LEWISTON — The number of asylum-seekers receiving General Assistance from the city could nearly double this year compared to fiscal 2015-16, according to city records. Figures from the Social Services Department show General Assistance has been provided to 355 asylum-seekers in the first half of this fiscal year, from July 1, 2016, to Dec. 31, […]
politics
Posted inMaine
Collins, King blast Trump’s decision to put Steve Bannon in security meetings
More coverage: Steve Bannon’s role in National Security Council raises questions, concerns One of the signature legislative accomplishments of U.S. Sen. Susan Collins’ time in office was the 2004 passage of a sweeping overhaul of the country’s intelligence community that included creation of a director of national intelligence to serve as one of the president’s principal […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Sen. Susan Collins says Trump administration made mistake in Holocaust statement
WASHINGTON — A Republican senator is criticizing the Trump administration for failing to mention Jews in a statement remembering the Holocaust. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said over Twitter that “The Administration’s omission of the Jewish people in a Holocaust remembrance statement is an historical mistake.” Trump administration officials have defended their statement, saying that […]
Posted inMaine
Gov. Paul LePage pressures Legislature to provide money to regulate marijuana
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage on Monday ordered the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations to take over rule-making authority for marijuana regulation and told bureaucrats not to spend any money on it. LePage said in his order that “no employee or department of the Executive Branch may use funds for the purpose of […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Steve Bannon’s role in National Security Council raises questions, concerns
More coverage: Susan Collins blasts Trump’s decision to put Steve Bannon in security meetings President Donald Trump’s elevation of his chief political strategist to a major role in national security policy, and a White House order banning refugees from certain Muslim-majority countries from U.S. entry, appeared to come together as cause and effect over the weekend. […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Marijuana is legal in Maine but not unrestricted
Marijuana has been legal statewide in Maine as of 12:01 a.m. At least one end-of-prohibition party is set for tonight in Portland. But don’t go reefer mad all at once. Maine is now in limbo with its voter-approved law, especially after a moratorium signed Friday by Gov. Paul LePage to delay provisions of the law until February 2018. In short, possessing and growing marijuana for recreational […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Ban causes pain, despair in Lewiston’s Somali community
LEWISTON — Samira Aden, 12, a Lewiston Middle School seventh-grader, was looking forward to seeing her grandmother this spring. “I haven’t met her yet,” Samira said. For the past 24 years her grandmother, Isha Varsame, a native of Somalia, has lived in a refugee camp in Kenya. Aden has talked on the phone with her. […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Donald Trump signs regulation restriction, defends immigration ban
WASHINGTON (AP) — Coverage of President Donald Trump on Monday (all times local): Some Republicans not totally supportive Updated 11:10 a.m.: Growing numbers of Republican lawmakers are expressing concerns about President Donald Trump’s executive order cracking down on immigration. GOP Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Tim Scott of South Carolina say in a joint […]
Posted inMaine
Bates College president ‘appalled’ by Trump’s immigration order
LEWISTON — Some members of the Bates College community may be feeling the impact of President Donald Trump’s executive order that limits immigration by refugees and people from seven majority Muslim countries. “I am appalled by the executive order and the inhumane manner in which it is being implemented,” college President Clayton Spencer wrote in […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
President Donald Trump denies immigration restriction ‘a Muslim ban’
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is vigorously defending his immigration restrictions, as protests spread throughout the country, saying “this is about terror and keeping our country safe.” Trump released a statement asserting, “To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting.” The president addressed the issue late Sunday […]