Stories about John Baldacci
Old Town mill faces fine despite help from state, taxpayers
By Lance Tapley, Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting on Jan. 11, 2012, at 12:10 a.m.
Maine has spent millions of dollars to prop up the Old Town pulp mill while steadily fining the mill’s owner for pollution. And now the biggest fine ever is imminent. The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting has reviewed a “proposed administrative consent agreement” from the state Department of Environmental ...
POLL QUESTION
Backlog at Maine Computer Crimes Unit keeps child pornographers on the streets
VASSALBORO, Maine — The Maine State Police’s Computer Crimes Unit — tasked with investigating child sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking crimes as well as other computer-based offenses — successfully closed four cases last week. The bad news is that eight new cases also arrived last week. And some of those ...
Final purchase details for Katahdin paper mills being set
EAST MILLINOCKET, Maine — State officials said they hoped that by late Friday a New Hampshire-based investor would buy two shuttered paper mills for an undisclosed price, re-employing several hundred millworkers. “They have the [final] paperwork in front of them right now,” Adrienne Bennett, spokeswoman for Gov. Paul LePage, said ...
Legislature wants more oversight of agencies
AUGUSTA, Maine — Lawmakers on Tuesday asked the director of the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability to draft legislation that would help guide state and quasi-state agencies on how to distribute public funds. That direction came as the Government Oversight Committee continued its probe into the now-defunct Maine ...
LePage to skip international trade mission
AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage announced late Friday afternoon that he was backing out of the trade mission he was to lead to Chile and Brazil this fall, citing fiscal priorities involving preparation for the legislative session. According to a release from LePage’s office, the November trade mission will ...
LePage seeks to promote 2 York County judges
The Associated Press on Aug. 31, 2011, at 5:04 p.m.
AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage announced two judicial nominations, which will face Senate confirmation votes on Sept. 27. The governor seeks to elevate District Judge John O’Neil to the Superior Court bench, and to appoint Justice G. Arthur Brennan as an active retired justice of the Superior Court. LePage ...
Gwadosky remembered for humor, service
AUGUSTA, Maine — Hundreds gathered Tuesday for a service commemorating the life of longtime legislator and former Secretary of State Dan Gwadosky, who died Aug. 10 at the age of 57, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Gwadosky was remembered for his public service as well as his humor ...
Governor’s budget task force asked to find $25 million in cuts
AUGUSTA, Maine — The governor’s office announced Thursday the final seven members of a special commission tasked with finding at least $25 million in cuts to t he $6.1 billion two-year budget that passed in June. Finance Commissioner Sawin Millett will chair the Streamline and Prioritize Core Government Services Task ...
Genetics institute to terminate central research function
BANGOR, Maine — Once touted as the ascendant economic star of Eastern Maine, the Maine Institute for Human Genetics and Health will discontinue the centerpiece of its biomedical research program in September, according to an official of Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems, the research institute’s corporate parent. Dr. Erik Steele, EMHS’ ...
Fight over labor mural removal by LePage not over yet
AUGUSTA, Maine — The drawn-out battle over public access to a mural removed this spring from the Department of Labor at the request of Gov. Paul LePage — a decision that drew national attention — is entering a new chapter. Last month, Maine’s attorney general submitted a request for summary ...
New LePage spokesman has work cut out for him
And yet again it appears I was passed over for the position as Gov. Paul LePage’s director of communications. Insert heavy sigh here. I’m kidding, of course. I didn’t really apply for the job. It’s fairly common for reporters, columnists and editors to leave their journalistic pursuits behind and slither ...
GOP senator plans to resign to head sportsmen’s group
A Republican lawmaker from the midcoast who has been a major player in debates over hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation plans to resign his Senate seat later this year to take over the top staff position at the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine. Sen. David Trahan, R-Waldoboro, received the unanimous support ...
VIDEO
Gay marriage drive revived in Maine
LEWISTON, Maine — Supporters of same-sex marriage officially kicked off their efforts to get the issue on the 2012 ballot Thursday morning with a news conference outside Lewiston City Hall. “We have been going door to door, talking to them and hearing their journey toward support. In two separate polls, ...
Maine businesses caught in middle of health reform
AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine businesses are caught between a rock and a hard place these days, trying to prepare for the complex and evolving demands of national health reform while still responding to the immediate crisis in Maine’s health insurance market. Challenges to constitutionality of the new federal law, along ...
Bill to allow Maine’s first charter schools approved
AUGUSTA, Maine — Legislation creating Maine’s first charter schools is headed to Gov. Paul LePage’s desk for his signature. After years of failed attempts, advocates for charter schools finally succeeded in receiving legislative support for allowing public schools that must meet state and federal academic standards but are given more ...
Entire political process goes by in a week at Boys State
WATERVILLE, Maine — While most high school juniors enjoy the beginning of summer vacation and flaunt their newfound “senior” status, there are a few hundred focused on something else entirely: politics and government. At Thomas College in Waterville, 188 male juniors aren’t just learning about government. For the 64th consecutive ...
LePage using recalls regularly to alter bills after they pass
AUGUSTA, Maine — In the first legislative session of his tenure as governor, Gov. Paul LePage is on pace to see more bills recalled from his desk than his predecessor saw during his entire eight years in the Blaine House. As of Friday, 18 bills had been recalled by either ...
GUEST COLUMN
Mob action in Augusta derails paycheck-protection reforms
By Larry Lockman on June 13, 2011, at 6:56 p.m.
What would you think of a member of the Maine Legislature who voted to postpone consideration of a bill because several hundred demonstrators showed up at the State House and shouted, “Kill the bill”? And what would you think of legislative leaders who caved in to pressure from an angry ...
LePage vetoes bill prohibiting foreign loggers on state land
AUGUSTA, Maine — Citing potential constitutional issues, Gov. Paul LePage on Tuesday vetoed a bill that would have prohibited the Maine Department of Conservation from employing foreign laborers at logging operations on state-owned land. The Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, which is part of the Department of Conservation, already ...
Poll finds LePage approval rating at 31 percent
BDN staff reports on May 17, 2011, at 3:58 p.m.
More than half of Mainers disapprove of Gov. Paul LePage’s job performance, according to a poll released Tuesday. The poll, conducted by Portland-based Critical Insights, finds that 54 percent of those surveyed say they disapproved of how LePage, a Republican, is handling the job less than five months into his ...
Rosa Scarcelli suing stepfather for not firing her mother
Man shot in Hermon home invasion arrested for second time Friday, released Tuesday
Bangor police looking for Florida firefighter
Scarborough boy, 11, rocking open mike nights at Lewiston restaurant
What’s more important — presidential or party preference?
Toilet-papering spree in Bangor neighborhoods a result of high school swimmers’ success
No. 8 Houlton stuns No. 1 Orono, will face Stearns in semifinal
Cianbro has 150 job openings
Gambling board approves Maine’s first casino: Hollywood Slots becomes Hollywood Casino Bangor
Maple syrup producers concerned about mild winter
Maine inspires chefs and foodies nationwide
Photos of Mainers who served in Vietnam War needed for national center
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