AUGUSTA – It looks like an uptick in state tax revenue will put Maine’s two-year budget more than $70 million in the black, and Republican Gov. Paul LePage said the money should go into the state’s savings account. LePage also urged state lawmakers to resist finding new ways to spend the increased revenue, as he […]
politics
Posted inMaine
Maine taxes: Five things lawmakers agree on (and two they don’t)
AUGUSTA — State lawmakers are in the midst of an election-year struggle over a bill that pits pro-business Republicans against pro-education Democrats. The bill offers about $38 million over the state’s two-year budget cycle in tax credits and deductions to Maine residents and businesses, with the two sides fighting over a specific $11.5 million tax […]
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Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine
Handy announces bid for Maine House
LEWISTON – Saying he will not be a typical first-year legislator, Jim Handy is announcing his candidacy for the Maine House District 58 seat. Handy, a Democrat, is seeking to replace retiring Rep. Michel Lajoie, D-Lewiston, who has served four terms in the House. The district includes parts of Lewiston voting Wards 4, 6 and […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Thousands pay respect to late Justice Antonin Scalia
The Rev. Paul Scalia, the justice’s son and a Catholic priest, said traditional prayers at a private ceremony before thousands of people filed through the court’s Great Hall, where Scalia’s casket lay on a funeral bier first used after President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. “You have called your servant Antonin out of this world. Release him […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Why the FBI can’t hack the iPhone
UPDATE: Justice Department accuses Apple of refusing to comply with order WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is firing back at Apple for refusing to help unlock a phone used by one of the gunmen in the San Bernardino attack. In a new motion Friday, federal prosecutors say the company has chosen to repudiate a […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Silicon Valley finally backs Apple in encryption fight
Tim Cook has picked a fight with the U.S. government and Silicon Valley is joining his side. From Google to Facebook, the industry’s biggest names rallied around Apple’s chief executive officer after he vowed to resist a court order demanding it help unlock the iPhone of a shooter in a terrorist attack. Cook described the […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Secretary of State might not certify LePage’s choice for Kennebec sheriff
AUGUSTA — The career law enforcement official nominated by Gov. Paul LePage to serve as Kennebec County sheriff said he didn’t know he’d be appointed until the governor called his office on Thursday. It’s a bold move by the Republican governor — who is locked in a battle with the county Democratic committee — but […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine superdelegates catch grief for backing Hillary Clinton
PORTLAND — Supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders are frustrated by the support his rival is getting from the party establishment, and some are taking it out on the superdelegates. Three of Maine’s superdelegates already have committed to support his rival Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention. One of them, Maggie Allen, a […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine voters will decide on private gun sale background checks in 2016
AUGUSTA — Maine voters will get a chance to decide if people in Maine selling guns in private sales should have to perform criminal background checks to ensure buyers are not prohibited from having firearms under state or federal law. Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap confirmed Thursday a petition drive to place the question […]
Posted inMaine
Gov. LePage defies Dems, appoints Mason sheriff in Kennebec County
UPDATE: Secretary of State might not certify LePage’s choice for Kennebec sheriff AUGUSTA – Gov. Paul LePage announced Thursday that he would appoint Kenneth Mason, a Democrat, to the post of sheriff for Kennebec County after a monthslong dispute with the county’s Democratic Committee. Democrats had asked LePage to appoint interim Sheriff Ryan Reardon to the post, […]