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Maine voters in November will consider a ballot question seeking to overturn a newly-minted state law that changes the funding method for the Dirigo Health Program.

While we scrambled to meet income tax deadlines last April 15, Maine politicians passed $70 million in tax increases on health care and beverages to pump more tax dollars into Dirigo Health. In response, the state Chamber of Commerce, the beverage industry and other businesses united as the Fed Up With Taxes coalition to put a people's veto question on the November ballot, hoping voters will reject the new taxes.

Women Given Obama The Edge in Maine: In an election for President of the United States in Maine today, 09/24/08, Democrat Barack Obama defeats Republican John McCain 49% to 44%, according to this SurveyUSA poll conducted exclusively for WCSH-TV Portland and WLBZ-TV Bangor. Obama's lead comes entirely from women. The candidates are effectively tied among men. McCain runs strong among gun owners, Pro-Life voters, those who say the United States is still a Super Power, and those who attend religious services regularly. Obama runs strong among college graduates, among lower-income voters, among Pro-Choice voters, and among voters who almost never...

Maine Freepers: I had heard a comment from Olympia Snowe earlier in the campaign that McCain had a shot at taking one district in Maine (an extra EV) - I have just heard the comment repeated today on talk radio, that McCain has a shot at one district in Maine (important because of all of the EVs models showing a possible 269-269 tie). Maine Freepers: Do you have any info on this, or are you privy to any polls about said distraict in Maine? Any info to clarify would help, thanks!

Report: Maine growth modest Conditions are likely to deteriorate in 2008 AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Center for Economic Policy released its annual Labor Day report outlining the status of working Mainers and the state economy. Using 2007 U.S. government data (the most current available), "The State of Working Maine" reveals a picture of modest overall growth in Maine, coupled with limited income gains for typical Maine households. Median household income in Maine saw an increase of some $1,200, rising by 2.7 percent in real terms to $45,888. Though a welcome advance for working Mainers, it is also clear that...

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine motorists are paying more to register their vehicles with the state. As of Monday, fees increased by $10 for vehicle registrations, vanity license plates and titles. Don Cookson of the Secretary of State’s Office said the added fees would generate revenue to support bridge and road maintenance.

BANGOR, Maine — The Maine Humanities Council will present a two-part series, “Fear, Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law” this fall at the Bangor Public Library.

AUGUSTA, Maine – The Fed Up With Taxes/YES on 1 coalition aired its first television ad last night during the Democratic National Convention. The 30 second ad features Gary Emmons, a small businessman and owner of Exit 26 Quik Stop in Richmond.

Awhile back I got an email from one of my readers who asked if I would write about the Somali Refugees of Lewiston Maine. In the late nineties the Somalis came to our state in search of services. Before that most of them had been relegated to Big cities such as New York and Boston. A larger concentration lived in Atlanta. They were unhappy with raising their families in neighborhoods with high crime rates and where hip hop culture turned other African Americans to immorality. In Somali culture, they would send scouts to find fertile land to raise cattle...

AUGUSTA (Aug 20): A veto of taxes on beer, wine, soda and health insurance passed at the end of the legislative session to fund the state’s subsidized insurance plan known as DirigoChoice will appear on the November ballot after the Secretary of State’s Office on Monday certified 72,432 signatures on a petition calling for the referendum.

UPDATE 5:10 p.m. Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter, in a brief order Wednesday afternoon, turned down a request that would have given an independent candidate in Maine for the U.S. Senate a place on the Nov. 4 ballot for that office. Souter acted without referring the stay application to his colleagues. There was no written opinion, just a simple denial order. The Justice’s action appears to assure the state’s two major party candidates, incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, and her Democratic challenger, Rep. Tom Allen, that they will not have to worry about an independent drawing votes away...

