Snow, rain, freeze. Snow, rain, freeze. That was the weather pattern for the heart of winter this year. Casts on arms were this year’s fashion statement, and stores sold out of “creepers,” the little picky things that go on over your boots to give you a fighting chance at navigating the sidewalks. It took a …
It’s official. Maine’s state bird is a bird. A chickadee for sure, but whether we mean the arboreal or the black-capped chickadee, we just don’t give a hoot. LD 572 has been sent to the dead file. The bird pictured on the Maine license plate is the black-capped, so there is that in its favor. …
At this point in the legislative session there are 144 bills that have been referred to the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee. A small number of those bills are in the “cultural” terrain of the committee, but the large majority of them are about education. What could be so wrong? Do we really need 144 …
It is town meeting season in Maine and in this era of dysfunctional government it is something for which we can be thankful. Usually. If that government is best which governs least, Maine towns got the memo. Town meeting is as direct as democracy gets. Of Maine’s nearly 500 municipalities, only Portland has a population …
A bill before the Maine Legislature is embroiled in two classic arguments. How do we use science to support political decisions, and how do we balance our individual rights versus those of society? Hundreds of Mainers showed up in Augusta last week to testify on LD 798, An Act to Protect Maine Children from Preventable …
A recent radio call-in show featured two Maine legislators, a Republican and a Democrat, invited to discuss the legislative session so far. It went like this. Caller: “You’re familiar with LD ABC? About taxes?” Legislator: “Er, not that specific bill…” Next caller: “You know the bill about lobster fishing, LD XYZ?” Legislator: “Umm, I’m not …
In the pile of bills being considered by Maine legislators, there are some esoteric ones. A bill about cusk. A bill about spat. A bill about auricular acupuncture. Then there are the bills about Maine stuff, the designated symbols that allegedly reflect our state identity. They are proposed by ardent historians, horticulturalists, geologists and sometimes …
Snow, rain, freeze. Snow, rain, freeze. Basketball. That about sums up this part of the Maine winter. We are all doing the old person shuffle on the streets and sidewalks, and the actual old persons? Staying at home like the survivors they are. The legislature? Not staying home. Neither rain, nor snow… Well, sometimes snow, …
Scene: Maine House of Representatives. Close shot of Governor Janet Mills at the podium. Action. Governor Mills begins her “State of the Budget” address. “In this budget there are no tax increases. There are no gimmicks. There are no negative balances. This budget is pro-growth. It is pro-jobs. It is pro-people.” A voice from offstage: …
It was a workmanlike beginning to the 129th Legislature. Bills were drafted, printed and assigned to committees. Hearings were scheduled. The House and Senate met now and again, processing mostly routine matters. Athletes, retirees and the city of Auburn were congratulated. A bill to “Exclude Antique Tractors from the Laws Governing Motor Vehicle Racing” was …
