Lingering debates must be resolved on marijuana and ranked-choice voting while nearly two dozen candidates are running for governor. Maine’s politicians and the state’s voters will have plenty to think about in 2018. Everything from who will replace Republican firebrand Paul LePage as governor to whether Maine will change the way it votes on statewide […]
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Copper salvaged from Maine’s Capitol dome to become public art
Judith Allen of Portland and James Creighton of Brunswick will reuse copper from the Capitol dome for new pieces of public art that will be installed at the Maine State Capitol Complex in summer 2018. The Maine Arts Commission announced its selection Tuesday as part of the State Capitol Copper Dome Reuse Project. The artists […]
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LePage administration continues regional schools push
AUGUSTA — The Maine Department of Education said this week it has received nearly two dozen proposals from 102 schools that want to launch new regional centers. Maine’s shrinking, largely rural schools have been working to share resources with other schools for years. But Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s administration pushed lawmakers this year to create […]
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Maine opioid task force ready to deliver recommendations
AUGUSTA — Maine’s Task Force to Address the Opioid Crisis is due to give its recommendations to the Maine Legislature this week. The panel wrapped up its work last week, and is due to deliver its recommendations for combating the drug crisis by Wednesday. The recommendations, which have not yet been released, will focus on […]
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Medical marijuana caregivers see hardships but good news in new regulations
AUGUSTA — Medical marijuana caregivers say Maine’s new program rules may not be as bad – or require as much work to follow – as they had initially feared. Some caregivers say the new rules may even help the industry by legitimizing certain practices that were once considered legally murky, like patient cycling, a method […]
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Maine House upholds Paul LePage’s veto of recreational marijuana regulations
AUGUSTA — The Maine House voted Monday to sustain Gov. Paul LePage’s veto of a bill that would create the legal framework for retail sales of recreational marijuana. The bill was the result of more than nine months of work by a special committee tasked with implementing the law that voters narrowly approved last November, […]
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Paul LePage vetoes retail marijuana bill
Gov. Paul LePage vetoed the adult-use cannabis bill today, saying he couldn’t support expansion of legal marijuana in Maine while its federal future remains so uncertain. In his veto letter, LePage said the conflict with federal law was only one of his concerns about the bill that would launch the state’s recreational market. He said […]
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Legislature delays and potentially repeals ranked-choice voting
Secretary of State Matt Dunlap, center, listens in on the special session in the House of Representatives in Augusta on Monday. (David Leaming/Morning Sentinel) AUGUSTA – A citizen-backed law that made Maine the first state in the nation to adopted a ranked choice voting system will be delayed and possibly repealed, following a series of […]
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Maine House approves bill to allow marijuana sales
Rep. Kenneth Fredette, R-Newport, looks up at the electronic voting board during Monday’s special session of the Legislature. (David Leaming/Morning Sentinel) Lawmakers in the Maine House of Representatives passed the marijuana regulatory bill, and nixed a Republican bid to delay implementation, but fell short of the number of votes needed to override a gubernatorial veto […]
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Paul LePage rescinds request to withdraw judicial nominations
AUGUSTA – Gov. Paul LePage withdrew his request to withdraw the re-nominations of five judges on Monday but, once again, provided no immediate explanation for the change of course. On Friday, LePage sent letters to legislative leaders notifying them that he was withdrawing the nominations of three Superior Court and two District Court judges. Legislative leaders received […]