Voice of the Voter

In The Arena: Strimling & Bruno

4:24 PM, May 16, 2013

(NEWS CENTER) Health care issues have taken center stage at the State House this week. Political analysts Ethan Strimling and Joe Bruno are In The Arena with Pat Callaghan.

Hospital debt once again on front burner in Augusta

8:12 PM, May 14, 2013

AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- With just a few weeks to go in the legislative session, the focus in Augusta is once again on the $484 million debt Maine owes to its hospitals.

Medical marijuana supporters want expansion

6:36 PM, May 14, 2013

AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWS CENTER) - The people who own and manage Maine's eight medical marijuana dispensaries are asking the Legislature to let the drug be used to treat far more medical conditions.

Portlanders vote on school budget, whether to vote on school budget

6:16 PM, May 14, 2013

PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) - Voters in several communities in Maine go to the polls to approve or reject their local school budgets but that process may be changing.

America's Edge says partnership between education, business is key to closing skills gap

5:33 PM, May 14, 2013

PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- A new report out today suggests Maine will need 15,000 more highly-skilled workers to make sure it can fill future jobs.

CBO estimates 2013 deficit at $642 billion

3:15 PM, May 14, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) - A new government estimate says the budget deficit for the current year will come in well below what was projected just a few months ago.

Sen. Collins: "Heads Should Roll" in IRS scandal

2:06 PM, May 14, 2013

(NBCNC) - There are calls this morning for an independent prosecutor to look into whether the IRS singled out conservative groups for extra scrutiny. 

Maine House sustains LePage veto of superintendent residency proposal

11:38 AM, May 14, 2013

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - The Maine House has voted to uphold Gov. Paul LePage's veto of a bill that sought to allow school districts to hire superintendents without regard for whether they live within the district they will head.

Maine towns, cities answer gov's budget challenge

11:36 AM, May 14, 2013

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - Maine municipalities are responding to Gov. Paul LePage's invitation to come up with their own ideas to balance the state budget without suspending revenue sharing.

Maine background check bill surfaces in Senate

11:34 AM, May 14, 2013

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - A gun-control bill calling for background checks at gun shows is up for debate in the Maine Senate.

Strimling & Harriman on playing nice in Augusta

6:48 PM, May 13, 2013

(NEWS CENTER) -- We talk with our political analysts about latest stalemate between republicans and democrats over paying a huge debt to hospitals.

Government subpoenas, obtains wide set of AP phone records in investigation

5:52 PM, May 13, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Justice Department has secretly obtained two months of telephone records of journalists for The Associated Press in what AP's top executive says is an "unprecedented intrusion" into newsgathering.

Obama: Targeting by IRS is 'outrageous'

12:46 PM, May 13, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama says the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups is "outrageous" and anyone involved needs to be "held fully accountable."

Benghazi probe focuses on edited talking points

12:17 PM, May 13, 2013

(NBCNC) - Inside emails show there was a lot of concern about what the public would hear, and lots of changes made from the C.I.A.'s original assessment of who was responsible. 

In The Arena: Richardson & Nemitz

3:17 PM, May 9, 2013

(NEWS CENTER) The response to the rash of fires in Lewiston has stirred up some partisan sniping at the State House. Ray Richardson of WLOB Radio's Lobster Network and Bill Nemitz of the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram talk politics In The Arena with Pat Callaghan.

Lobsterman support license adjustments for active duty military

7:54 PM, May 8, 2013

AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWS CENTER) --- Members of the state's  first lobstermen's union were busy lobbying at the State House on Wednesday.

Photo by Anthony Armstrong

Fire assistance sparks political heat in Augusta

7:11 PM, May 8, 2013

AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWS CENTER) - The problems caused by the Lewiston fires have reached the Maine Legislature, and are prompting complaints by Republicans that Democrats are "playing politics" with the issue. 

School grades once again a focus in Augusta

6:25 PM, May 8, 2013

AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- Maine's Commissioner of Education is laying out what the department plans to do now that it's graded Maine schools.

House subcommittees examine Keystone deal

5:39 PM, May 8, 2013

By Malia Rulon Herman, Gannett Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- The Keystone XL pipeline is not only environmentally sound but would decrease emissions and save lives, proponents of the project said at a joint hearing before two House subcommittees Tuesday.

Maine Democrats unveil school evaluation system

1:29 PM, May 8, 2013

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - Democratic lawmakers are proposing their own plan to evaluate Maine's public schools.

Ethanol Causing Issues In Engines

House OKs bills to limit ethanol sales in Maine

12:57 PM, May 8, 2013

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - The Maine House has given initial approval to bills that would ban the sale of ethanol in Maine or limit its use to a 5 percent blend.

Lawmakers set to hold new hearings on Benghazi

12:10 PM, May 8, 2013

WASHINGTON, D.C. (NBCNC) - Today - explosive testimony is expected in Washington about whether the U.S. could've stopped the attack on our consulate in Benghazi, but didn't. 

LePage vetoes Maine superintendent residency bill

11:45 AM, May 8, 2013

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - Gov. Paul LePage has vetoed a bill allowing school districts to hire superintendents without regard for whether they live within the district they will head.

Maine Democrats to unveil school evaluation system

11:43 AM, May 8, 2013

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - Democratic lawmakers are scheduled to unveil their own plan to evaluate Maine's public schools.

Harriman and Strimling: food stamps and hospital payments

9:25 AM, May 8, 2013

(NEWS CENTER) - Our political analysts joined us this morning to talk about two topics.

Strimling & Harriman on a possible state government shutdown

7:25 PM, May 7, 2013

(NEWS CENTER) -- We talk with our political analysts about the likelihood there will be a partial shutdown of State services if a 2-year budget can't be reached by the end of June.

 

Small farms rally to support laws for fewer state regulations

7:23 PM, May 7, 2013

AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWS CENTER) --- Some farmers in Maine are asking the state for a lighter hand when it comes to regulation.

School board approves Portland's first charter school

4:23 PM, May 7, 2013

PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) - Portland's school board has approved the city's first ever charter school.

Maine panel acts on east-west highway bills

4:02 PM, May 7, 2013

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - A Maine legislative committee has voted on several bills aimed at stalling or killing the proposed east-west highway, virtually assuring their final fate in the House and Senate.

Senate OKs bill on Maine interstate speeds

3:35 PM, May 7, 2013

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - The Maine Senate has given final approval and sent to Gov. Paul LePage a bill allowing - but not ordering - higher speeds on Maine's interstate highways.