Maine News for Friday, April 4, 2008

Portland Press Herald
Compromise helps corrections bill win support
A committee votes 10-1 to recommend passage of a measure consolidating jail management.

Smoking in cars: Law sides with kids
State House: The governor will sign the bill next week, despite critics' grumbling about legislating behavior.

Canadian doctor backs U.S. single-payer care
Recent studies are showing that a greater number of doctors in this country now favor national health insurance.

No shows: Mall drops movie plans
No reason is given for the decision not to develop a former Filene's store into a 14-screen theater.

Suspect in driver's license scheme to stay in jail
He's linked to helping illegal immigrants get licenses in Maine.

Fenway Park hawk attack an omen for Yankees?

Editorials: Governor's Real ID decision right one for Maine
Those who oppose the federal program should focus their attention on Congress.

Bangor Daily News

Jail bill overhaul allows county control
Friday, April 04, 2008
AUGUSTA, Maine - Gov. John Baldacci's legislation to take over the county jails has been totally rewritten by the Legislature's Criminal Justice Committee, which is recommending that the counties retain control of the jails and a new corrections board be established to coordinate between state and county correctional facilities.

Smoking ban bill wins final approval
Friday, April 04, 2008
AUGUSTA, Maine - Maine is poised to become the most recent state to enact a ban on smoking in cars in which children are riding.

Maine leaders trading 'pork' for lobster
Friday, April 04, 2008
WASHINGTON - Some of Maine's leaders were accused this week of trading 'pork' for lobsters by Citizens Against Government Waste, a nonpartisan watchdog group that monitors government pork-barrel spending.

Maine 8th graders win high marks in writing report
Friday, April 04, 2008
The writing ability of Maine's eighth-graders continues to make significant gains, according to 2007 scores released Thursday by the federal government.

Loved ones see airmen off at Bangor ceremony
Friday, April 04, 2008
BANGOR, Maine - 'Daddy, when do you go on the airplane?' Hannah Nadeau, 4, asked as her little hand grasped for the pant leg of her father's fatigues.

Businesses discuss energy efficiency
Friday, April 04, 2008
AUGUSTA, Maine - The message was echoed by almost every speaker and pamphlet at the Governor’s Energy Efficiency Summit on Thursday: Investments in energy efficiency will pay off for businesses and the environment.

Editorials: Home Is Where the Debt Is
Friday, April 04, 2008
As Congress debates ways to minimize the consequences of the breakdown of the mortgage and credit markets, it must not lose sight of homeowners at risk of losing their shelter and largest financial asset because of unsavory loan practices.

Certification Decisions
Friday, April 04, 2008
When a doctor's license is revoked by the state or a lawyer is disbarred, that information is available to the public. Under current law and practices, if a teacher's certification - basically a license to teach - is surrendered or revoked, that action is kept confidential.

Marla O’Byrne : 'Eco-resort' near Acadia stirs debate
Anyone who has traveled to the Schoodic Peninsula knows what a rare pleasure is in store at the end of land. After passing through the communities of Gouldsboro or Winter Harbor, the road weaves through forested landscape until vistas begin to open onto the ocean.

Kennebec Journal
AUGUSTA STATE JAIL MERGER PROPOSAL ADVANCES 10-1 panel vote seen as indication of plan's chances in Senate, House
A bill that's been at the center of controversy among county and state corrections circles passed a committee vote Thursday and will be presented to lawmakers in the House and Senate in the coming weeks.

Cars to be free of smoke
AUGUSTA (AP) -- Maine is poised to become the latest state to enact a ban on smoking in cars in which children are riding.

WILTON JOBS ARE CALLING
AUGUSTA -- A major global financial services company has selected Wilton as the location for its new customer care center.

AUGUSTA Charter Commission looks at limiting number of wards
AUGUSTA -- Board of Education members urged the Charter Commission to keep the city's current four-ward, four-at-large system of representation as commissioners Thursday continued to move, slowly, through their review of perhaps the city's most important document.

