AUGUSTA (AP) — Republican Gov. Paul LePage is taking steps to empty out a minimum-security state prison and force a closure over the objections of state lawmakers, according to union representatives and two Republican legislators from Washington County. Republican Sen. Joyce Maker, Republican Rep. Will Tuell and representatives of the American Federation of State, County […]
Paul LePage
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine
LePage nominates ex-U.S. attorney Delahanty to return to state bench
AUGUSTA (AP) — Former U.S. Attorney Thomas Delahanty II is in line to return to the state bench. Maine Gov. Paul LePage has nominated him to serve as a Superior Court justice, a position he previously held. If confirmed, he’d serve on active retired status. That means he could be appointed to hear cases but […]
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Posted inMaine
Public health nurses win over Senate, look to House next
AUGUSTA — The Republican-controlled Senate overwhelmingly gave its approval Wednesday to a proposal, opposed by Gov. Paul LePage’s administration, that would force him to more than double the size of its public health nursing division. Sen. Roger Katz, R-Augusta, said that lawmakers “can sit by and idly watch the dismantling of our public health system” […]
Posted inMaine
Maine House votes to override LePage’s nip deposit veto
AUGUSTA — Ignoring Gov. Paul LePage’s threat to try to ban tiny liquor bottles known as nips if the Legislature requires deposits on them, the House on Tuesday easily passed the two-thirds threshold required to overturn his veto of the measure. “Let’s reaffirm putting a tip on the nip, to nip littering in the bud,” Rep. […]
Posted inMaine
Lawmakers gun down bill that sought to arm more college students
AUGUSTA — House members shot down a proposal Tuesday that would have allowed people with concealed carry permits to carry their firearms on public colleges except in dorms and in entertainment facilities that post signs barring their possession. By a 90-56 vote, House members turned aside a plea by the measure’s sponsor who worried that […]
Posted inMaine
Democratic lawmakers try to soften welfare rules proposed by Paul LePage
AUGUSTA — Democrats in the House of Representatives supported bids to make social services easier to acquire for veterans, homeless people and elderly Mainers, but the bills are unlikely to be enacted with most Republicans and Gov. Paul LePage leaning hard against program expansions. In preliminary House votes, LD 689 and LD 1538 were supported 80-66 and 78-68, respectively. LD 689 would […]
Posted inMaine
Lawmakers expect ‘long, tough fight’ over Maine budget
AUGUSTA (AP) — As lawmakers spend the weekend haggling over the budget behind closed doors, Gov. Paul LePage said this week that he’ll veto any budget that increases education funding without big changes to the system. Democrats and Republicans remain at odds on the Republican governor’s $6.8 billion, two-year budget proposal, with both parties this […]
Posted inMaine
LePage veto keeps groceries closed on 3 holidays
Tozier’s owner Dale Tozier, left, talks with Holly Smith at the store in Bucksport in a 2014 file photo. AUGUSTA — A Maine “blue law” barring small grocery stores from opening on Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter will stay in effect after Republicans failed to override Gov. Paul LePage’s veto, with the governor saying a bill […]
Posted inMaine
Paul LePage to decide fate of truancy measure for youngest students
AUGUSTA — A measure that would let educators extend truancy enforcement rules to 5- and 6-year-old students enrolled in public school is heading to Gov. Paul LePage’s desk, where its fate is uncertain at best. The bill, which secured final passage Tuesday in a unanimous Senate vote, aims to ensure that enrolled youngsters show up […]
Posted inMaine
Paul LePage accuses left of bombarding his office with FOAA requests
Gov. Paul LePage called the public records requests flooding his office “a form of intimidation” during a radio interview Tuesday. “I just find it outrageous” that opponents bombard his office with demands for records that “they never use” because they don’t find anything untoward, the governor said. The Associated Press reported this week that the […]