AUGUSTA — Looking to incentivize school consolidation in Maine, Gov. Paul LePage issued a sweeping executive order on Monday calling for new regional school models. The Republican governor signed the executive order on Monday, but it was posted to his state website on Tuesday and it directs the Maine Department of Education to take three main steps: […]
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Posted inNation / World, sj-web
U.S. House Republicans drop plan to weaken its ethics office
WASHINGTON — House Republicans reversed themselves Tuesday under pressure from President-elect Donald Trump, and dropped plans to swiftly gut an independent congressional ethics board. The dizzying about-face came as lawmakers convened for the first day of the 115th Congress, an occasion normally reserved for pomp and ceremony under the Capitol Dome. Instead, House Republicans found […]
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Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Bruce Poliquin opposes GOP plan to restrict ethics office
Update: U.S. House Republicans drop plan to weaken its ethics office U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin, Maine’s only House Republican, is opposing his party’s surprise vote Monday night to gut an independent ethics office. In a closed-door vote, Republicans endorsed moving the independent Office of Congressional Ethics — established in 2008 amid concerns that lawmakers on an […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Marijuana to be legal in Maine on Jan. 30
PORTLAND — Maine’s governor says he has signed off on the results of a referendum that legalized marijuana in the state, but he is also calling for a moratorium on sales of the drug. Voters in Maine narrowly approved of legalized marijuana in November. Gov. Paul LePage said on Tuesday during an appearance on WVOM-FM […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Republicans primed for push to dismantle Obama’s policies
WASHINGTON (AP) — Members of the 115th Congress will be sworn in at noon Tuesday, setting off an aggressive campaign by Republicans who control the House and Senate to dismantle eight years of President Barack Obama’s Democratic policies. The first and biggest target is Obama’s health care law, which Republicans have long sought to gut […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine
Mason retains Senate positions
AUGUSTA — In addition to retaining his position as Senate majority leader in his fourth term, Lisbon Falls Republican Garrett Mason will serve once again as co-chairman of the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee. Mason’s work on the panel during the last legislative session “was especially noteworthy, and I have no doubt he will be […]
Posted inBusiness, Lewiston-Auburn
Minimum-wage increase means more overtime pay
LEWISTON — One little-noticed provision of the minimum wage increase approved by voters last month is that it will expand the number of Maine workers eligible for overtime after they log 40 hours in a week. During the campaign, nobody paid much attention to the overtime change because officials and businesses thought a proposed federal […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Susan Collins slips, breaks ankle
Sen. Susan Collins is forced to take the holidays easy after she slipped on ice and broke her ankle. “Both Rob Gronkowski and I will be on Injured Reserve for the playoffs,” she posted to Facebook Thursday afternoon. New England Patriot tight end Gronkowski will miss the rest of this NFL season because of back […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Hillary Clinton wins popular vote by nearly 2.9 million
WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton received nearly 2.9 million more votes than President-elect Donald Trump, giving her the largest popular vote margin of any losing presidential candidate. Certified results in all 50 states and the District of Columbia show Clinton winning nearly 65,844,610 million votes — 48 percent — to Trump’s 62,979,636 million votes — 46 […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage says forensic psychiatric unit won’t be near Riverview
Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s administration has zeroed in on a site to build a new facility for forensic psychiatric patients held in state custody. The governor said during a Thursday morning radio interview that he expects to identify the site early next week. Though he did not disclose the location, LePage appears to be following […]