Scott Bullock remembers having many sleepless nights in 2004 when discussions about a proposal to build a regional hospital in Augusta became most contentious.

At the same time they express vocal opposition to Gov. Paul LePage’s proposed elimination of state revenue sharing, many municipalities are preparing budgets that assume the dramatic cuts won’t happen.

WASHINGTON — Former Maine state Treasurer Bruce Poliquin may have inadvertently helped fuel speculation last week about whether he will challenge Sen. Susan Collins in the 2014 Republican primary.

AUGUSTA — Gomer sizes up the throw and nudges the boy in a few inches. He takes a tomahawk and hands it to the lad, who takes it, lifts it over his shoulder past his ear, and uncoils the throw, launching the small ax to the waiting pine slab. It sticks.

AUGUSTA — Rep. Gary Knight thinks convicted murderers should not be allowed to vote while they are in prison, so he’s sponsoring a measure to change the Maine Constitution.

AUGUSTA — As lawmakers finished the job of closing a $153 million state budget gap last week, partisan tensions deepened over a key piece of the next two-year budget: Gov. Paul LePage’s plan for paying hospital debt with money from a new state liquor contract.