AUGUSTA — The Maine House has approved a bill to reduce the state’s income tax rate to a flat 4 percent. After a lengthy debate, representatives voted 74-71 Thursday to approve a Senate-amended bill calling for the reduction. It relies on revenue surpluses initially to pay for the reduction. The bill calls for 20 percent […]
Maine
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Maine House approves bill legalizing gambling for VFWs and fraternal groups
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A bill to allow nonprofits in Maine to have up to five video gambling machines per club is awaiting further votes following preliminary approval by the House. The bill now awaits Senate action after representatives gave their OK on Wednesday. Veterans and fraternal organizations want to set up video gambling machines […]
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Posted inLocal & State, New England, Oxford Hills
Maine Forest Service continues efforts to contain mountainside fire in Gilead
Many have been small, “but we jump on them very quickly,” said Currier, Southern District ranger for the Maine Forest Service. Currier said the spring fire season began two or three weeks earlier than usual. Normally, it occurs in April and May. The largest fires — those in the 20-acre range — have been in […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Sen. Collins: BIW to benefit from Navy plan
BATH — Even though the Navy reduced its goal for overall number of ships, Bath Iron Works should stay busy over the coming years because the number of large warships like those built there would increase by 30 percent under the proposal, Sen. Susan Collins said Wednesday. The 30-year plan unveiled last week would increase […]
Posted inFranklin, Local & State
Report: EMTs followed protocol in Sugarloaf accident
AUGUSTA — The state board that oversees the licensing of paramedics and emergency medical technicians has voted to dismiss a complaint filed by the widow of a Canadian man who died after a ski accident at Sugarloaf Mountain in January. A report issued Wednesday by Jay Bradshaw, director Maine EMS, details the findings of an […]
Posted inLocal & State
State officials warn costs of crime-fighting going up
AUGUSTA — During budget talks over the past week, the state’s top law enforcement officials warned the cost of crime-fighting is going up as criminals use the latest technology, including lab equipment to make drugs such as methamphetamine. “Every time we break a meth lab it costs $15,000, because of the care we have to […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
State discovers unexpected $14.3 million
AUGUSTA — State finance officials have found an extra $14.3 million in state revenue, not under the couch cushions but as a result of a recent accounting delay by Maine Revenue Services.That revelation could throw a wrench into budget negotiations as the Legislature’s second session winds down.Rep. Patrick Flood, R-Winthrop, House chairman of the Appropriations […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
University of Maine faculty seek “no confidence” vote in Botman
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — University of Southern Maine faculty members are circulating a petition aimed at forcing a no-confidence referendum vote for President Selma Botman. William Steele from the university’s theater department says many faculty members believe Botman’s campus-wide reorganization was misguided. He also says faculty think Botman isn’t doing enough to stem declining enrollment […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
N.H. man, 18, killed in Maine crash
PORTER, Maine (AP) — Authorities say a New Hampshire teenager was killed and his two passengers were injured in a car crash in western Maine. Steve McCausland of the Maine Public Safety Department says the one-car crash occurred Sunday afternoon on Route 25 in Porter. He says 18-year-old Darren Duncanson of New Durham, N.H., lost […]
Posted inFranklin
Riders and skiers take to the pond for Saddleback’s spring celebration
SANDY RIVER PLANTATION — After pumping more than 5 million gallons of water onto ski trails last week in the form of snow, the operations crew at Saddleback Mountain Ski Area saw no harm in pumping a little more into a man-made pond about half the size of an Olympic swimming pool Saturday. Skiers and […]