Mario Moretto
State House Reporter
Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting deliver over 78,000 signatures to put baiting ban on November ballot
AUGUSTA, Maine — Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting on Monday delivered more than 78,000 signatures to Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap’s office in their attempt to place a ban on bear baiting, hounding and trapping on November’s ballot. The group said signatures for the initiative were gathered in 417 cities …
LePage to lay out initiatives for economic development in Tuesday’s State of the State
AUGUSTA, Maine — The focus will likely be on job creation and economic development initiatives Tuesday evening when Gov. Paul LePage delivers his annual State of the State Address before a joint session of the Legislature. The governor’s press secretary, Adrienne Bennett, said Monday that LePage will unveil concrete legislative …
With cadre of young leaders, Maine GOP launches youth movement
ROCKLAND, Maine — After consecutive thumpings in presidential elections, the Republican Party has a lot of ground to gain with young voters in Maine, and party officials say they know just who should lead the charge to bring more Millennials into the Party of Reagan. The popular narrative holds that …
STATE & CAPITOL (blog)
Roundup: Nearly half of Mainers disapproved of Obama in 2013
on Jan. 31, 2014, at 9:31 a.m.
The State of the Union has come and gone, but what was the state of President Barack Obama’s job performance? According to Gallup, which has tracked presidential job approval ratings since the days of Truman, Obama’s fifth year in office was among the most polarizing in history, with just 11 …
STATE & CAPITOL (blog)
Russell takes issue with Fredette comparing women’s suffrage to murderers’
on Jan. 30, 2014, at 4:03 p.m.
Minor fireworks in the aftermath of debate in the House of Representatives today on whether to establish true early voting in Maine. Rep. Diane Russell, D-Portland, is taking umbrage with House Minority Leader Ken Fredette, R-Newport, for comments he made during the debate that Russell said needlessly lumped women in …
Senate gives initial approval to dental health access bill
AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Senate on Thursday voted to advance a bill to license mid-level dental professionals to perform routine oral health procedures. Proponents of LD 1230, sponsored by House Speaker Mark Eves, D-North Berwick, and dozens of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, say the bill would …
Early voting amendment prevails in House, but falls short of two-thirds majority needed
AUGUSTA, Maine — Unless a handful of representatives change their votes, a constitutional amendment to allow early voting in Maine elections likely won’t be sent for voter approval in November. The measure was approved Thursday in the House of Representatives by a 92-56 vote, largely along party lines. That’s enough …
Maine Senate to take up ‘dental therapist’ bill to expand oral health care services
AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Senate is scheduled to consider a bill Thursday that proponents say would increase the availability of oral health care to rural parts of the state in desperate need of additional dental services. The bill, LD 1230, would establish a new state license for “dental hygiene …
Maine could eliminate tuition costs for students with ‘pay it forward’ model from Oregon
AUGUSTA, Maine — College is expensive, and many Mainers, like students around the country, have to borrow a lot of money to earn a degree. But imagine attending a two- or four-year college or university in Maine without having to pay any tuition costs up-front. Instead, you sign a deal …
Americans for Prosperity argues that Medicaid expansion in Maine would drain funds for local services
AUGUSTA, Maine — A town official and a school board member on Tuesday spoke out against Medicaid expansion, which they say will make it harder for the state to pay for municipal revenue sharing and education. At a sparsely attended State House news conference organized by the conservative advocacy group …
Bill designed to help Maine farmers, fishermen dies after Senate sustains LePage veto
AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Senate voted along party lines Tuesday to sustain Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s veto of a bill that would have encouraged schools and state government agencies to purchase locally produced food. With a 20-13 vote, majority Democrats in favor of the bill fell two votes short …
STATE & CAPITOL (blog)
Roundup: Paul LePage and the American Dream
on Jan. 28, 2014, at 9:22 a.m.
