Fresh
Portland s Deering Oaks Park will be closed briefly while the city works to remove browntail moth nests from trees.
2 hours ago in Local
Fresh
A former Maine police chief wanted to skip out of a public meeting so badly that it cost him his career.
2 hours ago in Local
Updated
A federal appeals court is allowing construction to proceed on a 53-mile stretch that’s a critical part of a $1 billion utility corridor aimed at bringing Canadian hydropower to the New England grid.
National Headlines
16 hours ago in National, Trending
Attorneys for three former Minneapolis officers awaiting trial in George Floyd s death will be in court Thursday to argue pretrial motions, including a request that prosecutors be sanctioned after media reports that Derek Chauvin had planned to plead guilty a year ago, and allegations that they haven t disclosed information about the alleged coercion of a witness.
1 day ago in National
Legislature delays floor session after two members test positive for COVID-19
The House and Senate floor sessions scheduled for next Thursday at the Augusta Civic Center have been postponed until May 19.
Share
The Maine Legislature has postponed meetings of the full House and Senate that were scheduled next week at the Augusta Civic Center after two lawmakers tested positive for COVID-19.
The Legislature’s Executive Director, Suzanne Gresser, said Friday the delay is out of “an abundance of caution,” and the two cases were unrelated to each other.
Gresser said the Legislature’s presiding officers, Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, and House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, made the decision after a second lawmaker tested positive following the Legislature’s April 28th floor session at the civic center.
A budget that will guide the next two years of spending in Maine passed the Legislature late last month without expanded funding for legal services for low-income Mainers. The decision opens the door further to litigation if lawmakers cannot resolve a decade of underfunding for a mandatory state service.
Lawmakers committed $17.6 million to the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services, or MCILS, in each of the next two budget years. Most of that will be spent to reimburse private defense attorneys contracted with the state to represent those who cannot afford to hire their own lawyers.
This story was originally published by The Maine Monitor.
News Center Maine reported about Republican Representative Michael Lemelin responding to an email and using the term China virus when referring to Covid-19. That got the Speaker of the House Ryan Fecteau, to call the response racist .
Here s some background. Krista Gerrity from Windham had emailed a bunch of state lawmakers recently because of concerns about Republican-led efforts to get Maine s Dept. of Education and CDC to loosen COVID-19 restrictions and have schools reopen fully. Rep. Lemelin (District 88 Chelsea, Jefferson, Nobleboro, and Whitefield) emailed her.
Krista Gerrity
In his email, that Krista shared iwth News Center Maine, he not only downplayed the virus, but called it the China virus. Wow.read the room dude. Not only is this ridiculous and untrue, but as Krista told News Center