AUGUSTA — A bipartisan group of legislative leaders on Wednesday unveiled a $4.8 million plan to fight Maine’s drug crisis on all fronts: Law enforcement, treatment, recovery and education. The proposal was offered Wednesday, a day before a deadline set by Gov. Paul LePage for legislative leaders to present a plan that creates at least […]
legislature
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Legislative report unlikely to end Good Will-Hinckley probe, not controversy
AUGUSTA — An investigation into Gov. Paul LePage’s role in forcing the ouster of House Speaker Mark Eves from a new job at Good Will-Hinckley could wrap up Thursday, but it might not be the end of some lawmakers’ efforts to discipline the governor. The Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee, in partnership with the watchdog Office […]
advertisement
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Legislative report doesn’t include Paul LePage’s energy upgrade funds
AUGUSTA — A legislative commission won’t recommend Gov. Paul LePage’s proposal to fund energy upgrades for low-income Mainers with revenue from increased timber harvesting on public land. It wasn’t among suggestions in a draft of a report to be presented to a legislative committee this month by a panel formed to study the state’s Public […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Maine legislature won’t take up earned sick time bill next year
PORTLAND (AP) — Maine’s Legislative Council is blocking progress of a bill designed to allow workers to earn paid sick leave. Democratic Sen. Anne Haskell of Portland says her bill would have ensured workers the ability to earn up to seven days of paid sick time per year. The bill applied to companies with 11 […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine
Maine lawmakers want a closer look at state lottery
Lawmakers from both parties are calling for closer scrutiny of Maine’s $230 million-a-year state-run lottery, including determining if its advertising targets Maine’s poor, who are the state’s most avid players. “All the legislators I’ve spoken to said if we were directing advertising toward poor communities in Maine, then there would be a big problem, and […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine
Penobscot chief says tribe’s relationship with Maine at all-time low
LEWISTON — The chief of Maine’s largest Native American tribe said Thursday that its relationship with state government was at an all-time low. “I don’t know that it’s ever been good, but right now it’s as bad as I’ve ever seen it,” Penobscot Nation Chief Kirk Francis said in a presentation at the Lewiston Public […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Analysis: Legislature to decide Thursday mostly what it won’t do in 2016
AUGUSTA — Legislators will return to the State House for housekeeping duties Thursday, but you’ll probably hear more about what they won’t do. Earlier this month, Gov. Paul LePage called on legislators to approve funding to hire more judges, agents and prosecutors to fight Maine’s drug epidemic. If they don’t, the governor said he’d call […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Recount affirms Matthew Harrington wins House District 19 race
AUGUSTA — A Republican has won a recount of a contested Maine House of Representatives seat. The House District 19 recount took place on Friday. Democrat Jean Noon of Sanford asked for the recount after she appeared to lose the race to Republican Matthew A. Harrington by 14 votes. Noon is the widow of Rep. […]
Posted inBusiness, National Sports, sj-web
Patchwork of laws poses legal quicksand for fantasy sports
SEATTLE — The New York attorney general’s decision that daily fantasy sports betting sites FanDuel and DraftKings are illegal gambling operations in his state is a blow to the companies, but the multibillion-dollar industry could have more legal headaches yet to come. While the sites have opted not to do business in a handful of […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Recount scheduled for House District 19 race
AUGUSTA — The Maine Secretary of State’s Office is preparing to hold a recount of a state house district race in which the widow of a former state representative appeared to lose by just 14 votes. Democrat Jean Noon of Sanford asked for the recount after she apparently lost the House District 19 race to […]