by Andi Parkinson
Gary Alexander and associate Erik Randolph exit Maine HHS Committee hearing, 1/14/14.
December 2010- Gary Alexander, the former head of Rhode Island’s Department of Human Services and current Secretary for the Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) publishes “Rhode Island ...
Posted Thursday, May 29, 2014
by Andi Parkinson
AUGUSTA -- There is a curious incident involving the bonds passed by voters in June of 2010 and November of 2012, the unwillingness of the governor to release the funds, and his desire to blame that unwillingness on third parties who are completely uninvolved. Confused yet?
Let’s ...
Posted Wednesday, June 19, 2013
by Gina Hamilton
AUGUSTA -- New Maine Times statehouse reporter Andi Parkinson was caught up in a political skirmish during a heated floor vote late Tuesday night on LD 1546, when she was asked to remove herself from the floor of the House at the request of Rep. Ken Fredette, R-Newport ...
Posted Wednesday, May 22, 2013
by Gina Hamilton
PORTLAND — Maine Today Media, the parent company of the Portland Press Herald and several other newspapers, accused former CEO Richard Connor of "misusing" half a million dollars for personal benefit during his tenure at the Press Herald.
Connor ran the media organization from 2009 until being forced ...
Posted Wednesday, May 1, 2013
by Gina Hamilton
AUGUSTA -- Federal regulators are looking into charges unemployment auditors made that Gov. Paul LePage tried to intimidate them into refusing unemployment claims to help businesses keep their unemployment insurance rates low.
The audit began a week ago Tuesday, one day after an unemployment lawyer asked the U ...
Posted Wednesday, April 24, 2013
by Gina Hamilton
AUGUSTA -- According to reporting by the Lewiston Sun Journal, at a meeting in March, Gov. Paul LePage allegedly pressured state employees to deny jobless benefits to workers in favor of employers.
At the March 21 luncheon meeting, which required attendance, LePage scolded eight hearing officers and their ...
Posted Wednesday, April 17, 2013
by Gina Hamilton
LAKE SEBAGO -- The Canadian energy giant Enbridge is trying very hard to bring tar sands oil through Maine, one way or another.
The most likely scenario is that the Montreal-Portland pipeline, never intended for heavy crude from the tar sands of Alberta, will have its flow reversed ...
Posted Tuesday, April 9, 2013
by Avery Hunt
Yikes, I’ve been “slammed.” Or whammed. Or otherwise compromised by a scam website.
Until lately, I was blissfully unaware that my home address was being used as the contact point for a sleazy website that promised to lend money to people with poor credit. Clueless, that ...
Posted Wednesday, March 27, 2013
AUGUSTA — On March 7, the Maine Legislature took its first action on LD 718, "An Act to Protect Maine Food Consumers’ Right to Know About Genetically Engineered Food and Seed Stock," when it sent the bill to the Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.The bill would require genetically modified ...
Posted Wednesday, March 13, 2013
This information came from Gerald Weinard, of Dirigo Blue.
Brent Littlfield is a senior adviser to Gov. Paul LePage, and sent the following email to members of the Maine Republican State Committee, with the attached memo (below) regarding LePage’s proposed budget for FY2014-15:
Members of the State Committee,
I ...
Posted Wednesday, January 16, 2013
by Steve Cartwright
The application to erect a 14-story, $40 million liquid propane gas tank in midcoast Maine has been ruled complete by the Searsport Planning Board.
After months of meetings and waiting for various permits, the applicant, DCP Midstream of Denver, is a step closer to building the enormous ...
Posted Wednesday, November 7, 2012
by Gina Hamilton
Colin Woodard, in a very impressive piece of journalism, highlighted the trouble that occurs when corporations are suddenly put in the catbird seat for public benefit issues, like education.
At issue was K12 Inc., which is a company that creates curriculum to be used online. It also ...
Posted Wednesday, September 12, 2012
by Gina Hamilton
House Democratic minority leader Emily Cain got a call today (Friday, 17 August) from Gov. Paul LePage. According to Cain, the governor had decided to put off his special session until January, when the new Legislature would be seated in any case. During the new legislative session ...
Posted Friday, August 17, 2012
by Gina Hamilton
Okay, what now?
The governor who is the gift that keeps giving (at least as far as journalists go) revealed on Wednesday night that he had a secret plan to call the Legislature back into session (which the Constitution gives him the right to do in 'extraordinary ...
Posted Thursday, August 16, 2012
AUGUSTA -- On Friday evening, the LePage administration announced that Gov. Paul LePage issued a memo to Treasurer Bruce Poliquin agreeing to offer the bonds for Skowhegan's Funds for Maine Communities project on or before June 20, 2015.
But in yet another political twist, LePage agreed to sign the memo ...
Posted Friday, August 10, 2012
by Gina Hamilton
According to reporting by Mike Tipping in the Aug. 6 Kennebec Journal, Gov. Paul LePage played favorites with more than just one town (which happened to have Republican representation). In fact, he offered assistance to five towns — Norway, Dover-Foxcroft, Eastport and Monmouth, as well as the already ...
Posted Wednesday, August 8, 2012
AUGUSTA -- When Paul LePage announced in early July that he would not respect the will of the voters and put the bonds recently approved on the market, eleven towns were left high and dry. The towns had been told in September of 2011 that they would receive grants to finance ...
Posted Tuesday, July 31, 2012
by Gina Hamilton
PORTLAND — A controversial new pipeline plan threatens drinking water and many natural areas in Maine and across New England and central Canada, according to a new report released June 19 by the Natural Resources Defense Council. A broad coalition of 19 organizations is sounding the alarm about ...
Posted Wednesday, June 20, 2012
AUGUSTA— In late May, the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability released its report on the Maine Housing Authority. In short, it found no evidence of wrongdoing, vindicating departed director Dale McCormick. However, Treasurer Bruce Poliquin doesn't seem to want to leave well enough alone.
Today lawmakers renewed ...
Posted Wednesday, June 6, 2012
by Gina Hamilton
On Friday, the Office of Program Evaluation and Governmental Accountability (OPEGA) released its findings on the Maine State Housing Authority and its former director, Dale McCormick. In short, McCormick was vindicated, as she always said she would be. Neither she nor the department was misusing government funds ...
Posted Wednesday, May 30, 2012
