Author: Steve Robinson

Carroll Conley, Executive Director of the Christian Civic League of Maine, joins Maine Wire Editor-in-Chief for a podcast session on LD 1619, Gov. Janet Mills’ late-term abortion bill, as well as the influx of left-wing ideologies into Maine’s schools. Conley also shares insight into two pending court cases involving Christian organizations standing up to discrimination from state and local government.

Rep. Mike Soboleski (R-Phillips) joins the Maine Wire podcast to talk about how a policy 2021 policy aimed at advancing “environmental justice” pushed Maine’s municipal waste treatment facilities to the brink of environmental disaster. Soboleski, one of the top Republicans on the Environment and Natural Resources Committee, explains how he was able to create a solution that earned support from Democratic Gov. Janet Mills. Maine Wire Editor-in-Chief Steve Robinson and Soboleski also cover looming plans to construct a massive offshore wind power construction port in Searsport, as well as the environmental benefits — or lack thereof — of wind and…

The Democratic co-chairs of the Judiciary Committee have scheduled a work session on LD 1619, Gov. Janet Mills late-term abortion bill, for Thursday at 2:00 pm. The last minute scheduling move came late Wednesday evening. The bill would do away with all of Maine’s current restrictions on abortion. It would also allow physician assistants and advanced registered nurses to perform late-term abortions. Gov. Mills unveiled the policy earlier this year after vowing during her re-election bid that she would not change Maine’s abortion law, including the 30-year-old viability standard that limits abortions after 24-weeks gestation. Pro-life activists believe Democratic leaders…

U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) tweeted Tuesday night an image of her setting fire to a Republican energy bill that would have protected Americans’ right to use natural gas stoves. “No one is coming for your gas stove!” Pingree tweeted. “Can we please focus on the real issues facing this country?” https://twitter.com/chelliepingree/status/1666141369067347968 Rep. Pingree’s tweet racked up hundreds of “likes,” but she probably should have had a conversation with her daughter before blasting this one off. Because her daughter is, in fact, coming for your gas stoves. Hannah Pingree, a former Maine state lawmaker who was appointed to lead Gov.…

Price increases in New England energy markets are far outpacing demand for electricity, according to a report released Wednesday by the Massachusetts-based Fiscal Alliance Foundation. The study, authored by energy policy expert Lisa Linowes, examined the relationship between energy prices and energy demand from 2008 and 2020. Despite an 11.4 percent decrease in annual energy demand between 2008 and 2020, Linowes found New Englanders are now paying 20 percent more for each kilowatt hour of electricity, with the most profound impact observed in Massachusetts. The report indicates that increasing subsidies for solar and wind energy, renewable energy regulations, and climate…

Democratic lawmakers have yet to move forward with Gov. Janet Mills’ signature second-term bill to eliminate all restrictions on late-term abortion despite signalling early in the session that the bill, LD 1619, was a top priority. Why the delay? “It’s simple: they don’t have the votes,” Carroll Conley, director of the Christian Civic League of Maine, said Tuesday morning on WVOM’s George Hale and Ric Tyler Show. Conley said there were seven or eight Democrats who never signed on as sponsors for the bill and even more who signed up as sponsors before they learned how extreme it really was,…

In a 77-63 vote that fell mostly along party lines, the House of Representatives moved Tuesday to kill a bill that would have allowed unvaccinated healthcare workers to return to work in the medical field. The bill, introduced by Rep. David Boyer (R-Poland), would have effectively nullified Gov. Janet Mills’ controversial and ongoing vaccine mandate had it become law. The bill would have opened the door for hospitals and healthcare providers to rehire former employees who refused to take the Covid-19 shots for philosophical or religious reasons. On Oct. 22, 2021, Gov. Mills mandated experimental Covid-19 injections as a condition…

Sen. Joe Baldacci (D-Penobscot) offered searing criticism of Gov. Janet Mills during May 23 committee hearings, alleging that the governor has broken a public campaign promise she made during her re-election campaign. “I would note that the governor signed the energy choice pledge during the campaign last year, which was pretty explicit, and which is basically reflected by this bill,” Baldacci said, during a hearing of the State and Local Government Committee. Baldacci made his comments in regard to LD 894, a bill that would prohibit municipal governments from passing local ordinances or regulations that ban the use of oil…

Republican lawmakers who support transparency in public schools are “intellectually stifling right wing book banners and anti-LGBT zealot bigots,” according to a candidate for the school board in RSU 10. Caroline L. Mitchell, a write-in candidate for the district’s June 13 school board election, took aim at Rep. Rachael Henderson (R-Rumford) over a proposal that would require public schools to put curriculum material online. Such transparency is just too much work for teachers, Mitchell said, before mocking suggesting that Henderson believes the earth is flat. “Rachel Henderson, Rumford’s representative, wants all teachers to publish everything their children will see, hear,…

Central Maine Power, Hannaford, and LL Bean are just three of the well-known Maine brands that are supporting late-term abortion and a host of other far left policies by sponsoring Equality Maine, a nonprofit organization that lobbies for Democratic policies. Originally founded in the 1980s to advocate for the legalization of same-sex marriage, Equality Maine has morphed into a nonprofit advocacy group that backs a range of progressive policies. According to the “Our Current Agenda” section of the organization’s website, the group is currently “hard at work” opposing voter ID, local recall elections, curriculum transparency for public schools, and proposals…

With the legislature set to adjourn by the end of the month, one of the last remaining pieces of business lawmakers are considering is a bill that would allow Maine’s Native American tribes to benefit from federal laws that apply to other indigenous communities in the U.S. Unlike most of the State Legislature’s business this year, which has fallen predictably along partisan lines, the tribal sovereignty issue has pit the Democratic-controlled legislature against Democrat Gov. Janet Mills. [RELATED: Janet Mills Blows Off Historic “State of the Tribes” in Snub of Maine’s Indigenous Peoples…] Senate President Troy Jackson (D-Aroostook), House Speaker…

