Portland Press Herald from Portland, Maine • 18

mniii III iiijbiiii IJ I I Illi 6B fEcrftland Ihess Herald Saturday ScpIcmhtT 14 2002 CONTINUED ROM PAGE ONE PLANE Contiiiuedfrom Page IB A pilot a thumbs up believing that the pilot was simply checking on his well being When he reached New Hamp White Mountains an air traf fic controller from the Portland Inter national Jetport told him he had to land in Wiscasset said there was a problem but he say what it Boudin said The fighter jets apparently fol lowed Boudin to the Maine coast before heading back to Vermont The intercept request came from the ederal Aviation Administration NEWS Continued from Page I programs for competing stations in Cleveland Ohio and Buffalo NY parent company Pegasus Broadcasting has a station in Scran ton Pa that runs news broadcasts through a similar arrangement to the one in Portland WPXT had produced only 10 pm broadcast news show for 10 years before canceling it in June (WMTW Channel 8 produced a 10 pm newscast for cable in the late 1990s Cable providers in the Port land and Lewiston markets aired the the program for about a year) WPXT had only the one newscast A combination of competition and expenses led to its cancellation the station said three other news stations including No 1 rated WCSH air at least four newscasts a day at 5 pm 5:30 pm 6 pm and 11 pm WPXT may have suffered from a name change in October when the station switched from the popular ox Network to WB Before the switch news was known to viewers as the 51 But after the switch it was called Maine News" Thaxton thinks the 10 pm news can work for WCSH because the sta tion has a large news gathering oper ation already producing 38 hours of news a week (WPXT) had a small opera tion so the costs became prohibi said Thaxton us with a large news gathering resource it becomes Staff Writer Ray Routhier can be contacted at 791 6454 or at: rrouthierpresshcraldcom STORE Continued from Page IB Lads Little Ladies is one of sev eral stores that lease street level space fromjhe city next to City Hall Others are Wear Uniform Ity and Midtown Music clientele and fellow mer chants rallied to her defense She later presented the council with a petition containing die signatures of 438 people who are supporting her effort to keep her lease Even though the council has a pro posed lease to consider Daigle who has been in roller coaster lease nego tiations with the city for more than two months is worried agreed to sign a year she said riday now they want me to sign an agreement saying they can relocate me if they have If one of City tenants decides to move councilors want to be able to move store into that space which is two doors away but also on Main Street Mayor Donna Dion said that since the city is in negotiations she would withhold comment Staff Writer Ted Cohen can be contacted at 282 8225 or at: tcohenpresslieraldcom INSURE Continued from Page 1 have access to quality preven Thompson said 11500 residents will qualify for the expanded cover age But Saxl and others in Maine estimated that 15000 or more Main ers will be eligible Saxl said 80 to 90 percent of them are the working poor To qualify adults earn more than federal poverty guidelines now set at $8860 per year for singles and $11940 for couples get their coverage under the Medicaid program called MaineCare After a year the state hopes to bump up the eligibility to 125 percent of the federal poverty level Saxl said the expanded coverage will help not only low income Main ers but taxpayers and those with pri vate insurance Now when such low income peo ple without health insurance needpergency care at Maine hospitals mLmoRV of Service honors seven crash victims Staff Writer Greg Kesich contrib uted to this report The Associated Press and Staff Writer GiseUe Goodman contributed to this report airplanes at the municipally owned airport Boudin who owns Machinery Ser vices in Wiscasset a firm that designs and builds sawmill equip ment said the experience leaves him with no regrets or hard feelings were just doing their job I fault them for he said the end they shook my hand and wished me it had punctured the door it clearly would have hit the driver in the vicinity of the Roberts said At roughly the same time as the earlier shooting Sarah Harris was headed back to Gorham where she is a student at USM She recalls hearing three or four pops and thinking they were another car backfiring police said It was a week before Harris knew what had happened Her car was running poorly so she had it towed to a mechanic who spec ulated that a rock must have punc tured her radiator Once the part was installed on Thursday workers opened the dam aged radiator and discovered a 25 caliber slug inside Roberts said Harris was able to provide some clues for police She remembered seeing a group of teenagers running from the arterial toward Haskell Street are now seeking the assistance in trying to determine the person on persons responsible for Roberts said He asked that anyone with information call the detectives division at 854 0643 Police believe the shootings were random and did not target the people involved Winslow said that at first she felt the whole incident was just a nui sance especially when she had to drive back to Westbrook to report it to the police But as time goes on she feels lucky to be alive foot up and it would have gone right through that she said Staff Writer Mark Shanahan can be contacted at 791 6363 or at: nishanahanpressheraldcom The state is seeking about $625000 its estimate of the cost of all repairs and a court order preventing Wein schenk from building any more defec tive homes attorney David Hirs hon said on riday that the bank ruptcy filing was inevitable and unre lated to the trial He said Weinschenk simply spent more than he was paid on many of his custom homes Hirshon said the lawsuit overstates the problems with