AUGUSTA — A bill to make more money available to municipalities for pedestrian-safety projects appeared dead after failing on an 18-17 party-line vote in the Senate Thursday. Sen. Nate Libby, D-Lewiston, sponsored the bill and said he is “increasingly disappointed” that lawmakers turned down the measure. The Maine Department of Transportation had said the new […]
Nate Libby
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Local & State
Lewiston state senator questions tax breaks for Carbonite
AUGUSTA — A state senator said it’s “really inappropriate” for Carbonite to slice its workforce in half over the past three years by shipping some jobs overseas while getting a state tax break for hiring in Maine. Sen. Nate Libby, D-Lewiston, said he was shocked Wednesday to read in the Sun Journal that Carbonite, a […]
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Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Nate Libby pushes for state funding of pedestrian safety projects
AUGUSTA — Hoping to reduce the number of pedestrians killed in Maine, state Sen. Nate Libby hopes to snag $5 million in transportation funds to help municipalities make safety improvements for those on foot. “Improvements to pedestrian safety have been consistently cut out of strained municipal budgets,” Libby said in a prepared statement Friday. A […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Lisbon mourns loss of Rep. Gina Mason
LISBON — Talk to those who knew Gina Crafts Mason and you hear a swirl of stories, from ice-skating on a winter pond to preparing a float for the annual Moxie Festival parade, that are in some ways typical of small-town Maine — until you knit them all together. What made Mason, a state representative who […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Nate Libby uses ‘colorful language’ in tweet aimed at LePage
AUGUSTA — A letter from Gov. Paul LePage that sharply criticized Sen. Nate Libby’s support for raising the age to buy cigarettes left the Lewiston Democrat smoking mad. The Republican governor called senators who overrode his veto of a measure that hiked the legal age to buy tobacco products from 18 to 21 “hypocrites” for […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Gov. Paul LePage blames GOP for student debt relief plan failure
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage said Tuesday he couldn’t round up enough support from wary Republicans to push through a proposed $40 million bond issue to help young workers pay off their student debts this year. But, he told radio interviewers, he’s not giving up. “I am going to take it out on the streets […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Republicans need to come around on student debt plan, Gov. LePage says
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage is still pushing to win Republican support for a student debt relief plan that failed last week to secure enough GOP votes to reach his desk. LePage said that offering young people help with paying off student loans is one way to get them to move to Maine, something he […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
State leaders press for $40 million student debt relief plan
AUGUSTA — In a rare moment of agreement, Gov. Paul LePage and Democratic lawmakers are pushing for a student debt relief program aimed at convincing recent college graduates to settle in Maine. The loan forgiveness program, which would need voters’ approval next year, would allow up to $25,000 in student debt relief for people who […]
Posted inLocal & State
Senate overrides LePage veto of school truancy measure
AUGUSTA — The Senate unanimously opted Tuesday to override Gov. Paul LePage’s veto of a measure that would let educators extend truancy enforcement rules to 5- and 6-year-old students enrolled in public school. LePage said a better answer to truancy should be to make schools so inspiring and exciting that students want to show up […]
Posted inLocal & State
Larry Lockman’s immigration bill fails in Maine House
AUGUSTA — An anti-immigrant bill proposed by Rep. Larry Lockman, R-Amherst, that drew a torrent of criticism from Mainers who are sympathetic to newcomers fleeing war and oppression overseas failed to pass muster in the House on Wednesday. The Republican lawmaker pushed a trio of related bills taking aim at cities that offer sanctuary to […]