AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage on Tuesday implored lawmakers to work on a bill designed to protect the elderly from tax lien foreclosures, saying that in the last year alone, 12 elderly Mainers have lost their homes to foreclosure. LePage spoke to members of the Joint Standing Committee on Taxation at the State House during […]
politics
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Donald Trump seeks huge parade to showcase military power
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has asked the Pentagon to plan a grand parade of the U.S. armed forces in Washington this year to celebrate military strength, officials said Tuesday. The Washington Post, which was first to report the plan, said Trump wants an elaborate parade this year with soldiers marching and tanks rolling, […]
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Posted inMaine
Lawmakers face competing bills to criminalize female genital mutilation
AUGUSTA — Two bills criminalizing the practice of female genital mutilation are competing for support in the Legislature. Lawmakers fell just one vote short of criminalizing the practice in 2017, amid concerns that state and federal law already made the practice illegal and because the topic has been widely used to demonize immigrants or refugees […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
House committee votes to release Democrats' classified memo on Russia probe
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House intelligence committee’s probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election spun further into charges and counter-charges among angry U.S. lawmakers and President Donald Trump as the panel voted to release a second classified memo about whether the FBI and Justice Department conspired against him. This memo was written by Democrats […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Faircloth: Fake news purveyors intolerable
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Sean Faircloth has had it with fake news. “We’ve got to protect our democracy” from the rising tide of anonymous online slurs and Russian meddling, the former state lawmaker and ex-mayor of Bangor said. Faircloth, one of a dozen Democrats vying for his party’s backing in the June 12 primary, said government […]
Posted inNation / World
House Republicans working to plan to avert another shutdown
WASHINGTON (AP) — The era of trillion-dollar budget deficits is about to make a comeback — and a brewing budget deal could mean their return comes just next year. In the meantime, House GOP leaders are grappling with the need to pass legislation to avert another government shutdown at midnight on Thursday. Talks on a […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Androscoggin County Jail could close under LePage administration proposal
A proposal to restructure Maine county jails could result in the closing of the Androscoggin County Jail. County jails in Oxford and Franklin counties could also close in a model released by the Maine Department of Corrections. In a 12-page proposal issued Friday by the Maine DOC, the creation of the Maine Jail Commission would […]
Posted inBusiness
Does the minimum wage really cost jobs?
Last summer, a paper on the effects of Seattle’s minimum-wage increase made national headlines with its conclusion: The change actually made low-income workers worse off, not better, because it forced employers to cut back on hiring and hours to afford paying higher wages. Although the finding contradicted years of research showing that the minimum wage […]
Posted inMaine
For 11 months, LePage administration dodges public records request for travel receipts
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage has traveled widely in the past six months, from meetings or conferences in the White House, California and Texas to trade missions in Iceland and Finland. But how much taxpayers are spending on the far-flung travels by the governor, his staff and security team is a mystery. The Portland Press […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Democratic, GOP lawmakers: Memo doesn't clear Trump in Russia probe
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump was wrong to assert that a GOP-produced classified memo on FBI surveillance powers cleared him in the Russia investigation, Democratic and Republican lawmakers said. They expressed hope Sunday that special counsel Robert Mueller’s work would continue without interference. Democrats could seek a vote on publicly releasing their rebuttal memo […]