The Republican Governors Association this week came out with a new ad promoting Gov. Paul LePage, praised in the three-minute video clip as an example of the American Dream. The ad tells the story of LePage’s hardscrabble childhood — from the beatings from his father to his time on the …
STATE & CAPITOL (blog)
LePage says managed care won’t improve quality, cost of health care
on Jan. 27, 2014, at 7:16 p.m.
In an impromptu meeting with reporters Monday, Gov. Paul LePage said he didn’t support the idea of using managed care organizations as a way of lowering the cost of health care in Maine, saying quality of care would decline along with cost to the state.. Though word has not come …
Sen. Collins honors 50th anniversary of Margaret Chase Smith’s historic presidential campaign
AUGUSTA, Maine — Fifty years ago this week, in 1964, a female senator from Maine made history. It wasn’t the first time, either. Margaret Chase Smith, a Skowhegan Republican, was used to blazing trails. In 1948, she became the first woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate without having …
STATE & CAPITOL (blog)
Roundup: As Maine Goes is back and so is Poliquin’s self-financed campaign machine
on Jan. 27, 2014, at 12:47 p.m.
As Maine Goes, the go-to website and online forum for Maine conservatives since the late ’90s, is back online under new ownership after going dark a month ago. New owner Lance Dutson, a political consultant and former CEO of the Maine Heritage Policy Center, bought the site last week and re-launched …
Maine DHHS chief: Budget shortfall will be $30 million less than original estimate
AUGUSTA, Maine — The projected budget shortfall for the state’s Health and Human Services Department will be significantly less than originally projected, the department’s commissioner said Friday. DHHS Commissioner Mary Mayhew told lawmakers on the budget-writing Appropriations Committee that the updated forecast incorporates six months of data from the current …
STATE & CAPITOL (blog)
Maine is the 14th best state in the country, and No. 1 for cats
on Jan. 24, 2014, at 10:47 a.m.
So says Politico, so it must be true. Actually, the cat part comes from elsewhere, but we’ll get to that in a moment. Politico Magazine, inspired by a 1931 endeavor by H.L. Mencken to rank each state from best to worst, undertook the same task today. A few things have changed …
State’s clinicians join growing chorus of groups calling on lawmakers to expand Medicaid
AUGUSTA, Maine — Doctors with the Maine Medical Association on Thursday urged lawmakers in Augusta to work together to make Medicaid expansion the law of the land this year. Their voices joined a growing chorus of statewide groups urging the Legislature to accept federal dollars related to expanding Medicaid, known …
STATE & CAPITOL (blog)
Roundup: The King’s Olympics, Cain’s cash and adjunct professors’ union
on Jan. 23, 2014, at 9:28 a.m.
Not many Mainers could afford to go to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi this February. I know I couldn’t. But two people who could probably afford it, Maine’s U.S. Sens. Angus King and Susan Collins, have widely different takes on whether they’d considering going at all. The Sochi Olympics …
New England states prod power grid operator to get more clean electricity, natural gas into region
AUGUSTA, Maine — The six New England states are requesting that the region’s power grid operator take action to diversify the region’s clean electricity portfolio and increase natural gas supply. ISO-New England administers the region’s energy market, including operation and maintenance of the physical infrastructure necessary to carry electricity to …
UMaine professor helps business take wood from bottom of lake to the showroom
Convicted rapist charged with assaulting woman now in critical condition
Lost passenger jet diverted deliberately; probe enters new phase; police search home of pilot
Unsolved 1965 murder at prestigious Bangor House, one of state’s cold cases
Maine’s budget writers are making their own lives harder. LePage could help, but he won’t
Don’t let dishonesty and ideology block health care for the poor, improvements at DHHS
The Wisconsin story under Gov. Scott Walker: A lesson for Maine?
Providence ousts Maine from Hockey East playoffs with sweep in quarterfinal series
UMaine men’s hockey team benefits from guest speakers
WR Edelman agrees to new deal with Patriots
A new, disturbing trend at retail stores
Bud and Jean Lyford — A love that survived more than 70 years
The realization of having to file taxes stings like shampoo in the eyes
Lighthouse film project runs aground over blaring foghorn