A competitive shooting event this Saturday and Sunday at the Hampden Rifle and Pistol Club is expected to raise more than $75,000 for the Travis Mills Foundation. The Trident Armory Standby to Fly Benefit Match, organized by two Hampden residents, is sanctioned by the U.S. Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) and serves as the Maine State Championship for the association. Co-founders Zach Greenier and Chris Austin have dedicated proceeds from the match every year to a different Maine-based charity that serves veterans of the U.S. armed forces, and this year they selected the Travis Mills Foundation out of nearly a dozen…

Legislative Republicans in Maine offered an amendment this week to LD 1347 in the hope of finding a palatable compromise that will rein in electricity rate increases caused by community solar and Net Energy Billing (NEB). The amendment, unveiled during a press briefing Tuesday, comes as ratepayers brace for a projected $220 million electricity cost increase in 2025 — a cost increase attributed entirely to changes the Legislature made in 2019 to boost solar. [RELATED: Out-of-State Firms Reaping Windfall Profits on Maine’s $220M Per Year Community Solar Program…] The bill, sponsored by Rep. Steven Foster (R-Dexter) and co-sponsored by Senate…

New Hampshire parents are concerned that a controversial proposal under consideration in Augusta will disproportionately impact Granite State children, WGME reported on Wednesday. That’s because the bill would allow Maine to take emergency jurisdiction over minors who cross the border for sex-change procedures. The bill, LD 1735, was sponsored by Rep. Laurie Osher (D-Orono), who said she asked State House staffers to model the legislation on a similar bill that passed in California. If passed, the bill would prevent Maine law enforcement from cooperating with police from another state to return a minor who has travelled to Maine to get…

The owner of a Maine bookstore says she wants people to bring children to a so-called “Drag Queen Story Hour” she’s hosting. If you think there’s something wrong with that, she says you’re a “pervert.” Ellen Richmond, the owner of the Children’s Book Cellar in Waterville, posted to Facebook that she would be kicking off the month of June, “Pride Month,” by hosting an event where men dressed like woman, aka in drag, read to kids. “I hope some people will bring children,” Richmond added. Drag queen story hours first began in 2015 in San Francisco, but since then, they’ve…

What if you could power your home or business with sunshine and save money on your electricity bill? That’s the offer of Maine’s community solar program, an offer that tens of thousands of Mainers have taken advantage of since the state expanded the program into its current form in 2019. More money for you, less yucky fossil fuels burning. You’re happy, Al Gore’s happy — what’s not to love? But despite the promise of Maine’s growing community solar industry, there remains no such thing as a free lunch. And the Office of the Public Advocate (OPA) has grown increasingly vocal…

Falmouth Elementary School is celebrating “pride month” by raising money for nonprofits that support Democratic Party policies in Augusta, including late-term abortion. The Falmouth Elementary School Parent Teachers Organization (PTO) and the school’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee announced the fundraiser over the weekend. The groups will be selling “Hate Has No Home Here” yard signs and giving the proceeds to left-wing groups that lobby for Democratic policies at the State House. Money raised by Falmouth’s kindergarten through fifth grade school children will be split between PFLAG and Equality Maine. News of the joint fundraiser was first disclosed to parents…

Maine school officials in a public school district used their government email accounts and school resources to advocate against LD 123, a bill that would have prevented Maine’s public schools from including obscene material in school libraries. According to public records provided to the Maine Wire, MSAD 52 School Librarian Terry Castonguay used her official school email to forward an email containing explicit political advocacy against LD 123 from outside interest groups to multiple district employees on Feb. 10. MSAD 52 school board policies expressly prohibit the use of public resources to advocate an individual’s political beliefs or the agenda…

Health care workers who say Maine Gov. Janet Mills’ COVID-19 vaccine mandate violated their First Amendment rights scored a victory Thursday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First District. In a 42-page decision written by U.S. District Court Judge Sandra Lynch, a three-judge panel reversed a lower district court’s ruling that the plaintiffs in the case had no basis to claim that their First Amendment rights had been violated by Gov. Mills and the State of Maine. The plaintiffs are all Maine health care workers who lost their jobs because they objected on religious grounds to the experimental…

The Maine Community College System has been intentionally recruiting noncitizens to take advantage Gov. Janet Mills’ “free community college” program, the Maine Wire reported Wednesday. Thursday morning, Maine Wire Editor-in-Chief Steve Robinson and State Sen. Jim Libby (R-Cumberland) joined WVOM’s George Hale and Ric Tyler to explain how lawmakers discovered that Maine tax dollars are being used to subsidize the educations of people who aren’t from Maine — or even the U.S. Listen to the segment here:

Maine’s taxpayer-funded community colleges are advertising free college scholarships for recent graduates, including non-citizens and illegal aliens. “FREE COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP,” states a promotional brochure obtained by the Maine Wire. “To qualify students must: Have a HS diploma or equivalent from 2020-2023, Enroll full time, pursue a degree or academic credential, Live in Maine while enrolled, Noncitizens qualify for the scholarship…” A related website operated by the Maine Community College System (MCCS) contains an FAQ which also boasts that “noncitizens” qualify for the free scholarship. Living in a community college dormitory satisfies the requirement that a scholarship recipient live in Maine,…

Maine lawmakers are considering a proposal that would expand access to sex-change drugs for minors, including in cases where the child’s parents object to the treatments. Rep. Erin Sheehan (D-Biddeford) is the lead sponsor of a bill, LD 535, which would allow medical providers to provide sex-change hormones to 16- and 17-year-olds over the objections of parents or legal guardians, according to a draft copy of the bill obtained by the Maine Wire. Under the proposal, medical providers would have to obtain written informed consent from minors, defined as between 16 and 18 years old, prior to administering the hormones,…

Saga of Jennie Butler https://rumble.com/v2nh8hc-saga-of-jennie-butler.html

Craig Hickman and Matt Moonen argue over bodily autonomy in Maine. https://rumble.com/v2nwt9q-hickman-v-moonen.html

Angus King pumping the now-disproven narrative that Trump colluded with Russia https://rumble.com/v2o3i7i-angus-king-russia-collusion-supercut.html

