LEWISTON — The state may have a difficult time recovering any of the more than $500,000 it has paid a private consultant to develop a study and analysis of Maine’s welfare system following the revelation that parts of the study contained plagiarized material, a Maine law professor said Wednesday. Gov. Paul LePage has said the […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine gives high schools more time to adopt graduation standards
AUGUSTA —The Maine Department of Education will allow school districts to slow the process of implementing a law that requires students to graduate from high school only after demonstrating they have met a set of state standards. In response to multiple requests from school superintendents, the DOE outlined a set of six options districts can […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine orders anti-gay marriage group to pay $50,000 fine, reveal donors
AUGUSTA — Maine’s ethics panel on Wednesday fined a national anti-gay marriage group more than $50,000 and ordered it to file a campaign finance report that would reveal the donors behind the 2009 repeal of the state’s gay marriage law after finding that it violating Maine’s campaign finance laws. The panel ruled that the National […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Poliquin, Raye face off in ‘dirty’ GOP primary for 2nd Congressional District
NEWPORT — Eric Kinney gassed up his truck at the intersection Newport-area locals call the Crossroads of Maine and shook his head in dismay. His disgust wasn’t about high gas prices or the heavy traffic streaming along pockmarked Route 2 or nearby Interstate 95, or the surrounding central Maine towns where jobs are too scarce […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
National Guard general says Maine likely to lose 133rd Engineer Battalion
AUGUSTA — The Maine Army National Guard’s top official said Tuesday that a controversial proposal to convert the storied 133rd Engineer Battalion into infantry units is likely the best possible way to adapt to shifting military priorities. But that doesn’t mean he loves the idea. “If the federal government and the Army decides to do this, we […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Obama wants to keep 9,800 U.S. troops in Afghanistan after war’s end
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will seek to keep 9,800 U.S. troops in Afghanistan after the war formally ends later this year and then will withdraw most of those forces by 2016, senior administration officials said Tuesday. Obama’s decision is largely in line with what military commanders have been seeking and will allow the president […]
Posted inMaine
Plan for copper on Maine’s State House dome still up in the air
AUGUSTA — Like the material itself, a plan for what the Legislature eventually will do with the more than 7,000 square feet of copper being replaced on the State House dome is still up in the air. Lawmakers on the Legislative Council on Tuesday set in motion a plan to get more details on what […]
Posted inMaine
Was LePage right on Medicaid expansion? Republicans, officials divided
AUGUSTA — Officials in the state of Arkansas are saying “not so fast” to claims being made by leaders in Maine’s Republican Party that an expansion of Arkansas’s Medicaid program has led that state to fiscal crisis and Maine was wise not to expand its low-income health care program. Amy Webb, communications director for the […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage suspends payments for welfare report
AUGUSTA – Republican Gov. Paul LePage said he was concerned about accusations of plagiarism by the controversial Alexander Group and would take immediate action against the company, if warranted, after getting a full report of the facts. LePage said in an interview Friday that payments had already been suspended to the Alexander Group on Wednesday, […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Michaud wants Obama to reform VA without Congress
PORTLAND — U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud, D-Maine, is urging President Barack Obama to use his executive privilege to implement Michaud’s proposed Veterans Affairs reforms in response to an ongoing scandal over severe delays in veterans’ medical treatment. Michaud is the top Democrat on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee and seeks to respond swiftly to the […]