LEWISTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has launched an effort to clean up lead paint in Lewiston-Auburn. Curt Spaulding, the EPA’s regional administrator in Boston, said the effort was unique to Lewiston-Auburn, the area with the highest number of lead-poisoned children in the state. The agency has put painting and renovation contractors, landlords and […]
politics
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Donald Trump bolsters staff in Maine
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump is rushing to install operatives in several states that traditionally favor Democrats, pointing to a general election plan consistent with the campaign he has run thus far: Defying conventional wisdom and political trends. The staffing expansion includes Maine, Minnesota and other places where Trump opens as the underdog, with the New […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Why Gov. Paul LePage is trending on Facebook
While conservatives are questioning how Facebook compiles its “Trending” list, Maine Gov. Paul LePage appeared on the list Tuesday morning. It was the video that aired on John Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight” show that gave LePage the boost. Or the many Facebook users who shared the video profile of LePage for the show’s “People Who Somehow […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Sen. Angus King won’t rule out support for national monument
A proposal for a national monument in northern Maine on donated property and an endowment totaling $40 million is “absolutely unprecedented” and could fill a niche in the nation’s park system, National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis said Monday. Jarvis returned to the state to listen to Mainers’ concerns about the concept, indicating the Obama […]
Posted inLetters
Has Trump hijacked the GOP?
We know that Donald Trump was a Democrat and a liberal. We also know that he is violent, i.e. “I’d like to punch him in the face.” He is profane, disrespectful, crude and is insulting to women and Spanish-speaking people. He will revive torture and also compel the use of water-boarding. In listening to his […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Supreme Court sends birth control case back to lower courts
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court rid itself Monday of a knotty dispute between faith-based groups and the Obama administration over birth control. The court asked lower courts to take another look at the issue in a search for a compromise. The justices issued an unsigned, unanimous opinion in a case over the arrangement devised by […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine
Getting the lead out, poison prevention efforts expanding
LEWISTON — Shilo Mathieu is on the front lines in America’s decades-long struggle to protect children from lead poisoning. And what she’s been seeing recently in this city known for its lead paint problem is both heartening and foreboding. Mathieu is a family nurse practitioner at Lewiston’s downtown B Street Clinic, which serves the city’s […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine
Lawmakers call for changes, more money in lead cleanup
Two local lawmakers and Maine’s two U.S. senators are among the political leaders working to either secure additional funding for lead cleanup in Maine or to better protect children from becoming lead poisoned in the first place. State Rep. Jared Golden, D-Lewiston, said he and other policymakers are eager to protect children from lead poisoning […]
Posted inMaine
What happens when the state steps in?
The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention will take a new and more influential role as the state moves toward a new law for blood-lead levels in children. The law change puts Maine in alignment with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for protecting against lead poisoning in children, and gives […]
Posted inMaine
Secretary of state seeks input on fall ballot questions
AUGUSTA — Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap is taking public comments on the wording of five referendum questions that will go to Maine voters in November. Ballot questions range from legalizing marijuana to increasing the state’s minimum wage. Under state law, Dunlap is required to seek comments on the proposed wording of ballot questions before […]