PORTLAND — Backers of a virtual charter school rejected by Maine officials are hoping for a second chance. The Maine Charter School Commission will decide Tuesday whether to consider an appeal from Maine Virtual Academy, which was rejected March 3. The commission voted 4-3 in favor of the school, but five votes are needed for […]
politics
Posted inOp-Eds
Stavros Mendros: A dose of reality to counter liberal hysteria
As the hyperbole, hysteria and histrionics of another election year moves toward summer, claims become ever more crazed. This year however, the hate and obsession of certain Democratic leaders and extremist groups has gone too far. It is unfortunate, too. There really are an awful lot of good hard-working Democrats in Maine. I will even […]
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Posted inOp-Eds
Perspective: Vetoes not a true form of leadership
As the Legislature labored on into the night Thursday, more than a few lawmakers must have wondered whether this was really “veto day,” usually a quick tidying up of loose ends, or another end-of-session marathon where debate continues as the sun comes up. It didn’t last quite that long, but lawmakers had never been asked […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Future unclear after lawmakers nix mining rules
AUGUSTA — The Democratic-controlled Legislature’s rejection of new regulations for metallic mineral mining in Maine is drawing praise from environmental groups that say the proposed rules were flawed, but what’s next in the contentious debate over potential mining operations in the state remains unclear. A 2012 law signed by Republican Gov. Paul LePage laid the […]
Posted inMaine
In last-minute twist, lawmakers vote to kill late bills by LePage
AUGUSTA — The Maine Legislature’s budget-writing Appropriations Committee voted unanimously late Thursday to kill a pair of bills offered by Republican Gov. Paul LePage in the final days of the 126th legislative session. The decision came after the committee received word from LePage — just as it was preparing to move the measures to the […]
Posted inMaine
House Republicans sustain veto of bill that expanded access to family planning
Veto Coverage: List of vetoes considered and who in our coverage area voted to sustain or override. AUGUSTA — The Maine House on Thursday sustained Gov. Paul LePage’s veto of a bill that would have expanded access to birth control and cervical cancer screenings for up to 13,700 low-income women. The override failed when four Republicans […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Legislators override business bond veto
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Lawmakers are back in Augusta to consider dozens of bills vetoed by Republican Gov. Paul LePage since they wrapped up their work for the session last month. The Democratic-led Legislature will take up 48 vetoed bills on Thursday. Bills require two-thirds support of present-and-voting lawmakers to override LePage’s veto. LePage has […]
Posted inMaine
Legislature overrides LePage veto of jail bill
Veto Coverage: List of vetoes considered and who in our coverage area voted to sustain or override. LEWISTON — More money and new structure will give a boost to Maine’s jail system following the Legislature’s vote Thursday to override Gov. Paul LePage’s veto of the plan. In its second time through the Legislature, the bill […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Sheriffs hope lawmakers override LePage veto of jail bill
AUBURN — A bill to strengthen Maine’s six-year-old network of county jails was scheduled to return to lawmakers Thursday, two days after Gov. Paul LePage vetoed the measure and described its state-county partnership as “doomed to failure.” “The bill masquerades as a fix to the Board of Corrections system, but it is nothing more than […]
Posted inMaine
LePage offers last-minute bills for MDEA and nursing home funding
AUGUSTA — In a last-minute move Wednesday, Republican Gov. Paul LePage offered two bills — to fund drug-enforcement expansion and to raise reimbursement rates for nursing homes — for the Legislature to consider when it reconvenes Thursday to take up a long list of veto-override votes. One of the bills being offered by LePage would […]