AUGUSTA (AP) — Lawmakers are set to return to Augusta this week to deal with vetoes, bonds and unfunded bills. The Legislature’s appropriations committee is scheduled to return Wednesday to decide the fate of a pile of bills needing funding to survive. Bills with high priority include more mental health first aid training for corrections […]
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Posted inLewiston-Auburn, sj-web
Liquor panel rejects ban on 'nips'
AUGUSTA — Citing the need to protect jobs and consumer choice, the Maine Liquor and Lottery Commission on Tuesday rejected Gov. Paul LePage’s bid to impose a ban on the sale of tiny liquor bottles known as “nips.” By a 4-1 vote, the panel declined to go along with a recommendation to “de-list” the 50-milliliter […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Adrienne Bennett resigns as Paul LePage's press secretary
AUGUSTA (AP) — The long-time press secretary of Maine’s Republican governor is stepping down. Gov. Paul LePage says that Adrienne Bennett will leave in August for a marketing and communications position at Kennebec Savings Bank. The governor’s term ends in 2018. Her last day will be Aug. 2. The governor said she maintained composure while […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Donald Trump Jr. releases emails showing plans to get Russian aid
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s eldest son released an email chain Tuesday that shows him discussing plans to hear damaging information on Hillary Clinton that were described as “part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump.” The emails are the first documentary evidence of a top Trump associate knowingly engaging with what they […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
New law expands job possibilities for 14- and 15-year-olds
A new Maine law aiming to get 14- and 15-year-olds to fill hospitality jobs in a tight market went into effect on Sunday. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Brian Langley, R-Ellsworth, was partially aimed at loosening Maine’s tight hospitality job market in a tourist season where the state is seeing record low unemployment levels. It […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Paul LePage vs. Janet Mills: 'She is a Democrat before she’s an attorney'
Gov. Paul LePage’s verbal assault on Attorney General Janet Mills continued Tuesday on the heels of Mills announcing that she seek the Democratic nomination to replace LePage as Maine’s next governor. LePage’s comments Tuesday morning during a radio interview on WVOM were nothing new but illustrated, again, how he has been loaded up against Mills for years and what the campaign […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Paul LePage again argues that he has enough power to pardon a dog
Gov. Paul LePage is once again weighing in on behalf of Dakota, the husky condemned to death for attacking two dogs in less than a year. LePage plans to file a friend of the court brief, defending his authority to pardon the 4-year-old husky, according to a letter provided by the district attorney prosecuting the […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Restaurant owner, mail carrier to challenge Poliquin for House seat
AUGUSTA (AP) — A Bar Harbor restaurant owner and Dexter mail carrier say they will run to oust U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin next year. Democrats Tim Rich and Phil Cleaves have filed the paperwork with federal election officials to run to represent Maine’s 2nd Congressional District. Rich told Maine Public that Poliquin is wrong on […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
White House downplays meeting of Donald Trump Jr. and Russian lawyer
President Trump’s eldest son admitted on June 9 to meeting with a Russian lawyer during the 2016 presidential campaign, after she promised him damaging information about Hillary Clinton. The revelation comes after months of the White House denying campaign contacts with Russians. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON — The White House on Monday was forced […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Janet Mills seeks to succeed Paul LePage as governor
AUGUSTA — Attorney General Janet Mills declared her intention Monday to seek the state’s highest office next year. Calling state government broken, the Democrat said she couldn’t stay on the sidelines without fighting “to put it back together.” Mills, 69, is the most high profile Democrat to jump into the race that already includes Republican […]