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

Gov. Paul LePage has submitted a last-minute bill to keep alive $6.5 million in bonds for land conservation projects that are set to expire. He said that he wants lawmakers to consider the bill on today when they return to finish their work for the session. He said his bill would extend the life of the Land for Maine's Future bonds until next June. In return, he wants lawmakers to promise that in January they will seriously consider using increased timber harvest revenues to put $5 million toward heating assistance programs. LePage has refused to sign off on more than $11 million in Land for Maine's Future bonds in an attempt to get lawmakers to pass that plan in the past. But his attempts so far have failed. (AP)

Maine lawmakers had been bracing for a busy final day in Augusta dedicated to trying to override Gov. Paul LePage's vetoes. But their to-do list when they return today will be much shorter than they had expected. Dozens of bills that they had anticipated that LePage would veto are now the subject of a dispute that's likely to end up in the Maine Supreme Court. Democratic House Speaker Mark Eves said that lawmakers plan to wrap up a few outstanding items and adjourn for the year . But House Republican Leader Ken Fredette said he doesn't think the Legislature should adjourn while the debate over the roughly 70 bills on LePage's desk remains unresolved. At issue is whether LePage missed the deadline to veto those bills. (AP)

Gardiner city councilors approved a city budget with spending down by nearly 1 percent, but the budget still will increase property taxes by 2.4 percent. According to the KJ, along with the 2.4 percent tax increase from the school budget approved by voters in June, taxes are expected to increase by $146 for a house valued at the city’s average.  (centralmaine.com)

Augusta city councilors will review a plan to raise money to install a to-be-determined work of art on a recently created traffic island headed into downtown. According to the KJ, the Augusta Downtown Alliance proposes to work with the city to install a piece of public art as part of the landscaping of a relatively new traffic island at the intersection of Green and Water streets. The island was added when that street from from one way traffic to two. (centralmaine.com)

A study commissioned by Maine utility regulators says that the cost of proposals that they're examining to increase natural gas supply would exceed the benefits to the state. The Maine Public Utilities Commission is examining several contract proposals to boost natural gas supply in an effort to lower energy prices in Maine. The Legislature has authorized the commission to spend up to $75 million a year to buy up to 200 cubic feet of natural gas capacity per day. But a report by Boston-based London Economic International LLC found that the benefits to consumers would not outweigh the costs under any of the proposals. The group says that's primarily because Maine consumes a small amount of gas and power compared to the rest of New England. (AP)

Former President George H.W. Bush has fallen at home in Kennebunkport, Maine, and broken a bone in his neck. The 91-year-old Bush is in stable condition and is doing "fine" after Wednesday's fall. He says in a tweet the 41st president will be in a neck brace. Bush was hospitalized in Houston in December for about a week for treatment of shortness of breath. Bush is the oldest living former U.S. president. He served two terms as Ronald Reagan's vice president before being elected the nation's 41st president in 1988. After one term highlighted by the success of the 1991 Gulf War in Kuwait he lost to Democrat Bill Clinton amid voters' concerns about the economy. (AP)

Health officials say the geographic areas where Lyme disease is a bigger danger have grown dramatically. U.S. cases remain concentrated in the Northeast and upper Midwest. But now more areas in those regions are considered high risk. A new report shows 260 counties where the risk of catching Lyme disease from tick bites is at least twice the national average, up from 130 a decade earlier. Lyme disease is most common in wooded suburban and far suburban counties. Scientists aren't sure why high-risk areas are expanding, but it likely has something to do with development and other changes that cause the mice, deer and ticks that carry the bacteria to move. (AP)

Vice President Joe Biden plans to return to Capitol Hill Thursday to pitch to Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee the nuclear agreement the U.S. and five other world powers reached with Iran. Biden on Wednesday spent the morning meeting privately with House Democrats. President Barack Obama says he welcomes a "robust" debate with Congress about the nuclear pact, but he rejects the opinion of critics who say the agreement leaves Tehran on the brink of a bomb. (AP)

Greek lawmakers have agreed to a harsh austerity package so that the country can receive a three-year bailout worth 85 billion euros ($93 billion). But the country is looking for urgent relief. European finance ministers will hold a conference call Thursday to consider rescue financing for Greece, and the European Central Bank will consider a request from Athens to increase emergency help to Greece's troubled banks that have been closed since July 29. (AP)

Asian stock indexes are mostly higher Thursday after Greek lawmakers approved an austerity bill needed for another bailout and the dollar rose after the Fed chief indicated that U.S. interest rates could start rising later this year. Markets in Japan and South Korea are up, but Hong Kong's Hang Seng is slipping, as is the Shanghai Composite Index in mainland China. (AP)

Caitlyn Jenner has accepted the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPYs. The 1976 Olympic decathlon champion and current reality TV star received a standing ovation from some of the sporting world's biggest stars after her 10-minute speech. The 65-year-old told the audience, "This transition has been harder on me than anything I can imagine." And she said, "Trans people deserve something vital, they deserve your respect." (AP)

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