Stephen King in the news

Horror author Stephen King is in the news in Maine newspapers for two very different reasons. From The Bangor Daily News:

BANGOR - Author Stephen King has decorated his West Broadway home for Christmas, and the focus of his front porch now is a large, 1960s-style peace sign in colored Christmas lights. Strung between the porch pillars at the top of the front steps, the retro peace sign is "just a decoration," according to Julie Eugley, King's personal assistant. snip The King family usually is away for most of the holiday season, spending time at their Florida mansion. This year is a little different, and the Kings, Stephen and his wife, Tabitha, have been in Bangor since November. "Usually they don't decorate for Christmas because they're not here very long," Eugley said. King is a well-known Democrat and has spoken out against the war in Iraq and the Bush administration, but the peace symbol is not specifically representative of his political beliefs, his assistant said. During U.S. Sen. John Edwards' September 2004 campaign stop in Orono, King called the Bush administration "the most dangerous and unpleasant bunch we've had since the Nixon years."

Entire article well worth the click. Then there's this story in the Morning Sentinel of Blethen:

WATERVILLE -- On Wednesday, Stephen King stepped in to help a 3-year-old girl who was badly injured in a Tuesday car accident in Waterville. When family members wanted to move Rylee Lagucki from a hospital in Portland to one in Bangor, the horror novelist donated $2,800 to cover the cost of the ambulance trip, including the cost of a critical-care team that rode with her all the way. Rylee's family had wanted the girl to be near her mother, 22-year-old Stephanie Lagucki of Waterville, who was also critically wounded in the crash. Lagucki is in Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. "A social worker from Bangor taking care of Stephanie helped us," said Laura Mathieu of Oakland, Lagucki's cousin. "She pulled some strings, and Stephen King made a significant donation. It's amazing -- this man (King) we don't even know. It's phenomenal for someone to do that."

Let us keep the family in our thoughts.