AUGUSTA — Efforts to raise Maine’s minimum wage were met with resistance Monday from Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s administration, GOP lawmakers and business groups who say the proposals could do more harm than good. Lawmakers on the Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development Committee are considering seven bills to raise the $7.50 per hour minimum […]
Maine
Posted inBusiness
Camden National to buy Bank of Maine for $135 million
PORTLAND — The parent company of Camden National Bank has reached an agreement to purchase The Bank of Maine, a move that would give Camden 68 branches and make it the largest bank headquartered in the state. Camden would would buy The Bank of Maine for equivalent of $135 million, in a combination of stock […]
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Bill to return Maine jails to county control faces hurdles
AUGUSTA — Lawmakers on Monday said they want more details on a bill that dissolves the state’s Board of Corrections and returns control of county jails to county governments. The bill, LD 186, being offered by state Sen. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville, would see the state continue to fund the 15 county jails to the tune […]
Posted inBusiness
Feds to probe what Maine mill owners call unfair Canadian paper subsidies
PORTLAND — Federal trade officials have launched an investigation of Canadian government subsidies to the Port Hawkesbury Paper mill, which two paper companies with mills in Maine argue unfairly undercut and damaged their business. The U.S. Department of Commerce has recommended opening an investigation of 28 instances of government help to the Canadian mill in […]
Posted inMaine
Maine.gov taken down by ‘external attack,’ says secretary of state
AUGUSTA — The state of Maine’s official government website, maine.gov, was briefly knocked offline Monday morning. A hacker group using the Twitter handle Vikingdom2015 has claimed responsibility for taking down both maine.gov and New Hampshire’s visitnh.gov, although both sites are now currently operating. Maine Secretary of State Mattew Dunlap has confirmed that maine.gov was taken […]
Posted inLocal Sports
No patience or respect for Humane Society’s tenacity
The following history is important because it defines our enemy. In 2004, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) tried to use Maine’s citizen referendum process as a mechanism to ban bear hunting. Maine citizens, in a statewide vote, rejected the ban. Then in 2014, in an act of incredible arrogance and breathtaking audacity, […]
Posted inBusiness, Maine
Looser alcohol regulations on tap in Legislature
AUGUSTA — Saying that sportsmen want the right to grab both beer and bait at the crack of dawn, a southern Maine lawmaker has proposed rolling back agency liquor store sales to 5 a.m., seven days a week. “They don’t want to have to buy their bait the night before,” state Rep. Jonathan Kinney, R-Limington, […]
Posted inLocal Sports
Maine braces for Villanova
The University of Maine women’s basketball team was on a tremendous roll during the America East Conference season. The Black Bears registered 14 consecutive victories before losing their regular-season finale at New Hampshire. While coach Richard Barron’s team continued to play good defense, it appeared to lose its offensive mojo down the stretch. Top-seeded UMaine’s […]
Posted inBusiness, Maine
Maine casinos paid out $1 billion, kept $53 million in 2014
New, year-end numbers show slot machine gambling was down $15 million at the Oxford Casino in 2014. Hollywood Casino in Bangor saw a $10 million drop, modest after the $100 million wallop the year before. “I think the novelty is kind of wearing off,” Patrick Fleming, executive director of the Maine Gambling Control Board, said […]
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Bien fait! Madame Bonneau: Auburn woman named to Franco hall of fame
AUGUSTA — For Auburn’s Doris Belisle-Bonneau all the accolades and honors she received from the governments of the state of Maine and France are not about her. Belisle-Bonneau, who has been a longtime supporter of saving and restoring Lewiston-Auburn and Maine’s Franco-American culture and language, was inducted into the state’s Franco-American Hall of Fame on […]