AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage has promised he would campaign against any lawmaker who opposes his efforts to reduce and eventually eliminate the state’s income tax. But a tax-reform plan being offered by LePage’s Republican allies in the State House falls far short of the governor’s proposal, setting up the possibility that they will face […]
Maine
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Democrats on Maine taxation committee reject LePage referendum bill
AUGUSTA — On a mostly party-line vote, a legislative committee Wednesday rejected a proposal by Republican Gov. Paul LePage that would ask Maine voters to repeal the state’s income tax by 2020. The proposal seeks to put a ballot question before voters in November that would amend the state’s constitution to prohibit a state income […]
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U.S. News & World Report lists 17 Maine high schools among nation’s best
BANGOR — Seventeen Maine schools appear on the 2015 U.S. News and World Report’s list of best high schools in the country, five of which didn’t make the list last year. Brewer High School, which didn’t make the 2014 list, jumped to 669 in the national rankings and No. 5 in Maine. Other schools that […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine
Lewiston lawmaker wants to limit cash withdrawals of welfare benefits
LEWISTON — A Lewiston Democrat is offering a bill that would limit the amount of cash welfare recipients could withdraw on state-issued electronic benefit transfer cards to 25 percent of their monthly benefit amount. The bill, LD 1097, proposed by state Sen. Nate Libby, also would restrict the use of Maine-issued EBT cards to Maine […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage heads to Washington to testify on federal energy policy
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage is en route to Washington, D.C, where he’ll testify Wednesday before to the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on energy and power. The hearing, chaired by Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Kentucky, will focus on Republican-backed proposals to expedite the interstate natural gas pipeline permitting process and streamline hydropower licensing and […]
Posted inMaine
LePage presents plan to reduce Maine’s welfare cliff
AUGUSTA — A Gov. Paul LePage plan aimed at moving more Mainers from welfare to work by allowing them to more gradually transition from public support as they gain income got a lukewarm reception from an organization that advocates for the state’s poor Tuesday. During a news conference earlier in the day, LePage rolled out […]
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Maine bill brings OUI test for marijuana
AUGUSTA — Lawmakers on the Legislature’s Transportation Committee will consider a bill Tuesday that allows police to test drivers for operating under the influence of marijuana or, more precisely, the plant’s active ingredient, THC. The bill calls for a blood-level limit that’s modeled on alcohol blood-level limits now set in Maine law and would allow […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Greene woman killed in crash
GREENE – A 25-year-old local woman died at 1 a.m. Saturday as a result of injuries suffered in a crash, police said. Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland said Amanda “Mandi” Leigh Rines died at the scene after going off Allen Pond Road and crashing head-on into a large tree, a short distance from her home. […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Honor Flight returns home with some local heroes
PORTLAND — World War II veterans came back to Maine on Sunday morning exuberant, following a whirlwind Honor Flight trip to Washington, D.C. — all expenses paid — to see the nation’s monuments. On Friday, the day President Barack Obama celebrated VE Day and vintage aircraft flew overhead, these Maine warriors arrived — 25 in […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
For tutor, teaching language almost as good as Peace Corps work
AUBURN — Mary Beth Moyer had dreams of traveling back to Africa, serving with the Peace Corps. “Some people fall in love with Africa,” she said. “And the people that fall in love, really fall in love.” She’s one of those people. With a degree in International Relations, she studied for a time in Senegal. […]