In the wake of Brett Kavanaugh’s dissenting opinion on an abortion case late Thursday, critics called Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins everything from “a raging fool” to an utter dupe for helping to put him on the Supreme Court. They blamed the four-term Maine senator for providing Kavanaugh with the opportunity to join the losing […]
Steve Collins
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Lawmakers weigh 'ban the box' bill to help former prisoners get jobs
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage last year vetoed a measure to bar the state from asking most job seekers about criminal convictions on the applications they initially submit. With LePage no longer an obstacle, legislators are eyeing the same bill as one way to help formerly incarcerated Mainers overcome their pasts. The so-called “Ban the […]
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Jared Golden calls Trump’s ‘NAFTA 2.0’ deal ‘more of the same’
Calling President Donald Trump’s proposed revision of the North American Free Trade Agreement “NAFTA 2.0,” U.S. Rep. Jared Golden of Maine joined a handful of Democratic colleagues in vowing to oppose the deal without major changes. “Putting a new paint job on the old NAFTA won’t work,” the 2nd District congressman said in a prepared […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Lawmakers weigh how to avoid having more than one Question 1 on the same ballot
AUGUSTA — Sometimes the Legislature deals with big issues, such as health care, crime and taxation. And sometimes it deals with how to stop voters from facing more than one Question 1 on the ballot. A measure before the Committee on State and Local Government would require municipalities to list local ballot questions with “sequential […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
State dismisses remaining complaints against Lewiston oral surgeon Jan Kippax
AUGUSTA — The state has dropped its effort to prove that Lewiston oral surgeon Jan Kippax did anything wrong in the wake of complaints from 18 patients who accused him of misconduct. Having already cleared him for his treatment of five of the patients, the Maine Board of Dental Practice has agreed to dismiss all […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Golden invites Maine AFL-CIO leader to Trump's State of the Union speech
In a move meant to send a message to Maine’s blue-collar workers, U.S. Rep. Jared Golden invited Cynthia Phinney of Livermore Falls, president of Maine’s AFL-CIO, to be his guest at Tuesday’s State of the Union speech. “One of my top priorities in Congress is fighting for Maine’s working people,” the 2nd Congressional District Democrat […]
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Election Day might become a state holiday in Maine celebrating democracy
AUGUSTA — Lawmakers will consider a proposal this session to make Election Day a state holiday. “We should have a day where we really celebrate our democracy,” said state Rep. Ben Collings, a Portland Democrat. Supporters of the idea, which has been picking up steam for years, say that more people would have a chance […]
Posted inMaine, Politics, sj-web
Jared Golden sponsors bill to withhold congressional pay during shutdowns
Following the five-week closure of much of the federal government, U.S. Rep. Jared Golden has introduced a bipartisan measure that calls for withholding the pay of members of Congress, the president and vice president during a government shutdown. The Solidarity in Salary Act of 2019 “will help prevent the American people from being political pawns […]
Posted inbPlus, Lewiston-Auburn, sj-web
Dr. J.F. True’s Elixir: The medicine that made Auburn famous
AUBURN — If you believe the advertising in the latter half of the 19th century, gulping down a bit of Dr. J.F. True’s Elixir offered the best possible treatment for everything from a headache to a lizard living in your stomach. Regardless of whether it really worked or not, the dark and somewhat alcoholic liquid […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
In a tumultuous time, Maine searches for civility
The state is already known nationally for its more measured discourse, but groups and political leaders push harder for compromise over conflict. As former Gov. Paul LePage and legislators clashed and the toxic national discourse seeped into the everyday discussions of many Mainers, some feared the state had veered from its famously civic-minded roots. In […]