Baldacci orders deep spending cuts
His executive order calls for almost $80 million in belt-tightening, with more to come next month.
State education spending cuts could force school layoffs
A $27 million cutback in aid could also lead districts to combine bus routes and plan fewer field trips.
Gun sales shoot way up
Buyers say they fear new restrictions under an Obama administration
Race incidents blamed on 'tiny lunatic fringe'
Some Mainers fear the state might be seen as racist, but others believe outsiders know better.
New PAC focuses on GOP basics
Dean Scontras and other activists will take a lesson from Democrats.
USM wants frats, sororities to meet their neighbors
Continued complaints about the houses lead USM to invite 290 people to a community meeting.
State sex-offender registry challenge likely to go to trial
Thirty offenders have filed suit saying they would be unfairly harmed if their records are posted online.
Lobster feasts would be cause for thanks
To help Maine's fishermen, a Bangor woman starts a campaign to make it a seafood Thanksgiving.
Pier-bid loser back in the mix
Ocean Properties has said it's still interested in the pier project, and it plans to meet with city officials.
Editorial
A report from the Attorney General's Office should allow for examination without blame.
Using this resource more wisely makes sense. Skimping on safety does not.
The question involves Maine statutes and case law versus our customs and traditions.
While Taiwan is embrolied in political scandal, life on the mainland embraces capitalism.
Bangor Daily News
AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. John Baldacci on Wednesday ordered nearly $80 million in curtailments in state programs with education and human services programs absorbing the bulk of the impact of cutbacks that result from an ailing national economy that’s sliding into recession.
BANGOR, Maine — To many, Maine and lobster are synonymous. But lobster and Thanksgiving? A Bangor woman hopes to make it so through a promotion aimed at getting people to add the tasty crustacean to their holiday celebrations, beginning with Thanksgiving Day.
CONCORD, N.H. — A federal appeals court has upheld the constitutionality of New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation law making doctors’ prescription writing habits confidential.
AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. John Baldacci considered canceling his participation in the trade mission to Canada this week. But he decided that with exports continuing to grow, he had to at least go to Toronto to help solidify trade with the state’s biggest trade partner.
PORTLAND, MAINE — Maine Equal Justice Partners has created a resource guide to help those who need assistance with their winter utility and fuel bills.
DOVER-FOXCROFT, Maine — No one submitted a bid Saturday for the purchase of the vacant Moosehead Manufacturing Co. plant.
BANGOR, MAINE — An Iranian-born U.S. citizen who is a Seventh-day Adventist has sued Sears in federal court, alleging that his direct supervisor at the store where he worked in Augusta referred to him as a “sand [n-word]” and “the terrorist” and called his religious views “crap.”
PRESQUE ISLE, MAINE — The winds of change are blowing across the campus of the University of Maine at Presque Isle, and drafts from that transformation could be felt at other campuses across the state and nation, UMPI President Don Zillman said Wednesday.
U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud introduced a House bill Wednesday that would grant federal energy tax credits worth $19 million annually to Maine biomass boilers such as the one that powers the East Millinocket paper mill at which he once worked.
BANGOR, Maine — “Invented in Maine” is poised to join, and even supplant, “Made in Maine” and “Maine-grown” as important branding trademarks for the Pine Tree State.
OWLS HEAD, MAINE — Two midcoast lobster businesses got help Tuesday when they were approved as working waterfront projects by the board of Land for Maine’s Future.
Editorial
Whenever government takes action that smacks of imposing values on a group of people, critics abound on both the left and right.
With prospects of financial handout to American automakers fading, Congress and the car companies must look for alternatives that will preserve needed jobs but not sustain imprudent business decisions.
Kennebec Journal
STATE CUTS $80M
AUGUSTA -- Gov. John Baldacci signed an executive order Wednesday to cut spending by nearly $80 million to help close a shortfall in the $3 billion budget.
Education takes major hit
AUGUSTA -- Slightly more than half of the $79.8 million in cutbacks Gov. John Baldacci plans for state government this fiscal year target education-related programs.
Trial of offender registry likely
AUGUSTA -- A trial is likely in a case where 30 Maine people convicted of sex offenses decades ago seek to keep their pictures, addresses, educational sites, and workplaces off the Internet.