In a public hearing by the Maine Legislature’s Judiciary Committee on Wednesday morning, Rep. Rebecca Millett (D-Cape Elizabeth) struggled to clearly define the terms “abnormally dangerous” and “assault style weapons” in relation to her proposed bill to hold firearm manufacturers liable for damages inflicted by people who use their products. https://rumble.com/v2oe63w-rep.-rebecca-millet-crumbles-under-question-from-rep.-john-andrews.html

Federal immigration officials apprehended six illegal aliens in Rangeley on May 9 and placed all six into administrative procedures for removal from the country, an official from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confirmed. The arrest of the foreign nationals followed an apparent health emergency at the ReEnergy Stratton biomass facility involving the employee of a Massachusetts-based contractor. Franklin County Sheriff Scott Nichols confirmed that his deputies assisted in the medical emergency at ReEnergy Stratton. “A Hispanic worker there passed out at the worksite, one of our Deputies responded and assisted EMS as needed. We did notify Border Patrol…

A Massachusetts man was arrested on Wednesday over allegations that he was not the simple Swampscott man he purported to be but was instead a Bosnian war criminal in hiding. Kemal Mrndzic, 50, from Swampscott, is accused of having manipulated the U.S. immigration system, masking his true identity as a monstrous prison camp boss and posing instead as a persecuted refugee. “Mrndzic served as a supervisor of the guards at a notorious prison camp in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the sectarian war which fractured the country in the 1990s,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston said in a press release.…

U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins resigned on Wednesday amid accusations that she violated the Hatch Act, illegally leaked Department of Justice materials to news media, and lied under oath to investigators. “We found Rollins’s conduct described throughout this report violated federal regulations, numerous DOJ policies, her Ethics Agreement, and applicable law, and fell far short of the standards of professionalism and judgment that the Department should expect of any employee, much less a U.S. Attorney,” the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General said in a report released Wednesday. Rollins, the former Suffolk County District Attorney, said she will submit a letter…

A 20-year veteran of the U.S. Navy who is now serving in the State Legislature wants to eliminate up to $5,000 from the amount some U.S. military veterans pay in property taxes. Rep. Benjamin Hymes (R-Waldo) has introduced LD 1737, “An Act to Provide up to $5,000 in Property Tax Relief to Veterans,” a bill that would overhaul the property tax relief program currently available to disabled veterans and veterans over the age of 62. Rep. Hymes said he was motivated to introduce the bill after a conversation with Travis Mills about the inadequacy of Maine’s current property tax program…

The editorial writers for the Portland Press Herald have never been known for having original ideas or coherent policy recommendations. But an editorial the newspaper printed last week is so detached from the situation on the ground, so devoid of common sense, so infantile in its understanding of how government operates that it leads one to question whether the authors live in an alternate reality. I’ve seen higher quality thinking from high schoolers — even ones from Maine public schools. Those few septuagenarians who still subscribe to the paper will tuck it next to the fireplace along with the kindling.…

Maine’s entire congressional delegation, with the noticeable exception of Democratic Rep. Jared Golden (ME-CD2), endorsed former Maine CDC Director Nirav Shah’s bid to become the director of federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday. “He’s a star and he knows the issues,” Sen. Angus King told WCHS. The outlet also reported Shah had the backing of Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree. Shah announced in January that he would be leaving Maine to become the principal deputy to outgoing CDC Director Rochelle Walensky. [COMMENTARY: The Truth About Nirav Shah The Maine Media Never Told You…]…

Brandon S. Brown, 36, (MDOC#111347) shot U.S. Marine Corps veteran James Sanders outside a nightclub in Portland in 2008, leaving Sanders paralyzed from the waist down. That same year, Leo R. Hylton, 33, (MDOC#70199) brutally attacked the 10-year-old daughter of former Maine State Rep. William Guerrette Jr. in a violent home invasion that left both Guerrette and his daughter, Nicole, permanently disfigured. Now, both Hylton and Brown have become the faces of a plan by lawmakers in Augusta to implement “restorative justice” practices in Maine, including two bills that would restore parole in Maine for the first time in nearly…

Portland cops arrested a South Portland resident Saturday night and charged him with violating the conditions of release, assault, disorderly conduct, refusing to submit to an arrest, and assault on a police officer. Saturday’s arrest adds to an impressively long list of crimes committed by Daniel Theriault, a.k.a. Angela Theriault, a.k.a. Alyssa Theriault, a.k.a. Levity Fern, 24. That record include previous convictions for terrorizing the Portland Police Department, numerous assault charges, burglary charges, and pending charges related to Theriault unleashing a fire extinguisher in Caribou High School last year. The latest arrest comes after Theriault grew belligerent Saturday night outside…

Central Maine Power (CMP), Maine’s largest electric utility company, has sent 62,000 disconnection notices to Maine residents since April 1 informing them their service will be cancelled if they can’t pay down their accounts. That’s about 10 percent of all Maine households, a startlingly high number that suggests Mainers are still struggling to cope with economic disruption of COVID-19 lockdowns and the soaring energy costs of 2022. “This is something that’s been brewing because of COVID-19 and the hold that was placed on these notices,” said Rep. Steve Foster (R-Dexter). “It’s coming to a head now,” Foster said. CMP suspended…

Republican lawmakers on the State and Local Government Committee suspect some cronyism was behind Democratic opposition Thursday to a series of bills that would allow for the recall of local elected officials, including school board members. Under the various proposals, residents of Maine’s cities and towns would be given the option to request a vote on whether to remove a local official, be it a town councilor or a school board member, from office. Committee members appeared to be getting caught up on the specifics of whether a local official would be subject to recall for any reason or only…

U.S. Rep. Jared Golden (ME-2) and a bipartisan group in Congress have introduced a plan that will restore the authority of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials to deny entry to migrants at the southern border, similar to the now-suspended authority previously granted to them under Title 42. The bill would give the Biden Administration temporary expulsion authority for migrants who come to the United States illegally. Whether the Biden Administration would use that authority is an open question. Golden’s office said in a press release this two-year authority is intended to manage the anticipated surge of migrants at…

