AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Gov. Paul LePage has requested a federal disaster declaration for parts of Maine damaged by Tropical Storm Irene. A joint federal-state damage assessment has found over $2.4 million in response costs and damages in Franklin, Oxford and York Counties. LePage said Friday that if the aide is granted, the federal government […]
Paul LePage
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage orders lowering of flags on 9/11
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine Gov. Paul LePage is ordering flags to half-staff for the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. LePage said Friday that the flags will be lowered Sunday in remembrance of the 2001 attacks, which claimed nearly 3,000 lives. He says he’s asking Mainers to honor the memory of Americans […]
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Posted inBusiness, Maine, sj-web
LePage: Plenty of jobs, not enough skills
AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage gathered two dozen Maine employers from a broad cross-section of industries to the Blaine House on Friday to talk about strategies for improving the sluggish job market. The problem, the governor learned, is not a lack of jobs. The problem is that Maine’s labor force is not adequately skilled […]
Posted inMaine, Op-Eds
Political Pulse: LePage, MHPC converge on welfare despite different rhetorical paths
Just over a month ago, a pair of conservative advocacy groups released an undercover video of an actor attempting to apply for MaineCare benefits at a Department of Health and Human Services office in Biddeford. The two organizations, the Maine Heritage Policy Center and Americans for Prosperity-Maine, held a press conference promising “explosive” and “shocking” […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage says domestic violence efforts don’t conflict with gun law
FAIRFIELD, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage asked employers on Wednesday to stand with him as he reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to fighting domestic violence at home and in the workplace. At an event at Hammond Tractor in Fairfield, the governor signed an executive order that directs state agencies to make domestic violence awareness a priority. […]
Posted inMaine
Officials confident uninspected dams are safe
No one in state government — all the way up to the governor — denies the state is failing to regularly inspect Maine’s potentially hazardous dams. Most, though, don’t expect to do much about it, even though state law requires regular inspections. Instead, some say there’s no risk in the current situation. Others say they […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage cancels trade mission to S. America
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Gov. Paul LePage says he’s canceling plans to participate in a trade mission in November to Chile and Brazil. LePage said Friday he decided to forgo the trip due to budget priorities involving preparation for the upcoming Legislative session. The governor says the supplemental budget process will be a very challenging […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
2 Maine judicial nominations announced
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine Gov. Paul LePage is announcing two judicial nominations, which will face Senate confirmation votes on Sept. 27. The governor seeks to elevate District Judge John O’Neil to the Superior Court bench, and to appoint Justice G. Arthur Brennan as an active retired justice of the Superior Court. LePage says both […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Potential buyer of Katahdin mills interested in energy projects
AUGUSTA, Maine — The installation of natural gas lines and “a separate renewable fuel project” involving wood are part of a New Hampshire-based investor’s plans to buy and run the two Katahdin region paper mills, Gov. Paul LePage’s office said Tuesday. Cate Street Capital of Portsmouth, N.H., which describes itself as a national leader in […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Critics say LePage, GOP stacked deck against LURC
ELLSWORTH, Maine — The first meeting has yet to be scheduled, but the newly formed task force charged with recommending a better way to oversee land use on more than 10 million acres in Maine is already coming under close scrutiny. Environmental groups and Democratic lawmakers on Monday criticized the makeup of a task force […]