AUGUSTA (AP) — The leaders of Maine’s higher education institutions are set to address the Legislature. Maine Maritime Academy President William Brennan is scheduled to speak first during a joint session of the Legislature on Thursday. The heads of the University of Maine System and the state’s community college system will speak afterward. The University […]
Maine Legislature
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Democratic lawmakers get heat for backing tipped minimum wage
Kathe Jewett, 68, a waitress at Howard Johnson’s in Bangor since it opened in 1966, speaks to patrons, works in the restaurant shortly before it closed in 2016. AUGUSTA — Eight Democrats in the Legislature are supporting proposals to restore the tipped minimum wage for servers phased out by a 2016 minimum wage referendum, drawing […]
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Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Maine scrambles to fix driver's licenses to comply with federal law
AUGUSTA — Mainers will be grounded next year if legislators don’t update driver’s licenses to comply with federal requirements. State and federal representatives are scrambling to fix the situation, which stemmed from fears over a 12-year-old federal act that critics say would create a national database of personal information. But states are starting to comply […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Lawmakers to vote on money for treatment, military authority
AUGUSTA (AP) — A Maine legislative committee has advanced a budget request that would expand access to drug treatment. The committee on Friday sent the $29 million supplementary spending package to the full Legislature for a vote. Lawmakers will continue to hold hearings on Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s separate $6.8 billion, two-year budget proposal. Lawmakers […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Disc golf course seeks right to get a liquor permit
Anyone who’s hung around a golf course for long has noticed that for many players, drinking and golf go hand-in-hand. It’s not so different for the fast-growing sport of disc golf, which features competitors flinging plastic discs at distant targets, except for one thing: the course owners can’t get a license to serve alcohol regularly. […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Legislature launches inquiry into Maine PowerOptions electricity program
AUGUSTA — The Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee voted unanimously Friday to launch a preliminary inquiry into Maine PowerOptions, a little-known quasi-state program that brings together hundreds of municipalities and school districts to help them buy electricity. The lawmakers’ call for an investigation follows a story last month by the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Lewiston lawmakers to hold office hours on Saturday
LEWISTON — Lewiston’s state legislators will hold public office hours from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday in the Couture Room at the Lewiston Public Library. Expected to attend are Sen. Nate Libby and Reps. Jared Golden, Heidi Brooks, James Handy and Roger Fuller. All are Democrats. The session will give residents a chance to […]
Posted inLocal & State
Bill calls for testing every Maine school's drinking water for lead
AUGUSTA — Prodded by a new environmental report that gives Maine a failing grade for its efforts to prevent schoolchildren from drinking water with high lead levels, legislators are eyeing, as a first step, a plan to have every school carry out more testing. “We should ensure that our kids aren’t being exposed to lead, […]
