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

Gov. Paul LePage wants to have the final say on all state department hiring decisions. LePage said in a memo to cabinet members on Wednesday that his office will review all vacant and newly created state positons, "regardless of the funding source." LePage says he will personally sign off on all hiring decisions until that review is completed. LePage wants each of the departments to submit a "hiring justification form" that must be approved before any positions are posted or employment offers are made. His spokeswoman notes that the form doesn't ask for the potential employee's name, but requires an explanation for the need for the position and alternatives that could be considered to accomplish the agency's mission without additional hiring. (AP)

Maine voters will consider an $85 million bond proposal to fund improvements to the state's roads and bridges. Gov. Paul LePage signed the bill on Wednesday. It will be placed on the November ballot. It was one of two bond proposals passed by the Legislature this week. LePage has not yet taken action on the other measure, which would put $15 million toward building more affordable housing for seniors. Most of the money from the transportation bond would go toward building or rehabilitating highways and bridges. A total of $17 million is targeted for improvements to things like ports, harbors and passenger railroads. Despite his vow to veto every bill, LePage has signed a handful and let several go into law without his signature. (AP)

Longtime jewelry store G.M. Pollack & Sons Jewelers is going out of business. All locations have already closed except for South Portland, where employees are working to get repaired and ordered items back to their owners. Customers from any store location are urged to call or visit the South
Portland location for assistance. Before the South Portland stores closes they are working to get items that were ordered or sent for repair back to their owners. (WGME)

People across the country will set off their own fireworks for the Fourth of July and many people will get hurt doing it. According to WGME last year, the Consumer Products Safety Commission reported more than 10,000 fireworks-related injuries. Personal fireworks shows are legal in Maine, but many cities and towns passed their own ordinances banning them. Check with your town office to see what the rules are where you live. (WGME)

A former Skowhegan fire chief will spend the next six years in prison. 48-year-old Richard Fowler is charged with taking more than $270,000 from the firefighters' relief fund while he was the chief in Farmington, New Hampshire. Prosecutors say Fowler accepted a plea deal and will have to pay most of the money back.  Fowler was fired from the Farmington department last year and then served as fire chief in Skowhegan until he was fired there several months later. (WGME)

State money won’t go to a project that would build cabins for homeless veterans on the grounds of the federal veterans’ hospital in Togus this year, but supporters say they’ll continue their fundraising effort. According to the KJ, the money would jump-start the $4 million help start the Cabins InThe Woods project from Volunteers of America They are a charity trying to build 21 cabins for homeless Maine veterans on 11 wooded acres of the VA Maine Healthcare System’s campus between Augusta and Chelsea. At June’s end, legislators decided to carry over two bills that would have funded the project to next year’s legislative session. By carrying it over it is still appears to be a project the lawmakers want to look at. (centralmaine.com)

he American Civil Liberties Union is suing a clerk in Kentucky who is still refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, despite last week's Supreme Court decision. Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis says her Christian beliefs prevent her from issuing marriage licenses to gay couples, so she's won't be issuing marriage licenses to anyone, gay or straight. The ACLU lawsuit has been filed on behalf of two homosexual and two heterosexual couples. (AP)

More than 400 adults and children are taking part in a medical study to test whether a pill can prevent them from developing diabetes. Taking part in the federally-funded study are people who've already been determined to be at risk of developing Type 1 diabetes. Some take one insulin pill a day and others take a placebo. A smaller preliminary study by different researchers showed promising results. (AP)

At least three more bodies have been recovered from a ferry that capsized in choppy waters in the central Philippines. The death toll is now 38 from Thursday's ferry sinking, another 15 people are still missing. Survivors say the ferry's bow rose suddenly from the water before the vessel flipped over on one side, turning it upside down and trapping passengers underneath. At least 134 people were rescued by fishing boats and the coast guard. (AP)

A Russian booster rocket has successfully launched an unmanned cargo ship, which is carrying much needed supplies to the International Space Station. Two Russians and American Scott Kelly have been anxiously awaiting the supplies after the successive failures of two previous missions. The launch of a Progress ship in April ended in failure, and on Sunday a U.S. supply mission failed when SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket broke apart shortly after liftoff. Friday's Soyuz-U rocket blasted off flawlessly. (AP)

The honeymoon is over for a Greek couple visiting the U.S. Newlyweds Valasia Limnioti and Konstantinos Patronis' spent three weeks in the U.S. for their honeymoon. But as the Greek financial crisis intensified back home, so did the financial crisis in their wallets. The couple says while in New York City, their Greek-issued credit and debit cards were suddenly declined and they were left penniless. The couple says they had to skip a few meals until strangers from two Greek Orthodox churches came to their rescue. They're flying home Friday. (AP)

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