Maine lawmakers in the House of Representatives voted Thursday to approve a controversial rule that will expand the role of social workers and guidance counselors in Maine’s public schools. The rule, known at Chapter 117, is a major substantive rule from the Maine Department of Education, which means it requires additional sign off from the Legislature before it can take effect. Supporters of the rule argue social workers and guidance counselors are increasingly becoming an important part of Maine’s public schools and their official duties need clarification. However, parental rights advocates see the rule as an attempt to erode the…

America First Legal (AFL) filed a lawsuit Thursday against the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, accusing them of unlawfully withholding records connected to the deadly March 27 school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee. The records in question include the manifesto of the shooter, Audrey Hale, who took the lives of six people, including three children, at The Covenant School, a private Christian school. The lawsuit comes after Metro Nashville Police Department denied a request from Michael Patrick Leahy, a journalist from Star News Digital Media, Inc., who sought the release of Hale’s manifesto and autopsy report on April 24,…

No one was injured when a truck suddenly caught fire and exploded between the Chamberlain Parking Garage and the Blaine House where Gov. Janet Mills lives on Thursday around 2:30 pm. One witness shared video of the second explosion. https://twitter.com/TheMaineWire/status/1656733531400175651 Witnesses reported hearing two loud booms and seeing flames and black smoke rise from the bed of a truck. The vehicle appeared to be unoccupied. Emergency responders were on the scene. This is a developing story and we will update as new information becomes available.

Maine may soon pause the enforcement of an “environmental justice” policy passed in the last legislature after the new law resulted in a human waste glut at municipal waste treatment facilities, higher costs for cities and towns, and brought Maine perilously close to an environmental disaster — exactly as Maine’s largest landfill operator said it would. The law, which stems from Sen. Anne Carney’s (D-Cumberland) LD 1639, aimed to stop the flow of garbage from out-of-state into Maine, with supporters saying that Maine should not be a dumping ground for other New England states. But Maine’s largest landfill operator, Vermont-based…

The Biden Administration issued a memo on March 31 to city officials in Portland, Maine, instructing them on how to accommodate the arrival of busloads of foreign national migrants delivered from the southern border, according to a copy of the “Migrant Busing Toolkit for Receiving Cities” obtained by the Maine Wire. “The Biden Administration is committed to ensuring that city, county, and state governments are prepared to receive migrants who are bused to their jurisdictions from the southwest border,” the Biden Administration memo states. “The Administration is marshaling all available federal resources to cities already accepting migrants, and actively helping…

Gov. Janet Mills unveiled a new $900 million plan on Wednesday, a combination of already appropriated funding and new appropriations, which will increase current biennial budget spending from $9.9 billion to $10.3 billion. “This proposal lives within our means, using revenues in a responsible way to address serious, pressing issues – like the housing crunch, homelessness, and food insecurity – while also making thoughtful, strategic investments that will strengthen our economy and make Maine a better place to live in the long-run,” Mills said in a press release. The new spending will be paid for using 2023 surplus tax revenues…

Colorado mom Erin Lee has sued a public school for recruiting sixth-graders, including her daughter, into a secret after-school club focused on gender and sexuality. Lee’s lawsuit alleges that the club was deceptively advertised as an “art” club, according to a report from Fox News. Lee’s daughter was among the students who joined the club, where an external presenter discussed topics such as gender, sexuality, polyamory, and suicide. The presenter also allegedly spoke about puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, cautioning the children that their parents might not be “safe” people to confide in about their identity struggles. The lawsuit against…

Republicans at the State House on Tuesday urged their colleagues to support a series of bills that would impose transparency requirements on Maine’s public schools and protect parental rights in education. Republican leads on the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee along with Assistant Senate Minority Leader Lisa Keim (R-Oxford) said Tuesday during a press conference in Augusta that the bills they have submitted would protect parents’ rights, protect the well-being of students, and provide more transparency for voters and taxpayers. Sen. James Libby (R-Cumberland) said parental inclusion in conversations that impact children is one of the most pressing matters in…

UPDATE:Several hours after this post was originally published, Tucker announced he will be bringing his show to Twitter. “Starting soon we will be bringing a new version of the show we have been doing for the past 6 1/2 years, to Twitter.” Watch Tucker’s full announcement video: https://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1656037032538390530?s=20 The rest of this article was written before the announcement, but it’s worth reading to see how much we nailed this analysis. A three-letter Tweet from Twitter owner Elon Musk and some unsourced claims in the media have the Internet speculating that the social media company could be the place where conservative…

The Maine Women’s Lobby told supporters in an email Monday that LD 1619, a bill that would legalize full-term abortion, is “in the bag.” Despite more than 1,500 people turning out last week to testify against the proposal, most political observers would have to agree with the sentiment. Democratic leaders in the legislature, Gov. Janet Mills, and more than half of rank-and-file lawmakers have signaled support for the bill. [RELATED: Mills Makes Hard Push to Legalize Abortion Up To Nine Months…] The bill would erase the 24-week viability threshold that has governed abortion in Maine for nearly 30 years. Gov.…

The Sanford Police Department posted a notice to social media informing followers that the city has “no more capacity to house any more families” after 23 Angolan families arrived in Sanford throughout the week. Sources tell the Maine Wire the families have been arriving all week, placed on vehicles at the Portland Jetport. Their origin is said to be Angola, but it’s unclear where they boarded the flight. At least one family was transported to the Sanford Post Office, where a School Committee Member Jennifer Davie found them looking lost and directed them to city hall. Although there was speculation…

Attorney General Aaron Frey on Friday sent out an email blast bragging about what he described as the “Distribution of $141 Million Settlement to Millions of Low-Income Americans Deceived by TurboTax Owner Intuit.” “This was a classic bait and switch that harmed Maine consumers – promises of free services lured Mainers in, but the company knew that the services consumers needed actually cost money,” Frey said in the email. Despite the eye popping number in the subject line of Frey’s email, the number of Maine consumers who will benefit from the settlement is unknown. What we do know, though, is…

Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies for the Center for Immigration Studies, joins Maine Wire TV to discuss Maine’s ongoing migrant crisis and what states can do to prevent social safety nets from reaching the breaking point.

