These are some of the stories central Maine is talking about today.

Federal weather forecasters say warming temperatures in the coming week will melt enough snow for river levels to begin rising across Maine. Officials told the River Flow Advisory Commission on Thursday that there's no forecast in the coming week for a big rainfall to drive a swift snowmelt that could cause flooding. But concerns remain about the potential for ice jams on rivers in northern Maine, where many rivers are still frozen solid.The commission's participants remain concerned enough about the potential for spring flooding that they've scheduled another gathering for next week. (AP)

A Lewiston man is accused of kidnapping a woman. Police rushed to Walmart in Augusta Wednesday after a woman grabbed an employee and told her she had been kidnapped and attacked. Police arrested Assama-vi Koumou-Nete, 27. Police say he had recently been released from jail and he wasn't supposed to have any contact with the alleged victim. The woman was unharmed. The couple is not married but do have a domestic relationship. (WGME/centralmaine.com)

Authorities in Maine are trying to crack a disgusting illegal littering case. Maine game wardens want to know who has been leaving five-gallon buckets of dirty adult diapers in the streams and woods of Farmington and Wilton. 16 of the buckets have been found within the past two months, while more were found by a citizen who disposed of them himself. In addition to the waste, the diapers contain chemicals that could be harmful to fish and wildlife. Anyone who has information about the buckets is asked to call wardens. (AP)

Togus is also among the VA sites where patients are less likely to have to wait a long time for treatment. The Associated Press analyzed six months of appointment data at 940 VA hospitals and clinics nationwide to identify the ones struggling most to deliver prompt care. Between Sept. 1 and Feb. 28, only 1.2 percent of the appointments completed at the VA hospital in Augusta failed to meet the department's timeliness standard, which calls for patients to be seen within 30 days. The national average for the time period was 2.8 percent. Maine's outpatient clinics also measured up well. The AP found that many of the VA sites struggling to reduce wait times were clustered in the southeastern U.S.  (AP)

A legislative committee endorsed a bill on Thursday that would change where utility companies pay excise taxes on their vehicle fleets. According to the KJ, this would impact Augusta negatively. The city says it would lose up to $250,000 per year under the proposal. The utility would pay the tax in the community where the vehicles are parked overnight, not where the companies are headquartered. The bill now heads to the House and Senate for consideration. (centralmaine.com)

Organic farmers in Maine and nationally want to be part of the discussion about federal rule changes regarding substances and ingredients allowed in organic food processing. According to the KJ, New rules were made without public input and could have a negative effect on consumer confidence in the $35 billion organic market in the U.S., now a suit claims the U.S. Department of Agriculture violated federal rulemaking procedures when it changed the process to review the use of non-organic and synthetic substances used to produce the foods and did so without public input. (centralmaine.com)

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