AUGUSTA Budget next year tops $51M
AUGUSTA -- If the city budget is passed as proposed, the average Augusta homeowner will have to stick an additional $20 bill in with his or her annual property tax payment.

Editorials:

Real ID turns into a circus
If Chertoff was inexplicably lenient with that handful of states, he played it inexplicably tough with Maine -- and Maine residents were facing the imminent possibility of not being able to use their drivers' licenses for identification when traveling by airplane. Last-minute negotiations over the past week consisted of the Baldacci administration making offers to comply, at least partially, with Real ID -- and the feds digging in their heels.

JOSEPH R. REISERT : The value of life is not a matter of choice
Sex-selective abortion has come to America, according to a paper published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Sun Journal
Report calls for boosting Maine's energy efficiency
AUGUSTA (AP) - Adopting cost-effective measures that are already being looked at in other states could save Maine's industrial and non-manufacturing businesses $450 million a year, a report released Thursday says.

$1 million fine plus refunds for insurer
AUGUSTA (AP) - Maine state officials say MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company, accused of improperly determining premiums for individual health insurance policies, has agreed to pay a $1 million fine and to refund $4.6 million, plus interest, to consumers.

Baldacci: Aroostook a disaster
CARIBOU (AP) - Gov. John Baldacci is asking President Bush to declare a disaster in Aroostook County following a blizzard that capped a season of record snowfall.

Smoking with kids in car to be illegal
AUGUSTA (AP) - Maine is poised to become the latest state to enact a ban on smoking in cars in which children are riding.

Firearms sale ban signed by Baldacci
AUGUSTA - Now there is a law.

MPBN

Energy Efficiency Could Save Maine Millions
Maine could save more than 400 million dollars a year and create up to 2500 jobs in just over a decade, just by implementing simple energy efficiency strategies that have already been adopted by other states. Those are the major findings of a report released today at the Governor's Energy Summit in Augusta. As Susan Sharon reports, the report and the summit are billing energy efficiency as one of the best investments Maine businesses can make for themselves and the environment.

Superdelegates Say Clinton-Obama Competition Good for the Party
A lot has happened since February when Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama made their pitch to the party faithful during Maine's presidential caucuses. Two months later, both candidates remain locked in a tight race that may have to be determined on the floor of the Democratic National Convention in August. Obama holds a slight lead over Clinton in the number of committed delegates, and some Democrats are calling for her to drop out of the race. Others say it's time for the two to agree to a merged ticket. One superdelegate and two potential delegates from Maine say that, at least for the moment, the competition is good for the party. A.J. Higgins reports.

Recycling Energy
Tom Casten wants you to know that most power plants today waste 2/3rds of their output. Mostly, it's the heat, generated in the plant that goes up the stack or the cooling tower and into the air. Casten, who heads a company that designs "recycled energy" plants, says, that heat could be re-used, but only if the power plant were built on a college campus or near downtown. And doing that, Casten says, is tough because of old rules meant to protect electric utilities.

MaineAP

Dollar oil change fees may be dropped
Six months after $1 fees were added to the cost of oil changes in Maine to raise money to clean up polluted waste oil sites, lawmakers are voting on a bill to drop the charges at the retail level and make distributors pay instead.

PolitickerME
Ethics bills clear both chambers
By Jessica Alaimo
Tags: Janet Mills, John Patrick, ethics commission, Clean Elections
Two ethics bills have recently advanced in the Maine Legislature. read more

Maine News for Thursday, April 3, 2008

Portland Press Herald
Promised changes earn Real ID extension
State House: Complying with federal standards still will require approval from Maine's divided Legislature.

TJX to pay up to $24 million in data breach
The MasterCard settlement must be approved by at least 90 percent of the account issuers.

Maine's cigarette tax could be tops in U.S.
Health groups want Maine's per-pack levy to go from $2 to $3, in part to help fund Dirigo.

USM will cut at least 30 jobs
Positions to be eliminated likely will involve faculty, professional employees and administrators.

