Maine Gov. Paul LePage may not like it, but when a politician speaks in public it is wise to assume there is a newspaper reporter, TV crew or political tracker recording every word and gesture. Just ask Mitt Romney. During the presidential campaign, a damaging video surfaced of Romney speaking to a supposedly private gathering […]
Paul LePage
Posted inMaine, sj-web
New Maine Legislature officially seated
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The newly elected Maine Legislature, now back under Democratic control, is officially starting business for the 2013-14 session. Republican Gov. Paul LePage on Wednesday morning administered the oath of office to the senators and representatives who were elected last month. Democrats won back majorities in the House and Senate, which were […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Paul LePage continues attack on Democratic tracker at swearing-in
AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage, still upset that the Maine Democratic Party has hired a tracker to film him at public events, swore in new Democratic majorities in the Senate and House on Wednesday and pledged to work with them during the coming legislative session. “I’m very distinguished. I’ve been honored to have a private […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Upset over tracker hired to film him in public, LePage calls off budget meeting with Dems
AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage, upset that the Maine Democratic Party has dispatched a tracker to film him in public, has canceled his Tuesday meeting with the incoming Legislature’s Democratic leaders that had been scheduled to discuss the state’s budget situation. In a statement released by his office, LePage said a tracker from the […]
Posted inOur View
Governor, find a spot for the mural
We supported Gov. Paul LePage when he opted to remove a mural that emphasized labor strife from the lobby of the Labor Department. Better, we felt, would have been a more neutral mural celebrating how skilled labor and visionary leadership built this state’s industrial base together. LePage had the mural secretly removed last year, resulting […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Cost-wary states must decide whether to take the deal for expanded Medicare
WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s health care brinksmanship, with hundreds of billions of dollars and the well-being of millions of people at stake. President Barack Obama’s health care law expands Medicaid, the federal-state health program for low-income people, but cost-wary states must decide whether to take the deal. Turn it down, and governors risk coming off […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
New Maine budget figures will mean program cuts
AUGUSTA (AP) — The Maine Legislature’s outgoing Appropriations Committee, meeting for the last time, is getting a dreary update on state revenues. State finance officials on Thursday presented the committee with revised figures showing smaller revenues over the next 2½ years. It’s due in large part to the sluggish economy, which impacts consumer spending. For […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Man who threatened to ‘put a bullet or two in’ LePage sentenced to 71 months in prison
PORTLAND — A man who sent threatening letters to Gov. Paul LePage and other government leaders was described in court by his attorney Wednesday morning as lonely, mentally ill, and a victim of harassment and abuse through the years. Defense attorney J. Hilary Billings hoped those conditions would help convince U.S. District Court Judge D. […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage under fire for citing energy study
The study was published by the Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University in Boston, which has received significant funding from fossil fuel interests. Jeremy Payne of the Maine Renewable Energy Association says the study was flawed, perhaps purposely, because it based its calculations on assumptions that renewable energy prices projected by the U.S. Energy Information […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage won’t ‘lift a finger’ to set up Maine’s health insurance exchange
States must decide whether to set up the markets, called exchanges, or let the federal government step in to do it for them. The exchanges, online markets where consumers can buy coverage beginning next October, are a key component of President Barack Obama’s health reform law that aims to widen coverage to 30 million people. […]