Things You Need to Know: Maine’s Compliance with Real-ID awaits Gov Signature
Here are the things you need to know today......
Arsenic has been found in the West Gardiner school. WGME reports a no drinking order has been issued. Outside water is being brought in for now. They are changing out the filter system and will do follow up testing.
A Wilton man was arrested with 1200 doses of fentanyl when he got off the train in Brunswick. WGME reports it has a street value of $20,000.
A Maine woman in South Carolina shot and killed her service dog. WCHS reported the woman is a veteran and her boyfriend is active duty and both are facing charges in connection to the dog deaths.
Maine should be able to use our drivers license IF Gov LePage signs the RealID compliance bill. According to WCSH he has said he will sign it. This will give Maines a waiver to use our license as the state comes into compliance. (More on Real I D)
Hallowell residents can get an update at 5p this evening at City Hall. Centralmaine.com reports starting next year DOT has plans a large reconstruction project on Water Street in the downtown area.
From the Associated Press:
A mysterious drop in the harvest of two of the most popular worms for sport fishermen is proving expensive for anglers and threatening a way of life. Maine is by far the largest supplier of bloodworms and sandworms in the U.S. Harvesters called wormers dig the wriggling creatures out of coastal muck so they can be sold to fishermen worldwide. Scientists say a rise in predators could play a role in the decline of the worms.
The Maine House of Representatives has decided the fishing day should get longer for the state's lobstermen in the fall. The House on Tuesday approved a bill to extend the legal hours when lobsters can be harvested in the month of October. The bill now moves to the Senate.
The federal Northern Border Regional Commission is offering grants to Maine communities for projects that revitalize infrastructure, improve telecommunications and reduce energy costs. The commission says it will also fund projects that focus on business and entrepreneurial assistance. It has awarded more than 100 grants totaling more than $20 million in its six-year history.
Maine's Republican governor wants to make public the names of those who are hired to film undercover footage of animal cruelty. An adviser to Gov. Paul LePage said this week at a hearing that letting businesses know the names of undercover operators would prevent future "unwarranted political attacks." The Humane Society says the bill would discourage investigations into industrial farms.
President Donald Trump has told leaders of Mexico and Canada that he will not at this time pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement. That happened just hours after administration officials said he was considering a draft executive order to withdraw. The White House made the announcement in a read-out of calls involving Trump, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. It said leaders agreed to "proceed swiftly" to start renegotiating NAFTA.
As President Donald Trump marks his first 100 days in office, he is vowing to keep his campaign promise to build a wall along the border with Mexico. Physical barriers have proven effective at protecting borders around the world. But they can also have unwanted consequences, destroying city neighborhoods, harming the environment and preventing innocent victims from reaching safety.
Lawmakers and the White House are nearing agreement on a $1 trillion spending bill days ahead of a government shutdown deadline — and President Trump's 100th day in office. The latest progress came after the White House backed off a threat to withhold payments for lower-income Americans under the Affordable Care Act.
The White House is giving the Pentagon more flexibility to determine the number of U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria. It's another move by President Donald Trump to shift greater power to military leaders. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will have the authority to send more forces into Syria to help U.S.-backed local troops as they move to retake Raqqa from the Islamic State group. The Pentagon has already been making quiet, incremental additions to the troop levels in both countries in recent months.
United Airlines says it will raise the limit — to $10,000 — on payments to customers who give up seats on oversold flights. It's also increasing training for employees as it deals with fallout from the video of a passenger being violently dragged from his seat. The airline made the promises Thursday as it released a report detailing mistakes that led to the April 9 incident on a United Express plane in Chicago.
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