States hoping to force action on emissions
Maine is among 18 states taking the EPA to court over its failure to address a greenhouse gas ruling.

Lender falls victim to credit crisis
Downeast Mortgage is no longer making loans and has closed all but one of its offices.

Watson, Can you hear me now?
In just three decades, cellular phones have taken charge – 84 percent of us own them.

Vermont lawmakers told of impending water crisis
Legislators are taking up a bill to protect groundwater.

Commentary:
School district mergers likely to survive
Lawmakers should focus their attention on making the existing law work better.

Patient ratings are good, but should not be the only data
Consumers should consider other patients' outcomes as well as their comfort.

ANOTHER VIEW: Shared revenues from racino revive horse racing in Maine
Contrary to an editorial, the gambling law has supported the industry and the tradition.

Bangor Daily News

Maine gets extension on Real ID compliance
Thursday, April 03, 2008
AUGUSTA, Maine - Federal officials on Wednesday granted Maine an extension to comply with Real ID driver's license security requirements after giving the state an extra 48 hours to refine its request.

Caribou: Collins backs County disaster relief
Thursday, April 03, 2008
CARIBOU, Maine - U.S. Sen. Susan Collins has made an appeal to President Bush asking that he support Gov. John Baldacci’s request for federal disaster assistance in Aroostook County as a result of recent major snowfall and winter storm conditions.

Tree growth penalty funds eyed to pay for trail grooming
Thursday, April 03, 2008
GREENVILLE, Maine - The use of tree growth penalty funds could be an innovative way to help defray local snowmobile trail grooming costs in future years if Greenville Town Manager John Simko gets his way.

Air, land, sea: House approves data system
Thursday, April 03, 2008
WASHINGTON - Legislation sponsored by Rep. Tom Allen, D-Maine, that would strengthen ocean observation techniques and improve understanding of the nation's bodies of water passed in the House on Monday.

Editorials
Population Challenges
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Maine's high tax burden relative to its low wages and high transportation and heating costs are frequently blamed for the state's lack of economic prosperity. But another factor in Maine's economic fate, the growth of its residential population, is often overlooked or at least underemphasized.

Financial (Non)Reform
Thursday, April 03, 2008
The best comment so far on Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr.’s 200-page plan to restructure government financial regulation came from Laurence Summers, treasury secretary under President Clinton.

Opinion: Tarren Bragdon: Dirigo Health experimentwell-intentioned failure
Let’s face it: Gov. John Baldacci’s Dirigo Health plan, a state-funded program that was supposed to provide subsidized health coverage to some 128,000 Maine people without insurance, is a costly failure.

Kennebec Journal

MAINE Feds grant state extension on Real ID
AUGUSTA -- Mainers will not face added hurdles when they try to board airplanes or enter federal buildings next month because the federal government has given the state a last-minute extension to comply with the Real ID Act.

TAX PLAN IGNITES DEBATE
AUGUSTA -- Health groups urged lawmakers Wednesday to increase the cigarette tax by a $1 per pack, saying the increase will encourage more people to quit smoking and generate more money for health programs.

School censure bill is delayed
AUGUSTA -- Legislators delayed a vote Wednesday on a measure that would make Maine the last state to submit information to a national database about teacher-certification suspensions and revocations.

Editorials:
Well-fed kids will learn Legislature expands school breakfast
Faced with a budget crisis that had to be resolved this week by cutting $170 million in state spending, lawmakers nevertheless did something extraordinary: They passed an expansion of the free school breakfast program.

JIM BRUNELLE : Campaign 2008: When will it stop, please?
This is surely the longest, most heavily covered and superficially reported presidential campaign in recent memory.

Sun Journal
Real ID extension OK'd
AUGUSTA - Federal officials on Wednesday granted Maine an extension to comply with Real ID driver's license security requirements after giving the state an extra 48 hours to refine its request.

Casino to hit ballot
AUGUSTA - A citizen-initiated bill that would authorize an Oxford County casino was killed in legislative committee on Wednesday. The issue will now be on the statewide ballot in November.

