AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage is supporting a call to make Aug. 6 a national day of prayer and fasting, a move hailed by Christian groups but assailed by organizations who believe the state shouldn’t promote one religion over another. The governor signed the proclamation in early June, joining Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who is […]
Paul LePage
Posted inMaine
Member of state economic forecasting panel to resign following domestic violence arrest
WILTON — Lawrence E. Dwight Jr., who serves on Maine’s Consensus Economic Forecasting Commission, is resigning his post following his arrest Saturday on a charge of domestic assault. Dwight, 54, better known as J Dwight, a political activist and investment adviser, was arrested at his Wilton home after an incident involving his wife. Sgt. Richard […]
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Posted inMaine, The Franklin Journal
Political Pulse: Raye’s run all but official
Nuggets from the notebook while wondering when the Maine Senate president will make his congressional run official … Maine politicos long ago concluded that Senate President Kevin Raye, R-Perry, is planning a run at U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud, D-Maine, in 2012. It appears word is getting out. Last week the D.C.-based magazine Roll Call published […]
Posted inMaine
Mural plaintiffs argue that case should go to trial
Plaintiffs suing the LePage administration for removing the 36-foot mural from the Department of Labor planned on Friday to submit written arguments to a federal judge in hopes of bringing the case to trial. The Attorney General’s Office, representing the administration, last month filed for a summary judgment, which would allow U.S. District Court Judge […]
Posted inMaine
EL grad to become LePage’s new communications director
AUGUSTA — Peter Rogers, a 1981 graduate of Edward Little High School, will soon become Gov. Paul LePage’s new communications director. LePage announced Thursday that Rogers will head the governor’s communications staff. Rogers, who begins his new job July 25, fills a staff position made vacant in April when former director Dan Demeritt resigned. Demeritt, […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Edward Little grad to head LePage’s communications staff
Gov. Paul LePage has added a new communications director. LePage announced Thursday that Peter Rogers, a graduate of Auburn’s Edward Little High School, will head the governor’s communications staff. According to a press release, Rogers most recently served under Major General John Libby with the Maine Army National Guard. Rogers was the deputy commissioner of […]
Posted inMaine
Pension crisis averted, but retirees pay a price
The year is 2020, just nine years from now, and the state is facing the worst budget crisis in years. A new governor and Legislature are grappling with the inescapable fact that before they can spend a penny on schools, roads or welfare, they have to pay a $760 million bill — almost all of […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine prison property sale voided
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The state’s sale of property near the former prison in Thomaston to the current prison warden has prompted Attorney General William Schneider to declare the transaction void, saying it violates Maine law. Gov. Paul LePage also issued an executive order Monday telling the Department of Administrative and Financial Services to create […]
Posted inMaine
Political Pulse: LePage’s ‘N.Y. city lawyer’ comes cheap
Nuggets from the notebook while taking a look at Louis DiLorenzo, the labor attorney hired by the LePage administration to assist in collective bargaining negotiations with the state’s seven unions … Democrats and union advocates have taken to calling him Gov. Paul LePage’s “New York City lawyer.” In two press releases last week lamenting the […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine law addresses methadone use by truckers
AUGUSTA , Maine (AP) — Gov. Paul LePage faces a stack of bills he must decide whether he will sign, but one he’s sure to put his name on will make it a crime to drive a large commercial vehicle while on methadone. Lisa Ronan of Gray plans to be in the governor’s office Friday […]