AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage’s proposed $6.1 billion budget calls for most public employees and teachers to contribute an additional 2 percent into their pensions. The administration has described the proposal as a “shared sacrifice” plan designed to plug the state’s budget gap. But LePage’s decision not to contribute more to his own pension benefit […]
Paul LePage
Posted inMaine
Poll shows LePage approval rating at 43 percent
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage is currently more popular among Mainers than Gov. John Baldacci was right before the election, according to an opinion poll released Monday. However, that same survey shows LePage isn’t enjoying much of a honeymoon with voters. Those were some of the highlights from Public Policy Polling, a North Carolina-based firm […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Stephen King lambasts LePage as ‘a stone brain,’ one of the Three Stooges
SARASOTA, Fla. — Stephen King is calling the governor of his home state ‘a stone brain’ and comparing him to one of the Three Stooges. In a rally last week in Sarasota, Fla., supporting education, unions and veterans, the horror author and outspoken Democrat compared Maine Gov. Paul LePage, Florida’s Rick Scott and Wisconsin’s Scott […]
Posted inbPlus
Talk of the Town
I know where I’m sleeping tonight Another anonymous gift left for me at the front desk and it’s a beaut: A postmortem bag, white, with curved zipper. Spanking new in the package, it comes with one chin strap, one under pad, two 60-inch ties, three 36-inch ties, three identification tags. Also, helpful hints: “The polyethylene […]
Posted inMaine
Flame retardant heats up
AUGUSTA — In mid-December, the state’s scientific review of priority chemicals slated for regulation in the state’s Kid-Safe Products Act had finished its six-month analysis of brominated flame retardants. According to documents obtained through a Freedom of Access request, toxicologists with the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention and review staff at the Maine […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine regulatory reform panel digs into bill
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Lawmakers are getting down to the nitty-gritty of fashioning a regulatory reform package, one of the top priorities of Gov. Paul LePage’s administration. The Committee on Regulatory Fairness and Reform held its latest work session Thursday to continue plowing through scores of proposals aimed at eliminating duplicate, unnecessary and redundant regulations […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Bill would allow Maine teens to work longer hours
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A bill to allow Maine teenagers to work more is getting mixed reviews in the Legislature. Representatives of hotels and motels, restaurants, merchants and Gov. Paul LePage’s administration spoke Wednesday in favor of a reworked bill limiting 16-year-olds to 32 hours a week and imposing no limits for 17-year-olds. But the […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Bill calls for majority governor vote in Maine
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine’s last two governors have been elected with less than a majority vote. Now, a Republican senator’s proposing an amendment to the state Constitution that would require more than 50 percent of the vote — in a runoff if necessary. The bill sponsored by Sen. Tom Saviello of Wilton goes before […]
Posted inMaine
PR battle over pension plan continues
AUGUSTA — The battle for public opinion continued Tuesday as the state treasurer urged lawmakers to embrace the governor’s strategy to fix the state pension debt. In his third news conference on the issue since Jan. 21, Treasurer Bruce Poliquin said lawmakers should “seize the moment” to tackle Maine’s $4.3 billion pension shortfall, which he […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine lawmakers take up welfare changes in budget
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A crowd of demonstrators filled a State House hall to protest Gov. Paul LePage’s proposed cuts in welfare and MaineCare programs, changes the administration says are due in large part to the end of federal stimulus funding and added enrollments. A couple of hundred demonstrators outside the governor’s office chanted “Don’t […]