Moving parts: A bill that would expand publicly funded health insurance for low-income Mainers will get its public hearing in the Legislature’s Human Services Committee Tuesday afternoon. LD 1066, sponsored by Rep. Linda Sanborn, D-Gorham, is the bill that directs the state to participate in the federal health care law’s program to expand Medicaid. The […]

(This post was clarified at 9:40 a.m. on March 30 to note that the Medical Marijuana Caregivers of Maine lobbys against legalization of marijuana and for caregivers, not dispensaries. – S.M.)  No official confirmation from the LePage administration yet, but it appears the governor has a dinner date with medical marijuana advocates.  Medical Marijuana Caregivers […]

If Gov. Paul LePage isn’t careful he just may go viral. Again. LePage is currently on vacation in Jamaica, but on Wednesday, just a few hours after it was made public that the Maine Hospital Association will support Medicaid expansion, the governor (or one of his staffers) fired off tweet from a much warmer clime: […]

Been awhile . . . Sun-n-fun: All eyes will be on the Legislature this week. That’s because Gov. Paul LePage is off to Jamaica for his annual vacation. So far, no Democratic leader has submitted a bill to bar the governor from taking a vacation, but there are at least two proposals that will be reviewed Monday […]

Below is the 3.21.13 press conference held by Gov. Paul LePage and his transportation commissioner David Bernhardt.  The governor begins speaking at 4:06 and later at 18:53.  In addition to heaping heavy praise on Bernhardt (LePage has frequently said the commissioner knows "how to stretch a dollar."), the governor answered his Democratic critics who say […]

Guest posted by Micheal Shepherd The media spotlight shone on Maine’s 2014 gubernatorial race Wednesday, with two big-name potential candidates teasing assumed runs in strong terms. Democrat John Baldacci, Maine’s governor from 2003 to early 2011, told Politico on Wednesday that he’ll run if U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree and Mike Michaud don’t, echoing what he and those […]

Dems’ Death Star vs. Planet Cutler: The above six-second clip from “Star Wars” is the Democratic path to the Blaine House in 2014, according to a blogger on the liberal website Daily Kos.  Specifically, the Death Star is the Maine Democratic Party and its national affiliates. The doomed planet of Alderaan is presumably independent candidate Eliot […]

Concealed guns: The Judiciary Committee will be the center of attention Tuesday as lawmakers take up a bill from Rep. Corey Wilson, R-Augusta, to shield the information of concealed handgun permit holders.  This story has been written to death, so no need for background here. Expect a strong showing from gun rights activists, who have been […]

Early start: Here’s another sign that the Democratic Party has a lot at stake in the 2014 gubernatorial race.  Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin, chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, took an early swipe at presumed independent candidate Eliot Cutler. Shumlin recycled the Democratic clarion call that “a vote for Eliot Cutler is a vote for […]

Litmus test: There’s been some speculation that Gov. Paul LePage is walking back his ultimatum to veto any bill that crosses his desk until the Legislature passes his plan to repay backlogged Medicaid reimbursement to Maine’s hospitals. That’s not coming from the Governor’s Office, but Republican leaders, who met with the governor on Friday after his […]