The Brunswick state lawmaker who had been embroiled in a high-profile controversy with another legislator is abandoning his re-election bid.

AUGUSTA — Disclosure forms for the two major-party candidates looking to replace Olympia Snowe in the United States Senate make them look pretty normal, with a few outliers.

In the fall of 2009, Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe was at the center of the political storm over how to reform the nation’s health care system.

AUGUSTA — The Maine Academy of Natural Sciences in Fairfield will be the state’s first charter school, an alternative approach to public education common in other states but new to Maine.

AUGUSTA — A 26-year-old man who admitted committing 40 burglaries and 53 other theft-related charges in Kennebec County was sentenced Friday and ordered to pay more than $98,000 in restitution.

As police crack down on drunken driving this Fourth of July holiday week, an analysis of court data shows a 25 percent drop in the number of people charged with driving drunk in Maine over the past 10 years.