Maine is notorious for having one of the strongest environmental regulations on the planet. Mainers care more about rats birds bugs weeds and puddles than they do about unemployment, poverty, budget deficits and homelessness. Maybe that's way the later four are so common in Maine. Similarly in states like California where citizens and its agriculture must suffer a drought to protect a bunch of sucker fish or in Florida where a big swamp matters more than new jobs or agriculture the welfare and rights of human beings are compromised along with their jobs and homes to protect useless dumb animals...

AUGUSTA, Maine - Gov. John Baldacci said Monday he would propose lowering Maine's personal income taxes in the January session of the Maine Legislature, but how much depends on the state budget now being developed. "We are going to be doing more budget cutting, more budget restructuring, more efficiencies," he said Monday in an interview. "We have only just begun that process with jails and school administrative districts. More needs to be done, and we are going to do more of that and reduce the income tax on earned income."

It may surprise some folks on the west coast to learn that California may not be the most liberal state in America when it comes to mandating socialism and political correctness. Yes there may be certain things where California out ranks Maine such as the outrageous ruling banning homeschooling and the coddling of illegal immigrants but in most cases, IE: taxes, BIG government, restriction, the environment, Maine outranks California as being one of the most backward socialist states in the country along with Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode island and a few other states and it shows greatly. Maine has the highest...

Supporters of the new Dirigo taxes on soda, beer, wine and health care services have gone on the offensive. In an attempt to frighten and manipulate Maine voters, they have resorted to outrageous claims of dire consequences to Dirigo and our entire health care system should the new Dirigo taxes be repealed in November by a people's veto.

SUTTON ISLAND, Maine - This offshore island, one of five islands that make up the town of Cranberry Isles, has no year-round residents. It doesn’t even have any roads to speak of, which is one reason it has had a peculiar seasonal mail delivery system to serve the occupants of 25 or so seasonal homes. Residents say that since at least the 1950s, and perhaps longer, mail has been delivered to the island by a private passenger ferry service, leaving packages, postcards, letters, bills, and whatever else had enough postage in a specially marked trash can on the float at...

President Bush arrived in Kennebunkport on Thursay evening. He will remain there until Sunday. Today, he will attend a wedding of one of his cousin’s son on the grounds of the Bush home on Walker point. Love at White House; Bush staffers to wed in Kennebunkport The Bush family home in Kennebunkport, Maine. President Bush chastised Democrats on Saturday for refusing to allow a vote on whether to lift the federal ban on offshore oil drilling. In his weekly radio address President Bush said, "I know that high energy prices are making this a difficult time for many of our...

BELFAST, Maine - The recently approved increase in the price of electricity comes at a time when businesses and institutions around the state already are struggling with the growing cost of energy. The Maine Public Utilities Commission on Tuesday approved rate increases for medium and large customers of Bangor Hydro-Electric Co. and Central Maine Power Co.

Recently I saw two movies that attacked the controversial Wal-mart department store. A PBS documentary called Is Wal-Mart good for America? And Wal-Mart the high cost of low price an independent movie about Wal-mart and the Walton family. I also visited wakeupwalmart.com for more info this article is a refutation on most of the BS that appeared on the two documentaries. First of all we need to ask ourselves why "Wal-Mart is under ferocious attack by the left?" Wal-Mart delivers well on its promise of low prices to Americans. Being a resident of one of the poorest and liberal states...

Summer is half over. Know why? Because Maine's blueberry harvest is underway. And blueberry growers are expecting a pretty good crop this year. University of Maine experts expect an average or slightly above average yield of 80 million to 100 million pounds of berries, thanks to adequate rain in May and June. Blueberry specialist David Yarborough says the hot, humid, but largely dry first few weeks of July stressed crops to some degree. But he says recent showers are refreshing them. Love to head out and pick the little blue bubbles of yummy, juicy goodness? If you are in southern...

BANGOR, Maine - The city’s taxicab drivers and owners didn’t have to do much convincing to get local officials to entertain their request for a pay raise. Like everyone else who depends on fuel, members of Bangor’s taxi industry say they are being driven to their knees by skyrocketing gasoline prices, which currently are close to $4 a gallon. For relief, they have turned to the City Council, which regulates how much they can charge.