Group calls for more tobacco tax
AUGUSTA (AP) - A coalition of Maine health groups is calling for higher cigarette taxes to help fund Dirigo and other public health programs.

Teacher background plan gets OK from public
AUGUSTA (AP) - Gov. John Baldacci's proposal to require Maine to join every other state in the nation in reporting teacher certification denials and rejections to help flag sex offenders who move state-to-state drew no opposition at a public hearing Wednesday.

Report: Maine kids better off than most
AUGUSTA - Maine does a good job of protecting the well-being of its kids, but Michael Petit, former commissioner of Maine's Department of Health and Human Services, says the federal government is letting them down.

Editorial
How sharp are lawmaker memories?
A telling measure of the state's difficult budget deliberations won't be the fiscal or social impact of the many cuts, but how the memories of this difficult battle resonate with lawmakers.

MPBN
Oxford County Gambling Facility Now Up to Voters

Despite a number of proposals in recent years, Maine still has just one gambling facility, Hollywood Slots in Bangor. In November, Maine voters nixed a racino proposed for eastern Maine. Today, a legislative comittee heard yet another proposal, for a casino on the other side of the state, but it fell short of passage. As Murray Carpenter reports, today's action in Augusta means that Maine voters will see a gambling question on the ballot again this fall.

Cigarette Bill Draws Smoke at Statehouse With a contentious budget battle behind them, lawmakers in Augusta are preparing to take on a new flashpoint issue. Gov. John Baldacci is backing a plan to shore up a stable funding source for the state's Dirigo Health program--a 50-cent-per-pack tax hike on cigarettes. Senate members in both parties have united to defeat the new tax which they say will drive down overall tax revenues as smokers in Maine turn to the Internet or to tax-free New Hampshire to save on cigarettes. AJ Higgins reports

States Take EPA to Court Again Maine joined 16 other states, 3 cities and a coalition of environmental advocacy groups today in a measure designed to turn up the heat on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The states have asked the federal court of appeals to order the EPA to comply with a ruling made one year ago today. Details from Tom Porter

PolitickerME
Senate approves National Popular Vote initiative

Committee sends casino initiative to voters

Pig Book: Maine ranks 41st in pork barrel spending

Maine News for Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Portland Press Herald
State is pursuing Real ID solution
Today is the deadline for giving Homeland Security a plan for complying with the costly law -- or else.

BILL NEMITZID crisis: Kiss your trip good-bye
Come May 12, Mainers could look more suspicious to the federal government.

Slots measure gets early House OK
State House: Gov. Baldacci vows to veto a plan to allow the machines during Penobscot bingo games.

Bill to fund rail extension on track
State House: Lawmakers back a plan to use car rental taxes for upgrades north of Portland.

Gov. Baxter School faces $500,000 budget cut
The state's center for deaf and hard of hearing students may combine or not fill administrative jobs.

Baldacci backs plan to increase cigarette tax to help Dirigo
State House: As the session wraps up, schools, state benefits and county jails also are on the agenda.

Editorials
State budget may not be pretty, but should work
Legislators have filled a $190 million hole without raising taxes or spending reserves.

Uniform way to count dropouts shows Maine schools doing worse
Counting all results by one standard reveals weaknesses that have been overlooked.

Bangor Daily News

Baldacci seeks deal on Real ID
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
AUGUSTA, Maine - The governor of the first state to rebuke the federal government over plans to tighten driver's license rules promised Tuesday to work with the Department of Homeland Security to meet federal demands so residents won't be singled out for an extra going-over at airports and federal buildings.

Study reveals challenges to boat builders
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Work force recruitment and the high cost of insurance and coastal property are among the major challenges facing the boat-building industry in Maine, according to a study released Tuesday.

House passes Penobscot Nation's slots bill
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
AUGUSTA, Maine - The House passed a bill Tuesday that would allow the Penobscot Indian Nation to operate slot machines at its Indian Island high-stakes beano facility.

