Curtains up: Gov. Paul LePage will deliver his State of the State address Tuesday at 7 p.m.. Adrienne Bennett, the governor’s spokeswoman, has declined to reveal any details of the speech except to say that the governor will likely hit some issues he’s been discussing the last several months — preserving the tax cut package passed […]

And we’re back . . . Movin’ on up: Jason Savage, head of Gov. Paul LePage’s political organization, Maine People Before Politics, is now the executive director of the Maine Republican Party. Savage’s political career has been on an upward trajectory since the former Marden’s employee became an activist for LePage during his 2010 gubernatorial […]

Right before your eyes: Last week’s news that Eliot Cutler is prepping his 2014 gubernatorial bid has prompted some interesting, if not predictable, reaction among those who want the independent to run and those who fear he’ll guarantee that Republican Gov. Paul LePage is elected to a second term. One need only look at comments on Cutler’s Facebook […]

Spoiler alert: Former Gov. John Baldacci on Thursday morning continued to stoke speculation that he’ll make another run for the Blaine House in 2014 during an interview on WGAN 560. He also, without naming Eliot Cutler, suggested that the presumed independent candidate would be a spoiler if he gets into the race.  Baldacci’s comments follow […]

Update: This post has been corrected to delete a reference to Justice Mills and the release of the names of the Johns in the Zumba case – S.M.  Northern exposure: The New York Times visited the State House recently to document the icy relationship between Gov. Paul LePage and the Democratic-led Legislature. The piece ran […]

A few quick hits as lawmakers file back to the State House after the Martin Luther King Day holiday and presidential inaugural events … Crush(ed) for POTUS: Mainers sent a healthy contingent to President Barack Obama’s inauguration ceremony in Washington, D.C. One state lawmaker, however, returned a little bruised and shaken from the experience. Brunswick […]

Gov. Paul LePage met with three independent members of the House on Jan. 15. The meeting apparently didn’t go very well, according to the lawmakers who attended.  Not well at all.  On Monday, the website Village Soup published an account of the meeting based on comments by Rep. Jefferey Evangelos, I-Friendship, who met with LePage […]

Books and bullets: Lawmakers on the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee anticipate a lot of gun-related legislation this session.  Republican Sen. David C. Burns, of Washington County, has submitted what could be one of the more contentious bills. Burns’ proposal would allow certain concealed firearm permit holders to bring their guns on school grounds. Burns, […]

Big check? The governor will be in Portland Tuesday afternoon to announce his plan to repay the hospitals approximately $186 million the state owes in Medicaid reimbursement. LePage, who used the hospital debt mantra to great effect during his 2010 run for governor (who could forget the big checks his campaign carted around?), has repeatedly […]

It was clear from the get-go that Gov. Paul LePage’s plan to suspend state aid to municipalities would be among the most controversial proposals in his two-year budget.   The projected impact on towns and cities is significant. It also gives almost no political cover for Republican and Democratic lawmakers who would have to convince their […]