GARDINER — Councilors voted unanimously Wednesday to ban the use of fireworks in the city, but allow a fireworks retail store to move into Libby Hill Business Park.

RICHMOND — Five candidates are lined up for the Board of Selectmen, but there is only room enough for two of them on the board.

A group that advocates against excessive special interest spending in Maine politics has released a study showing that local legislators have raised more than $12 million from “heavy hitter” donors over the last 10 years.

AUGUSTA — A 33-year-old Augusta man pleaded guilty Wednesday in Kennebec County Superior Court to a charge of possession of sexually explicit materials of a minor under 12.

SCARBOROUGH — Officials at Scarborough Beach State Park say it could take as long as two weeks to remove a 3-foot-high wall of rockweed that last weekend’s storm pushed onto the beach, the largest amount employees have seen in 30 years.

AUGUSTA — A Bass Harbor man will spend five years in prison for stealing three vehicles in one night and crashing one of them into a house, which caught fire and forced the homeowners from their beds.