AUGUSTA – The backers of a failed referendum drive to bring a casino to York County in 2017 could be getting a major reduction in the fine they owe for violating Maine’s campaign finance laws. The Maine Ethics Commission voted just before the election last November to levy a record-setting $500,000 fine against several organizations […]
politics
Posted inMaine
Critics say LePage’s support for case challenging protections for LGBT workers puts Maine in a bad light
Critics say Gov. Paul LePage’s decision to challenge a federal court’s ruling that the Civil Rights Act protects gay and transgender workers from discrimination casts Maine in a bad light and could hurt the state’s economic development efforts. But a LePage spokesman said the governor is simply trying to prevent “activist judges” from rewriting federal […]
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Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Google denies Trump charge it rigs 'Trump News' searches
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is accusing Google and other U.S. tech companies of rigging search results about him “so that almost all stories & news is BAD” — and though he is offering no evidence, a top adviser says the White House is “taking a look” at whether Google should face federal regulation. […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Gubernatorial candidates forum planned for Lewiston
LEWISTON — To help kick off campaign season Sept. 10, the Lewiston Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce is holding a gubernatorial candidates forum that’s free and open to everyone. It will be held at the Ramada Conference Center, with a reception starting at 4:30 p.m. and an hourlong discussion beginning at 5:30 p.m. The four […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Paul LePage joins court brief arguing gender identity not protected in discrimination law
Maine Gov. Paul LePage has joined 15 other states in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that companies can fire workers based on their sexual orientation and gender identity without violating federal workplace discrimination law. In an Aug. 23 amicus curiae – or friend of the court – brief filed with the Supreme Court, […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage’s proposed child protection system reforms get mixed reaction at hearing
AUGUSTA — A public hearing held Monday on a handful of child protection reform bills revealed strong support for additional investments but also laid bare wider systemic problems that have worsened, in part, because of a continued erosion of social services. Dozens testified before the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee on five bills unveiled […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
AG Janet Mills threatens to sue LePage administration over legal fees
AUGUSTA — Attorney General Janet Mills is threatening to take legal action to force the LePage administration to release $4.9 million owed to her office for legal services to state agencies. LePage’s refusal to allow funds, already approved by the Legislature, to flow to the Attorney General’s Office is apparently threatening the office’s ability to […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Paul LePage is out of the hospital and resting in the Blaine House
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage was back in the Blaine House on Monday after being hospitalized over the weekend, but the details of LePage’s illness or injuries were not being disclosed to the public. In a short statement Monday, Peter Steele, LePage’s communication director, said LePage had been discharged from Eastern Maine Medical Center in […]
Posted inBusiness
Donald Trump wants to rename NAFTA as ‘the United States-Mexico Trade Agreement’
Updated 11:55 a.m.: President Donald Trump says he intends to terminate the North American Free Trade Agreement and call its replacement “the United States-Mexico Trade Agreement” — a name that would exclude the third NAFTA partner, Canada. Trump made the comments after announcing an “understanding” with Mexico that could lead to an overhaul of the 24-year-old […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
New GOP television ad targets Golden's positions — and tattoo
A new television advertisement by a GOP-aligned Super PAC called the Congressional Leadership Fund calls attention to Democratic challenger Jared Golden’s tattoos. As it attacks his record, the commercial includes a closeup of a tattoo on his right arm and ends with a shot of a man’s back emblazoned with a large tattoo-like image headlined […]