WATERVILLE — Gov. Paul LePage on Thursday disputed a claim from a member of the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce that hospitals in Maine are struggling, saying they have $800 million worth of projects planned in Bangor, Portland and other areas. “The investment in Augusta has proved to be a massive disaster — they’re the highest […]
Paul LePage
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Judge rules Paul LePage doesn't have power to close Downeast Correctional Facility
AUGUSTA – A judge has ordered the LePage administration to continue operating the now-empty Downeast Correctional Facility, handing a partial victory to Washington County officials upset with the prison’s sudden closure. In a 12-page ruling, Kennebec County Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy agreed with the county, union officials and Attorney General Janet Mills that LePage […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage: State agencies, schools ‘dropped the ball’ in 10-year-old’s beating death
Gov. Paul LePage, in his first public statement regarding the alleged murder of 10-year-old Marissa Kennedy by her mother and stepfather, blamed child protective workers, school officials, police and legislators “dropped the ball” and failed to prevent the child’s death. “In this particular case, it is a comedy of errors both at DHHS, CDS, the […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine lawmakers to decide whether to tackle gun bills
AUGUSTA – State House leaders are expected Tuesday to decide whether to allow emergency bills to boost security at public schools and ban bump stocks in Maine to move forward after a school shooter in Florida this month killed 17 people. The bills, one offered by Rep. Scott Hamann, D-South Portland, and the other offered […]
Posted inNation / World
Donald Trump: ‘I’d run in there even if I didn’t have a weapon’
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump told the nation’s governors on Monday that he would have rushed in to aid students and teachers during the deadly mass shooting at a Florida high school. “You don’t know until you’re tested but I think I really believe I’d run in there even if I didn’t have a […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Lawmakers oppose new fees on Maine hybrid and electric cars
AUGUSTA — Democratic lawmakers rejected a proposal from Gov. Paul LePage’s administration to make owning hybrid and electric cars more expensive in a committee-level vote Thursday. The 6-5 vote of the transportation committee fell along party lines, with Republican lawmakers opposing the panel’s recommendation to the full Legislature that the bill should not pass. The bill […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Paul LePage says high court justice Joseph Jabar reneged on agreement to retire
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage is accusing a member of the state’s highest court of reneging on an agreement to retire after he reached 20 years of service so LePage could nominate a more conservative judge. The governor released a Feb. 13 letter to Associate Justice Joseph M. Jabar and all other members of the […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine land trusts say Paul LePage used bogus data in pitch to tax them
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage is once again accusing conservation groups of “ripping off” taxpayers in Maine by not paying local taxes on vast swaths of land across the state. But conservation advocates and some lawmakers counter that the governor is peddling misleading information that ignores payments made by land trusts as well as the […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
‘Heavy hitters:’ GOP celebrates Lincoln in Lewiston
LEWISTON — When Gov. Paul LePage took the stage at The Dolard & Priscilla Gendron Franco Center on Friday night, he didn’t spend a lot of time offering warm platitudes. Instead, he chastised his Republican brothers and sisters for too frequently working at cross purposes. “If you’re going to be a Republican in this country […]
Posted inMaine
Attorney says Paul LePage scuttled state’s settlement with Wiscasset in traffic dispute
Wiscasset officials have rejected a proposed settlement with the state over a controversial traffic project after a lawyer representing the town told them Gov. Paul LePage intervened to strip out a key concession. The midcoast town of 3,700 has sued the Maine Department of Transportation over its latest effort to mitigate the notorious summertime traffic […]