almost.

“My kids are all in the arts,” Lowe said. “My daughter is a jeweler, and she’s concerned about the economy. I just hope nothing happens to the arts.”

Due to the down economy, it’s already too late for Lowe’s wish to come true.

Read More at Bangor Daily News >
There have been 47 comments posted in response to this story.

February 22, 2009 - 08:58 am
NEWS FEED: Turn Maine Blue

Open Thread

By Gerald Weinand

Good morning.

Two stories in this morning's MST are of special interest, the first on how the stimulus package may help to bring broadband internet access to areas of Maine that do not have it:

The stimulus bill would divide broadband funding between two federal agencies -- $4.7 billion for the National Telecommunication and Information Administration at the Department of Commerce, and $2.5 billion for the Rural Utilities Service program in the Department of Agriculture.

Phillip Lindley, executive director of ConnectME, said it's likely the agriculture program will loan or grant money mostly to private companies, while public groups like ConnectME will seek Commerce Department funding.

Read More at Turn Maine Blue >
There have been 32 comments posted in response to this story.

February 15, 2009 - 02:30 pm
NEWS FEED: Turn Maine Blue

2009 Camden Conference, 20-22 Febraury

By Gerald Weinand

This year's Camden Conference, Global Leadership and the U.S. Role in World Affairs, will be held this coming weekend, 20-22 February in Camden, and includes simulcasts in Belfast, Portland, and Rockland. Tickets are still available for all venues.

Speakers will include former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft, delivering the keynote address, former Ambassador to NATO Nicholas Burns, Eileen Claussen, who is President of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change and Strategies for the Global Environment, former Foreign Minister of Australia Gareth Evans, Paula J. Dobriansky, Under-Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs under Bush/Cheney and also at the PNAC, John Deutch, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency under Clinton, and others.

Read More at Turn Maine Blue >
There have been 20 comments posted in response to this story.