AUGUSTA (AP) — The Maine House is supporting a bill to make the state comply with a federal ID law. The 115-30 vote on Tuesday followed Senate approval earlier this month. Further votes are needed but no further obstacles are anticipated. Republican Gov. Paul LePage supports the bill. The federal Real ID law was passed […]
politics
Posted inMaine
Poliquin, Pingree agree to cite North Korea for terror sponsorship
Both of Maine’s congressional representatives voted recently to call North Korea a state sponsor of terrorism. North Korea was taken off the list of terrorism sponsors in the final year of President George W. Bush’s administration as part of a deal to try to improve relations, a move that lifted some sanctions against the country. […]
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Sen. Eric Brakey eyes tax break for silver and gold sales
If Sen. Eric Brakey gets his way, buying silver and gold may get cheaper for Mainers. Brakey, an Auburn Republican, is pushing a measure to exempt gold and silver coins and bullion from the state sales tax. One of the businesses that would likely help, the South Portland-based Maine Gold and Silver, said the sale […]
Posted inMaine
Susan Collins may run for governor in 2018 ‘to heal the state’
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine Calling it “a hard decision,” U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said Tuesday she’s mulling whether to run for governor in 2018 in a bid to “try to heal the state and bring people back together.” Collins, a Republican, told the Portland-based WGAN radio that she is weighing whether she should seek […]
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LePage administration hires Garrett Murch — former Sessions staffer — as analyst
AUGUSTA — A former communications adviser to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is now working for Maine Republican Gov. Paul LePage. Garrett Murch worked for Sessions while he represented Alabama in the U.S. Senate. The Maine native most recently worked as a senior editor for a website operated by conservative talk radio host Laura Ingraham. […]
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Paul LePage invites Democrats to discuss budget options
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage was on vacation in Jamaica last week when legislative Democrats unveiled a list of budget priorities they called “The Opportunity Agenda,” which included cuts to property taxes and a range of investments in education, social services and student debt relief. During an interview on WVOM this morning, LePage said some of the Democrats’ priorities […]
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Hearing to determined fate of husky pardoned by Paul LePage
In this March 30, 2017, file photo provided by the Waterville Humane Society, an Alaskan husky named Dakota, who killed a neighbor’s pug last year, sits in Waterville. Maine’s conservation department is getting involved in the proposed pardoning of Dakota, saying the case could have implications for the state’s animal welfare laws. AUGUSTA — Maine’s […]
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Rex Tillerson: Russia must choose between Assad and the U.S.
LUCCA, Italy — U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson issued an ultimatum to Russia on Tuesday: Side with the U.S. and likeminded countries on Syria, or embrace Iran, militant group Hezbollah and embattled Syrian leader Bashar Assad. As he embarked on a trip to Moscow following urgent meetings in Italy with top diplomats, Tillerson said […]
Posted inMaine
AG Janet Mills warns against ICE arrests at Maine courthouses
AUGUSTA — Maine’s top prosecutor has urged the head of Homeland Security to stop arresting immigrants in and around Maine courthouses. Attorney General Janet Mills warned that “the recent action of ICE agents at the Cumberland County Courthouse will have an unnecessary chilling effect on our efforts to obtain the cooperation of victims and our […]
Posted inMaine
Maine eyes measure to require presidential contenders to hand over tax forms
AUGUSTA — A new proposal would require those seeking to appear on a Maine ballot for president or vice president to make public their federal income tax returns for the past five years. Rep. Seth Berry, D-Bowdoinham, said Monday it had been a sort of unwritten law for decades that contenders for the nation’s top […]