The Associated Press list of Maine’s top 10 stories of 2003

1. Arsenic poisonings in April at New Sweden church.

2. November referendum on a casino in southern Maine and slot machines at two harness racing tracks.

3. January rally by a white supremacist group in Lewiston that sparked a pro-diversity rally nearby.

4 (tie). Key events during Gov. John Baldacci’s first year in office.

4 (tie). Impact in Maine of the Iraq war and its aftermath.

6. The May U.S. Supreme Court ruling that enabled Maine to overcome a pharmaceutical industry challenge and push ahead with its landmark Maine Rx program to provide discounts on prescription drugs.

7. State referendum on school financing that gave a boost to efforts to promote property tax reform.

8. Maine groundfishermen hit by 24 percent cutback in days at sea, and loss of four scallop boat crewmen based in Waldoboro.

9. Fall report that showed loss of 17,800 factory jobs over three years.

10. Collapse of Great Northern Paper, one of the state’s giants of industry.