Gov. Paul LePage will hold a news conference on education funding Tuesday morning, followed closely by a second event that has been organized by the Maine Education Association and the Stand Up for Students coalition. LePage previewed his argument this morning during a radio interview on WVOM, though his comments were basically a review for […]
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Dog’s original owner snaps back at Paul LePage’s euthanasia joke
WINSLOW — The original owner of a dog that Maine Gov. Paul LePage has tried to save from a death sentence is unhappy over comments the governor made about the case during a radio appearance. The Republican governor issued a pardon for Dakota, a 4-year-old husky, but a judge ignored the pardon, and the Maine […]
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Paul LePage not sure about Senate run or Susan Collins for governor
Moments after declaring that he didn’t think he would make a good legislator, Gov. Paul LePage told a radio station Thursday that he is “seriously considering” taking on U.S. Sen. Angus King in 2018. LePage told the Portland-based WGAN that he’s not interested in retiring or taking a desk job with the Trump administration, but […]
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Maine House votes to make Maine comply with federal ID law
AUGUSTA (AP) — The Maine House is supporting a bill to make the state comply with a federal ID law. The 115-30 vote on Tuesday followed Senate approval earlier this month. Further votes are needed but no further obstacles are anticipated. Republican Gov. Paul LePage supports the bill. The federal Real ID law was passed […]
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Susan Collins may run for governor in 2018 ‘to heal the state’
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine Calling it “a hard decision,” U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said Tuesday she’s mulling whether to run for governor in 2018 in a bid to “try to heal the state and bring people back together.” Collins, a Republican, told the Portland-based WGAN radio that she is weighing whether she should seek […]
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LePage administration hires Garrett Murch — former Sessions staffer — as analyst
AUGUSTA — A former communications adviser to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is now working for Maine Republican Gov. Paul LePage. Garrett Murch worked for Sessions while he represented Alabama in the U.S. Senate. The Maine native most recently worked as a senior editor for a website operated by conservative talk radio host Laura Ingraham. […]
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Thomas Saviello withdraws bill to limit foraging
PORTLAND — The lawmaker who introduced a bill designed to restrict wild foraging for food in Maine says he will call for the bill to not pass. Republican Sen. Thomas Saviello made a proposal to prohibit foraging food without getting permission from a property owner. The proposal’s up for a potential committee vote on Tuesday. Saviello […]
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Maine GOP hopes Trump administration will back food stamp restrictions
AUGUSTA — Maine resident Zak McCutcheon says he likes soda but acknowledges he’d drink less of it if his governor convinced Republican President Donald Trump to put restrictions on the approximately $200 a month he receives in food stamps. He thinks it may even make recipients healthier and less overweight. “If I was more restricted […]
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Bill would give parents money for home schooling, tuition
AUGUSTA — Legislators will consider a bill to give parents state money they can use for their children’s education outside of the public school system. Republican Rep. Jeffrey Hanley’s bill is set for a public hearing Monday. His bill would have the Treasurer of State direct 90 percent of a state subsidy for a child’s […]
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Eric Brakey sponsors bills to reform state general assistance program
AUGUSTA — A legislative committee will start to consider bills that would reform the state’s general assistance program. Maine towns each run a general assistance program that helps people lacking enough money to pay necessary expenses. The state reimburses the towns and cities for 70 percent of such benefits. LePage’s final two-year budget proposal would […]