AUGUSTA — A pair of local lawmakers, both former fire chiefs, are supporting a bill that aims to protect school athletes from head injuries. The bill, LD 1241, sponsored by Rep. Michel Lajoie, D-Lewiston, was heard before the Legislature’s Educational and Cultural Affairs Committee on Tuesday. The bill, co-sponsored by Rep. Wayne Werts, D-Auburn, requires […]
Maine
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Maine House votes to seal concealed-handgun-permit data
AUGUSTA — A law change that seals concealed-handgun-permit records that had previously been public passed the Maine House of Representatives on a vote of 106-40 Tuesday. The vote came after weeks of hearings and debate over whether that permit information should be part of the public record or accessible only to law enforcement and town […]
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Report: Private funding of Maine elections rises
AUGUSTA (AP) — A new report says that private funds surpassed Maine Clean Election Act Funds in last year’s legislative races for the first time since 2002. Maine Citizens for Clean Elections’ report released Tuesday also says individuals, political action committees, businesses and labor organizations spent substantial sums directly and indirectly to support and oppose […]
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Maine home sales rise in March
SOUTH PORTLAND (AP) — The Maine Association of Realtors said sales of existing single-family homes in Maine jumped 8 percent in March from a year ago, while the median price increased 6 percent. The association said real estate agents sold 792 homes in March, up from 731 in March 2012. The median price was $170,000. […]
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Maine gun control bills jammed up in committee
AUGUSTA — A bill that requires a criminal background check prior to the sale of a firearm at gun shows in Maine, along with several others aimed at gun control and gun-owner rights ended up in legislative limbo Monday. The bills before the Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee either failed to garner the […]
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From recycling to wind energy, Maine lawmakers eye environmental bills on Earth Day
AUGUSTA – From changes to Maine’s returnable bottle law to proposals that address the siting of wind farms in the unorganized territory, state lawmakers will hear at least a half dozen environmental bills Monday- Earth Day. On the agenda are also measures that discourage the use of plastic bags and one that requires the sale […]
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Maine gas prices down nearly another nickel per gallon
AUGUSTA (AP) — The average retail cost of a gallon of gas in Maine is down by another nickel. Price-monitoring website MaineGasPrices.com reports Monday that gas has dropped to an average of $3.53 per gallon. That’s just three cents higher than the national average, almost 22 cents lower than a month ago, and nearly 41 […]
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Lawmaker proposes tougher pharmacy rules
AUGUSTA (AP) — A lawmaker has proposed a bill that would strengthen the rules governing compounding pharmacies in Maine Hallowell Democrat Sharon Anglin Treat said she proposed her measure to prevent what happened in Massachusetts from happening in Maine. Authorities have said poor oversight and practices at a compounding pharmacy in Massachusetts led to a […]
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Affidavit: Maine hermit carried bacon, marshmallows, $395 when arrested
AUGUSTA (AP) — A state police affidavit says a Maine man who lived in the woods as a hermit for nearly three decades was carrying bacon, marshmallows and $395 in cash when he was arrested on burglary charges. An affidavit obtained by the Kennebec Journal listed the items 47-year-old Christopher Knight possessed when he was […]
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Maine man to be sentenced in killing of Fla. firefighter
BELFAST (AP) — A 25-year-old Maine man is being sentenced in the drug-related fatal shooting of a Florida firefighter. In a plea agreement, Daniel Porter pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of 31-year-old Jerry Perdomo of Orange City, Fla. He’s being sentenced Monday in Belfast in an agreement that calls for a maximum sentence […]