Updated 3:10 p.m.: Maine Gov. Paul LePage says he’s using an executive order to shift oversight of licensing and enforcement relating to legal marijuana. LePage sparred with state lawmakers about who should have authority over marijuana sales in Maine. He gave the authority to the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations on Monday. The order […]
politics
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Municipalities, health care facilities brace for wage hike
AUGUSTA — Municipalities and advocacy groups for home health care and long-term care workers say they’re bracing for the impact of a minimum wage hike approved by Maine voters last fall. Leaders of the health care groups say they will continue to ask the state for increased MaineCare reimbursement rates as the minimum wage inches […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Rick Bennett steps down as Maine GOP head; may run for office
AUGUSTA — Rick Bennett is stepping down as the chairman of the Maine GOP and mulling a run for governor or other office. The Republican Party on Saturday selected Saco dentist Demi Kouzounas as the new chair. Kouzounas had served as the party’s vice-chair and is a former president of the Maine Dental Association. Bennett […]
Posted inMaine
State leaders all agree on marijuana measure, but fight anyway
AUGUSTA — It says something about the sour nature of Maine politics that a marijuana measure adopted unanimously by the Legislature and signed into law by the governor could wind up exacerbating the rift between state leaders. One day after insisting he would not endorse the measure until legislators fixed it, Gov. Paul LePage signed […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Gov. Paul LePage drops drug testing for welfare recipients
AUGUSTA — Maine’s tough-on-welfare governor wants to end the department’s current drug-testing policy in favor of something even harsher: banning food stamps and cash assistance for anyone convicted of a drug felony in the past two decades. Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s office says he wants to bag the department’s current drug-testing policy for those convicted of […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Can a 20 percent tax pay for the Mexico border wall?
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is promising Mexico will pay for his massive border wall. On Thursday, his administration finally suggested how: a 20 percent tax on products imported from south of the border. The new measure could be part of a comprehensive tax reform package that Trump and Congress will work out, the White […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Republican lawmakers fret about how to repeal Obamacare
PHILADELPHIA — Republican lawmakers aired sharp concerns about their party’s quick push to repeal the Affordable Care Act inside a closed-door meeting Thursday, according to a recording of the session obtained by The Washington Post. The recording reveals a GOP that appears to be filled with doubts about how to make good on a long-standing […]
Posted inMaine
Rep. Bruce Poliquin leads the charge against Senate filibusters
In a surprising move for one of the more mainstream House Republicans, U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin took the lead this week in an assault on Senate filibuster rules during a private GOP conclave in Philadelphia. He cited growing impatience “to get things done” among House members and the electorate as a reason for dumping the […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
March for Life: Thousands assemble at Washington Monument
WASHINGTON — Thousands of abortion opponents gathered in cold, blustery weather near the Washington Monument Friday and heard Vice President Mike Pence tell the annual March for Life that the Trump administration is determined to advance the fight against abortion. “We will not grow weary,” he said in a ten-minute addresss to the assembled throng. “We […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Donald Trump expected to sign ban on refugees coming to U.S.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday intended to sign an executive action Friday temporarily halting the flow of refugees into the United Sates and stopping all entries from some majority-Muslim nations, his spokesman said. A draft of the order obtained by The Associated Press also includes an indefinite ban on accepting Syrian refugees, and […]