Tag Archives: John Martin

Maine Clean Election backers try new tack to free $3.5 million trapped by legislative gridlock

The Maine Ethics Commission will decide this week whether a court order was enough to release clean election funding or if legislative approval is still needed.

Traps, ‘trickery’ and other things Maine lawmakers do in the middle of the night

The Legislature was supposed to adjourn at midnight on Wednesday, but Democrats let the session stretch on in an arcane procedural fight that we try to explain.

LePage calls Legislature ‘the laziest bunch I have ever seen’

Don’t expect Gov. Paul LePage to step in as a peacemaker as negotiations over Maine’s next two-year budget — which must be in place by July 1 to avoid a government shutdown — reach critical mass. During a Tuesday morning radio appearance on WVOM, the Republican governor distanced himself from the budget talks, but not […]

Maine budget negotiators remain far apart on school funding

Good morning from Augusta, where a Tuesday meeting of the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee showed just how far apart Democrats and Republicans are on education funding with a key deadline on the state’s two-year budget looming in less than a week. After closed-door partisan caucuses over the Memorial Day weekend, the committee met yesterday to take […]

Why legislating mining in Maine is so hard, in one survey

Good morning from Augusta, where a University of Maine student has informed the simmering debate on proposed mineral mining legislation with some of the only detailed survey data that we’ve seen on the subject. It shows what you might suspect — mining is a complicated issue with many trade-offs in the eyes of Mainers. That […]

It looks like conservatives push-polled Mike Thibodeau’s district

Good morning from Augusta. This is the time of year that your phone will start to ring with political robocalls and polls. Today, we lead with one that looks particularly dirty, courtesy of a Winterport man who took a polling call at home on Monday evening that he said ended after he became angry. He asked not to […]

Daily Brief: Lawmakers considering bills to eliminate term limits, give themselves raises

Good morning from Augusta, where it’s a big day for the Maine Technology Institute. Brian Whitney, who was nominated to be the organization’s president last month by Gov. Paul LePage, is scheduled to come before the Legislature’s Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development Committee for an interview and recommendation to the full Senate. The hearing begins […]

Daily Brief: Democrats counter Republican county jail fix plan; RIP David Carr

Good morning from Augusta, where many lawmakers have departed for a week-long break. As is usually the case, especially where there are major budget bills on the table, there will be no rest for the Legislature’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee, which has a dense schedule of work sessions and public hearings today and through next […]