Assistant House Minority Leader Amy Arata (R-New Gloucester) has introduced an amendment that would force abortion providers to disclose to patients whether they have previously been involved in abortion-related injuries or fatalities. “I was surprised to find that physicians with a history of performing abortions when women died are allowed to practice medicine in Maine,” Rep. Arata said. “I realized this after Dr. Shannon L. Carr, talked about performing late-term abortions in Maine, after having authorized an abortion in New Mexico that resulted in her patient’s death,” said Arata. “Women deserve to know the risks of abortion,” she said. The…

Schools would be in the driver’s seat for determining property taxes under a proposal from Rep. Mana Abdi (D-Lewiston) that would re-work how municipalities approve school budgets. If Abdi’s bill, LD 1748, were to pass, then school districts would be able to avoid getting local voter approval on budgets through voter referenda unless certain petition requirements were met. Under current Maine law, school administrative units, regional school units, and community schools must submit to a budget validation referendum process. Although voters can opt to suspend the requirement for a period of time, residents of a district are typically asked to…

A Bristol doctor who testified Monday in favor of Gov. Janet Mills’ full-term abortion bill was once deposed for her role in authorizing a 2017 late-term abortion on a young woman who later died in Albuquerque during a days-long outpatient abortion procedure. Keisha M. Atkins was 23 years old and more than 24-weeks pregnant when Dr. Shannon L. Carr approved of her abortion following a 20-minute consultation, according to records reviewed by the Maine Wire. After that consultation, abortionists injected Atkins’ womb with medication that killed her unborn child and she was sent home with the deceased child still inside…

On Monday and Tuesday, more than 1,500 Maine residents turned out to testify against a proposal backed by Democratic leaders that would legalize elective abortion up to the point a child is born for any reason. Sen. Anne Carney (D-Cumberland) and Rep. Matt Moonen (R-Portland), the chairs of the Judiciary Committee, front-loaded the 65 or so pro-abortion testimonies, giving three minutes speaking time to supporters of LD 1619. Carney and Moonen also gave preferential treatment to abortion advocates, allowing Planned Parenthood lobbyists and Democratic sponsors of the bill three minutes to talk, while some elected officials who opposed the bill…

On Tuesday, we reported on the allegation that Yarmouth 5th graders had engaged in one of the gravest possible sins in modern America: cultural appropriation. That allegation was leveled by Sarah C.B. Norsworthy, a highly educated, highly credentialed Portland public school teacher who also works for the Maine Department of Education and is running for a seat on the Yarmouth School Committee. Norsworthy, an expert in social-emotional learning, was so offended and so alarmed by the sight of 5th grade kids dressed up like Alexander Hamilton and Benjamin Franklin that she felt compelled to dash off a Saturday morning email to a dozen Yarmouth…

Two Members of Congress sent a letter Monday to the Justice Department claiming, based on a credible whistleblower, that the FBI is sitting on evidence of President Joe Biden’s role in a foreign bribery scheme when he was Vice President. “We have received legally protected and highly credible unclassified whistleblower disclosures,” said Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) in the letter. “Based on those disclosures, it has come to our attention that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) possess an unclassified…

The State Senate voted 19-14 Tuesday to kill a proposal that would have lifted the 100-megawatt cap on electricity generated from hydroelectric dams and other renewable sources. The House had last week voted 75-67 against the bill, LD 622. The move will protect an artificial monopoly held over Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) by the wind power and solar power industries while ensuring that Canadian hydroelectric power cannot compete in Maine’s energy market anytime soon. Maine’s Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) law, passed in 1999, created a mechanism that requires a certain percentage of Maine’s electricity originate from sources the state designates…

The Maine Democratic Party ended the first quarter of 2023 on far healthier financial footing than the Maine GOP, according to campaign finance records. The Maine Republican Party’s primary fundraising committee reported in campaign finance disclosures that it raised just $15,852 in the first quarter of the year. At the same time, the Maine GOP spent $124,838 on payroll, employee reimbursements, and office related expenses. That leaves the Republicans’ primary political organizing tool $108,986 in debt as of March 31. The analogous fundraising committee for the Maine Democrats raised $192,949 and spent $185,733 in the same time period, leaving a…

The Biden Administration is dispatching 1,500 military personnel to the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a statement Tuesday from the Department of Defense. “For 90 days, these 1,500 military personnel will fill critical capability gaps, such as ground-based detection and monitoring, data entry, and warehouse support, until [Customs and Border Protection] can address these needs through contracted support,” DoD said in a statement attributed to Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder. “Military personnel will not directly participate in law enforcement activities,” Ryder said. The significant movement of troops to the southern border comes as pandemic-era restrictions are scheduled to be…

Eliot Cutler, a wealthy attorney who ran for Maine governor twice, is expected to plead guilty to possessing “thousands” of videos and images of child sexual abuse and serve nine months at the Hancock County Jail, according to court documents. A left-leaning independent who almost became governor of Maine in 2010, Cutler is scheduled to appear in an Ellsworth courtroom at 1:30 on Thursday to enter a guilty plea on four counts of possession of sexually explicit material of a child under 12. The agreement between Cutler and prosecutors calls for a four-year term with all but nine months suspended.…

A nonprofit that has received nearly $400,000 in taxpayer funding under the Mills Administration is celebrating “Pansexual Awareness Day” for children aged 9 to 13 enrolled in its “Fruit Loops” program, according to a programming newsletter. Out Maine, the Rockland-based nonprofit, describes itself as an educational resource for young people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or another gender. According to its website, Out Maine is active in Maine’s schools through the “Gay-Straight-Trans Alliance (GSTA),” which most public schools have created. But the group also has an after-school program for youngsters. The Fruit Loops program holds regular Zoom meetings…

A marathon session of the State Legislature’s Judiciary Committee stretched from Monday morning to Tuesday morning as more than 650 Mainers turned out to testify against several proposals, including a bill that would legalize abortion up to the moment of birth. Less than 70 pro-abortion activists turned out to speak in favor of the bill, including several representatives from abortion clinics who stand to benefit from an increased number of abortions in Maine. Although lawmakers have debated precisely how Gov. Janet Mills’ full-term abortion bill (LD 1619) would affect abortion legality in Maine, Attorney General Aaron Frey’s remarks at the…

