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 […]
state house
Posted inMaine
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 […]
advertisement
Posted inMaine
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 […]
Posted inMaine
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 […]
Posted inMaine
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. […]
Posted inMaine
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 […]
Posted inMaine
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 […]
Posted inMaine
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 […]
Posted inMaine
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 […]
Posted inMaine
Monhegan Island lawmaker backs bill to block wind turbines
Siblings Alice, left, and Orion Pearce, of Pittsburgh, Pa., enjoy a stroll on the beach during the first day of their summer vacation on Monhegan Island, Maine, on Friday, June 21, 2002. PORTLAND — A proposal before the Legislature would prevent the state from permitting an offshore wind energy project in the vicinity of Monhegan […]