Oil was $12 per barrel when Federico Pena was the nation’s energy secretary in the Clinton administration. Mr. Pena is now a co-chairman of the Obama campaign and an adviser to the candidate on energy and transportation issues.

I read that Sen. John McCain says, “when you win wars, troops come home.” What I would like to know is how McCain feels about the war in which he was involved. Did the U.S. do well to withdraw from Vietnam, or should we have stayed longer?

Several recent articles have suggested the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee is to blame for the breakdown in tribal-state relations. The breakdown has been blamed on the committee’s reduction in funding for the Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission and the failure to support LD 2221, a tribal work study group bill.

When household budgets are tight, individuals and families may find themselves short on food. Sometimes filling hungry bellies may seem more important than paying attention to good nutrition. But the federal Food Stamp Program, administered by the United States Department of Agriculture, aims to make it possible to do both.

BANGOR, Maine – As energy prices soar, people and businesses alike are looking for big changes in the way they make and use energy.

BANGOR, Maine – In the not so distant past, the Penobscot River was so polluted that few dared to fish or swim in it.

PLEASANT POINT, Maine – Quoddy Bay LNG, the company that hopes to build a liquefied natural gas terminal on Passamaquoddy tribal land off Route 190, has announced it will suspend temporarily the quarterly payments it has been making to the tribe.

WEST PARIS, Maine (AP) – Maine State Police are offering few details about the deaths of two men in the town of West Paris. But Maine Public Safety Department spokesman Stephen McCausland said the deaths had been categorized as “highly suspicious.”

The federally funded Women, Infants and Children program, known as WIC, aims at improving the health and nutritional status of women who are either pregnant, breast-feeding, or up to six months postpartum along with their infants and children up to age 5.

AUGUSTA, Maine – An incident at a Gardiner tollbooth on the Fourth of July weekend has sparked interest among lawmakers in tightening state laws against motorists engaging in behavior that distracts them while driving.

Maine schoolchildren from kindergarten through grade 12 have access to a variety of subsidized public nutrition programs, including school lunch, school breakfast, before- and after-school snacks, and community-based summer nutrition programs. Some nursery schools, day care providers and summer camps also take advantage of nutrition programs.

HOULTON, Maine – State police have arrested a Tennessee man in connection with an armed robbery that occurred last month, according to a press release from Sgt. Tom Pelletier, Troop F.

About 50 motorcyclists participated in the second annual Chris Dube Memorial Motorcycle Run, which honored a Houlton resident and ironworker who was killed in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in an accident on Nov. 23, 2006, said his father, Paul Williams of Woodstock.CREATIVECIRCLESPLITCHARACERCREATIVECIRCLESPLITCHARACER

BELFAST, Maine – Boat building and tours aboard a 59-year-old sardine carrier in original condition were among the highlights of the Belfast Marine Heritage Festival 2008 on Saturday.

BANGOR, Maine – Though it’s too early to tell how the high cost of fuel will affect families attending this week’s Bangor State Fair, ride operators, vendors and agricultural exhibitors already are feeling the pinch.CREATIVECIRCLESPLITCHARACERCREATIVECIRCLESPLITCHARACERCREATIVECIRCLESPLITCHARACERCREATIVECIRCLESPLITCHARACER

BAR HARBOR, Maine – The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory has formally dedicated its new laboratory building and announced the names of two research centers that will call the building home.

LINCOLN, Maine – Ten years ago, one child in about 350 was diagnosed with autism. Today, it’s more like 1 in 150.

BANGOR, Maine – Windham native Shawn Warren won the 42nd Hollywood Slots Greater Bangor Open golf tournament by a stroke Saturday to claim his first victory as a pro.

BANGOR, Maine – The American Legion Zone 1 baseball tournament took on a decidedly different look at the Winkin Baseball Complex on Sunday.

BANGOR, Maine – Tyler Thompson hit a home run, two singles, a double and drove in two runs to power Aerus Electrolux by Movingme 7-3 in the first game of a Sunday Bay League baseball doubleheader.