Editorials:
200 new-economy jobs find home in our area
"This center will support our strategy to alter traditional opt-in, population-focused disease management with little process and results transparency, to a fee-for-service, cost-effective approach with complete accountability," said Dr. Gary Ferguson on Tuesday.
Law enforcers shouldn't stop ATV just because
All-terrain vehicles, commonly known as ATVs, are obnoxiously loud. They can tear up the landscape and cause all manner of environmental problems, like erosion that pollutes fragile streams. They scatter wildlife with their noise and scare the heck out of hikers. And there's something about being on an ATV that can bring out the worst and most juvenile aspects of someone's personality -- Vroom! Vroom!
Review upholds rejection of slots
SCARBOROUGH (AP) - Scarborough's rejection of slot machines has been upheld by an inspection of ballots by the clerk's office.
Cuts hit schools, services
AUGUSTA - Gov. John Baldacci on Wednesday ordered nearly $80 million in curtailments in state programs, with education and human services programs absorbing the bulk of the impact of cutbacks that result from an ailing national economy that's sliding into recession.
Recount request withdrawn
Republican incumbent Michael Vaughan of Durham on Monday withdrew his request for a recount in the race for state representative from District 105.
Editorial
Have the court rule on Poulin
Efforts by the governor, attorney general, Democratic Party officials and others to unseat wayward Androscoggin County Commissioner Helen Poulin have reached a stalemate. So far, this group has opined that she's vacated her seat, and scheduled a caucus to select a replacement.
Giving to others is source of contentment, happiness
In an age when "big business" and "corporate greed" seem to be synonymous in the public mind, some bright lights occasionally emerge from the darkness brought on by AIG big spenders and over-the-top high-livers.
MPBN
Major Cuts Ordered By Governor Baldacci
November 19, 2008 Reported By: A.J. Higgins
Nearly 80 million dollars in curtailments have been ordered by the Baldacci administration as the first stage of what is expected to be a difficult period of transition in state finances. Gov. John Baldacci says another $70 million reduction to state programs and services will be submitted to the Legislature next month as part of budget revisions needed to balance the books through June 30th. As the state feels the sting of the national recession, Baldacci says all Mainers will have to make adjustments.
Sign Questioning Barack Obama's Fate Stirs Controversy In Standish
November 19, 2008 Reported By: Susan Sharon
Standish town officials will hold a special meeting Thursday afternoon at 1:00 pm to denounce the kind of inflammatory speech reportedly used on a sign at the Oak Hill General Store earlier this month. That sign, described in a story by the Associated Press, offered customers the chance to be part of a lottery predicting when President-Elect Barack Obama and Osama Bin Laden would be assassinated. As Susan Sharon reports, there's a distinct line about what is and is not protected speech but that doesn't make it any easier to read or hear.
Officials Troubled By Increase In Student Racial Slurs
November 19, 2008 Reported By: Keith McKeen
Even though the nation's contentious and sometimes vitriolic presidential campaign ended over two weeks ago, venom in the form of racial slurs is still prevalent. That's the message from the Maine Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence. Center director Steven Wessler says he's receiving an increase in phone calls, many of them from school officials, seeking to tone down the racial remarks of students, many of them aimed at President-Elect Obama.
Soup kitchens feeling the brunt of the economy
November 19, 2008 Reported By: Josie Huang
Maine has one of the country's highest hunger rates, and that was before the economy worsened. Now, soup kitchens and food pantries are seeing increased demand. Administrators worry that they won't be able to keep up with the demand.
Times Record
Bath planners OK downtown inn...(full story)
Editorial
Early voting a good idea...(full story)
Number of State Election Recounts Down
AUGUSTA — While Deborah Simpson’s political future hung in the balance, she knitted.
Editorial
Ugly Acts of Racism
The election of Sen. Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States had scarcely been confirmed before the threats began — more than have been seen involving any previous president-elect, according to some officials. While the U.S. Secret Service cautioned the public not to assume that those threats are racially motivated, two separate incidents here in Maine would suggest otherwise.
Capital Weekly
Baldacci curtails budget
Augusta (By Christopher Cousins - 11/19)
House members elect their leaders
Augusta (By Christopher Cousins - 11/19)
