Tag Archives: Shenna Bellows

Obama endorsements, spending spikes highlight high-stakes Maine races

Outside spending is rising in Maine races and while the legislative map is still hard to gauge, battleground districts are lighting up.

LePage: Legislative stalemate stalls child welfare reforms

The Republican governor wants to wait for the Legislature to finish other business before introducing long-awaited reforms. When the Legislature will finish is still an open question.

Bid to fund Maine’s Clean Election system survives — for now

A bill to make sure Maine’s Clean Elections System has enough money for this year’s elections is making its way through the Legislature.

LePage’s bleak take on Maine forest industry jobs doesn’t add up

Good morning from Augusta. Gov. Paul LePage was in Washington, D.C., to meet with U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in February and something he’s attributed as saying there is puzzling people who watch Maine’s forest industry closely. A summary of that meeting, also attended by New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant and his staff, cites the […]

Another LePage nominee faces legislative roadblock

History isn’t on the side of George Gervais’ appointment to the Maine State Housing Authority after Democrats voted him down on a legislative panel last week.

It’s crunch time on Maine’s budget, but lawmakers are arguing about everything else

The Legislature will breeze past its scheduled adjournment on Wednesday because of the two-year budget impasse, but things got testy on Tuesday about what seemed like everything but the budget. In the House of Representatives, Republicans attacked Democrats for supposedly not backing police. In the Senate, Democrats hit Republicans who backed what they called an […]

What’s next for ranked-choice voting in Maine?

Good morning from Augusta, where the implementation of ranked-choice voting hangs in limbo. The system, which election reform advocates have called a “better way to vote,” could be headed back to voters or could die at the hands of the Legislature, depending on what happens with two 11th-hour bills allowed into the legislative process on […]

Unhappy with LePage budget, Maine Democrats to unveil their own

Good morning from Augusta, where legislative Democrats are promising to unveil an alternative to Gov. Paul LePage’s budget proposal today as Republicans say they’re drawing a thick line on eliminating the voter-approved 3 percent surtax on income over $200,000 to fund education. This is becoming a regular piece of budget negotiations in Augusta: It’ll come […]

LePage targets hybrid, electric cars in ‘free ride’ gas tax discussion

Good morning from Augusta, where Gov. Paul LePage targeted ways to ensure drivers of electric cars are contributing their fair share to the cost of maintaining roads on Tuesday. LePage’s comments came during his weekly radio appearance on WVOM amid a discussion about a trip to Boston the governor has scheduled next week on the expansion […]