Things You Need to Know: Lawmakers Set to Address Governor’s Vetos
Here are the things you need to know today......
From the Associated Press:
The Legislature has a busy day ahead with solar, student debt relief and hands-free driving bills on the agenda. Lawmakers are set to return for their final day of session to deal with bills, vetoes and bonds. Republican Gov. Paul LePage has voiced support for a $40 million bond for student debt relief and a $55 million bond to help companies commercialize products through research and development. LePage predicts lawmakers will override his vetoes of legislation to ban hand-held devices for drivers and raise the tobacco sales age to 21. Many new laws will become effective 90 days after the Legislature's official last day. Lawmakers may return in the fall to consider a marijuana bill.
Fire officials in Naples, Maine say a barking dog helped save four people from a fire before dying in the blaze. Firefighters say a woman who was inside the burning mobile home told them her pet dog started barking and woke the occupants up, allowing three adults and a child to escape. The cause of the fire early Tuesday is under investigation. The state fire marshal's Office says a 31-year-old man has been hospitalized for burns. Officials say the home is a total loss.
Maine's secretary of state says he is sticking with his decision to deny a request for voter data made by a Trump administration commission. Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap said last month he would not comply with the request by the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, which is investigating possible voter fraud. He said it ran afoul of state law. Dunlap then received a second request that promised the information won't be shared publicly. He said on Tuesday he is uncertain if the commission has the authority to exempt documents from public review. Dunlap says the commission should discuss its data-gathering effort before requesting the data from states. He's standing by his refusal to hand over the data.
Lobster lovers rejoice! The 70th annual Maine Lobster Festival gets underway Wednesday. Festivalgoers are expected to put away some 20,000 pounds of lobster at the event in Rockland, which runs through Sunday. Highlights include the coronation of the Maine Sea Goddess, a cod carrying contest and a parade down Maine Street. But the real star of the festival will no doubt be the lobster dinner.
Maine utility regulators say Poland Spring's plan to pump up to 172 million gallons of water a year from a public water district well would not take water away from existing customers. The company has applied for a state permit to draw water from the Lincoln Water District. The Maine Public Utilities Commission agreed at a Tuesday meeting that the district's customers would not be affected. Regulators would have the final word.
Maine's U.S. senators say the federal government is giving Maine more than $300,000 to keep its pipelines safe. Republican Sen. Susan Collins and independent Sen. Angus King say the federal Department of Transportation is giving the money to the Maine Public Utilities Commission. The senators say the award represents an investment to provide oversight that will help prevent accidents.
The family of a slain Democratic National Committee staffer has issued a statement supporting a lawsuit brought against Fox News by an investigator who had been looking into the killing of Seth Rich. The suit alleges that the White House and Fox News Channel conspired to push a false story about Democratic leaks and the unsolved killing of Rich in order to distract attention from the Russia investigation swirling around President Donald Trump.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government says it will soon convene a special assembly endowed with powers to rewrite the constitution, override other branches of government and punish opposition leaders. Two of his leading foes were dragged from their homes by heavily armed security agents and thrown in a military prison Tuesday, drawing criticism from the U.S. and others in the region. But many nations were quiet and Maduro's allies at home appeared to be standing by him.
President Michel Temer appears to have the upper-hand Wednesday going into a key vote by the lower chamber of Brazil's Congress on whether to suspend him and put him on trial over an alleged bribery scheme to line his pockets. Despite a 5 percent approval rating in opinion polls and myriad calls for him to resign the last few months, Temer has been able to maintain most of his governing coalition in the Chamber of Deputies, where he was the presiding officer for many years.
A court ruling triggering new sentences for former juvenile offenders now serving life without parole is having a greater effect. Lawyers are applying its logic to prisoners whose sentences include a parole provision but who have little chance of release. The U.S. Supreme Court hasn't ruled on the constitutionality of lengthy alternative terms for teen offenders. But some state courts are ordering new sentences.
A former Islamic militant in Indonesia who says he regrets his past has opened up a school for the children of extremists with the hope of steering them away from their fathers' paths. Khairul Ghazali has 20 pupils but estimates there are 2,000 children of killed or imprisoned Indonesian militants. Authorities support Ghazali's mission and have helped sway villagers who were initially wary of the school.
More From 92 Moose
