Central Maine News: June 9, 2015

These are some of the stories central Maine is talking about today.

Many local communities are holding elections today. The school budgets are on the ballot in Augusta and many other towns and districts go to the polls for school, municipal votes. Embden residents will vote on SAD 74 withdrawal. Waterville residents vote on whether to toss the pay-as-you-throw trash and curbside recycling program. Click here to find out if there’s a referendum in your area.

centralmaine.com - Cony High School in Augusta was evacuated because of a bomb threat yesterday, for the second time in a week. Police say a written threat was found in a bathroom. Bomb sniffing dogs were brought in to investigate the threat. Last week students were sent to another location. Yesterday the students were dismissed.

Sun-Journal - A Whitefield woman has been found dead in a Durham home. Authorities are investigating the cause of the death of the 47 year-old woman, discovered in bed at a residence on Hallowell Road. Rescue crews were called to the home to attend to a 63-year-old man who was recovering from heart surgery who had been complaining of chest pain. According to the Sun-Journal, when paramedics arrived, they discovered the deceased woman.

WABI - Ryan Pomerleau, 31, of Augusta will spend four years in prison for stealing checks from the mail. Augusta police last fall recovered several pieces of mail while arresting another person for burglary. Police say that suspect told them Pomerleau offered to let him make money cashing checks. He had pleaded guilty in federal court in January.

WGME - CBS 13 is investigating a claim that two violent killers who escaped from an upstate New York maximum security prison, were spotted in South Paris. The two broke out of the Clinton Correctional Facility in New York. The first escape in the prison's 170 year history.

(AP) — Republican Gov. Paul LePage is keeping his promise and vetoing all bills sponsored by Democratic lawmakers because they're blocking his effort to eliminate the income tax. LePage vetoed 10 Democratic bills yesterday. In each of the veto letters, he said that he's rejecting the bills because Democrats have "stifled the voice of Maine citizens" by not allowing them to decide whether they want to get rid of the income tax. LePage wants to pass a constitutional amendment, which would require voter approval, to abolish the income tax by 2020. The Democratic-led House rejected the bill by an 82-64 vote on Monday. LePage did not discuss the merits of the bills in his veto letters. He also vetoed two bills sponsored by Republicans Monday.

(AP) — Republican Gov. Paul LePage says he will introduce a temporary spending plan to ensure state government stays open if a budget isn't in place by the end of the month.
LePage yesterday said that he'll introduce a 30-day continuing resolution so lawmakers can continue working on a budget after June 30. The Appropriations Committee recently passed a spending plan, but House Republicans say they will defeat it because it doesn't include income tax cuts or welfare changes. LePage floated the idea of a continuing resolution in 2013. But Attorney General Janet Mills said the move would "throw the state into financial uncertainty." Democratic House Speaker Mark Eves said in a statement that legislative leaders hope to pass a two-year budget before a continuing resolution becomes necessary.

(AP) — The Maine House of Representatives has supported a bill that would raise the state's $7.50 minimum wage to $9.50 by 2018. The Democratic-controlled House voted 81-66 to give initial approval to Democratic Rep. Dillon Bates' bill. It would raise the minimum wage to $8 in October. It would then go up 50 cents every year until it reaches $9.50. But the support is not enough to survive a near certain veto from Gov. Paul LePage, who opposes the measure and has rejected a similar bill in the past. Democrats say raising the minimum wage is long overdue and will spur economic growth. But many Republicans say the move will kill jobs. The bill now heads to the Republican-controlled Senate. It faces further votes in both chambers.

(AP) — The Knox County Regional Airport in Rockland, Maine, will receive a $1.8 million federal grant to resurface its runway. The work will be the first major resurfacing of the main, 5,000-foot runway in 20 years. The asphalt at the runway has reached the end of its useful life. About 30,000 people use the airport every year. The main runway will be closed for about 12 days during the work. The airport will still be able to handle smaller aircraft via a secondary runway. The money is from the Federal Aviation Administration. Airport manager Jeff Northgraves says the work will put the airport in a better position to handle traffic in the future.

(AP) — The former Maine summer home of beauty magnate Elizabeth Arden will soon become a retreat center for veterans and their family members. Today Maine's First Lady Ann LePage will join retired Army Staff Sgt. Travis Mills at the groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of the restoration project in Rome, that will be turned into the Travis Mills Foundation National Family Retreat Center. The foundation hopes to create the nation's first fully accessible, "smart home," where combat-wounded veterans can recover and participate in recreational activities. Restoration is expected to take about two years.