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Supporters of an effort to repeal new taxes on beer, wine, soda and other beverages raised 15 times as much money as repeal opponents in the latest financial reporting period. The Fed Up With Taxes coalition raised nearly $375,000 for its repeal campaign between May 28 and July 15, according to reports filed with the Maine ethics commission. A tax repeal opposition group, Health Coverage for Maine, raised just over $25,000 for the same period.

JONESBORO, Maine - When John Cox heard about plans to turn 87 miles of inactive rail bed in Washington and Hancock counties into public trails, he hoped someone would start a petition against it.

A Johnson Road resident has periodically been confronted with a bag of trash deposited in her driveway and it appears crows may have helped identify a culprit. Fed up, the resident called the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Department this week and reported the latest unwelcome gift. The resident reported that trash has been deposited in her driveway several times over the years... Arriving at the residence on Wednesday, Dow said he picked up a trash bag that had been dropped off and when he did so, part of a court summons fell out through a hole pecked out by crows. The...

The get-out-the-vote effort in Maine broke new ground Wednesday when more than 200 inmates in the Maine State Prison registered to cast ballots. Prison officials said it was the first prisoner education and registration drive held at the facility. Deputy Warden Leida Dardis said the event, which was organized by Maine chapters of the NAACP, allowed representatives from the state Democratic, Republican and Green Independent parties to meet with prisoners in morning and afternoon informational sessions. Maine and Vermont are the only states that give people convicted of felonies the right to vote while in prison. Some states bar felons...

SANFORD (May 21, 2008): A Sanford native who fought in the Revolutionary War is in need of more than just a flag and marker this Memorial Day. Nathan Powers lived on the Grammar Road and was laid to rest there in the Powers Cemetery, about a half-mile from the junction of Route 4. He died 181 years ago and the wear and tear of his headstone shows it. That's where Sumner Thompson of Scarborough comes in. He believes that a veterans organization should step up and purchase a new gravestone. A retired Scarborough resident and World War II veteran, Thompson,...

A state-funded organization in Maine that has been touted as "a stellar program for social change" is advertising a coming seminar that essentially provides information to impressionable school-age boys on how to be homosexual, according to a pro-family organization opposing the plans. The seminar is called "Queer, Questioning, Quiet: Developing Gender Identity & Male Sexual Orientation" and is being promoted by the Boys to Men organization headquartered in Portland, Maine, during its coming 2008 conference. The session is to feature a presentation by speakers from the homosexual Proud Rainbow Youth for Southern Maine, officials said. "I think it's outrageous," Michael...

Lately I've been thinking of four left wing incidents that happened in Maine over the course of two years. I feel I should get them off my chest I think some of them would be interesting and I think others should know about them. The first one involves an incident that took place in the Bangor metro area two years ago. This freind of mine and his family were having trouble. He had difficulty getting by and he worked at Edwards Shop'n'save in Hampden outside Bangor. He was on food stamps and his wife was laid off and couldn't get...

The state’s top drug prosecutor was fired on Friday, hours after reports were published that he was under investigation for possessing child pornography. Assistant Attorney General James Cameron of Hallowell, who worked as the drug prosecution coordinator for the Attorney General’s Office, had been on paid administrative leave for several months, according to one law enforcement source.

Exchange over flag desecration at UM at Farmington

AUGUSTA, Maine -- Gov. John Baldacci signed into law a bill to tighten standards for getting a Maine driver's license, acknowledging that the measures were a tough issue for lawmakers. Under pressure for the federal government, Baldacci wasted little time before signing the bill Thursday night after the Senate approved it by a 19-15 vote despite criticism from civil libertarians. With the bill's enactment, Maine joins 44 other states, including the rest of New England, in making proof of legal U.S. residency a requirement for getting a driver's license, the governor said. Previously, the state did not require any proof...

