Central Maine News: Sept 17, 2015

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

Governor Paul LePage's administration is announcing a new rule that would make households without children ineligible for food stamps if they have assets greater than $5,000. The Department of Health and Human Services says it is defining assets as the balance of bank accounts as well as boats, recreational vehicles, campers and other valuable items. It does not include equity in a home or a household's primary vehicle. The rule change say residents applying or re-applying for food stamps will be required to disclose the assets. LePage says welfare is "a last resort." The rule change will be the subject of an Oct. 6 hearing. The state Department of Health and Human Services says it hopes to fully implement the rule in the coming weeks. (AP)

Gov. Paul LePage and first lady Ann LePage are endorsing the Maine Hire-A-Vet Campaign. The campaign is taking place over 100 days with the goal of committing at least 100 employers to recruit veterans and resulting in at least 100 veterans hired. The campaign kicked off on Labor Day, and LePage is providing an update on Wednesday. It provides support for employers including a network of state and federal agencies, resources and nonprofits; education on military language and culture; and assistance with recruiting, hiring, and retention. (AP)

Justices on Maine's highest court are skeptical about an appeal by a man who was stripped of his right to a lawyer because he couldn't get along with five earlier ones.  Supreme court Justice Donald Alexander expressed concern Wednesday about Joshua Nisbet "essentially playing a game with the system." But Justice Andrew Mead was bothered by the idea that defendants with a "tendency to shoot their mouths off" can't have a lawyer. A trial judge ruled that Nisbet forfeited his right to an attorney because didn't get along with five court-appointed lawyers. Nisbet is serving seven years for robbery. He ended up handling his own defense with two standby attorneys. His lawyer at Tuesday's court proceeding was No. 8. She says she is able to work with him. (AP)

Harvest Hill Farms is preparing to open its fall attractions, like Pumpkin Land, without the haunted hayride involved in a deadly crash last year. According to WGME the owners are just days away from opening Pumpkin Land. There's nothing new this season. When asked why they've stayed open, the owner said, "We need to heal and continue to move on. None of this has been easy. We did make a decision to shelf the haunted night attraction indefinitely." (WGME)

Lewiston City Council has agreed to a $30,000 education campaign on a proposed pay-as-you-throw program for trash collection. The program could save money for both residents and the city. According to WMTW the Lewiston City Administrator said the city currently recycles 10 percent of its trash through its existing free service. The suggestion for a paid program is up for discussion largely because not enough people are using the free one. Recycling doesn’t cost anything, but when 90 percent of it ends up in the regular trash, the city foots the bill, and the trash is getting expensive. The city will hold a series of public forums for feedback. A final decision won’t come until spring, when the city budget is decided. (WMTW)

Waterville police radio communications tower to go up today. The 140-foot-high tower at Colby Circle will replace an outdated radio tower on top of City Hall and make reception better for the communities the department dispatches to. The cost of the tower and six new base radios is $110,000. According to the KJ, officials are not sure if part of Colby Circle will have to be closed off to traffic. It depends on how much space the crane requires to raise the tower. Once the tower is up, it will take about a week for all the equipment to be hooked up to the tower. (centralmaine.com)

Maine Sen. Susan Collins is poised to become just the third U.S. senator ever to cast 6,000 consecutive votes. The Republican hasn't missed a vote since taking office in 1997. Her record stands at 5,998 as senators prepare Thursday for possible votes on measures related to the Iran nuclear deal. She says the feat shows constituents that she's committed to her job. But while Collins is the longest sitting senator to never have missed a vote, Republican Chuck Grassley of Iowa has a longer voting streak. He has more than 7,400 votes dating to 1993. And Collins has quite a bit of work if she wants to knock former Sen. William Proxmire from the No. 1 spot. The Wisconsin Democrat cast 10,252 consecutive votes between 1966 and 1988. (AP)

The summer-like weather this month in Maine is delaying the fall colors. The state's foliage report shows that the entire state remains green with little color. Last year, northern Maine was showing color by the middle of September. The year before that, leaves were turning across the entire state. Gale Ross, fall foliage coordinator for Maine, said sunny days followed by cool but not freezing temperatures are needed to get the party started when it comes to colorful red, yellow and orange hues. She says that hasn't happened yet because of warm temperatures. (AP)

The Republican presidential candidates wrangled over immigration, gay marriage and foreign affairs during Wednesday's prime-time debate, hosted by CNN. Front-runner Donald Trump called former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush "weak on immigration." Bush pressed Trump to apologize for comments he made about Bush's Mexican-born wife, and Trump refused. Former Hewlett-Packard executive Carly Fiorina took aim at Trump for derogatory comments he made about her appearance. (AP)

As the Republican presidential candidates took part in a televised debate Wednesday night, their Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton appeared on "The Tonight Show" with host Jimmy Fallon. The two joked about Donald Trump's hair but also talked about the State Department email scandal. Fallon told Clinton that if she would just "tell us what's in the emails," the scandal would go away. Clinton said the emails are "boring." (AP)

The Federal Reserve wraps up its two-day meeting today, and investors are waiting to hear whether policymakers will increase the benchmark short-term rate. Interest rates have been at record lows between zero and .25 percent. And turbulence in financial markets, persistently low inflation and risks to the global economy from China's sharp slowdown could lead the Fed to delay a hike until December or later. (AP)

General Motors is expected to pay a fine of about $900 million for allegedly covering up a deadly problem with ignition switches in its small cars. A person briefed on the case says federal prosecutors will announce today a settlement with the automaker which would resolve a criminal investigation. (AP)

An 8.3-magnitude earthquake off the coast of northern Chile has killed at least five people and left one person missing. Authorities have been assessing the damage in several coastal towns that saw flooding from small tsunamis set off by the quake. Hawaii and part of California's coast are under tsunami advisories. (AP)

Iraqi officials say two suicide attacks targeting police checkpoints in commercial areas in central Baghdad have killed at least 14 people. Police say this morning's attacks were carried out by bombers on foot, wearing vests packed with explosives. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. (AP)

A 14-year-old Muslim boy is getting support from some powerful people, after he was suspended from his Texas school for bringing in a homemade clock. Ahmed Mohamed was pulled from class Monday and taken to a detention center after his teacher thought the clock looked like a bomb. No charges were filed, but the teen was suspended. Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg has posted that he wants to meet Ahmed, and President Barack Obama has invited him to next month's astronomy night the White House. (AP)