WASHINGTON — A Maine native and longtime Washington political consultant who advised a Ukrainian political party and worked with a co-defendant of Paul Manafort pleaded guilty Friday to failing to register as a foreign lobbyist while working on behalf of a Ukrainian political party. W. Samuel Patten, 47, was charged with one count of violating […]
politics
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Susan Collins remembers John McCain as a hero and a friend
PORTLAND — The military cargo plane careened, corkscrew-style, toward the landing strip at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, performing an evasive maneuver aimed at avoiding incoming fire. In her seat, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, had a case of the jitters. Republican U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona reached over and patted her hand. “He said, […]
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Posted inNation / World
With McCain gone, could Susan Collins replace the lion of Senate?
WASHINGTON (AP) — John McCain is being remembered as a last lion of the Senate, with few others matching his stature. But the next generation of mavericks might come from the ranks of Senate women. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Dianne Feinstein of California and Patty Murray of Washington are all positioned […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Legislature hands LePage a win on child protection bill
AUGUSTA — The Legislature handed Republican Gov. Paul LePage a victory Thursday when it approved a bill that would shift the focus in Maine’s child protection system away from family reunification and toward the best interest of the child. The measure was one in a package of bills the governor submitted with the goal of […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Jared Golden and Bruce Poliquin exchange fire over political ads
The contenders in Maine’s increasingly heated 2nd District congressional race are getting testy. Both Republican U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin and Jared Golden, the Democrat who hopes to unseat him, complained this week about campaign advertising they said crossed the line. When Golden read a Maine GOP post on Facebook calling into question his commitment to […]
Posted inNation / World
Donald Trump freezes federal wages
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump once again has advocated freezing federal employee salaries in 2019, a position the House already has effectively endorsed but that the Senate has rejected in favor of a 1.9 percent average raise. Trump’s position, stated in a letter Thursday to Congress, is a routine move at this point in the […]
Posted inMaine
Ethics commission says slashing casino campaign fine was in state’s best interests
The Maine ethics commission voted Wednesday to accept a $100,000 payment from the backers of a failed 2017 ballot question campaign that asked voters to approve a York County casino. The 4-0 vote could be the final chapter in a three-year saga that involved a murky money trail stretching from Maine to the Northern Mariana […]
Posted inLetters, sj-web
Politics, money go hand-in-hand
Politicians aren’t getting much respect these days. Trying to find a remedy in protecting the nation’s borders from the enemy is crucial, but how about dealing with the corruption in Washington, D.C., as a top priority? I would say that 90 percent of politicians give the other 10 percent a bad reputation. Lawmakers should not […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Paul LePage urged to apologize for last week’s outburst at Tom Saviello
In an unprecedented move, the Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee sent a letter Wednesday to Gov. Paul LePage condemning his actions at a public meeting last week during which he called a lawmaker “the most repugnant human being” he’d ever seen. The committee urged the governor to apologize to Sen. Thomas Saviello, R-Wilton, and to the entire […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine’s largest food bank warns of consequences of requiring some food stamp recipients to work
AUBURN — The state’s largest hunger relief organization says a growing number of Mainers struggle to get enough to eat, and the problem is likely to worsen if lawmakers in Washington impose a work requirement for many who receive food assistance from the government. The proposal, pushed by two-term U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin of Maine, […]