Question 1 on the November ballot proposes a 3.8 percent tax on certain employers, individuals and households in Maine. The money from this new tax is for home care for seniors and disabled adults. But as much as $6.5 million could be used for a separate, new bureaucracy to run the program. The new program […]
Question 1
Posted inLetters, sj-web
Support for Question One
I am 79-year-old veteran and I hope that Question 1, the Universal Homecare Initiative, passes in November. I want to age at home, like any Maine veteran, or senior. I don’t want to end up in a nursing home; they are lonely, dismal places to live. I know that everyone in Maine would rather age […]
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Posted inLetters, sj-web
Vote 'yes' on Question 1
It breaks my heart that I even must write this letter for the sake of those who are fighting for their lives every day. These are the people who are ill and debilitated and need long-term care. It seems to me that everyone deserves medical care when they need it. I have a cousin who […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Referendum on home care could result in ‘marriage penalty’ tax
A change in the wording of Question 1 on the upcoming November ballot has touched off a raging debate over how the measure’s proposed income tax surcharge would apply to married couples. If passed, Question 1 would create a law that directs money to home care workers through a new income tax surcharge of 3.8 […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine voters soon to decide fate of ranked-choice voting
Maine voters will finally get their chance to try out the hotly debated ranked-choice voting system when they head to the polls to select party nominees for governor, Congress and the Legislature on June 12. While they’re in the voting booth, Mainers will also face Question 1 on their ballots, asking them if they want […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
History of success provides support for Question 1
In 2003, Maine voters faced a choice: allow a hotel and casino in Bangor, and bet that the resultant economic activity would provide a much-needed boost in jobs and tax revenue throughout the region, or vote against the project based on groundless fear-mongering against the project and its backer, gaming and commercial real estate entrepreneur […]
Posted inLetters, sj-web
Vote 'no' on Maine Question 1
After seeing an advertisement by the Micmac Indians that gave their approval to the state referendum Question 1, I had concerns about the content of the question. I then researched the proposal and was surprised by the way the profits from the slot machines were to be distributed. The Indian nation will receive one percent […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
PAC opposing Question 1 has received most of its funding from Oxford Casino
A political action committee formed to oppose Question 1 on the fall ballot, which asks voters to approve a casino York County, has spent just over $600,000 on its effort, according to state campaign finance reports filed Thursday. Much of it has been financed by Oxford Casino. A political action committee formed to oppose Question […]
Posted inLetters, sj-web
Vote 'no' on Question 1
With a sea of “Vote Yes On 1” signs engulfing the highways, I say vote “no.” Against the sole recipient of a gaming license so one person can make a lot of money, perhaps as much as $150 million, for his sole benefit, I say vote “no.” Against the referendum circulators getting paid $7 to […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Paul LePage rips proposal to expand gambling in Maine
Proponents of a controversial ballot question that would allow a third casino in Maine tout the measure as a way to “say yes to better education and more jobs.” What it is really about, though, is “gambling, plain and simple,” Gov. Paul LePage said in a radio address released Tuesday. He said those behind Question […]