Gov. Paul LePage said Tuesday morning on radio that his upcoming two-year budget proposal will seek to cut income taxes without increasing the sales tax. It’s a departure from the Republican governor’s budget proposal nearly two years ago, which proposed an income tax reduction balanced with a sales tax increase. Many Republicans didn’t like the sales […]
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Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Pentagon buries evidence of $125 billion in bureaucratic waste
Pentagon leaders had requested the study to help make their enormous back-office bureaucracy more efficient and reinvest any savings in combat power. But after the project documented far more wasteful spending than expected, senior defense officials moved swiftly to kill it by discrediting and suppressing the results. The report, issued in January 2015, identified “a […]
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Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Political roundup: Donald Trump continues building administration
GOP to try to fast track waiver for Mattis to become secretary of defense Updated 4:10 p.m.: Congressional Republicans may include in a must-pass government spending bill a provision aimed at accelerating the confirmation of retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis to be defense secretary. Capitol Hill aides say the measure, if it’s added, would […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Donald Trump taps Ben Carson as housing secretary
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump, moving to complete formation of his Cabinet and decide other key posts, chose former campaign rival Ben Carson on Monday to be secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Trump’s decision, announced by his transition office, comes as the real estate mogul continues a series of interviews, meetings […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Justin Chenette wants public hearing on how state police monitors social media
PORTLAND — The Maine State Police should explain whether it is using social media to monitor what the public says online, according to a state representative who is calling for a public hearing. A member of the state legislative committee that oversees law enforcement said he could not recall the state police briefing him on […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine
Mitchell plugs education to cope with economic turmoil
AUBURN — “More and better education” is the key for Americans to gain “the knowledge and skill that allow people to live better lives,” former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell said Friday. Speaking at the 11th Annual Awards Luncheon for the nonprofit College for ME-Androscoggin, Mitchell urged nearly 200 people to focus on securing a better […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Donald Trump salutes Carrier and himself
Trump’s stop at the heating and air conditioning giant’s plant, his first major public appearance since the election more than two weeks ago, marked the opening of a victory tour to states that helped him win. He was appearing at a big rally in Cincinnati Thursday night. His speaking style, while calmer than on the […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Donald Trump picks retired Marine Gen. James Mattis for secretary of defense
President-elect Donald Trump has chosen retired Marine Gen. James N. Mattis to be secretary of defense, nominating a former senior military officer who led operations across the Middle East to run the Pentagon less than four years after he hung up his uniform, according to people familiar with the decision. To take the job, Mattis […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine
Without evidence, Gov. Paul LePage questions integrity of Maine’s elections
Though Gov. Paul LePage indicated in letters to lawmakers this week that he has “strong concerns regarding the integrity of Maine’s ballot and accuracy of Maine’s election results,” he hadn’t mentioned any of the concerns to officials who count the ballots. Secretary of State Matt Dunlap said Thursday he hasn’t heard from the governor about […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine
Bernie Sanders could get an electoral vote in Maine
David Bright, a political activist and organic farmer from Dixmont, felt the Bern big time this year. He said Thursday he hoped U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders would wind up in the White House and confessed he is mulling one long-shot possibility that might still put the Vermont progressive in the Oval Office. Both Sanders and […]