2 days ago

Maine moves closer to banning Native American school mascots

The Maine Legislature took a first step on Tuesday toward banning the use of Native American names, imagery and mascots in Maine public schools amid a long-standing controversy over the Skowhegan Indians nickname.

3 days ago

Common ground remains elusive on Maine’s latest gun-control effort

Overflow rooms were filled Monday at the State House complex as Mainers took turns providing testimony on Democrats’ biggest gun control push of the 2019 session — a revived “red flag” bill fought by gun-rights groups that still may have a compromise waiting in the wings.

1 week ago

What the biggest Maine state employees union wants from Janet Mills

Good morning from Augusta. Bargaining between Maine’s new chief executive and the largest state employees union over a new two-year contract began in earnest at the end of February and has largely been kept confidential since then, but there are plenty of hints about what employees are seeking.

2 weeks ago

Bill to strip Maine vaccination exemptions moves ahead despite GOP opposition

A bill that would repeal nonmedical exemptions to Maine school immunization requirements won a split legislative committee’s backing on Wednesday, putting the measure supported by Gov. Janet Mills’ administration on track to pass.

2 weeks ago

Democrats’ bid to have MaineCare cover abortion clears legislative committee hurdle

Democrats on a legislative committee on Tuesday advanced a bill backed by Gov. Janet Mills’ administration that would supplant a federal ban on abortion funding by using state money to cover abortions under Maine’s Medicaid program.

2 weeks ago

Vaccination rates continue to drop among Maine schoolchildren

Vaccination rates among schoolchildren continued to drop in Maine this school year, when the share of kindergartners receiving one required vaccine dropped for the third straight year, according to data from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

2 weeks ago

Out-of-state donors position Susan Collins to break campaign cash record

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins has turbo-charged her fundraising on the backs of large, out-of-state donors and raised more money for her 2020 campaign by March’s end than she had to this point in her last three re-election races combined.

3 weeks ago

How lawmakers are splitting on key parts of Janet Mills’ budget proposal

Some legislative committees have finished their recommendations on Gov. Janet Mills’ $8 billion, two-year budget proposal, with Democrats asking for more education funding and Republicans splitting with them on many key initiatives.

3 weeks ago

Under Mills, Maine is watching a regional effort to curb transportation emissions

Good morning from Augusta. After the inauguration of Gov. Janet Mills, Maine has been participating in -- but has not formally joined -- a regional effort that could produce a cap-and-trade system aimed at lowering vehicle emissions, the region’s largest source of carbon pollution.

4 weeks ago

Maine GOP leaders launch a grassroots group to punch back at progressives

Good morning from Augusta. The top officials in the Maine Republican Party formed a new nonprofit group last month that looks to be aimed at grassroots work after the chair won re-election in January promising to form an alternative to the liberal Maine People’s Alliance.