Survey: Students tired of credit card ads

Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Students at the University of Maine and other colleges across the country are tired of dodging constant solicitations from credit card companies, according to a recent study from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

Former tribal officials plead not guilty
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
BANGOR, Maine - A former Passamaquoddy tribal governor and the tribe's ex-business manager pleaded not guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court to a 30-count indictment charging that they misappropriated more than $1.7 million in federal and tribal funds and lied about it to investigators and tribal members.

Editorials

After the budget
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
By passing a budget with a mix of cuts and cost savings, and without substantial tax increases or withdrawals from the state's Rainy Day fund, lawmakers filled a $190 million gap between state revenues and spending. Eliminating that gap must remain a top priority.

Editorial: Race and beyond
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Barack Obama was at his eloquent best in his speech about race. After hesitating for several days, he faced squarely the controversial remarks by his former pastor denouncing the United States as racist, murderous and corrupt.

Column

John Buell: Current tax system unfair to working class
Many American citizens are concerned about the growing disparities in wealth and income. Even middle-class Americans feel extraordinarily insecure.

Kennebec Journal
Governor vows to avoid showdown over Real ID
Maine will do what needs to be done to to avoid a Real ID showdown that could disrupt the lives of residents who travel or do business in federal buildings, Gov. John Baldacci said Tuesday.

STATEHOUSE BALDACCI BACKS CIGARETTE TAX HIKE Increase would fund Dirigo and is one of several unresolved issues
AUGUSTA -- Gov. John Baldacci said Tuesday he will support an increase in the cigarette tax to help pay for the Dirigo Health program.

BRIEFS
AUGUSTA -- The Maine House on Tuesday gave final approval to a bill that allows municipal employees to administer Epi-pens and asthma inhalers to children.

Panel on noncombat Guard deaths wants better screenings, reviews
AUGUSTA -- A commission working to prevent noncombat deaths among members of the Maine National Guard released a preliminary report Tuesday that recommends state and federal changes in military policy.

AUGUSTA CIRCLE GETS A FACELIFT
AUGUSTA -- Crews cut tree limbs and shrubs Tuesday in the first phase of a facelift for Memorial Park -- the small, green space off Memorial Circle.

Editorials:
Budget's fixed, but what about the next one?
The Senate chamber was packed Monday night as lawmakers edged toward a final vote on a plan to plug an almost $200 million hole in the state budget. After weeks of marathon negotiations, lawmakers were facing a midnight deadline for a budget that would make painful cuts to social services, eliminate state jobs and reduce spending on schools. Spectators crowded into the gallery perched above the senators' seats -- and had to be reminded not to lean over the railing or risk falling. Below on the Senate floor, the mood was tense as the debate over the supplemental budget drew to an acrimonious, partisan close.

Sun Journal
Lawmakers balance budget, but programs have to be cut
AUGUSTA - Maine lawmakers settled on a budget late Monday night that makes about $130 million in cuts in state spending. The budget bill relied on increased revenue from the sale of unclaimed securities by the state treasurer and fee increases to make up the rest of the $190 million projected shortfall needed to keep the state in the black.

30 rally outside Plum Creek offices to protest development
FAIRFIELD (AP) - A group of about 30 demonstrators gathered outside the regional offices of Plum Creek, which is proposing a large development around Moosehead Lake.

As Real ID response readied, Baldacci remains conciliatory
AUGUSTA (AP) - The governor of the first state to rebuke the federal government over plans to tighten driver's license rules promised Tuesday to work with the Department of Homeland Security to meet federal demands so residents won't be singled out for an extra going-over at airports and federal buildings.

Bill to bar billing for medical errors
AUGUSTA (AP) - A bill to help Mainers who are billed for medical errors faces additional legislative votes after clearing its first hurdle in the House.

Editorial
A reality check on licensing
With every person arrested trying to exploit Maine law to get a driver's license, the state's "not our job" rationale for not considering immigration status in granting licenses grows hollow.

