MECHANIC FALLS — Voters approved all nine of the articles set before them in Tuesday’s referendum on the town’s municipal budget for the fiscal year that began July 1. The nine articles passed by comfortable margins, ranging from 77-44 for articles funding legal services, a health officer and the pensions and insurances budget to 67-54 […]
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Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Pot legalization advocates turn in petitions for referendum in South Portland
SOUTH PORTLAND — Marijuana advocates turned in 1,521 petition signatures seeking a legalization referendum in South Portland on Monday, marking a key milestone in what may be the Maine effort’s toughest battle yet. While the Marijuana Policy Project and its coalition of supporters faced little in the way of outspoken resistance while campaigning for a […]
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Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Local & State
Lewiston’s pot legalization effort set to gather signatures
LEWISTON — Organizers hoping to make recreational marijuana legal in Maine’s second-largest city will launch their citywide signature-gathering campaign Monday, the state political director for the Marijuana Policy Project said Friday. David Boyer said his group will launch its petition effort with a news conference in Lewiston where it intends to collect signatures from voters […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Cities host landlord forum to discuss disabilities
AUBURN — Twin Cities landlords are invited to a forum about their duties and rights concerning renting to tenants with disabilities. “Landlords may not completely understand their responsibilities regarding this issue — and neither do tenants,” Auburn Community Development Coordinator Yvette Bouttenot said. The forum is scheduled for 6 p.m. May 14 in the Auburn […]
Posted inFranklin
Franklin County lawyers boycott state-appointed sex-assault cases
FARMINGTON — Two defense lawyers in Franklin County have announced they will no longer be taking on state-appointed sexual-assault cases, in a protest against the state’s compensation rate for public defenders. In a March 6 letter to the Franklin County Courts, Walter Hanstein of Farmington and David Sanders of Livermore Falls said the $50-per-hour rate for […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Maine Bar suspends Lewiston lawyer
AUGUSTA — Lewiston lawyer William B. Cote has been suspended from the practice of law because of substance abuse issues, according to information released Thursday by the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar. Cote was temporarily suspended Tuesday, according to the organization that governs the conduct of lawyers licensed to practice in Maine. This […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Pot legalization effort moves eastward to Maine
PORTLAND — Advocates of recreational marijuana use are looking to an upcoming vote in Maine as an indicator of whether the East Coast is ready to follow in the footsteps of Colorado and Washington by legalizing cannabis. Voters in Portland are being asked whether they want to make it legal for adults 21 and over […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
LePage’s chief legal counsel resigning for Navy Reserve tour in Afghanistan
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage is expected to appoint a new chief legal counsel next week in the wake of the resignation Thursday of Michael Cianchette, who is shipping out to Afghanistan soon for a tour with the U.S. Navy Reserve. Cianchette, who joined the LePage administration as deputy legal counsel days after the 2010 […]