AUGUSTA, Maine — Several lawmakers have joined a group of Maine residents in suing Maine’s top elected officials over unusual parliamentary maneuvers the State Legislature and the Governor’s Office executed in order to secure passage of a partisan two-year spending bill. The suit, which was prompted by the nonprofit organization Respect Maine, challenges the constitutionality of the Special Session convened by Gov. Janet Mills, arguing it lacked an “Extraordinary Occasion” as required by the Maine State Constitution. The suit also names Senate President Troy Jackson (D-Aroostook) and House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Portland). “The Legislature adjourns Sine Die every year…

Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey testified Monday in support of LD 1619, a bill that would make Maine’s abortion laws the most permissive in the United States. Asked what legal protections an unborn child would have if the bill passed, Frey said the decision to have an abortion doesn’t concern a child. https://twitter.com/TheMaineWire/status/1653147280197689344?s=20 “This is a woman making a decision about what to do with her body and what’s going on with her body,” Frey said. “There isn’t a live child that’s been– that’s out at this point, that this decision is concerned with,” he said. [RELATED: Mills Makes Hard…

Yarmouth 5th graders who just finished a unit on American history have been accused by a member of the school’s “equity task force” of engaging in “cultural appropriation” because they dressed up like historical figures from America’s past. In an email sent Saturday to a dozen Yarmouth school officials, Sarah C.B. Norsworthy, a teacher in the Portland public schools, flagged a teacher-run blog as problematic due to pictures of students dressed up like Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Harriet Tubman, and other legendary Americans. “There are significant issues with appropriation and presentation – aligned with concerns re: our past practice of…

The Maine Legislature is considering a “transgender sanctuary” bill that would empower Maine’s court system to take jurisdiction over children from other states if they have been unable to obtain sex-change services due to their home state’s prohibition against medical providers performing the procedures on minors. The bill (LD 1735) would prevent Maine law enforcement from cooperating with law enforcement from other states for the enforcement of laws that prevent medical providers from subjecting children to sex-change procedures. Rep. Laurie Osher (D-Orono) introduced the bill, which has been cosponsored by Sen. Anne Carney (D-Cumberland), Rep. Nina Milliken (D-Blue Hill), Rep.…

A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows suicide attempts by teenagers increased sharply during the Covid-19 government lockdowns, with suicide the 2nd leading cause of death for children aged 10 to 14. For those between the ages of 15 and 24, suicide was the third leading cause of death during that time period. The study, “Suspected Suicide Attempts by Self-Poisoning Among Persons Aged 10–19 Years During the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, 2020–2022,” found that suicide attempts using over-the-counter medications such as acetaminophen and diphenhydramine increased the most among children aged 10-12 and 13-15,…

WGAN commentator and MSAD 75 School Board Member Eric Lusk joins Maine Wire TV to provide an inside perspective on what it’s like navigating a school board in a district controlled by teachers’ unions.

Communists and socialists rallied Sunday in Lewiston at the Kennedy Park Bandstand to call for more government intervention in the economy to protect the working class and more pro-union laws. To commemorate International Workers’ Day, known as May Day, about a dozen communists, socialists, and union organizers assembled in the park to give brief speeches. Citing Federal Reserve policies and the looming crisis over the “debt ceiling,” the Party for Socialism and Liberation ripped the Biden administration for doing little to protect the working class. “The Biden administration is sitting on its hands and letting the working class suffer,” the…

The House of Representatives passed a resolution on Friday morning to revoke President Joe Biden’s moratorium on solar panel tariffs for several Southeast Asian nations. These countries have reportedly been used by Chinese companies linked to forced labor to assemble products and circumvent U.S. tariffs. The resolution secured a 221 to 202 majority, backed by most Republicans and 12 Democrats. Supporters argued that the legislation is essential for bolstering the U.S. solar industry while simultaneously holding China accountable for tariff evasion and human rights violations. In contrast, some Democratic detractors pointed to opposition from industry trade groups, which have reaped…

Maine’s nonpartisan Revenue Forecasting Committee (RFC) said Friday that it’s projecting a $223 million increase in state revenues for the current biennium. That means lawmakers have an unexpected pot of money to deal with, but Gov. Janet Mills and Republican leaders have competing plans for how they ought to spend it. Republicans would like to use increased revenues to lower state income tax rates. Gov. Mills wants that revenue to fund new legislation that will replace the Pine Tree Development Zone (PTDZ) program with a new tax credit program. On Thursday, a Mills Administration press release included a statement of…

Employees of Maine’s state government received an email Friday from the Bureau of Human Resources that some state workers have dubbed “the Frey Email.” “Supervisors who become personally involved with a subordinate are required to report the relationship to their supervisor so that a change in reporting structure can be considered,” the email said. State workers dubbed the communication “The Frey Email” on account of Attorney General Aaron Frey’s eight-month-long, unreported affair with a subordinate employee, Child Protection Division Chief Ariel Gannon. Frey, who was still in a relationship with his girlfriend of 12 years, with whom he lived, did…

Republicans in Augusta are once again calling for structural tax reform that would allow working Mainers to keep more of their own pay. In a joint statement issued Friday, Republican leaders said the updated revenue forecast from Maine’s Revenue Forecasting Committee shows Maine continues to over-collect taxes. Since 2020, the total amount of taxes collected in Maine has soared, owning in large part to the influx of federal pandemic funds. The Mills Administration has previously dealt with the over-taxation problem by sending payments to Maine residents, but Republicans are looking for a more lasting fix — and one that doesn’t…

A new report from the Maine Children’s Alliance shows Maine’s young people have suffered mistreatment and mental health problems at a higher rate than other states in recent years. The report looks at child welfare data and school surveys from 2020 to 2022 and underscores the negative consequences the pandemic lockdowns have had on Maine’s children and teenagers. According to the 2023 Maine KIDS COUNT Data Book, nearly 34,000 Maine children lived in households below the federal poverty level in 2021, accounting for 13.8 percent of the state’s children. The report also highlights Maine’s highest-in-the-nation rate of child maltreatment in…