MPBN
Slot Machine Supporters Optimistic Following House Vote
A gambling bill that has been waiting in the wings for nearly a year has won initial approval in the Maine House. The vote of 101-42 should encourage members of the Penobscot Indian Nation to press on with their efforts to install a slot machine operation on Indian Island near Old Town. The vote margin -- equal to two-thirds of the House -- is important because it's the minumum support the tribe will need to overturn a promised veto by Governor John Baldacci. AJ Higgins reports.

Civil Assistance Plan Could Bring Canadian Troops to Maine

The sight of Canadian troops operating on the ground in Maine - or any U.S. state - could become a reality following the signing of an international military agreement. Tom Porter reports.

PolitickerME
4 Questions from Secretary Chertoff

Maine News for April 1, 2008

Portland Press Herald
Budget to erase shortfall approved
State House: The plan fills a $190 million hole without broad tax increases or use of state 'rainy day' savings.

Maine gets a two-day reprieve on Real ID law
Maine residents could be barred from using driver's licenses to board planes or enter federal buildings.

Starting today, buckle up or risk a fine
Changes in state law mean that failure to use seat belts can bring fines ranging from $50 to $250.

Mainers' personal incomes lag behind nation
Few high-wage industries and an aging population are among the reasons.

City to state: Run terminal
Portland officials say the city can't afford necessary repairs to the International Marine Terminal.

Editorials: Pier project deserved state lease exception
Concerns about setting a bad precedent don't make sense in light of the project's uniqueness.

Not wearing a seat belt? Watch out for blue lights
Real tickets with real fines are now legal, with fewer deaths and injuries as the real payoff.

Bangor Daily News

Dems push new budget package
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
AUGUSTA, Maine - After regrouping over the weekend, Democratic lawmakers were trying to meet a Monday deadline by advancing their own budget-balancing measure again - minus a provision opposed by Republicans and unwelcome to Democratic Gov. John Baldacci.

Lawmakers enact state budget rewrite
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
AUGUSTA, Maine - The Legislature gave final approval Monday night to a state budget rewrite that offsets a $190 million shortfall in Maine’s $6.3 billion two-year General Fund budget by making a range of cuts with no new broad-based taxes.

$28M in Transportation cuts approved
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
AUGUSTA, Maine - While lawmakers dithered on a budget to address a General Fund revenue shortfall, they gave final approval Monday to a measure cutting $28 million from the Transportation Department budget as gas tax revenues continue to fail to meet projections.

Opponents mobilize against toll plaza sites
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
YORK, Maine - Opponents of a plan to relocate and expand the toll plaza at the southern end of the Maine Turnpike are gearing up for a meeting with Maine Turnpike Authority officials.

No joke: Seat belt law offenders facing fines
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
AUGUSTA, Maine - Maine has a seat belt law, but police have been issuing only warnings to violators since it was bolstered last September. As of Tuesday, it's no more Mr. Nice Guy.

Editorial: Fasten your seat belts
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
For the last six months, police have issued warnings to motorists who failed to use seat belts as required by state law.

John Buell: Current tax system unfair to working class
Many American citizens are concerned about the growing disparities in wealth and income. Even middle-class Americans feel extraordinarily insecure.

Sen. Douglas Smith: Chemical regulation a risky path
As people and newspapers around the state are beginning to notice, Maine is apparently trying to lead the way among states taking action against chemicals alleged to cause harm to the population.

Kennebec Journal
Legislature meets deadline after approving $190 million supplemental budget
AUGUSTA -- The House and Senate Monday night approved the $190 million supplemental budget that cuts funds from many social service programs and schools.

Seat belt crackdown starts today
AUGUSTA -- Maine has a seat belt law, but police have just been issuing warnings to violators since it was bolstered last September. As of Tuesday, it's no more Mr. Nice Guy.

AUGUSTA: Survey faults fire facilities
AUGUSTA -- Response times to get to fires and accidents in the city are slower than national standards, a consultant told city councilors Monday.