Dealing with border-jumping duffers Enhanced security putting the future of unique Aroostook Valley Country Club at risk By Mark Rickard and Madeleine LeClerc Published Friday April 11th, 2008 Appeared on page A2 Will the only golf course that sits on both sides of the Canada-United States border fall victim to enhanced border security? The future of the Aroostook Valley Country Club – which has served both Americans and Canadians for 81 years – is in doubt if United States Customs border patrol officers enforce entry regulations at the club. For more than eight decades, Aroostook Valley has been a unique...

Officer, lawmaker team up Those who peer at children in public could find themselves on the wrong side of the law in Maine soon. A bill that passed the House last month aims to strengthen the crime of visual sexual aggression against children, according to state Rep. Dawn Hill, D-York. Her involvement started when Ogunquit Police Lt. David Alexander was called to a local beach to deal with a man who appeared to be observing children entering the community bathrooms. Because the state statute prevents arrests for visual sexual aggression of a child in a public place, Alexander said he...

First off thanks in advance. I have a grand daughter that has been taken by the state of Maine, And have done so against the family wishes. I need any website or lawyers that can be of help, I do have a call into the aclj Please keep this thread up I need your input.

Trinity graduate has family history of schizophrenia "Voices" in the head of an award-winning Irish computer science graduate told him to rob a bank, it was claimed yesterday. Niall Clarke (27) was suffering from schizophrenia when he carried out a botched bank raid in Maine, a mental illness also suffered by his grandmother, said his solicitor yesterday. The brilliant Trinity graduate from Kilrush in Co Clare was sentenced to almost 10 years in prison earlier this week after the 2006 robbery of the Bangor Bank of America. "He was hearing voices that the bank had to be robbed. He said...

How Does Tom Allen Keep His Promise to US Vets If....? Would Tom Allen Recognize a U.S. Vet if He Saw One? Tom Allen’s campaign for U.S. Senator website is promoting a feature called, “Keeping Our Promise To American’s Veterans,” with a series of photos. But how does Tom Allen keep his promise to American Veterans if he doesn’t know what one looks like? The picture below from Allen's website is a stock photo of a Royal Navy sailor. A U.S. Navy sailor would not be wearing a beard. The weapon in the picture is a British weapon. This isn’t...

Fox just reported that preliminarily, Obama is beating Hillary in Maine with about 50% of the votes in. 28 Delagates at stake. Barak - 57%, Hillary - 42%

CAPE ELIZABETH — Sen. Barack Obama cruised to an easy win in the Cape Elizabeth caucus on Saturday, defeating Sen. Hillary Clinton by a vote of 72 to 28 percent. More than 680 people turned out to participate in the caucus, more than double the number of those that showed up in 2004, according to Jamie Wagner, the chairman of the Cape Elizabeth Democratic Committee. The large crowd delayed the start of the caucus by more than an hour. Obama won by a final tally of 556 to 217. That total includes the 94 Democrats who voted absentee. The Illinois...

Laura Ingraham, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and the Conservative Talk Radio Party (CTRP) took a meaningless beauty contest of fewer than 10,000 people in Maine and spun it up nicely on Monday to assure listeners across the country that Maine was proof positive the other McCain surge wasn't working. To be fair, Romney trounced McCain in the weekend caucuses. From various reports, it was pretty clear that the Romney people had a plan and executed that plan flawlessly. The McCain people, on the other hand, had little or no organization -- and it showed. more..

Throughout the state of Maine, people have gathered at their local caucus site over the last two days and cast their vote for conservative change in Washington. With only a few caucus sites left to report tomorrow, Governor Romney issued the following statement concerning his victory in Maine: "Today, the people of Maine joined those from across the nation in casting their vote for conservative change in Washington. All across the state, men and women gathered to help chart the future course of our country. Tonight, they have made their voice known and have endorsed our conservative vision for a...

Are all of the delegates binding, or are some binding in some states, but not other states.

