Articles by Scott Thistle
Maine Senate passes Medicaid expansion bill but falls short of veto-proof majority
AUGUSTA, Maine — After more than three hours of debate on a Republican compromise to a Democratic effort to expand Maine’s low-income health care program, known as MaineCare, the compromise passed 22-13 Wednesday in the state Senate. The measure failed to garner the 24 votes it would need to be …
POLL QUESTION
LePage wants to add 22 state jobs to fight drug trafficking
AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine’s Republican Gov. Paul LePage offered details on a plan he’s offering to the Legislature that would increase efforts to arrest and prosecute those using and dealing in illegal drugs. LePage set combating drug crimes as a high priority during his State of the State address in …
Committee passes bill requiring wind projects to lower rates, create jobs
AUGUSTA, Maine – A Gov. Paul LePage initiative meant to overhaul Maine’s wind energy production goals to require ratepayer benefits and manufacturing jobs, gained tentative approval in the Legislature’s Energy Committee on Friday. But the bill, LD 1791, sponsored by state Rep. Lance Harvell, R-Farmington, saw a significant revisions including …
Legislative committee endorses bill designed to protect water quality in Maine lakes
AUGUSTA, Maine — Most of Maine’s lakes are still covered with ice, but on Thursday, the Legislature’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee approved a bill that aims to further protect water quality for 3,000 of the state’s largest lakes. Among other things, the bill, LD 1744, authored by Rep. Jeff …
Details on LePage plan to restore Maine’s rainy day fund emerge
AUGUSTA, Maine — Details of Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s plan to restore about $21 million to Maine’s so-called “rainy day fund” were trickling out Thursday. LePage has said the state has to replenish the fund to at least $60 million in order to avoid a credit downgrade by Wall Street’s …
Maine legislative panel removes Windham ‘shoot-to-kill’ component from prison reform bill
AUGUSTA, Maine — A proposal that would have allowed the use of deadly force against any prisoners attempting an escape from the Maine Correctional Center in Windham was stripped from a bill Monday that makes other changes to the state’s Department of Corrections. In a 12-1 vote, the Legislature’s Criminal …
Who’s really ripping Maine off? Alexis Wright, Johnson & Johnson among top welfare fraud cases
AUGUSTA, Maine — Early last year, the national media turned its gaze to Maine and the tawdry story of a Zumba-instructor-turned-prostitute in the affluent seacoast village of Kennebunkport. The exploits of Alexis Wright, including the fact that she managed a client list of more than 100 people and often secretly …
Legislative panel OKs bill to revamp troubled MaineCare ride program
AUGUSTA, Maine — The Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee Thursday approved a bill that would revamp the state’s nonemergency medical ride program for those on the state’s Medicaid system, MaineCare. The $40 million program has been fraught with problems since a trio of companies, at the behest of the …
Maine budget committee proposes fix ideas for 2014 and 2015
AUGUSTA, Maine — State lawmakers on the budget-writing Appropriations Committee are gaining steady ground as they work to create a supplemental budget that will balance spending and revenues for 2014 and 2015. The Maine Constitution requires a balanced budget, and without a supplemental budget offering from Republican Gov. Paul LePage, …
Maine lawmakers forge ahead on supplemental budget without LePage
AUGUSTA, Maine — Lawmakers on the Legislature’s budget-writing Appropriations Committee are gaining steady ground as they work to create a supplemental budget that will balance state spending and revenues for 2014 and 2015. The state’s constitution requires a balanced budget and devoid a supplemental budget offering from Republican Gov. Paul …
Democratic lawmakers renew call for cancellation of Alexander Group contract
AUGUSTA, Maine — Democratic leaders on the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee on Monday were again calling on Gov. Paul LePage’s administration to cancel its nearly $1 million contract with a Rhode Island-based consultant. Democrats noted that, so far, the state has paid the Alexander Group $378,000 for the …
Dept. of Corrections wants ‘shoot-to-kill’ rule for Windham prison guards
AUGUSTA, Maine — Officials at the Maine Department of Corrections say they want to change the rules for attempted prison breaks at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham. Unlike guards at the Maine State Prison in Warren, guards at the Windham facility are not allowed to shoot to kill if …
Cost of guns, training is a sticking point in proposal to arm Maine Forest Rangers
AUGUSTA, Maine – An issue that’s ricocheted around the State House for nearly two years appears to be on its way to a vote before the Legislature soon. On Thursday, members on the Legislature’s Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee agreed Maine Forest Service rangers should be allowed to carry firearms …
Maine attorney general OKs paying up to $100,000 to private attorneys to defend state in CDC whistleblower suit
AUGUSTA, Maine — The private attorneys hired by the state to defend the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention from a federal whistleblower lawsuit filed by a former employee are being paid $300 per hour. Maine Attorney General Janet Mills has authorized the state’s Department of Health and Human …
Maine DHHS seeks to steer conversation away from $1 million welfare report
AUGUSTA, Maine — Officials within the Maine Department of Health and Human Services appear to be working behind the scenes to change the public and political discussion about an expansion of Medicaid. Email messages published by the Portland Press Herald after they inadvertently were sent to the newspaper suggest DHHS …
Maine expands program for problem gamblers
AUGUSTA, Maine — A program meant to help problem gamblers stay out of Maine’s two casinos is expanding, according to the state’s Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services and the Maine Gambling Control Board. Working with Hollywood Casino in Bangor and Oxford Casino in Oxford, the agencies are …
State-hired lawyers ask lawmakers to suspend CDC shredding investigation
AUGUSTA, Maine — Lawmakers on the Government Oversight Committee on Tuesday were asked to suspend their investigation into the destruction of public documents by officials at the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention in June 2013. The request came via a letter from private lawyers hired by the state …
POLL QUESTION
With pay frozen, Maine state troopers tell lawmakers they rely on road kill to feed families, can’t afford heating oil
AUGUSTA, Maine — A pair of Maine State Police troopers were among dozens of state workers who told the Legislature’s budget-writing Appropriations Committee on Monday that the decision to freeze state merit and longevity pay in 2013 is taking a toll on their family finances. The two were testifying in …
Maine CDC officials decline invitations to testify on document-shredding scandal
AUGUSTA, Maine — A legislative committee wants to hear about a document-shredding scandal from Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention officials, but none of the officials invited to testify has agreed to do so. It was unclear Monday whether the Government Oversight Committee would exercise its power to subpoena …
Maine lawmakers take more time to study proposed regulation of ‘narrow band’ health insurance networks
AUGUSTA, Maine — A legislative panel on insurance and financial services is working on how Maine might regulate “narrow band” networks offered by health insurance providers to their customers. The Insurance and Financial Services Committee on Thursday again tabled a pair of bills that seek to improve disclosure for patients …
Lighthouse film project runs aground over blaring foghorn
Maine group launches new effort to rescue child pornography victims
The Affordable Care Act deadline is just around the corner — are you covered?
Maine’s budget writers are making their own lives harder. LePage could help, but he won’t
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
East, West hockey senior all-stars split games in first Winter Classic
USM’s Ruginski, Bowdoin’s Horowitz win Div. III national titles
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