While backers applaud the draft permit for the $1 billion transmission line to bring electricity from Quebec to Massachusetts, opponents say the project would provide “no verifiable reduction in greenhouse gases.”
Scott Thistle
Scott Thistle is the State House reporter for the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. He has covered politics and government in Maine since 2006. Prior to that he served as the State House reporter for the Duluth News Tribune in Duluth, Minnesota. A Maine native, Thistle has worked in journalism since 1990, when he got his start at a weekly newspaper in rural Oxford County, Maine. He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and an active volunteer with the National Ski Patrol. He resides with his wife, Amy and his two sons Finn and Kai, in Auburn, Maine.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Gov. Mills eyes budget adjustments in response to virus’ economic impacts
A recent state revenue forecast that predicted a $40 million increase in revenues did not take the coronavirus pandemic into account.
advertisement
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News, Politics
Lawmakers urged to borrow funds for roads and high-speed internet
The bill, which would also need voter approval, would funnel $90 million to the state’s highway fund and $15 million towards the expansion of high-speed internet for parts of rural Maine.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News, Politics
Maine Ethics Commission votes 2-1 to investigate power line opponent
The commission’s decision follows a complaint from a political action committee backing Central Maine Power’s proposed $1 billion transmission line through western Maine’s mountains.
Posted inHealth, Local & State, News
Maine bill would exempt online charter schools from vaccine requirements
Lawmakers took public testimony Monday on a bill that would exempt online charter schools from a new vaccine requirement that eliminates philosophical and religious exemptions.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Politics
Bill aimed at reducing number of youths held at Long Creek gets mixed reviews
Lawmakers hear from proponents of reform and those who say the measure doesn’t go far enough to close down the state’s problematic detention center in South Portland.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Politics
Party lines emerge in Legislature over $127 million spending proposal
As lawmakers examine the supplemental budget offered by Gov. Janet Mills in February, Republicans on the Health and Human Service Committee are balking at some of the spending proposals.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Maine DHHS drops ‘substance abuse’ from mental health office name
The name change is another step toward ending the stigma associated with addiction-related illnesses, according to Maine’s opioid response czar.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Politics
Bill would nearly double Maine’s governor’s pay, from $70,000 to $135,000
The legislation that went before the State and Local Government Committee on Monday also would boost pay and reimbursements for state lawmakers and judges, who, like the governor, are the lowest paid in the nation.
Posted inBusiness, Health, Local & State, News
State projects $40 million revenue increase while keeping wary eye on coronavirus threat
The Maine Revenue Forecasting Committee ups its estimate for 2020 tax revenue by $40 million, but some on the panel voice concerns about being prepared if the coronavirus triggers an economic downturn.