AUGUSTA, Maine - Mitt Romney coasted to a win in presidential preference voting by Maine Republicans on Saturday, claiming his third victory in a caucus state and fourth overall. The former Massachusetts governor had 52 percent of the vote with 68 percent of the towns holding caucuses reporting. John McCain trailed with 21 percent, Ron Paul was third with 19 percent, and Mike Huckabee had 6 percent. Undecided votes accounted for 2 percent. The nonbinding votes, the first step toward electing 18 Maine delegates to the Republican National Convention, took place in public schools, Grange halls, fire stations and town...

According to the Associated Press, Mitt Romney won 53% of the vote, followed not at all closely by John McCain, who won 21% and Ron Paul, who won 19%. Mr. Romney's campaign spent money to turn out voters, whereas Mr. McCain's did not. But every statewide elected official was with McCain,

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, had 59% of the vote with 3% of the towns holding caucuses reporting. Ron Paul trailed with 19%, John McCain had 18%, and Mike Huckabee and undecided votes each had about 2%.

Legislative leaders, voting along party lines on Thursday, rejected proposed legislation that would require parental consent for schools to give children 14 and under prescription drugs, including birth control pills. Republican Sen. Douglas Smith of Dover-Foxcroft, who sponsored the measure, denounced Democratic leaders for not allowing the issue to be considered this session. "This is a fundamental right we are talking about here," Smith said. "This is a parental right to control the prescription drugs their children are taking. The Democratic majority today felt that the state should have the right to intercede in that, and that is an unfortunate...

BANGOR, Me. — In October, the N.A.A.C.P. chapter for northern Maine got shocking news. A man from a nearby town had threatened to shoot “any and all black persons” attending the group’s meetings at an old stone church here, and state prosecutors were worried enough to seek a restraining order. Such remarks are not unheard of in Maine, the nation’s whitest state, which has fewer black residents — 10,918 in 2006, or less than 1 percent of the population, according to the Census Bureau — than some neighborhoods of Chicago or New York. But nor are they usually so blunt....

PORTLAND, Maine - When Steve Kahn got a $26,000 tax bill on his airplane, he thought Maine Revenue Services had made a mistake. Kahn lives, works, and keeps his plane in Massachusetts. But the bill was no error. It was part of the agency's efforts to collect taxes on aircraft owned by out-of-state residents, even though they bought their planes elsewhere and brought them to Maine only to visit. A number of other states, from Florida to Washington, are doing the same as they grapple with budget shortfalls and as the Internet makes it easier to track the comings and...

Maine’s license residency issue took a sharp political turn Thursday as House Republicans expressed shock over a report that calls for tighter rules but stops short of saying illegal aliens should be prevented from getting driver’s licenses. "At a time when our country is at war with Islamic extremists, it is absurd to give licenses to illegal aliens," said House Minority Leader Josh Tardy of Newport. "These people could be anybody. But with an official license, they can board flights, enter government buildings, collect welfare and probably even vote." Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap dismissed the GOP criticism. But he...

Worcester Wreath Company of Harrington has for 15 years been donating wreaths and decorating the graves of 4,500 veterans buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. This year's convoy from Maine to Virginia is slated to be the biggest, with between 50 and 300 vehicles joining along various sections of the route. On Sunday, Dec. 9, more than 10,000 donated Christmas wreaths will make their way down Route 1 from Harrington. Rockland Police Officer John Bagley will be escorting the convoy from Harrington through to South Portland. And as the wreath-loaded tractor trailer passes through Rockport Sunday, the Rockland Fire...

BOWDOIN COLLEGE GRANT, Maine (AP) — The high price of metal apparently has prompted thieves to pilfer the remains of a B-52 bomber that crashed and killed seven servicemen on Elephant Mountain 45 years ago. The soaring price of metal has left nothing sacred to thieves, said Piscataquis County Sheriff John Goggin. The crash site is listed on the Maine Historic Archaeological Sites inventory, and a memorial service is held there each January. There have been a lot of break-ins at camps and summer homes where copper tubing and other metals have taken, but desecrating a grave site is another...