Cities and towns in Western Maine are planning budgets around gaps as high as $4 million — municipal revenue-sharing funds they’re not sure are going to come from the state. In Canton, that question mark is $80,000. In Canton, that’s a lot. “Five-thousand dollars here is like $500,000 in the city of Auburn,” Administrative Assistant […]
Maine
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Maine Senate rejects bills aimed at tightening gun laws
AUGUSTA — The state Senate on Thursday voted down a pair of bills aimed at tightening Maine gun laws. One bill would have restored the ability of employers to prohibit firearms in employee vehicles on company property. The other would have required all sales conducted at gun shows in Maine to include a criminal background […]
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Maine House approves cellphone privacy measure
AUGUSTA (AP) — A bill that protects the privacy of cellphone users has been approved by the Maine House of Representatives. The House voted 113-28 Wednesday to pass the measure, following its passage in the Senate last week. The bill now goes back to the Senate for enactment. If enacted, Maine’s Legislature would be the […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine AG warns of phone scam aimed at elderly
AUGUSTA (AP) — Maine Attorney General Janet Mills is warning older Mainers to be wary of a phone scam in which people called are told they are eligible for a free life alert or medical alert device product, and then asked to provide sensitive, personal financial information. Mills said her office has received numerous complaints […]
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Groups seek to legalize pot possession in Portland
PORTLAND (AP) — Supporters of legalizing marijuana possession in Maine’s largest city say they’ve collected more than twice the number of signatures needed to put the question up for a vote. Organizers say they’ll submit petitions with more than 3,000 signatures to Portland city officials on Wednesday to get a question on the ballot in […]
Posted inNational Sports
Clifford one cool ’Cat
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Steve Clifford said he isn’t one to back down from challenges.That might make him a good fit for Charlotte. The Bobcats are a long way from being a legitimate NBA playoff contender.The team introduced Clifford as their new head coach at a press conference Wednesday. Clifford becomes the Bobcats’ sixth different […]
Posted inMaine
Bill that overhauls Maine tax system left on table
AUGUSTA — Legislation that would make sweeping changes to Maine’s tax system was left on the Legislature’s Taxation Committee table again Thursday after lawmakers again touted the bill’s merits but balked at moving it forward. The bill — crafted by a group of bipartisan state lawmakers known as the Gang of 11 and led by […]
Posted inAdvertiser Democrat, Oxford Hills, The Franklin Journal
Maine offers free fishing June 1 and 2
BETHEL — The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is offering free fishing on Maine’s waters this weekend to anyone whose license hasn’t been suspended or revoked. To encourage fishing, the department allows people to fish for free without a license on Saturday and Sunday, June 1-2. All other rules and regulations, including bag […]
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Maine union workers protest wage freeze
LEWISTON — About a dozen state workers marched along Main Street outside the Department of Health and Human Services office Wednesday to protest going more than four years without raises. The DHHS workers, members of the more than 10,000-member Maine State Employees Association, used their lunch hour to bring attention to what they say are […]
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Maine crime down; pharmacy robberies hit new high
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine’s crime rate fell slightly in 2012, but robberies showed a sharp increase because of the record number of pharmacy holdups, officials said Wednesday. Maine’s overall crime fell by 1 ½ percent during the year, but robberies rose by 14 percent, the Department of Public Safety announced. The 35,074 crimes reported […]