AUGUSTA — A Florida-based healthcare company that could receive a $60.3 million state contract to run a 21-bed Maine residence for some psychiatric patients is fighting to keep its proposal secret. Gov. Paul LePage’s administration is moving forward without legislative approval or appropriated funding on plans to build a new, one-story residence on the Dorothea […]
Paul LePage
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Weak government response to ticks threatens public health
Maine’s invasion came early this year. In recent hotbeds of tick activity – from Scarborough to Belfast and Brewer – people say they spotted the eight-legged arachnid before spring. They noticed the ticks – which look like moving poppyseeds – encroaching on roads, beaches, playgrounds, cemeteries and library floors. They saw them clinging to dogs, […]
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Paul LePage calls for candidates Janet Mills and Terry Hayes to leave their state offices
Gov. Paul LePage is calling on Attorney General Janet Mills and Treasurer Terry Hayes to resign or take leaves of absence from their respective positions in state government while they run for governor. In separate letters sent Monday, LePage told Mills and Hayes that they should step down and stop taking taxpayer-funded paychecks “to avoid […]
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Paul LePage accuses Massachusetts of E-ZPass shakedown
Gov. Paul LePage is threatening to use the “full extent of the law” against Massachusetts officials for their efforts to collect unpaid tolls from Maine drivers. In a letter to Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, also a Republican, LePage accuses Bay State officials of using “shakedown” tactics and threatening Maine drivers with license suspensions for unpaid […]
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Judge orders Paul LePage to release clean elections cash
A Maine Superior Court judge has ordered Republican Gov. Paul LePage to release about $1.4 million in campaign funds for candidates running under the state’s clean elections law. The order Thursday by Justice William Stokes would provide public funding for the campaigns of about 174 candidates for the Legislature and one candidate running in the […]
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LePage slams employees union for taking credit for his child protection reforms
Gov. Paul LePage slammed the state employees’ union in his weekly radio address Wednesday, accusing it of trying to take credit for reforms his administration is proposing in the child protection system after the deaths of two children. LePage’s attack on the Maine State Employees Association came just two days after he said he was […]
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Paul LePage to lead trade mission to UK and Ireland
AUGUSTA — Maine’s North Atlantic Development Office is putting together a trade mission headed by Gov. Paul LePage for companies interested in increasing business with the United Kingdom and Ireland. The nine-day trade mission in September will feature “business meetings, group events, and unique cultural opportunities designed to help Maine companies expand their business development […]
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LePage wants most of Maine out of regional air pollution program
AUGUSTA — A LePage administration proposal to withdraw most of Maine from a regional air pollution program drew support from Maine’s forest products industry Monday but strong pushback from environmentalists and health advocates. For the second time in five years, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection is asking federal regulators to exempt parts of Maine […]
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Maine ends fiscal year in black as LePage touts record savings
AUGUSTA – Gov. Paul LePage touted a state budget surplus of $175.8 million Monday, noting that Maine had concluded the fiscal year well in the black. LePage credited his administration’s sound fiscal management for the surplus. He said $74.6 million of the surplus has been allocated to the state’s next two-year budget and $76.2 million […]
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LePage energy adviser repeats tall tale about UMPI wind turbine
PRESQUE ISLE (AP) — An informal energy adviser to Republican Gov. Paul LePage has repeated a tall tale about the wind turbine at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. Refrigeration technician James LaBrecque told WVOM-FM on Wednesday that the university uses outside power to turn the turbine blades when there’s no wind to avoid […]