The Biden Administration’s plan to tax people with good credit scores in order to lower home buying costs for people with bad credit scores may come with perverse or unintended consequences, like a higher rate of defaults, degraded home values, or a disproportionate burden on Asian-Americans. Under the plan, mortgage applicants will pay a surcharge if they have good credit. That money will then be used to lower costs for people with bad credit. It’s like Robin Hood has come to the American mortgage industry. The Federal Housing Finance Authority has advanced the plan in the name of equity, the…

Former U.S. health official Anthony Fauci and top teachers’ union boss Randi Weingarten are both endeavoring to re-write the history of the Covid-19 pandemic and the disastrous government response, with both pro-lockdown figures casting themselves as advocates for early school re-opening. In Congressional testimony Wednesday, Weingarten, who leads the American Federation of Teachers, positioned herself as a tireless advocate to re-open schools. https://twitter.com/FreeBeacon/status/1651307624418164736?s=20 Weingarten’s version of history is at odds with reality. From the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, Weingarten was one of the chief proponents of keeping schools closed. Like most teachers union officials, her job was…

The city of Portland is not allowing press to inspect the conditions at an emergency migrant shelter operating out of the Portland Expo facility, a city spokesperson confirmed on Thursday. “We are not allowing press inside the Expo for privacy reasons,” Portland Communications Director Jessica Grondin said in an email. “You are welcome to bring a translator and visit outside to talk to families as they come and go,” she said. Thousands of migrants have taken shelter in the open air gymnasium typically used for basketball by the Portland Red Claws, raising questions about what level of privacy migrants have…

President Joe Biden took a handful of questions Wednesday at the White House and accidentally revealed something embarrassing for himself and the journalists who cover him. Photographs of the notecards Biden held during the press conference revealed that he was given reporters’ questions in advance. In multiple photos of the event, Biden can be seen holding notecards that have reporters’ pictures, text of the question they will ask, along with an answer he was supposed to give. A video compiled by Town Hall shows at least one reporter stuck to the script. Typically, reporters do not allow politicians or any…

The United States federal government has become the “middleman” in a multi-billion dollar human trafficking operation targeting unaccompanied minors at the southern border, a whistleblower told Congress’s House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Tara Lee Rodas volunteered to help with Operation Artemis, a plan by the Biden Administration to get control of the humanitarian disaster on the U.S.-Mexico border in 2021. “I thought I was going to help place children in loving homes,” Rodas said. “Instead, I discovered that children are being trafficked through a sophisticated network that begins with being recruited in home country, smuggled to the US border, and ends…

Alvin Lui, President of Courage is a Habit, joins Maine Wire TV to talk about a proposed rule from the Maine Department of Education that would expand the role of social workers and guidance counselors in Maine schools. Courage is a Habit is a nonprofit organization that advocates for parents’ rights in education. Lui believes that Chapter 117 (LD 394) poses a serious threat to the well-being of students and the constitutional right of parents to control the health and education of their children.

Dr. Meryl Nass joins Maine Wire TV to tell the story of her fight against the Mills Administration, the medical-political establishment, and the ongoing attempt by the Bureau of Licensure in Medicine (BOLIM) to strip her of her license to practice medicine because she criticized state and federal COVID-19 policies. If you’re unfamiliar with Dr. Nass’s situation, you can read this article from last year which exhaustively recounts how she ended up on the wrong side of the Mills Administration and the Mills Family.

The biggest story in media right now is Tucker Carlson’s abrupt exit from Fox News. The move was announced Monday and subsequent stories suggested Carlson was indeed fired by Fox News CEO Lachlan Murdoch, son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch. Since the news broke, media reporters have been trying to find out why Fox News would ditch their most watched, highest rated host. There’s already a million conspiracy theories as to why it happened: Carlson opposed the Ukraine War, Carlson talked about God at the Heritage Foundation, something to do with the Dominion lawsuit, etc. But at this point, no…

(Update: The Education and Cultural Affairs Committee voted Thursday to recommend passage of LD 394, the bill that would ratify Chapter 117. The vote fell along party lines.) The role of social workers and guidance counselors in Maine’s schools would be codified and expanded if a controversial new rule from the Maine Department of Education receives approval from Maine lawmakers. The rule, known as Chapter 117, was proposed by the Maine Department of Education in response to a law passed in 2019. Because the rule is “major substantive”, it requires final approval through the standard legislative process, which is why…

To promote the “visibility” of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer people, Windham High School students have been asked to take a vow of silence on April 26. The so-called “Day of Silence” is part of a national campaign to spread awareness. As part of the event, the school distributed online surveys recording whether students would agree to participate. Students can participate by remaining silent throughout the day or signaling their support in the survey, wearing a badge, and still talking. [RELATED: Maine’s High School Students Are Far More Likely Than Peers to Identify as LGBT. Why?…] Staff have the…

Gov. Janet Mills appears to have stretched the truth when she described the supposed outpouring of gratitude she received from Mainers after the state returned surplus taxes to residents of Maine in the form of $850 checks. In 2022, prior to Election Day, the State Legislature and the Mills Administration agreed to send out $850 checks. Mills wound up tricking Republican lawmakers by sending the payments out via traditional mail rather than the more efficient and less expensive electronic transfer, as her administration had said they would, which allowed them to include a letter signed by Mills taking credit for…

President Joe Biden announced Tuesday morning that he wants to “finish the job” with another four years in the White House. Biden, 80, made the announcement in a social media video cut to resemble a movie trailer. https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1650801827728986112?s=20 “Personal freedom, it’s fundamental to who we are as Americans. There’s nothing more important, nothing more sacred,” Biden said, with a straight face.