homes He said an engineer will tes tify that all of the repairs could be made for $20000 of us is Hirshon said The Attorney Office filed the lawsuit early last year after receiving complaints from more than a dozen homeowners An engineer hired by the state inspected at least 10 Weinschenk homes and the find ings are the basis of the lawsuit Linda Conti the assistant attorney general who is prosecuting the case said riday that she had not seen the bankruptcy filing and would not com ment on the trial Details from bank ruptcy filing were unavailable in court on riday The US Bankruptcy Court was closed because of a conference in Boothbay Harbor At least temporarily the bank ruptcy filing could shield Weinschenk from the homeowners in the case Weinschenk has built more than 75 homes in Portland in just the past seven years Over the past 12 years he has been sued three times by cus tomers one of the lawsuits was brought by four separate homeown ers All of the lawsuits have been Staff Writer Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 725 8795 or at: dhocypressheraldrom David Hench can be contacted at 791 6327 or at: dhenchpresshcraldcom lhe Associated Press The Rev Robert Hamm senior pastor of United Church of Christ in Keene NH unveils a memorial stone for seven members of the same family who died in a small plane crash on Sept 2 near Keene or the Transportation Security Administration said Mcy Douglas Martin a spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Com mand Since Sept 11 2001 NORAD has scrambled fighters or diverted them from other missions more than 600 times to assist civilian aviation authorities Martin said When he landed at 11:30 am Bou din was met at the airport by officials from the AA US Customs and the BI He was taken away for question ing but not in handcuffs His plane was inspected by officials released and secured in its hangar Boudin said he understood that pilots are not required to file flight plans when flying into Canadian air space unless they intend to land in Canada But Jim Peters an AA spokesman said Canada requires anyone flying at altitudes higher than 12500 feet be in coordination with that air traffic control authorities The incident illustrates the stricter security precautions taken by federal officials in the wake of the Sept 11 2001 terrorist attacks if you violate air space you are told to call said Ann Walko owner of Wicked Good Aviation at the Wiscasset air port with us on orange alert and with homeland security the way it is blown out of Wicked Good provides fuel and maintenance services to more than 40 midcoast pilots who store their settled out of court and the terms are confidential In 1998 Weinschenk replaced the chimneys in 31 of his homes after a state inspector found corrosion and holes The developer maintains that the chimneys were not corroded and met ail relevant codes Much of recent work has been on Peaks Island where he lives He recently built an enormous home atop Battery Craven a former gun emplacement on the back shore He also is nearing com pletion of The Inn on Peaks Island a bed and breakfast and restaurant The city is refusing to issue certifi cates of occupancy for either building In the case of the Battery Craven property the city is waiting for Wein schenk to comply with a state Depart ment of Environmental Protection order to remove soil from the site that the agency believes is contaminated with gasoline withholding the certificate of occupancy until said Tom ortier the city's island and neighborhood administrator know when that will The city will not allow Weinschenk to open the inn until a dispute over fees is resolved Application fees in Portland are based on the cost of con struction and there is disagreement over how much the inn cost to build The city contends the developer spent more than $1 million on the project while Weinschenk has pegged the cost closer to $300000 The latest project is a proposed 3600 square foot hoqse on Peaks Island The owner Monica Stevenson has hired Weinschenk to build a three bedroom cottage at 548 Island Ave for $254000 IH klnnuLI A UYLE SHOOT Continued from Page 1 Legislature budget session still uncertain BUILDER Continue from Page 1 A' MA JraaKfe STEln rDiniD crwb? 'J "'JW AW HS Js tA Seven family members from Louisiana were killed when their plane crashed after takeoff on Sept :2 The Associated Press SWANZEY NH Seven mem bers of the same family who died in a small plane crash on Labor Day were remembered Thursday for how they stuck together while trying new things The Beech Baron 58 crashed and burst into flames Sept 2 a few minutes after taking off from Dillant Hopkins Airport in Swanzey Killed were pilot Steve Gruver 45 of Lafayette La and his wife Julia Gruver their three daughters 15 year old Amanda and 13 year old twins Sarah and Elizabeth and Julia parents George and Julia Coyle both 77 of Charleston WVa The family had been visiting the son Clay in Newfane Vt for in our willingness to go into the dark ness with our eyes open It led us to the wonderful glowing mushrooms and to stick together for Coyle thanked those who attended the memorial service including other family members and rescue workers who helped at the crash site My understanding of what love is has he said The National Transportation Safety Board still is investigating the holiday weekend At a memorial service" at the air port Thursday Clay wife told mourners about a walk in the woods the family took that weekend The light was fading but the family decided not to use flashlights and ended up stumbling upon a rotting log full of glowing phosphorescent mushrooms said Marki Weber would never have seen them if come out using flashlights We looked into the sky and Clay saw a shooting she said felt mean ingful and significant at the time but now I see the metaphorical meaning what caused the crash But the Rev Robert