AUGUSTA — Sparks flew Friday as state lawmakers engaged in a brief but rancorous political discussion of a federal report that charged Gov. Paul LePage with interfering in the unemployment compensation appeals process last year. Debate over the report, delivered by the U.S. Labor Department a day earlier, split along party lines in what otherwise […]
Paul LePage
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage creates task force to study green crab
ROCKPORT — In response to growing concern about the effect invasive green crabs are having on Maine’s shoreline, Gov. Paul LePage announced Friday that he is establishing a task force to examine the issue, effective immediately. LePage made the announcement while attending the annual Maine Fishermen’s Forum in Rockport. “Green crabs are threatening our state’s […]
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Posted inBusiness, Maine
Feds warn Maine DOL that LePage administration interfered in hearing process
Read the U.S. Department of Labor investigation report An April 11, 2013, Sun Journal investigative report cited sources who said Gov. Paul LePage had summoned Labor Department employees to a mandatory luncheon at the Blaine House on March 21 and scolded them for finding too many unemployment-benefit appeals cases in favor of workers. They were […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage lets revenue sharing bill become law
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine legislation that prevents $40 million in cuts to state aid for cities and towns next year became law Wednesday after Gov. Paul LePage took no action on it, the Republican governor’s office said. The law takes effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns in April. The measure has been a […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
LePage asks Legislature for jail money
Related: State to re-examine property tax cap for jail funding AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage wants Maine’s jails to get the money they need. In a one-page letter to legislative leaders and members of the Appropriations Committee, the governor expressed his wish that money be set aside to keep all 15 county jails operating. “The financial […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage requests disaster relief for December’s ice storm
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage is asking for federal disaster relief for all 16 counties for damage from the December ice storm. LePage said Monday that the request documents more than $1.8 million in damage from the ice storm that knocked out power to more than 160,000 homes and businesses and left many in the […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
New mental health unit at Maine State Prison met with optimism
WARREN — Last spring, Maine Corrections Commissioner Joseph Ponte said that during a cabinet meeting Gov. Paul LePage leaned over and said to him that more beds for the seriously mentally ill were needed. And with the state’s psychiatric hospital grappling with handling violent patients, the state came up with a plan. That led to […]
Posted inMaine, New England, sj-web
New England states fight drug abuse in different ways
AUGUSTA (AP) — In the rural towns and cities of northern New England, a rising drug-abuse problem is overwhelming law enforcement, affecting hundreds of infants each year and sparking calls to action by state leaders who say enough is enough. How to attack the scourge, though, takes on different forms. “We must confront a troubling […]
Posted inLetters
S. Tetenman: Governor has wrong priorities
As the mayor of Waterville, Paul LePage went on a swearing rant about the possibility that revenue sharing might be cut. Without it, he could not have balanced the budget without cutting services and/or increasing the property tax. Now, he calls revenue sharing “welfare” for municipalities. LePage lists two of his accomplishments as paying the […]
Posted inMaine
Local lawmakers offer mixed reaction to LePage speech
AUGUSTA — Depending on whom you asked Tuesday night, Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s third State of the State Address was either a divisive missive and the launch of a re-election campaign or a measured message meant to create a sense of urgency and unity. “He was trying to keep it addressed to the state of […]