[View the story “Maine Election Night 2013” on Storify]
politics
Lawmaker plans to keep pressing for cold-case bill
EAST MILLINOCKET — State Rep. Steve Stanley, D-Medway, will appeal a Legislative Council decision rejecting one of two bills he proposed that are aimed at helping solve the 33-year-old murder of Joyce McLain, he said Tuesday. The Legislative Council voted 6-4 against taking up during the next Legislative session Stanley’s proposal that the state form a cold […]
Maine Republican Party chair demands apology from Democratic counterpart
AUGUSTA — The chairman of the Maine Republican Party minced few words Tuesday in a news release demanding an apology from his Democratic counterpart. Maine GOP Chairman Rick Bennett said Maine Democratic Party Chairman Ben Grant should apologize to state Rep. Amy Volk, R-Scarborough, for saying Volk was attempting to “soften her edges” by supporting […]
Portland voters considering proposal to legalize recreational pot
PORTLAND (AP) — Residents of Maine’s largest city are being asked if they want to legalize possession of recreational amounts of marijuana. Tuesday’s vote comes a year after Washington and Colorado voters passed statewide ballot questions legalizing possession of up to an ounce of pot by people 21 and older. Advocates of legalizing pot possession […]
Michaud says decision to reveal sexuality wasn’t easy; says he’s had relationships with women too
LEWISTON — In a bombshell announcement Monday, U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud, D-Maine, a candidate for governor, announced he’s gay. Michaud told the Sun Journal in a phone interview Monday he had relationships with women in the past, but announced he was gay because “other people were trying to make this an issue . . .” […]
Gay rights bill clears first hurdle in Senate
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate pushed a major anti-bias gay rights bill past a first, big hurdle Monday, a clear sign of Americans’ greater acceptance of homosexuality nearly two decades after the law prohibiting federal recognition of same-sex marriage. The vote of 61-30 essentially ensured that the Senate has the votes to pass the Employment […]
Glassblowers see pot legalization as a boon to business
PORTLAND — In an anonymous storefront in Bayside, doughnuts are made around the clock. Phish music blares, chocolate frosting drizzles. Brian Owoc grabs a hot doughnut with an oven mitt. It resembles a real bakery, except instead of flour and sugar, there’s glass and fire. You won’t see these doughnuts sold by the dozen, but […]
Does Michaud’s announcement help or hurt his campaign?
AUGUSTA — News broke early Monday that six-term congressman and the Democrats’ 2014 candidate for governor, Mike Michaud, is gay, but many insiders said they expected the revelation to have little effect on the gubernatorial race. Michaud became only the seventh sitting member of the U.S. House to openly identify as gay or bisexual, and one […]
Michaud’s constituents surprised at announcement not news
MEDWAY — Waitress Nikki York came to work at The Aerie Monday morning and discovered for the first time in her five years there that the pilot burner to the restaurant’s grill wouldn’t stay lit. But that surprise was nothing, she said, compared to her shock at the front-page news of U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud’s announcement that […]
Michaud’s view on same-sex marriage has evolved
Democratic Rep. Mike Michaud, who served 11 terms in the Legislature — seven in the House and four in the Senate — has an evolving record on gay rights legislation. After early opposition to gay rights issues, he softened his stance by voting to send the matter out to referendum and later sponsoring legislation to allow domestic […]