AUGUSTA — It’s unlikely that the Labrador retriever will be named the official Maine state dog. The State and Local Government Committee voted 9-2 on Monday in favor of rejecting the bill sponsored by Democratic Sen. David Dutremble of Biddeford. Supporters argued that the Labrador retriever is the perfect symbol for Maine because it’s friendly, […]
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Posted inMaine
Bill requires nonprofits to disclose donors when contributing to Maine political campaigns
AUGUSTA — Nonprofit organizations that spend money on political campaigns in Maine could have to disclose their donors under a bill being offered by state Sen. Tom Saviello, R-Wilton. Saviello’s bill targets what many consider a flaw in the state’s campaign finance disclosure laws and also looks to tackle the issue of so-called “dark money” […]
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Posted inOp-Eds
Charles Krauthammer: Going nuclear: Abolish the filibuster
WASHINGTON — I’ve been radicalized. By Harry Reid and Barack Obama. Goodbye moderation and sweet reason. No more clinging to constitutional and procedural restraint. It’s time to go nuclear. In the fourth quarter of his presidency, Obama unbound is abusing presidential authority at will to secure a legacy on everything from environmental regulation to immigration, […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Video: HealthCare.gov gave 800,000 customers wrong tax info
WASHINGTON — In a new setback for the health care law and the people it’s supposed to help, the government said Friday it made a tax-reporting error that’s fouling up the filings of nearly a million Americans. After a successful sign-up season, the latest goof could signal new problems with the complex links between President Barack […]
Posted inMaine
Maine municipal leaders push back on revenue sharing cuts
AUGUSTA — Municipal officials from across Maine say they can’t stretch their budgets any further and will have no choice but to raise property taxes, as they implored lawmakers Wednesday to defeat Gov. Paul LePage’s proposal to eliminate state aid to cities and towns. The Republican governor, who as mayor of Waterville decried revenue sharing cuts, […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Democrats aren’t sold on benefits of LePage’s tax reform plan
AUGUSTA — One of the underlying assumptions about Gov. Paul LePage’s big tax reform pitch is that lowering individual and corporate income taxes and eliminating the estate tax will help reverse Maine’s well-documented population decline. Proponents of the tax reform plan say it will put Maine on the demographic upswing by attracting young professionals and wealthy retirees to […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
DHHS pays $250,000 to settle whistle-blower suit
AUGUSTA — The Maine Department of Health and Human Services will pay a former employee $142,500 as settlement of a federal whistle-blower lawsuit. Sharon Leahy-Lind, once a division director for the Maine Center for Disease Control, sued DHHS and her bosses at the CDC after she said she was harassed and retaliated against for refusing […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Emily Cain not giving up on public policy work
ORONO — It’s been more than three months since Election Day, when Republicans in Maine made big gains by winning the Blaine House, the Maine Senate and, for the first time in 20 years, the 2nd Congressional District. That day also was the first stumbling moment in what had until that point been a steady […]
Posted inMaine
Brakey wants income tax break for Maine Turnpike commuters
AUGUSTA — Fed up with paying Maine Turnpike tolls? So is state Sen. Eric Brakey, and he’s only been commuting to Augusta for a month now. Brakey, an Auburn Republican, along with a bipartisan group of supporters, including state Rep. Jared Golden, D-Lewiston, is hoping to sell the Legislature on state income tax credit for […]
Posted inMaine
LePage looks to elude Board of Corrections with county jail ‘receiver’
AUGUSTA — Legislative Republicans and Gov. Paul LePage crafted a plan to prevent the closure of several county jails in the coming months. Democrats say the plan gives the governor unchecked power and would be unnecessary if LePage followed current law and ended his refusal to nominate members to the state Board of Corrections. An […]