Hamm chaplain of the Keene ire Department said the deeper question to do with the meaning there is any real purpose for any of us it is to enhance one anoth humanity to know that you have made one life breathe easier because you have they get it But expenses known as costs ultimately get passed along to others with private insurance through their premiums Now Medicaid will cover those costs And likely to be less expensive because the federal insur ance program covers preventive care The recipients will no longer need to wait until very sick and need costly emergency room care The state has to pay $1 for every $2 the federal government provides in Medicaid funding State money for the expanded coverage effective Oct 1 will come from a increase in the cigarette tax that the Legisla ture approved last year Six cents of the tax hike will go to Medicaid But Saxl estimates the expanded coverage also will allow the state to save $3 million The state now pays for mental health services for many of the low income adults now eligible for the Medicaid coverage so federal money will soon help cover those costs he said Consumers for Affordable Health Care the largest consumer health coalition which Iso worked to help win the waiver hailed the announcement on riday is great step forward and one the state needs to said Joe Ditre the executive director However he said the group is still concerned about thousands of other Mainers without insurance who exceed the federal poverty guidelines but still afford health insurance The ultimate goal is uni versal health care coverage Ditre said An estimated 165000 Mainers are uninsured Saxl said the waiver came about through lot of hard work by a lot of It had bipartisan support in the Legislature and the Maine Department of Human Services designed it he said Thompson said that since the Bush administration took office he has pressed Health and Human Services to use its power to change the rules governing Medicaid More than 2000 Medicaid waivers and state plan amendments have been adopted providing insurance to 2 million peo ple who have it and expanding insurance benefits for another 6 million Thompson said He praised Maine for its creativity in addressing health care problems The state already has received fed eral permission to set up a program under Medicaid to provide discounts of around 25 percent to as many as 225000 people without prescription drug insurance Rep Ben Dudley Portland who serves on the Health and Human Services Committee called news because it provides an extra safety net for Mainers However he said he was pointed in the leaders in federal gov for their to take action in comprehensive health care Until that happens he said are being left to come up with these solutions around the The Associated Press contributed to this report Staff Writer Tess Nacelewicz can be contacted at 791 6367 or at: tnacelewiczpresherali1coin Gov King is preparing plan to cover the $240 million shortfall The Associated Press AUGUSTA A Senate confirma tion session has been scheduled for early next month but it remains uncertain whether and when the full Legislature will be called back to Augusta to consider ways to offset a $240 million revenue shortfall Lawmakers and administration officials continued consultations this week as Gov Angus King prepared to submit legislation laying out his plan for bridging the biennial budget gap The scheduling talks have involved Democratic and Republican leaders from both the House and the Senate Top King aide Kay Rand said ri day that she believed House and Sen ate leaders agreed on the desirability of opening public hearings by the Appropriations Committee soon But public notice rules could hold up such hearings until on or around Oct 3 when the Senate convenes for its confirmation session And com mittee budget deliberations thereafter could stretch well into October when lawmakers will be focusing more intently on the Nov 5 general elections King has posted 64 nominations in advance of the Senate confirmation session and committee hearings for the nominees have been scheduled to begin on Sept 20 Among the nominees is Terrence MacTaggart a state university pro fessor from Hampden who formerly was chancellor of the University of Maine System whom King put forth for a vacancy on the Maine Commis sion on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices Other nominees include chief counsel Wayne Douglas of Portland for a District Court judge ship and King campaign treasurer Maurice Bisson an accountant from Brunswick for a slot on the inance Authority of Maine Douglas Volk of Portland the pres ident of Volk Packaging has been nominated for a post on the Maine Turnpike Authority while former Senate President Mark Lawrence of South Berwick was proposed for the Maine Public Broadcasting board of trustees West Nile virus deaths confirmed The Associated Press BOSTON An 87 year old Boston woman and an 81 year old Weymouth man have become the first Massa chusetts residents to die from the West Nile virus this year state health officials said riday As the Massachusetts Department of Public Health urged residents to take preventive steps some local health agencies also were discussing ways to combat the disease The South Boston woman was diagnosed with the disease Thursday after being hospitalized with enceph alitis according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health The Sept 6 death of the Weymouth man was from the virus officials con firmed riday The two deaths brings the number of cases diagnosed in Massachusetts this year to 11 The ages of those diagnosed with the dis ease range irom 16 to 91 Last year there were three con firmed cases in Massachusetts One person a 70 year old Woburn man died The state health department urged residents to stay indoors wear long sleeves and pants when mosquitoes are bitingand use insect repellent.