AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine Democrats and the head of the state employees’ union are upset by what they see as a plan by the administration of GOP Gov. Paul LePage to use state employees to help get Republicans re-elected. An internal memo written last month by LePage spokesman Dan Demeritt concluded with the phrase […]
Paul LePage
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Groups upset over LePage proposals
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Environmental activists are upset by Gov. Paul LePage’s proposals to revise dozens of laws protecting the air, water and land. At a news conference in the State House on Thursday, speakers said they are especially outraged by a proposal they say weakens protections from toxic substances in consumer products. They referred […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine welfare advocates wary of cuts, anecdotes
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Upcoming legislative debates over proposed restrictions and reforms in Maine’s welfare programs should be based on facts, not anecdotes suggesting widespread cheating and long-term reliance on assistance, advocates said Wednesday. Researchers, advocates and recipients of assistance programs released a report based on questionnaires completed in 2010 by more than 1,000 families […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Street Talk: If Marden’s is open, Maine’s open. Sissies.
So, let me get this straight. You’re mad at the governor because he wants to keep state offices open when it’s snowing outside. This causes me great confusion. I could have sworn you were the person who, just a few months ago, stood with your hands on your hips declaring that Mainers have become soft. […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine medical students decry scholarship cuts
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Some Maine medical students are decrying a plan to cut $125,000 in scholarship money from a program for the state’s future doctors. In Monday testimony before the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee, students from a number of Maine communities told lawmakers the proposal could hurt the state’s ability to get and keep doctors. […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine DOT, prison chiefs named
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Gov. Paul LePage says a veteran Maine transportation official is his choice to head that department, and his nominee for corrections commissioner has experience in four other states’ prison systems. The governor on Monday announced that David Bernhardt, an engineer who has 26 years background in Maine’s Transportation Department, will be […]
Posted inMaine
Say what? LePage’s quick tongue is all the talk
Page A26, column five. That’s where David Cheever’s flip remark appeared in The New York Times near the end of the 1984 presidential campaign. Cheever, the press flack for Gov. Joseph Brennan, had been asked about the strategy of Democratic presidential candidate Walter Mondale, who had decided to meet with Biddeford mill workers during a […]
Posted inOur View
Whoopie pie bill doesn’t fit Maine
What would a session of the Maine Legislature be without the occasional nutty, pointless, irrelevant bill making its way through committee and into law? Well, it would be more productive, more focused and less expensive, that’s what. Despite the dire challenges the state faces, and Gov. Paul LePage’s desire to restructure state government, Rep. Paul […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Sawin Millett confirmed Maine finance chief, first of LePage’s cabinet
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The Maine Senate has confirmed the first of Maine Gov. Paul LePage’s Cabinet nominees, Sawin Millett, who becomes the state’s finance commissioner. The Senate confirmed Millett 34-0 on Thursday, hours before three other Cabinet nominees face legislative confirmation hearings. The Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee takes up the nomination of William […]
Posted inOur View
Vernal pools an obstacle but can’t be ignored
The wood frog, the blue-spotted salamander, the blanding’s turtle — how cool when we see them on our property? Unless, of course, we hope to turn that lot into a new tanning salon. Tuesday, during a red-tape audit meeting at the University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston-Auburn College, Gov. Paul LePage said he hopes to revisit […]