The industrial wind lobby was not happy. Its plans to keep building hundreds of wind turbines in rural Maine were threatened by the LePage administration. During the summer of 2013, the Department of Environmental Protection, run by a Gov. Paul LePage appointee, had made things more difficult for wind developers by putting more requirements into […]
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New chairmen of Legislature’s Health Committee set to start on friendly terms
AUGUSTA — The co-chairmen of the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee say they are committed to a civil and friendly process but the “devil will be in the details” when it comes to key issues such as welfare reform and changes to the state’s support for General Assistance, a local welfare program administered by […]
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Players picked, agendas defined as state lawmakers get ready for 2015
Now that state lawmakers have received their committee assignments, the planning starts for a new budget-making cycle and a host of other bills covering everything from tax policy to welfare reform that will play in the political arena for the next two years. Well-rested and well-fed from the holidays, lawmakers should all have bipartisan visions […]
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State police want law allowing OUI test for marijuana
AUGUSTA — Maine State Police will ask state lawmakers to make it legal for police to test drivers who may be impaired by marijuana. A bill from the Department of Public Safety is seeking to establish a limit for legally operating a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana similar to the state’s law against […]
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GOP Sen. Manchester resigns after investigation shows 21 ballots were counted twice
AUGUSTA — In a dramatic turn of events, an inspection of ballots from Long Island on Tuesday showed that 21 votes for Republican Cathy Manchester appear to have been counted twice during a Nov. 18 recount in Senate District 25. That was enough to deprive Manchester of the victory she appeared to gain from the recount […]
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LePage administers oath of office to lawmakers as 127th Legislature begins work
AUGUSTA — The 127th Maine Legislature officially began Wednesday after Gov. Paul LePage administered the oath of office to 186 new and returning lawmakers in the House and Senate. LePage’s comments in both chambers were brief. “There’s an awful lot of work in the state that needs to be done,” LePage first told the 149 […]
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Maine Legislature elects Hayes treasurer, re-elects Mills, Dunlap
AUGUSTA — In an upset victory, the Maine Legislature elected former state Rep. Terry Hayes of Buckfield to the post of state treasurer Wednesday night. Hayes, who left the Democratic Party in late November, was elected as an independent and nominated by Republicans. She won the two-year post over incumbent Neria Douglass, an Auburn Democrat […]
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Maine Senate votes to seat Manchester over Breen as ballot dispute continues
AUGUSTA — Despite an ongoing debate about the results of the election in Maine Senate District 25, majority Republicans in the Senate overwhelmed Democratic opposition to provisionally seat GOP candidate Cathy Manchester on Wednesday morning. Manchester’s opponent, Democrat Cathy Breen, was declared the victor by a 32-vote margin in an initial tally of votes after […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine Senate seats Manchester despite contested results
AUGUSTA — Despite an ongoing debate about the results of the election in Maine Senate District 25, majority Republicans in the Senate overwhelmed Democratic opposition to provisionally seat GOP candidate Cathy Manchester on Wednesday morning. Manchester’s opponent, Democrat Cathy Breen, was declared the victor by a 32-vote margin in an initial tally of votes after […]