AUGUSTA (AP) — A report suggests a program created by then-Maine Gov. John Baldacci to spur development in economically depressed areas is not helping much. Some lawmakers want to scrap the program. The Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability says the Pine Tree Development Zone program lacks accountability to assess its true capacity to […]
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Gov. Paul LePage moving forward on $3.5 million psychiatric home
PORTLAND (AP) — Gov. Paul LePage is moving forward with plans to build a psychiatric home that would be privately managed, circumventing lawmakers who are calling for legislative oversight. Although the facility would be built on state land, the state would sell it to the construction company, Cianbro, then lease back the property to the […]
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Paul LePage pens notes to critics of his Charlottesville stand
PORTLAND (AP) — A Maine resident says she is “shocked” after Republican Gov. Paul LePage wrote several notes in response to criticism of his comments on the deadly protests in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Portland Press Herald reports two residents sent faxes after the governor blamed both sides for the violence. LePage responded to Darcey Poulin’s […]
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Paul LePage says classroom teachers are 'a dime a dozen'
PITTSFIELD (AP) — Maine Gov. Paul LePage has criticized traditional education during the unveiling of a new vocational school, describing classroom teachers as “a dime a dozen.” The Morning Sentinel reports the Republican governor made the comments Thursday at the new Cianbro workforce development center, called the Cianbro Institute. The center offers classes such as […]
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Paul LePage condemns 'both sides' of Virginia protests for violence
After remaining largely silent on the past weekend’s violence in Virginia, Gov. Paul LePage erupted Thursday on the radio. Maine’s Republican governor echoed President Donald Trump’s reaction to the Charlottesville conflict, assigning equal blame to white supremacists and counter-protesters who showed up to oppose a rally against removing a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. […]
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Licenses for recreational marijuana sales won't be ready in February
PORTLAND (AP) — Maine officials say the state will not be able to meet its deadline for the start of recreational marijuana sales. Republican State Sen. Roger Katz tells the Portland Press Herald the agencies responsible for the recreational marijuana market rollout do not have the time before the February deadline for things such as […]
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Paul LePage says a Medicaid expansion would kill Maine
Gov. Paul LePage has turned his attention squarely at defeating the Medicaid expansion referendum on this November’s ballot, claiming again that broadening eligibility for the government-run program would drive the state into backbreaking debt. LePage’s ardent opposition to Medicaid expansion is nothing new. He has vetoed bids to do so six times during his tenure, […]
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Paul LePage offers pay raise for 'right to work' language in contracts
Gov. Paul LePage used the lure of higher wage increases for members of Maine’s largest state workers union to win a key concession in his campaign to weaken the clout of organized labor. In exchange for a 6 percent pay increase over the next two years, negotiators for the Maine State Employees Association have agreed […]
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Paul LePage says Matt Dunlap wrong to not supply voter data
PORTLAND (AP) — Maine’s Republican governor says the state’s secretary of state is making a mistake by denying a request for voter data made by a Trump commission. Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, a Democrat, has declined to comply with a request by the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, which is investigating possible voter […]
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Federal audit: DHHS failed to investigate deaths, suspected abuse of disabled adults
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services failed to investigate the deaths of all 133 people with developmental disabilities who died between January 2013 and June 2015 while under the care of community-based providers across the state, and, as a result, failed to report suspicious deaths to law enforcement agencies to determine if crimes […]