WASHINGTON — Just hours before a midnight deadline, a bitterly divided Congress approved a stopgap spending bill Wednesday to keep the federal government open — but with no assurance there won’t be yet another shutdown showdown in December. Democrats helped beleaguered House Republican leaders pass the measure by 277-151 — a lopsided vote shrouding deep […]
politics
Posted inMaine
Failed Maine DHHS lawsuit costs taxpayers $108,000
AUGUSTA — A failed federal lawsuit and subsequent appeal by the administration of Republican Gov. Paul LePage that was turned down by the U.S. Supreme Court has cost Maine taxpayers $108,000 in legal fees paid to a law firm outside state government. The Maine Department of Health and Human Services released the legal costs paid […]
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Posted inMaine
As local debate heats up, Androscoggin Chamber reasserts support for passenger rail plan
LEWISTON — Top local business leaders expressed their support again Tuesday for moving forward with a $500,000 passenger rail plan for Lewiston-Auburn. The proposed plan, which involves $400,000 in Maine Department of Transportation funding and a $50,000 local match from both Lewiston and Auburn, could be stalled if Auburn city councilors don’t approve the city’s share […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Senate advances bill to fund federal government until Dec. 11
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Monday delivered a strong vote of confidence to a bipartisan spending bill that’s needed to head off a government shutdown at midnight Wednesday. The 77-19 vote powers the measure past a filibuster by some of the chamber’s most ardent conservatives, who were angered that Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., stripped […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy announces candidacy for House speaker
WASHINGTON — House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy is officially declaring his candidacy for House speaker to replace John Boehner. Boehner announced his resignation on Friday under pressure from conservatives. McCarthy, who is Boehner’s No. 2, sent a letter to GOP lawmakers on Monday pledging to fight for conservative principles — and asking for their support […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Perkins-Mitchell Dinner to replace Maine’s Jefferson-Jackson dinner
AUGUSTA — The Maine Democrat Party’s biggest fundraiser is now named in honor of former Maine Sen. George Mitchell and longtime Labor Secretary Frances Perkins. The Perkins-Mitchell Dinner is a rebranding of the annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner. Maine’s Democrats and other state parties around the country are choosing to end their associations with Thomas Jefferson and […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Sen. Angus King opens broadband summit in Portland
PORTLAND — Sen. Angus King says too many Mainers are being denied a “gateway to economic and educational opportunity in the 21st century” by lack of high-speed Internet in the state. The independent from Maine spoke Monday at a regional broadband summit hosted by Next Century Cities and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Mayor Robert Macdonald explains welfare listing on Fox News
In his weekly column in the Twin City Times, Macdonald called for the Legislature to consider a bill that would require a website listing names of people on welfare, their addresses, the length of time they’d spent on welfare and the types of benefits they received. That information is shielded from the public under current […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Mike Thibodeau emerges from budget scuffle as unlikely peacemaker
NORTH FRANKFORT — Mike Thibodeau has been called a lot of things: truck driver, father, road builder, husband, shovel-maker, Republican state representative and now, most recently, president of the Maine Senate. No one ever branded him liberal until Gov. Paul LePage. It came as a startling statement about a guy who has been one of […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Absentee ballots for Lewiston, Auburn and state races available Friday
LEWISTON — Voting begins Friday in Maine as absentee ballots for the Nov. 3 election become available. In Lewiston and Auburn, voters can visit their city clerk’s office in person or online to register for an absentee ballot. The ballots must be returned to the city by the time polls close on Nov. 3. All […]