AUGUSTA (AP) — Republican Gov. Paul LePage says he has hired a former energy executive as his new energy chief. LePage said Tuesday that former Downeast Energy Corp. Chief Financial Officer Steven McGrath began his tenure as director of the governor’s energy office in late August. The governor said McGrath for the past four years […]
Paul LePage
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Two unions agree to Paul LePage’s ‘right to work’ contract language
Two of the state’s largest public sector labor unions have agreed to eliminate the requirement that all employees pay union fees whether or not they are members. David Heidrich, a spokesman for the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, said Thursday morning that both the Maine State Employees Association, which represents more than 9,000 executive […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Paul LePage calling special session over food sovereignty law
AUGUSTA (AP) — Maine Gov. Paul LePage says he’s calling lawmakers back to Augusta over the food sovereignty law. LePage told legislative leaders in a letter dated Tuesday that a special session is necessary before the law takes effect on Nov. 1 because of objections from the federal government. The law allows for local regulation […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Paul LePage names new press secretary
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage appointed a new press secretary Tuesday. Julie Rabinowitz, the Maine Labor Department’s director of policy, operations and communication, will start in the new role on Sept. 5. “Julie has worked closely with our communications team and our policy advisers in her role at the Labor Department, and I am looking […]
Posted inLetters, sj-web
LePage at odds with history
Plainly, Gov. Paul LePage will never be a historian. He has become a victim of the great Confederate myth — a myth started shortly after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Much of its roots can be traced to the invasion of disreputable carpetbaggers. Slavery has always been the issue. The war exposed evils, particularly […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Advice from Paul LePage: Susan Collins should run as independent for governor
If U.S. Sen. Susan Collins wants to be Maine’s next governor, she may decide to drop her lifelong Republican affiliation. Gov. Paul LePage said Collins ought to run as an independent if she wants the office he is leaving next year after two terms because she’s “highly unlikely to win a Republican primary.” “I do […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Gov. Paul LePage moving forward on $3.5 million psychiatric home
PORTLAND (AP) — Gov. Paul LePage is moving forward with plans to build a psychiatric home that would be privately managed, circumventing lawmakers who are calling for legislative oversight. Although the facility would be built on state land, the state would sell it to the construction company, Cianbro, then lease back the property to the […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Paul LePage says he's received death threats over Charlottesville comments
During a radio interview Thursday, Gov. Paul LePage said he’s received death threats for his comments about what happened at the racist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, recently. “Hatred is alive and well in the United States of America,” the governor told the Portland-based WGAN during his regular appearance with friendly hosts. LePage said that he […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Paul LePage says thousands of Mainers fought for Confederacy
If those seeking to remove the statues of Confederate heroes are successful, Gov. Paul LePage asked if they’ll next “take my books” and clear library shelves in a bid to strip away history. During a wide-ranging radio interview with Bangor’s WVOM, the governor blasted the press as “pencil terrorists,” defended Robert E. Lee and bemoaned […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Scaling back Medicaid would hurt Maine families
The defeat of the repeal of Obamacare may mean that the health care debate has fallen off the front page of the newspaper, but it doesn’t mean the end of major changes in America’s health care system. Less noticed, but also critically important, is the fact that each governor, including Gov. Paul LePage, holds in […]