Maine News Friday

Morning Star -   The final budget of Gov. Janet Mills’ tenure narrowly passed after some members of the Democratic majority objected to the governor’s plan to send relief checks to certain Mainers, joining Republicans in critiquing the move as bad policy

Press Herald

State Sen. Jim Libby, a Republican running for governor, said Thursday that his campaign “is no longer viable” after state officials identified numerous problems with paperwork he submitted to qualify for clean elections funding. The Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics & Election Practices denied Libby’s request for clean elections certification, citing fraudulent qualifying contributions and other deficiencies.

The U.S. Drought Monitor dropped the “extreme” drought rating from Maine’s southern coastline this week. As recently as October, all of coastal Maine — except the southernmost tip of York County — was in extreme drought.  Much of the state, however, remains in severe drought. Meanwhile, the Maine Forest Service declared most of Maine was under a high wildfire risk on Thursday, with only the northwest corner of the state considered at low risk.

Maine set a goal to end hunger by 2030. What will it take to get there?