Documents show a major U.S. health insurance company created a financial incentive program that paid doctors bonuses according to the number of people they convinced to take the COVID-19 shots. The existence of the program was previously brought to light by U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) who called the arrangement bribery. “Your primary care provider was bribed to suggest you should take the COVID vaccine,” Massie tweeted. Massie’s tweet included a picture of what appears to be an Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicaid “Provider Incentive” program document. Doctors who convinced 75 percent of their clients to accept the shots…

Rick Savage, the former owner of Sunday River Brewing Company, joins Maine Wire TV to talk about his experience running a business in Maine during the government shutdowns. Savage became Public Enemy #1 in Maine after he went on Fox News and criticized Gov. Janet Mills’ draconian lockdowns. As a result, he was targeted for harassment by government inspectors and eventually shutdown. Savage tells us what that experience was like, what his new business plans are, and what his future in Maine looks like.

The Yarmouth School Committee will consider Thursday a proposal to adopt new rules concerning transgender and “gender-expansive” students. The proposed rules would require staff, in some cases, to withhold information from parents about the health and well-being of their children, according to a draft agenda of the meeting obtained by the Maine Wire. The new rules would codify how the school would handle a hypothetical student who arrives in the district identifying as the opposite sex or who transitions genders while enrolled. “If requested by the student, or if deemed necessary by the administration to address school-related issues, a meeting…

Sen. Craig Hickman (D-Kennebec) has had enough of Republicans introducing election integrity bills. Last week, Hickman took the unusual step of moving to kill one such bill from Rep. David Boyer (R-Poland) just moments after Boyer had finished introducing it to the Veteran’s and Legal Affairs Committee. Boyer’s bill (LD 1500) would have made four minor changes to elections in Maine. First, it would have required video monitoring from election drop boxes. Currently, drop boxes for ballots are left unattended and unmonitored for large periods of times during an election. Second, it also would have prevented the Secretary of State’s…

Does Maine need more welfare? Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) seems to think so. Last week, the Congresswoman shared a clip of her pleading with lawmakers in Washington, D.C., to expand the Food Stamps program. Sam Adolphsen from the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) joined Maine Wire TV to talk about welfare in Maine and a new proposed program to offer free healthcare to illegal aliens.

Senate President Troy Jackson (D-Aroostook) lost an election for the town of Allagash select board on March 24. Afterward, he demanded a recount, claiming that the original election process somehow produced the wrong result. The Maine Wire — unlike Maine’s other media outlets — took the allegation of voter fraud by Maine’s most powerful state lawmaker very, very seriously. So we were on the scene to investigate and document for posterity as Allagash officials got to the bottom of this nefarious conspiracy to undermine democracy. https://twitter.com/TheMaineWire/status/1646305546058756096 Unfortunately for Mr. Jackson, the recount only reaffirmed his loss to Allagash First Select…

At a recent RSU-14 school board meeting, several Windham and Raymond parents left outraged after a non-binary guidance counselor from a nearby public school district told them multiple times they would provide breast binders to minor female students without informing their parents. Windham resident Ken Clark told the Maine Wire that guidance counselor Katherine Turpen, who was at the RSU-14 meeting, but who works for RSU-57, said several times during the meeting that they would provide a breast binder to his daughter and then withhold that information from him. According to the email signature Turpen uses for their Massabesic schools…

Joe Biden’s presidential campaign led former U.S. intelligence officials to denounce the New York Post’s reporting on Hunter Biden’s infamous “laptop from hell” as Russian disinformation, the New York Post reported Thursday. The report was made on the basis of information provided by former CIA Director Mike Morell to the House Judiciary Committee. In private sworn testimony, Morell told lawmakers that Antony Blinken, who would go on to become Biden’s Secretary of State, contacted him “on or before” Oct. 17, 2020, just three days after the NY Post broke the first sensational story about Hunter’s laptop. The first report on…

On Thursday evening Elon Musk’s Twitter went on a rampage of sorts, taking away the last vestige of Old Twitter: the blue check marks the beautiful people had accumulated over the years. For those who aren’t on Twitter, which is most American adults, the Blue Check was a verification of identity. It was supposed to tell users that @TomBrady was really Tom Brady. For Tom, the check really didn’t mean anything. But for less famous content creators and Twitter users, getting the check became important. With the check came increased visibility for your posts, more traffic for your website, and…

The full affidavit detailing the grisly crimes of confessed Bowdoin shooter Joseph Michael Eaton was made available Thursday morning at the Sagadahoc District Court House in West Bath. https://twitter.com/TheMaineWire/status/1649059678997839872 In addition to the new details in the affidavit, a Maine Wire investigation has determined that the video Eaton live streamed to Facebook on Monday at 2:00 pm — the day prior to his arrest — was likely filmed in the parking lot of a strip mall in Lisbon Falls. In the background of the video, you can see what appears to be a “Verizon Wireless” logo that we have narrowed…

BuzzFeed News — the news outlet that infamously published the so-called Steele Dossier, a.k.a. the Golden Showers Dossier, a.k.a. an anti-Trump smear document paid for by Hillary Clinton — is shutting down. In a memo to employees, CEO Jonah Peretti said the decision to shutter the news brand follows struggles to generate a profit from the left-leaning social-media-centric website. “We are reducing our workforce by approximately 15% today across our Business, Content, Tech and Admin teams, and beginning the process of closing BuzzFeed News,” said Peretti, who also runs the left-wing Huffington Post blog. BuzzFeed, founded in 2006, became popular…

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky testified in Congress Wednesday that the mRNA injections marketed as COVID-19 vaccines do not stop the spread of the virus. Walensky’s comments contradict repeated claims during the pandemic that urged people to get the vaccines because doing so would reduce transmission of the virus. On Wednesday, she claimed those previous statements were true at the time, but since then, there has been an “evolution of the science” and now the vaccine no longer stops transmission. https://twitter.com/michaelpsenger/status/1648748890789920769?s=20 While there may have been an “evolution of the science,” there has not been an “evolution of the policy,” especially…

If you have a good credit score and are looking to buy a home, you may be required to pay more to subsidize other home buyers who have bad credit thanks to a new rule from the Biden Administration. Starting May 1, a new federal rule will force homebuyers with good credit scores to pay higher mortgage rates and fees to subsidize those with riskier credit ratings who are also buying houses. The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s push for affordable housing has led to the introduction of loan-level price adjustments (LLPAs) that will be enacted by Fannie Mae and Freddie…