Harrington
Three lobstermen spotted a young buck drifting in frigid waters 5 miles from the coast. They pulled the deer aboard by its antlers and fur, detoured back to shore, and dropped it off at a beach, where it scampered away.
Poland
Maine State Police seized five tractor-trailers owned by Commodity Haulers Express, a Rhode Island company that ships Poland Spring bottled water. The company had racked up $75,000 in unpaid turnpike tolls.
Portland
State lawmakers shut down a move to rebrand the University of Southern Maine as the University of Maine at
Portland. The name change, intended to attract more out-of-state students, would have cost an estimated $1.2 million and required legislative approval.
Bethel
The Maine Mineral & Gem Museum held its grand opening. The museum’s collection comprises more than 100 gemstones, 2,000 minerals, and 250 meteorites, including the five largest pieces of moon rock ever found on Earth, one weighing some 120 pounds.
Haynesville
Low temperatures and swirling currents formed a rare ice disc on the Mattawamkeag River, similar to last winter’s 300-foot-wide disc on the Presumpscot, in Westbrook, that became a national media sensation.
Augusta
A resident found a bag stuffed with $10,000 lying in the road. He reported his find to police, and police connected it to a local business owner who, on his way to the bank, forgot he’d set the cash on his bumper.