Residents, officials tell police problems prompting calls for reform in Maine too
Central Maine residents, police chiefs and other officials discuss policing in a wide-ranging virtual town hall session.
Residents and police and town officials meet in a virtual town hall Monday.
Problems that have prompted calls for police reforms nationwide exist in central Maine, residents told several local police chiefs and other municipal leaders in a sometimes heated virtual town hall session Monday.
There were some differing views expressed on whether Maine police departments need the same type of reforms being advocated for elsewhere in the country in response to police shootings and reports of discrimination.
Focus on safety, not writing tickets, advises Maine panel on law enforcement during pandemic
The Criminal Justice Commission on Mitigation of Pandemic Impact has issued a series of recommendations aimed at reducing the overload on the state s court system.
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Winthrop patrolman Andrew Delaney checks traffic on Main Street clad in a face mask Monday. The Maine Criminal Justice Commission on Mitigation of Pandemic Impact recommended police be less aggressive about traffic enforcement, except in instances of dangerous drivers.
Andy Molloy/Kennebec Journal
The coronavirus pandemic has made it harder to go to jail or even court and created a backlog for the state’s criminal justice system.
The Criminal Justice Commission on Mitigation of Pandemic Impact has issued a series of recommendations aimed at reducing the overload on the state's court system.
The Criminal Justice Commission on Mitigation of Pandemic Impact has issued a series of recommendations aimed at reducing the overload on the state's court system.
Kennebec River floods banks following Christmas storm
Augusta, Hallowell, Gardiner, see waters rise due to rain, melting snow following storm.
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Owner Wayne Hyde looks at the Kennebec River just below his bar, Hydeout at The Wharf, on Saturday in downtown Hallowell. Hyde said that water was not coming into the building at that point, and that they had raised everything they could off the floor except for the pool table. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
AUGUSTA The Kennebec River peaked at about 15-and-a-half feet Saturday, more than 3 feet above flood stage, but the impact of flooding appeared to be largely limited. Past experience with river flooding meant many local building and business owners were prepared.