Central Maine News: June 1, 2015

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

The Androscoggin County district attorney says a grand jury is ready to begin seeing more evidence in the case of a Maine haunted hayride that turned fatal last fall. The DA says the grand jury is reconvening on Tuesday and will likely meet through Friday. The grand jury has already viewed some evidence about the possibility of criminal conduct related to the Mechanic Falls hayride crash that killed 17-year-old Cassidy Charette in October. The Oct. 11 accident at Harvest Hills Farm also injured more than 20 people. Authorities have said it appears a mechanical problem caused the accident. A Jeep towing a wagon full of passengers careened down a hill into the woods and slammed into a tree. (AP)

Governor Paul LePage says he will veto every bill sponsored by a Democrat until the Legislature agrees to let the Maine residents have a say on whether they want to get rid of the income tax. The governor's remark came recently during a wide-ranging news conference in which he blasted Democrats for delaying their vote on his nomination for the Public Utilities Commission, among other things. (AP)

The Nova Star ferry service is back in action this week. After taking the winter off, the ferry between Portland, Maine and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia sets sail today for the first time of the 2015 season. An open house and tours will be held on Sunday in Portland for members of the public who want to check it out. (AP)

Several post-Sept. 11 anti-terror provisions have lapsed after the Senate failed to extend them before the deadline at midnight. Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who is running for president, took credit for the outcome as he used Senate rules to slow action. It may be only temporary. The Senate now looks ready to accept a House-passed bill that extends the measures and remakes the National Security Agency's controversial bulk phone collections program. Several other lesser-known provisions also have lapsed including one making it easier to track terror suspects who frequently discard cellphones. (AP)

Around a dozen community members waved signs at passing cars on Bridge Street in Gardiner Friday afternoon. They were there advocating for and answering some questions about alewives. According to the KJ, the group is trying to increase the community’s interest in finding a way to allow alewives to swim up Cobbossee Stream to spawn each spring. Alewives, a river herring, swim up rivers and streams each May and June to spawn in lakes and ponds. Dams and industrial pollution diminished the fishery’s population over the last two centuries. In Gardiner, three dams on Cobbossee Stream block the alewives’ passage upstream. (centralmaine.com)

Members of Maine's four federally recognized American Indian tribes say they are regrouping after an unsuccessful effort to forge a pact with state regulators to co-manage fisheries. The tribes proposed a bill that called for regulators and tribes to forge agreements about managing marine resources. The bill stems from squabbles the tribes have had with regulators about elver fishing. A key state legislative committee rejected the bill, and it appears unlikely to pass. Former Passamaquoddy tribe legislative Representative Matthew Dana says he is hopeful the tribe and state can reach an agreement without passing a law. A state spokesman says Marine Resources Commissioner is "open and committed to dialogue with the tribes." There are about 8,000 Maine residents of Native American descent. (AP)