AUGUSTA — Maine’s attorney general says the state needs to tighten laws that protect elderly residents from financial exploitation. Attorney General Janet Mills’ Task Force on Financial Crimes Against the Elderly is calling for the changes in a report issued Wednesday. The report says Maine suffers from barriers to the prosecution of people who exploit […]
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Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Maine DOT proposes investing $125 million in passenger and freight rail
PORTLAND — Lawmakers and rail enthusiasts spent Tuesday pushing legislation that would make it easier to expand passenger train service from Portland to Lewiston-Auburn, but the Maine Department of Transportation has a bigger plan. The Maine DOT’s draft plan sets out goals for $125 million in passenger rail investments between 2014 and 2019 — mostly […]
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Posted inMaine
Tax for bottled water companies faces struggle in Maine Legislature
AUGUSTA — Western Maine lawmakers are rallying against a bill that seeks to tax companies that bottle water when they extract more than 1 million gallons a year from a groundwater aquifer. The bill, LD 16, sponsored by state Rep. Victoria Kornfield, D-Bangor, which would apply a penny-per-gallon tax on companies that bottle water in […]
Posted inMaine
Wilton lawmaker, environmental groups want LePage to release conservation funds
AUGUSTA — Two environmental groups said Tuesday that Gov. Paul LePage is again withholding voter-approved bonds that are earmarked for conservation projects in the Land for Maine’s Future program. The Maine Coast Heritage Trust and The Nature Conservancy issued a statement Tuesday in which they accused LePage of refusing to authorize borrowing $11.47 million from Land […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine House of Representatives OKs microbead ban
AUGUSTA — The Democratic-controlled Maine House has given final approval to a bill that would ban the sale of synthetic plastic microbeads in personal care products. The House voted 145-1 on Tuesday to send the bill to the Senate. Microbeads are non-biodegradable plastic particles that are used as exfoliants in facial cleansers and soaps. Environmentalists […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine DIFW submits bill putting bats on endangered list
PORTLAND — A bill that would add two bat species decimated by white nose syndrome to Maine’s endangered species list was submitted to the state legislature on Tuesday. The state Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife wants to add the northern long-eared bat and little brown bat to the endangered list. Cave counts of the two […]
Posted inLetters
E. Field: A difference of opinion
Jerald Cox (March 4) continues conservatives’ claims of “tax and spend liberal policies.” Have people forgotten how many times President Reagan raised taxes? Or how President Bush’s policies got the U.S. into the past recession? Doesn’t anyone realize how much Bush’s wars have cost taxpayers? The economy did very well under President Clinton. Under President […]
Posted inMaine
Maine switchblade ban: Legislative panel endorses repeal
AUGUSTA — A proposal to repeal the state’s ban on switchblades cleared its first legislative hurdle Monday and is headed for a vote in the Maine House of Representatives. The bill, LD 264, won the unanimous approval of lawmakers on the Public Safety Committee on Monday. Rep. Joel Stetkis, R-Canaan — the bill’s sponsor — […]
Posted inMaine
Maine committee reviews bills to protect farm animals from fireworks
AUGUSTA — A bill making it easier for law enforcement to charge people who are using fireworks without regard for their neighbors or neighborhoods gained surprising support from a Maine fireworks retailer Monday. Sponsored by state Sen. Chris Johnson, D-Somerville, LD 302, which aims to make it clear in state law that a person using […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine legislator apologizes for Facebook post about Obama
AUGUSTA — A Maine state senator has apologized for a Facebook post that suggests that President Barack Obama’s family members are part of the Islamic State group. Republican Sen. Michael Willette shared a photo of Obama that pretended to use the president’s words, saying of the Islamic State group, “I’ll deal with them at the […]