Press Herald - One statewide crisis – a growing number of deteriorating schools nearing the end of their lifespan – could play an important role in ending another: the critical lack of affordable housing. Lawmakers are weighing a bill that would establish a program to help towns turn vacant schools into apartments. Even if it does pass, though, lawmakers would have to find a way to fund it, which could be a hurdle.
A personal financial disclosure Gov. Janet Mills filed last week details more than $170,000 in stock investments. The disclosure comes as Democrats push to ban stock trading by members of Congress. Mills said in a written statement that she supports efforts to ban congressional stock trading and would place her current investments into a blind trust if she’s elected to the Senate.Maine is the only state in the country where legal medical cannabis is not required to be tested for chemicals, mold, heavy metals and other contaminants — but that could soon change. Lawmakers are considering a proposal to hold the state’s medical and recreational cannabis to the same safety standards, which reflects a reckoning for the market but the bill still faces significant opposition from the industry.
Maria Girouard member of Penobscot Indian Nation - There is more in the news today about the state possibly “returning more sovereignty to the Wabanaki Nations.” They act as though sovereignty is theirs to give and return. If the tribes have inherent sovereignty, which we claim that we do, then all this legislative dog and pony show is completely unnecessary and only gives the state more power, and chips away at tribal sovereignty. What the state gives, the state can take away. The kicker in all this is that these bills have never been vetted in our tribal community. We have never had the opportunity to have discussions around these matters, to share our collective knowledge, to strategize.