AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage on Thursday stumped for a mass-transit refurbishment program in Aroostook County, which he says could save municipalities, mass-transit authorities and school districts a lot of money. Limestone-based Maine Military Authority, or MMA, part of LePage’s executive branch, unveiled the state’s first-ever refurbished fixed-route bus at an Augusta State Airport hangar […]
politics
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Collins argues for accountability in Senate report on Benghazi attack
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan Senate report on the attacks on the diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, paints a picture of systemic failure of security for U.S. diplomats overseas that led to the deaths of the ambassador to Libya and three other Americans. The intelligence community didn’t send enough warnings, the State Department didn’t take the […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Legislative committee works on funding firearms for Maine forest rangers
AUGUSTA — A legislative committee paved the way for a potential funding debate on a bill that would arm the state’s forest rangers, recommending its passage while admitting that funding for the measure had not yet been nailed down. The committee voted 9-2 (with two absent members allowed to vote until noon on Friday) to […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Signature-gathering tactics by bear baiting opponents come under fire
BANGOR — Opponents of a proposed referendum to ban bear trapping and hunting with bait or hounds are accusing proponents of using deceptive means in their quest to gather the 57,277 signatures needed by Feb. 3 to put the question on the November statewide ballot. Members of Facebook pages devoted to defeating the referendum have […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Lewiston to join effort to halt revenue-sharing cuts
LEWISTON — Another year of reductions to state revenue-sharing could force deeper cuts or higher local property taxes, city officials say. “We are losing close to $2 million, and it’s actually more than they cut last year,” City Administrator Ed Barrett said. State legislators are scheduled to consider reducing municipal revenue-sharing across the state from […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Bill would help towns withdraw from Regional School Units
AUGUSTA — A bill that would ease the requirements for municipalities that want to pull out of their regional school units is headed to the Legislature with a unanimous show of support from the Education Committee. LD 783, An Act to Change the Voting Requirements for the Withdrawal of a Municipality from a Regional School […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine’s Attorney General cites rising heroin abuse in Maine
AUGUSTA — Just as in Vermont, heroin abuse has grown in Maine, with 28 people in the state dying from an overdose in 2012. Attorney General Janet Mills says heroin use is on the rise, partly because of regulations restricting prescriptions for oxycodone and regulations requiring tamper-resistant packaging of prescription opioids. Mills said the 28 […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
LePage plans summer trade mission to Iceland, United Kingdom
PORTLAND — Gov. Paul LePage will lead a trade mission to Iceland and the United Kingdom this summer to explore opportunities for Maine businesses to increase exports to those countries, according to a news release from the Maine International Trade Center. The trade mission, scheduled for June 8-13, was born of the arrival in Maine […]
Posted inBusiness, Nation / World, sj-web
Collins doesn’t see extension of unemployment benefits coming
WASHINGTON — The Senate failed Tuesday to move forward a Democratic plan to restore emergency jobless benefits that expired Dec. 28 for 1.3 million Americans. A dispute over how to cover the cost of the benefits and how long they should continue — for three months or almost a year — stalled the measure since […]
Posted inBusiness, Maine, sj-web
Federal appropriations bill could send submarine work to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
KITTERY — Maine and New Hampshire’s U.S. senators say that $11.5 million in construction funding and the procurement of two Virginia-class submarines for the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard has been listed in a pending appropriations bill. Maine Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King and New Hampshire Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Kelly Ayotte say the provisions are […]