JAY — Gov. Paul LePage will be guest speaker at the breakfast meeting of the Jay, Livermore, Livermore Falls Chamber of Commerce on Nov. 4. It will be held at LaFleur’s Restaurant on Route 4/Main Street from 7 to 9 a.m. The Member in the Spotlight will be Ken Jacques of Spruce Mountain Ski Slope. […]
Paul LePage
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine state workers’ union files complaint
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine’s largest state workers’ union has filed a complaint with the Maine Labor Relations Board accusing the state negotiators of violating the law as the two sides tried to reach an agreement on new contract. The complaint filed Monday by the Maine State Employees Association says the state abandoned negotiations at […]
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Posted inMaine, Op-Eds, The Franklin Journal
Political Pulse: Michaud, Snowe hit D.C. fundraising circuit
Nuggets from the notebook while pining for the New York strip steak at Charlie Palmer Steak in Washington D.C. . . . U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud, D-Maine, have had a busy year building their re-election war chests. According to data released by the Sunlight Foundation, a nonpartisan organization devoted […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine’s First Family to hold food drive
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Gov. Paul LePage is opening up the Blaine House for a food drive that he hopes will ensure that needy Mainers have enough food on the table. The food drive kicks off Saturday and will continue for the following two Saturdays. Spokeswoman Adrienne Bennett says people who drop off nonperishable food […]
Posted inMaine
Talks stall on Maine clean elections fix
AUGUSTA — State lawmakers Tuesday failed to complete a deal designed to ensure that Maine’s clean elections law remains viable for legislative candidates. Negotiations stalled on the Legislature’s Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee after lawmakers failed to agree on how much taxpayer funding should support publicly financed candidates. The impasse followed calls to quickly amend […]
Posted inMaine, Op-Eds, The Franklin Journal
Political Pulse: National equity firm gets cozy with Snowe
Nuggets from the notebook while taking a quick look at one of U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe’s big supporters . . . The Blackstone Group, a multi-billion–dollar international equity firm, recently made Maine headlines when its charitable foundation announced that it was investing $3 million in entrepreneurial development at the recently decommissioned Brunswick Naval Air Station. […]
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Governor’s crackdown on unemployment claims goes beyond fraud
AUGUSTA — Earlier this month, Gov. Paul LePage announced that his administration was undertaking a new effort to tackle improper unemployment payments and fraud, a problem that cost state employers about $6.5 million last year. The governor’s initiative came on the heels of President Barack Obama’s mandate that all states adopt mitigation overpayment strategies by […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine Landowner Appreciation Cleanup Day set
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Gov. Paul LePage is proclaiming “Landowner Appreciation Cleanup Day” to thank property owners who allow the use of their land for recreational purposes. Volunteers are needed for Saturday’s event to help clean up properties where the state has identified illegal dumps. Forest rangers and the small woodlot owners association have identified […]
Posted inMaine
Energy watchers hope LePage’s natural gas push doesn’t forsake renewables
AUGUSTA — This past summer, Gov. Paul LePage addressed lawmakers to evaluate the hits and misses of the legislative session. A significant failure, in the governor’s opinion, was the Legislature’s inability to lower the state’s energy costs. At the time, LePage blamed lawmakers for balking at his proposal to scrap a state mandate to increase […]
Posted inMaine, Op-Eds, The Franklin Journal
Political Pulse: Progressives question motives of Americans Elect
Nuggets from the notebook while wondering why Americans Elect’s effort to get a third-party presidential candidate on the 2012 ballot seems so appealing to progressive voters . . . Americans Elect is a nonprofit organization currently trying to obtain ballot access for a yet-to-be determined bipartisan presidential ticket next year. The group is well-funded, backed […]