Here are some stories to watch this week Author: Rachel Wingrat Updated: 6:45 AM EST February 16, 2021
MAINE, USA Here are some stories to keep your eye on this week.
Tuesday, February 16
On Tuesday, Kennebec County commissioners will discuss the future of the Justice Melville Weston Fuller statue that sits outside of the courthouse. Justice Fuller was born in Augusta and served on the Supreme Court. His legacy is controversial, though, because of how he voted in the landmark Plessy v. Ferguson case in 1896, saying that segregation was constitutional. It s not clear what would happen to the statue if commissioners decide to remove it.
Maine county commissioners have ‘huge incentive’ to pass extreme resolutions Contributed • February 15, 2021
By David Marino Jr., Bangor Daily News Staff
Recent resolutions stridently opposing Gov. Janet Mills’ COVID-19 measures from commissioners in Androscoggin and Piscataquis counties have focused new attention on a level of government that seldom attracts much notice.
All 16 of Maine’s counties are governed by county commissioners, but their power is generally limited to setting budgets for sheriff’s offices, jails and a few other functions, as well as some local matters in the sparsely populated unorganized territories.
Their relative lack of direct influence coupled with the public’s general lack of interest in the positions make county commissions ripe for overt partisanship, according to experts and those with experience in Maine county government.
Feeding the front line, whooping cranes, stadium crowds: News from around our 50 states From USA TODAY Network and wire reports, USA TODAY
Alabama
Montgomery: Vaccines against COVID-19 will soon be available at more than 70 Walmart and Sam’s Club stores across Alabama, the company and the state announced. The retailer said people who meet the state’s eligibility requirements can begin signing up for appointments, and the immunizations begin Friday. Part of the program’s aim is to get the vaccine into areas without adequate medical services, the company said. That includes the south Alabama town of Brewton, which the company said was chosen to get the vaccine because other immunization sites are so far away. More than 1,000 Walmart and Sam’s Club pharmacies in Alabama and 21 other states are receiving federal vaccine allocations this week. Gov. Kay Ivey said the state was grateful for the doses but urged patience since each store will have a limited supply
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A Maine county commissioner is continuing a campaign to stop the enforcement of the state’s mandatory mask order, despite rulings by the state’s highest court that
Anti-Maskers Shout Cowards and Shame After COVID Mask Mandate Vote Postponed
On 2/4/21 at 1:42 PM EST
Anti-mask supporters in Androscoggin County, Maine, could be heard shouting cowards and shame, after county commissioners voted Wednesday to postpone a resolution that aims to reject a mask mandate ordered by Democratic Governor Janet Mills.
Nearly two dozen residents gathered for the commissioner meeting to support the anti-mask mandate resolution that accuses Mills of interfering with citizen liberties by requiring the use of facial coverings in public.
The resolution, which was introduced by County Commissioner Isaiah Lary, says that all citizens, businesses and visitors of Androscoggin County should be free to wear or not wear masks in accordance with their own preference.