What does it mean to be famous?

We live in a world in which there have never been more paths to finding some degree of fame. There are the traditional arenas – entertainment, athletics, politics and the like – but the advent of the internet and social media has led to a whole different kind of fame, a fame built around likes and shares and the dopamine rush that comes with the clicks that, in some small way, validate our presence.

And there will always be those for whom infamy is just as good.

“Infamous,” written and directed by Joshua Caldwell, takes a look at the dark potential of this thirst for fame. It’s the story of a young couple who find online notoriety thanks to a video record of their criminal exploits across the South. It also serves as a look at the corrupting power of fame, with the pair getting in over their heads; they go bigger and bigger as the internet audience for their spree grows and grows. After all, you’re only as famous as your last post.

History is filled with events that, despite being utterly fascinating, simply fall by the wayside of our awareness. It isn’t that they are less interesting or less valid than other events – they just don’t make it to our history textbooks. They don’t make the cut.

Police investigate death in The Forks

THE FORKS Maine State Police continue to investigate the death of a young woman along Route 201 in The Forks early Sunday morning.

Detectives are looking into whether she may have jumped from a moving pickup truck driven by her boyfriend.

Police make arrest in cold case murder of Joyce McLain

EAST MILLINOCKET Maine State Police have arrested a 55-year-old East Millinocket man and charged him in connection with the beating death of 16-year-old Joyce McLain of East Millinocket in the summer of 1980. Charged with murder is Philip Scott Fournier, who was 19 at the time of Joyce's death. He was taken into custody in East Millinocket, driven to the State Police barracks in Bangor, and has been taken to the Penobscot County Jail in Bangor.

Standoff ends peacefully

LAMOINE Maine State Police say a Lamoine man faces charges of domestic violence criminal threatening and violating his bail conditions after a standoff at his home on Feb. 18.

James Day Sr., 47, is being held at the Hancock County Jail after he surrendered to police. More than 20 police officers responded to the double-wide mobile home at 72 Needles Eye Road, after Day fired four shots inside the home from a rifle.

Maine Attorney General announces new hire for Unsolved Homicide Unit

Renee Ordway named as victim advocate for Maine's Unsolved Homicide Unit

AUGUSTA Maine Attorney General Janet T. Mills announced that a final hiring decision has been made to complete the staff of Maine's Unsolved Homicide Unit. Renee Ordway has been hired to serve as the victim advocate to work with the family members in these cases, making the unit fully staffed.

'In her 30 year career in journalism, Renee has demonstrated an ability to give voice to victims in a manner that has earned her a reputation for fairness and compassion,' said Attorney General Mills. 'We are very pleased to have the unit at full complement and working on these difficult cases. As we have said over the last several years as the Legislature considered creating this unit, we cannot guarantee convictions, but we can guarantee our undivided attention and our best efforts.'

Man who fled crash turns self in

MANCHESTER The man Maine State Police were looking for after he reportedly fled from a high speed chase and crashed turned himself into authorities.

On Feb. 4, a car driven by Steven N. Black crashed after being involved in two high-speed chases with both State and Winthrop Police. Police had been looking for Black after troopers tracked along the shore and on the ice of Cobbossee Lake for several hours early that morning. The tracks then led back to the Pond Road.

A state trooper first attempted to pull Black's car over on Route 202 in Manchester and after it reached speeds of over 100 miles per hour, the trooper broke off the pursuit. Later, Winthrop Police attempted to stop the car along Routes 135 and 202 and officers lost track of the car on the Pond Road. A short time later, troopers found the Pontiac Grand Am had crashed into a tree on a nearby camp road near the West Gardiner town line. With the help of a State Police dog, troopers followed tracks along and on the ice of Cobbossee Lake for over five miles.

Two-for-one-warrants

BANGOR Officers doing warrant checks ended up arresting two after recognizing one of the pair from a previous incident.

On Jan. 24, around 9:55 p.m., Officers Jordan Perry and Evan Haskell were working on actively locating persons with active warrants. They received information that Brian Carlisle, 30, of Bangor was staying at an address on Griffin Road. When they arrived, he answered the door dressed in a towel. Officers confirmed he had an active warrant and he would need to get dressed. Police offered to escort him upstairs to dress or said someone from upstairs could furnish him with clothing.

Carlisle called upstairs to someone named Jasmine and informed her he was under arrest and that he needed clothing. Someone from upstairs pushed clothing down the stairs, but did not actually descend.

Maine man defrauds victims for hundreds of thousands of dollars

LISBON Maine State and Brunswick Police say a young Chelsea man suspected of bilking hundreds of thousands of dollars for items and services never delivered was arrested recently in Lisbon.

Ervin Morrison III, 23, was tracked down of a home on Memorial Street in Lisbon and taken into custody without incident. Police have been looking for Morrison since last summer after receiving several complaints of services or products solicited on Craigslist that were never delivered. Trooper Christopher Rogers said two Maine companies lost $132,000 in the swindle and expected the total losses in Maine will total $250,000. That number is expected to double, as additional complaints come in from out of state. A Florida man reported he lost $140,000 to Morrison in an investment scheme, and a woman in North Carolina said she paid Morrison $25,000 last week in the same scheme, but changed her mind and stopped payment before the check was cashed.

Kids n' Kops trading cards promoting healthy messages for youths
BANGOR/ORONO The Bangor and University of Maine police departments have launched a new Kids n' Kops trading card program intended to raise awareness about bullying and substance abuse prevention among elementary and middle school youngsters.
The series of 14 trading cards features male and female UMaine student-athletes who play Division I sports at the state's flagship university. Members of the Bangor and UMaine police departments will distribute the cards at community events, including university athletic games at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor and on campus.
Youngsters can collect five cards and bring them to one of the two police departments for a free Kids n' Kops T-shirt and two tickets to a UMaine basketball game.