After falling short after vetoes by Gov. Paul LePage the past two sessions, legislators this year are likely to push through a measure to extend truancy laws to 5- and 6-year-olds enrolled in school.
Steve Collins
Columnist
Steve Collins became an opinion columnist for the Maine Trust for Local News in April of 2025. A journalist since 1987, Steve has worked for daily newspapers in New York, Connecticut and Maine and served as the State House reporter for the Sun Journal since 2016. The Maine Press Association named him Maine's Journalist of the Year in 2022. Among his other awards are the Society of Professional Journalists’ 2016 Ethics in Journalism Award, the I.F. Stone Whistle-Blower Award in 2015 and the Bob Wallack Community Journalism Award from the New England Newspaper & Press Association. Steve is a founder and board president of Youth Journalism International, a charity that teaches students around the globe about news writing, media literacy and issues of the day. His wife, Jackie Majerus, serves as its executive director. Born in Massachusetts, he grew up in a military family that took him to Norway, Ohio and Virginia, where he earned a degree in history from the University of Virginia. He and Jackie live in Auburn. They have two adult children, two collies and not enough time.
Posted inLocal & State, Politics
Critics rip into Susan Collins after abortion ruling by Justice Kavanaugh
They blamed the four-term Maine senator for providing Kavanaugh with the opportunity to join the losing side of a 5-4 ruling that blocked proposed restrictions on who could perform abortions in Louisiana.
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Posted inLocal & State, Politics
Lawmakers weigh ‘ban the box’ bill to help former prisoners get jobs
Taking the question of criminal history off the application would allow an opportunity to get to know the person who is applying, she said on behalf of the Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition.
Posted inLocal & State, Politics
Jared Golden calls Trump’s ‘NAFTA 2.0’ deal ‘more of the same’
The president said that his new deal would replace “and deliver for American workers: bringing back our manufacturing jobs, expanding American agriculture, protecting intellectual property, and ensuring that more cars are proudly stamped with four beautiful words: Made in the USA.”
Posted inLocal & State, Politics
Golden invites Maine AFL-CIO leader to Trump’s State of the Union speech
Golden, who took office last month, has championed labor issues long before he won office in a close election in November, Cynthia Phinney said.
Posted inLocal & State
Election Day might become a state holiday in Maine celebrating democracy
Supporters of the idea, which has been picking up steam for years, say that more people would have a chance to vote if fewer had to go to work.
Posted inLocal & State, Politics
Rep. Golden sponsors bill to withhold pay for Congress, president in shutdowns
Golden is introducing the bill along with Reps. Dan Crenshaw, a Texas Republican, and Max Rose, a New York Democrat. All three are freshmen.
Posted inLocal & State
Back in era of elixirs, one in Auburn claimed to expel lizards from your stomach. Frogs, too.
Nearly forgotten today, the Auburn-made mixture was once a staple for many families angling to “Keep Children Well.”
Posted inLocal & State, Politics
Transgender woman enters U.S. Senate race to unseat Republican Susan Collins
Independent Danielle VanHelsing said the incumbent Republican, Susan Collins, is “a terrible senator” who doesn’t put the needs of Mainers first.
Posted inLocal & State, Nation & World
Trump threats to quit NATO spur Maine lawmakers to defend 70-year-old alliance
Collins, a Maine Republican, is part of a bipartisan group that introduced a resolution this month to prohibit a president from withdrawing from NATO without first securing approval from the Senate.