AUGUSTA — A number of people were sentenced Tuesday in separate hearings held in Kennebec County Superior Court:

Augusta is considering spending up to $40,000 on a consultant to help determine which of two proposals to provide natural gas would be best for the city and its schools, businesses and residents. The wrong choice could be a million-dollar-a-year mistake.

WATERVILLE — A series of three large fires in Lewiston has others around the state thinking about the risk in their own communities.

PORTLAND — Gov. Paul LePage will be the featured speaker at the Portland Regional Chamber’s Eggs and Issues forum Wednesday morning, but he has yet to reveal the issues he’ll bring up at the breakfast event.

Somerset County’s jail will have to keep housing inmates from other counties but will not get any outside money to pay the bill, the state Board of Corrections ruled Tuesday.

AUGUSTA (AP) — A legislative committee voted Tuesday to kill several bills aimed at stalling or blocking the proposed east-west highway but recommended passage of two that also were put forward by foes of the private toll road.

AUGUSTA — A standoff is developing between the Maine Department of Education and Democratic lawmakers about a proposed new way to fund public charter schools. Democrats on the Legislature’s Education Committee want to fund charter schools as a separate line item in each state budget, while the department prefers treating the schools like existing, conventional school systems supported by a state subsidy.

The following incidents were reported recently by area law enforcement.