AUGUSTA — A threat by General Electric Co. to move 80 future jobs from Bangor to France has brought Congress’ fight over the neutered U.S. Export-Import Bank to Maine. U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin, a Republican from Maine’s 2nd District and the state’s top bank critic, has been criticized for it by Democrats: He’s the rare […]
politics
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Education commish Tom Desjardin out with broken back
AUGUSTA — Maine Acting Commissioner of Education Tom Desjardin is recovering from a fall which broke his back, his office said Monday. Desjardin “did take a fall in his barn on Sept. 13, breaking a vertebrae in his back,” said Anne Gabbianelli, the department’s Director of Communications. Desjardin is recovering at home and doing well […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Report: Maine residents’ tax burden on decline
PORTLAND — Maine’s taxpayers are responsible for less of their state’s bills than they were five years ago, according to a report issued by a nonpartisan think tank on Monday. The report, by Chicago-based Truth In Accounting, calculates “taxpayer burden” by subtracting each state’s bills from its assets and dividing that figure by its number of […]
Posted inFranklin, Maine
LePage holding town meeting at UMF Tuesday
AUGUSTA — Republican Gov. Paul LePage will hold a one-hour town hall meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the University of Maine at Farmington. The meeting will be in Thomas Auditorium in Preble Hall’s Room 117. The meeting, announced late Monday afternoon, is expected to focus on LePage’s, “vision for Maine, including further reducing the […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Lewiston School Committee getting more attention, competition
Five out of eight seats have two candidates. Typically, most seats have had only one candidate; occasionally some had no candidate, prompting officials to recruit someone. And at board meetings it used to be the only ones attending were those paid to be there. In the past year more parents have attended, asked questions or […]
Posted inMaine
Dispute roils Land for Maine’s Future program; no end in sight
AUGUSTA — A dispute between Gov. Paul LePage and a coalition of land conservation groups and lawmakers over funding for the state’s Land for Maine’s Future program is unlikely to end anytime soon. LePage has refused to issue voter-approved funds for the program until the Legislature allows some of the revenue from timber harvested on […]
Posted inNation / World, New England, sj-web
Foes hit Donald Trump for not correcting Muslim statement
Questions start at the :30 mark. ROCHESTER, N.H. — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump drew fire from Democrats and some Republicans Friday after declining to correct a questioner at a town hall event who wrongly said President Barack Obama is Muslim. “He knew, or he should have known, that what that man was asking was […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Hillary Clinton to make campaign stop in Portland
PORTLAND — Presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton is appearing at a middle school in Maine’s largest city as she courts voters while seeking the Democratic nomination. Clinton will appear at King Middle School in the Portland on Friday. She is scheduled to speak at the event at about 4:15 p.m. The appearance will be open […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Maine Small Business Coalition joins campaign finance reform push
LEWISTON — A group of local business owners threw their support Thursday to a statewide ballot effort aimed at reforming Maine’s campaign finance and political advertising disclosure laws. All are members of the Maine Small Business Coalition, which represents more than 4,000 small businesses from across the state. They said the coalition supports a yes […]
Posted inMaine, Nation / World, sj-web
Sen. Susan Collins casts her 6,000th vote
UPDATED 12:45 P.M.: AUGUSTA — Sen. Susan Collins has become just the third U.S. senator ever to cast 6,000 consecutive votes. The Maine Republican hasn’t missed a roll call vote since taking office in 1997, and she reached the 6,000-vote milestone Thursday on two votes related to the Iran nuclear deal. She voted Yea on […]