Editorials:
Senate race should turn on real issues
The last time attendance was a big issue for us was high school organic chemistry class, to which we had to drag ourselves at 8 A.M. -- and often didn't make it. We scraped by, but barely.

Hallowell fence legal, but not nice
We don't know the exact latitude or longitude of the disputed boundary line between state-owned property and the Hallowell home of Andrea Lapointe and Michael Barden. We don't know or understand the finer details of the legal fight between the couple and the state. But we don't have to know any of those things to conclude that the state did the couple wrong when it constructed a seven-foot-tall wooden fence within 10 inches of their clapboard garage.

DAVID B. OFFER : Notes from the ever-present political past
Has anyone ever met a politician who did not campaign against waste and inefficiency in state government?

Letters:
Don't worry about middle class, it soon will be gone
Regarding Liz Soares' commentary about the middle class (March 6): Perhaps the "garden-variety middle-class" hasn't come to the Statehouse to complain because its members are not about to lose their funding lifeline, as are the foster parents, the elderly and those in need of mental health services, who are merely trying to survive.

Sun Journal
Legislature enacts budget
AUGUSTA - The Legislature gave final approval Monday night to a state budget rewrite that offsets a $190 million shortfall in Maine's $6.3 billion two-year General Fund budget by making a range of cuts with no new broad-based taxes.

Maine gets 2 days on Real ID
AUGUSTA - The only state that failed to get an extension to Monday's Real ID deadline was given a couple of more days to satisfy federal concerns about driver's license security.

Energy company urges lawmakers to approve Redington wind project
AUGUSTA - Harley Lee stood before lawmakers on the Utilities and Energy Committee at the State House on Monday, once again making the case for a Redington Township wind farm permit. Lee is the developer of a proposed wind power project for mountains in unorganized Redington Township near Sugarloaf Mountain in Franklin County.

Buckle up, police set to crack down
AUGUSTA - Maine has a seat belt law, but police have just been issuing warnings to violators since it was bolstered last September. As of Tuesday, it's no more Mr. Nice Guy.

Compliance up
More Maine motorists have been using safety belts as the laws have become strict over the last five years.

MPBN
Wind Energy Legislation Draws Broad Support

Maine is quickly becoming New England's leading wind energy producer. But conflicts over the siting of wind turbines prompted Governor John Baldacci to create a wind power task force last year. The task force drafted a report recommending streamlined permitting, and other regulatory changes. Today, a legislative committee heard testimony on a bill to implement the changes. It's got broad support, but, as Murray Carpenter reports, not everybody likes it.

PolitckerME

Good Ship Moderate Adrift at Sea Again

Democrats on the budget

Democrats’ version of the budget passed

Maine News for Monday, March 21, 2008

Portland Press Herald
Time fades for action on budget
State House: Lawmakers must act before Tuesday to get a balancing plan in place by June 30.

FairPoint to close on phone takeover
Today, Verizon gives up its land line and Web business in the largest telecom deal in the region's history.

STATE HOUSE NOTES: Nonprofit thinks it may have budget solution

Editorials:
Fight over school unions headed for a showdown
Legislators should not approve an attempt to make mischief with the school merger law.

Columns:

Matthew KillmeierReal ID puts Mainers' privacy at risk
The state should continue to oppose Homeland Security on adopting this unsecure license.

ANOTHER VIEW: Teachers not just laborers, but true professionals
Denying those working to educate the young a chance for self-improvement is a mistake.

Bangor Daily News
DOT OKs lighting up Narrows bridge necklace
Monday, March 31, 2008
BUCKSPORT, Maine - The lights are back on at the Penobscot Narrows Bridge, and they're likely to remain on for a while.

Mainers' food stamp use on rise
Monday, March 31, 2008
AUGUSTA, Maine - One in eight Mainers depends on food stamps to help feed themselves and their families, but the increasing cost of food means the benefit does not go as far as it did just a year ago.

