Central Maine News: August 26, 2015

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

Nearly two dozen of Maine's top law enforcement and health care officials are joining Gov. Paul LePage to develop strategies for combating the state's heroin epidemic. Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Morris said the state "must identify specific problem areas and seek solutions before we lose more lives." Democratic legislative leaders say the event is too focused on law enforcement. They say health care and drug abuse treatment are also necessary to eliminate drug overdose deaths. (AP)

A second nonprofit outpatient drug treatment facility in Maine says it's closing due to a lack of governmental support. Officials with Spectrum Health Systems in Sanford say the facility will close once its 100 patients are transferred to other treatment facilities. The announcement comes as overdose deaths in the state are rising and more Mainers are seeking treatment for heroin and prescription painkiller addiction. The number of Mainers seeking treatment for heroin addiction increased from more than 1,100 in 2010 to over 3,000 last year. A company spokesman says "constant cuts" to Medicaid and tighter limits on who is eligible for coverage made it impossible for Spectrum to provide a sustainable model for treatment. 95 percent of clinic patients rely on state Medicaid to pay for their treatment. (AP)

Gov. Paul LePage may be able to put that 61 percent movement behind him soon. Critics who liked to point out that the Republican won his first election with less than 40 percent of the vote distributed "61 percent" T-shirts, bumper stickers and other items to represent the voters who didn't vote for LePage. Now, Maine's Majority PAC has put the remaining stock of 61 percent items up for auction on eBay. The seller said the auction includes thousands of bumper and lapel stickers and "more than 50 t-shirts of varied sizes and colors." It says the money will go to Maine's Majority PAC or "an allied nonprofit organization of our choosing." (AP)

Multiple sinkholes opened up in a Auburn neighborhood Tuesday after a tractor-trailer hit a hydrant. City officials said the tractor-trailer knocked over the hydrant around 2 p.m. on Goff Street. According to WMTW, later in the day, sinkholes began to open on surrounding streets. A smaller sinkhole developed on Grant Street, while larger, vehicle-sized sinkholes opened on Pine and School streets. A boil-water order is in effect for parts of Auburn. Water district crews will sample the water after repairs are made. (WMTW)

Taxes on natural gas pipelines could pay indirectly for the reconstruction of some Augusta roads damaged by pipeline construction under the city’s proposed capital improvement plan. According to the KJ, the taxes on the pipelines and other infrastructure in the coming years could be designated, through a tax increment financing program, to pay back bonds that city administrators recommend borrowing to rebuild and repave several city streets and sidewalks. a $4.1 million capital improvement plan going to city councilors Thursday for discussion, proposes the city seek voter approval to borrow nearly $1.7 million for street improvements in Augusta. That entire amount, he said, then would be paid back with natural gas tax proceeds.(centralmaine.com)

During an appearance Tuesday on a conservative talk radio show, Gov. Paul LePage said he may run for the U.S. Senate in 2018. LePage made the comment during an appearance on the Boston-based “ Howie Carr Show,” which was broadcasting from Maine on Tuesday afternoon. LePage said specifically he was thinking about challenging U.S. Sen. Angus King, because King caucuses with Democrats in Washington. “I’m thinking about it very strongly,” LePage said during the hour-long segment. LePage also shared several predictions for the 2016 presidential elections, noting the three frontrunners today were unlikely to be their parties’ chosen candidates. (Bangor Daily News)

It was a rocky start, but Asian stocks are up Wednesday following Beijing's decision to cut a key interest rate to help stabilize financial markets. Now investors on Wall Street are hoping that U.S. stocks will do the same. The Dow has gone down six days in a row, losing about 1,900 points during that period. On Tuesday, the Dow lost 205 points. (AP)

Massive wildfires in the West have led to poor air quality across the region, causing respiratory problems for people far from the fire lines. Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers in Washington state says, "It's been a nightmare to breathe." Conditions were starting to improve Tuesday and Rogers said he could see the sun for the first time in a week. But there are similar concerns in Southern California when temperatures of up to 106 degrees could accelerate some of the 16 fires still burning. (AP)

The man convicted in the Colorado movie theater massacre will be formally sentenced to life in prison when he appears before a judge Wednesday. On Tuesday, James Holmes' mother testified that her son felt remorse for what he had done, but his mental illness and medications made it hard for him to express it. Holmes opened fire on moviegoers in 2012, killing 12 people and wounding dozens of others. (AP)

A young man accused of raping a fellow student at an elite prep school in New Hampshire is expected to testify Wednesday. Prosecutors say Owen Labrie was 18 years old and two days away from graduation last year when he raped a 15-year-old girl in a building on the grounds of St. Paul's School in Concord as part of Senior Salute, in which seniors try to "score" with underclassmen. (AP)

President Barack Obama has called Japan's leader to express regret over recent WikiLeaks allegations that the U.S. had spied on senior Japanese officials. WikiLeaks posted online what appeared to be five U.S. National Security Agency reports on Japanese positions on international trade and climate change. They date from 2007 to 2009. It also posted what it says was an NSA list of 35 Japanese targets for telephone intercepts. (AP)