Maine Government and Politics News

Paul Violette, the former head of the Maine Turnpike Authority who resigned this year over questions about his spending, has reached a $430,000 settlement with the authority.

Gov. Paul LePage has established a new State Workforce Investment Board within the Maine Department of Labor tasked with developing work force-training policies.

A national environmental group is speaking out against Gov. Paul LePage's recent decision to expand the number of certification programs the state can use when selecting materials for new buildings, calling the move "greenwashing."

Rent-a-Husband founder Kaile Warren, who faced charges of securities fraud that were ultimately dropped, is looking to serve on the Windham Town Council.

Federal officials are considering a proposal from Norwegian company Statoil to build a pilot offshore wind farm south of Boothbay Harbor.

Maine Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Pattie Aho has unveiled a major reorganization of the bureau planned for next year that she says will enhance its effectiveness and create efficiencies. But the Natural Resources Council of Maine is opposing the changes, saying they will detract from the department's work.

A supplemental budget unveiled Tuesday by Gov. Paul LePage seeking to address a $120 million shortfall in the Department of Health and Human Services includes eliminating MaineCare for more than 65,000 Maine residents.

Four out of five Mainers oppose eliminating the U.S. Postal Service, but many support closing some locations and other cost-saving measures.

President Obama has nominated former Maine PR executive and Maine Democratic Party Chairman Frederick Barton to a U.S. State Department post.

Members of Maine's congressional delegation support the extension of unemployment benefits set to expire next month, affecting nearly 4,000 jobless Mainers.

A task force charged with recommending ways to reform the Land Use Regulation Commission has reached a compromise that would give county governments more say on development in the state's unorganized territories.

York County Rep. David Burns faces a criminal investigation by the state's attorney general after the ethics commission found him responsible for several campaign finance violations.

Gov. Paul LePage yesterday announced a major reorganization of Maine Revenue Services that separates policy responsibilities from operational management.

An element of the state's clean election law is in jeopardy. Yesterday, a legislative committee voted 7-5 to eliminate the act's matching funds provision after a failure to agree on how to make the provision comply with a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.

Catherine Cobb has resigned as director of the Department of Health and Human Services' Division of Licensing and Regulation, the division that oversees medical marijuana regulation.