Editorials:

No Pain for Legislators
Monday, March 31, 2008
As the Legislature completed the dirty but necessary job of cutting state spending to close a $190 million revenue gap, a refrain heard at the State House - especially when $65 million was cut from the Department of Health and Human Services - was that legislators should feel some of the pain that will be endured by the poor, disabled and elderly.

Green Lobster For Sale
Monday, March 31, 2008
Few food products are as well 'branded' as the Maine lobster. It’s so well branded, in fact, that disreputable retailers in other parts of the country have tried to sell shellfish that don't even remotely resemble the state's iconic seafood under the Maine lobster label.

'MythBusters' draws more than 2,000 to UM
Monday, March 31, 2008
ORONO, Maine - Are there more germs on your toilet or your computer keyboard? Does Corona beer really contain trace amounts of urine? Will sitting too close to the television screen really ruin your eyes?

Kennebec Journal

Obscure office in budget battle Lawmakers clash over funding for watchdog agency
AUGUSTA -- A tiny fraction of the $190 million budget played an outsized role in debates last week, bringing recognition to a little-known state government office.

Maine's budget clock goes tick tock, tick tock
AUGUSTA -- The state Senate and House are scheduled to be back in session today to continue budget deliberations.

Kevin Mattson redeveloping Augusta's largest building
Kevin Mattson is hard to pin down. Developer of numerous projects in southern and central Maine and even a couple out of state, he is constantly on the go from one location to another.

Editorials: Statewide building code more efficient
"Today, Maine's lack of a uniform statewide building code seriously hinders redevelopment by injecting uncertainty into investors' decision making, consuming time, and making clear guidance from a central source impossible to obtain."

Sun Journal
FairPoint deal OK'd
PORTLAND - FairPoint Communications Inc. becomes northern New England's biggest phone company on Monday after an eleventh-hour tussle with regulators. Customers, however, will barely notice the change.

Obama's Penn State rally draws an estimated 22,000
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - After two days of visiting sports bars and steel plants and bowling badly, Barack Obama got back Sunday to what he does best.

Supporters urge Clinton to keep fighting
NEW ALBANY, Ind. (AP) - Debra Starks has heard the calls for Hillary Rodham Clinton to quit the presidential race, and she's not happy about it.

Lieberman: Party has changed
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman blasted the Democratic Party Sunday as protectionist, isolationist and hyperpartisan.

Letters:
Our do-nothing government
In response to Kenneth Chance's letter March 25, I also believe the United States has dropped the ball on controlling oil prices.

MPBN:
Hannaford Learns How Breach Occurred

Hannaford Brothers officials say they now know how a massive data breach occurred, exposing four point two million credit and debit cards to fraud. Hannaford has told state officials in Maine and Massachusetts that the breach was caused by new and sophisticated software installed on the servers of each store in the Hannaford chain. Keith McKeen reports.

Forest Industry Fears Consequences of Federal Cuts

President Bush is proposing dramatic budget cuts to federal and state forestry programs that Maine's forest service director says will eliminate 100 years of support for forest conservation. Alec Giffen says he's bracing for a 60 percent reduction in funding next year for landowner stewardship programs, fire suppression and pest management considered crucial to the health of Maine's forests. Forest rangers could be laid off. And as Susan Sharon reports...the cuts could not come at a worse time.

Battle of the Budget Continues

As the battle over the state's $190 million supplemental budget spilled over into its second day in the Maine Senate, Democratic leaders there attempted to convince three of their members to abandon their efforts for a separate budget deal with Senate Republicans. With 18 members to the Republicans' 17, Senate Democratic leaders are well aware that every vote on the budget will count. But as A.J. Higgins reports, they were less sure whether they could count on their fellow Democrats.

Lawmakers Water Down Milk Proposals

Do you ever think about where the milk you buy comes from? (and no I don't mean cows!) Maine legislators today agreed to water down proposals aimed at tightening the definition of milk. The bill was initiated by former state senator, goat farmer and director of the North East States Association of Agricultural Stewardship, Marge Kilkelly. Tom Porter has the story.