AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine lawmakers could finish budget talks soon. The Democratic House chair of the Legislature’s Appropriations committee says its work could finish by week’s end. Lawmakers hope to avoid contentious budget negotiations of past years. Lawmakers will need two-thirds approval in both Democratic-led chambers to pass the budget. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills […]
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The public is weighing in on a push to replace Maine’s two largest electric companies with a single, consumer-owned utility. Democratic Rep. Seth Berry’s bill calls for the state to buy the two largest electric companies. Berry says low-interest revenue bonds would finance the effort. Sanford business owner John Costin said […]
MACHIAS, Maine (AP) — Officials say two University of Maine at Machias students were killed in a crash hours after the campus held commencement exercises. University officials identified the victims of Sunday’s crash as Ashley Falanka from Mount Chase and Michael Koski from New York. Neither were graduating seniors. Police say the 19-year-olds were on […]
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The rules that could govern Maine’s legal marijuana program will be up for a hearing this month that is certain to be well attended. The state Office of Marijuana Policy is holding the hearing on May 23 at a hotel in Portland. The agency says it’s gathering input on the latest […]
PRESQUE ISLE, Maine (AP) — The University of Maine at Presque Isle is committed to green energy but not necessarily to replacing its wind turbine that caught fire a year ago. Ben Shaw, chief business officer, said the campus is considering solar or other renewable energy projects in addition to turbine replacement. The 600-kilowatt wind […]
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine lawmakers could decide whether to allow sports betting in light of a U.S. Supreme Court decision. The Legislature’s Veterans and Legal Affairs committee is set to hold hearings Friday on several bills that could allow the practice. New Jersey won a U.S. Supreme Court case last year that cleared the […]
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine lawmakers might try to pump some life into the state’s troubled wild blueberry industry by overhauling the makeup of the commission that promotes the state’s most important fruit crop. Maine is the only significant commercial U.S. source of wild blueberries, which are smaller than the ubiquitous cultivated blueberries. They’re used […]
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine’s independent auditor is questioning whether the state is ensuring that federal funding for low-income individuals is spent in line with the law. State Auditor Pola Buckley last month submitted the annual audit to lawmakers. She said Maine received $3.1 billion in federal assistance in the fiscal year ending in mid-2018. […]
ANSON, Maine (AP) — One person has died in a Maine house fire. A fire engulfed a home Sunday morning in Anson, a town in Somerset County. Fire officials believe the victim is the home’s owner and sole resident, 75-year-old Richard Duley, but the identity of the victim has not been confirmed by the medical […]
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine could end non-medical exemptions for routine childhood vaccines required by schools and certain health care facilities by September 2021. The Legislature’s Education and Cultural Affairs Committee voted 8-5 on a Democrat’s bill Wednesday. Multiple studies have debunked claims that measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations increase the risk for autism. Maine […]
