AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage has cleared his Friday schedule so he can meet with department heads to gauge the potential damage of a prolonged U.S. government shutdown. The shutdown has sent hundreds of state employees and National Guardsmen into temporary layoffs, and if it continues into next week, “thousands” more could be furloughed, according […]
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Posted inMaine
Maine gubernatorial campaigns trade jabs over jobs claim
AUGUSTA — Maine’s top Republican leaders and a top political consultant for Gov. Paul LePage’s re-election campaign launched a salvo of complaints this week regarding a statement U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud made on jobs in a campaign ad issued earlier in September. Michaud, a Democrat, is running for governor and said the state, under LePage, […]
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Maine marketplace rates exceed national average
AUGUSTA (AP) — The costs of plans being offered on Maine’s health insurance marketplace are among the highest in the country on average before tax credits for lower-income individuals and out-of-pocket costs are factored in, according to a federal report released Wednesday. Maine residents will pay an average of $403 a month for a mid-range […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Cutler officially launches campaign for Maine governor
PORTLAND (AP) — Independent Eliot Cutler is officially launching his campaign to be Maine’s next governor. Cutler is holding events Tuesday in Bangor and Portland to kick off his campaign in the 2014 election against Republican Gov. Paul LePage and Democrat Mike Michaud, who is now a U.S. representative. He’s also holding a statewide telephone […]
Posted inMaine, Nation / World, sj-web
Governors in 9 states, including Maine, implementing tax cuts near start of re-election campaign
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Governors in at least nine states are approaching re-election campaigns next year by touting surpluses and pitching tax cuts to voters, sometimes relying on one-time revenue to fund the breaks. Florida Gov. Rick Scott, a 60-year-old Republican, toured the state this month to highlight his proposed $500 million tax cut and a […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Alfond says LePage interference with Statoil deal hurts state’s image
LEWISTON — Maine Senate President Justin Alfond, D-Portland, on Monday denounced Gov. Paul LePage’s efforts to derail a deal between the state of Maine and the Norwegian energy giant Statoil. New details of the lengths that LePage’s administration went to unhinge a full-scale offshore wind energy pilot project off the coast emerged Monday in a […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage team worked against wind project
AUGUSTA (AP) — Before its public push to have Maine reconsider wind energy proposals, Gov. Paul LePage’s administration worked behind the scenes to explicitly derail Norwegian company Statoil’s multimillion-dollar agreement with the state for an offshore wind project, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. The first public word that the administration was trying […]
Posted inBusiness, Maine, sj-web
LePage, businesses travel to Alberta on trade mission
AUGUSTA (AP) — Maine Gov. Paul LePage is visiting western Canada with a contingent of Maine businesses in hopes of identifying new economic and trade opportunities. LePage is visiting Calgary, Alberta, from Sunday through Wednesday in conjunction with a trade mission organized by the Maine International Trade Center. LePage planned to meet with Alberta Premier […]
Posted inMaine
LePage says he won’t issue supplemental budget in 2014
Maine Gov. Paul LePage speaks during a recent event at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston. LePage has said repeatedly he will not present state lawmakers with a supplemental budget in 2014. AUGUSTA — If Maine lawmakers are expecting to work on a supplemental state budget in 2014 they are going to have to go […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage to visit CMMC at 2 p.m. today to pay MaineCare debt
LEWISTON — Gov. Paul LePage will visit Central Maine Medical Center at 2 p.m. Wednesday to deliver the news that the state is making good on a $183 million debt it has owed the state’s 39 hospitals beginning in 2009. The state payment for past services provided under MaineCare, the state’s Medicaid system, will trigger […]