Steve Mistler

1 week ago | mainepublic.org | Steve Mistler

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has agreed to halt efforts to freeze federal funds for child nutrition programs in Maine. In exchange the state will drop its lawsuit against the agency. The settlement agreement closes a lawsuit brought by Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey after the USDA yanked federal funds in retaliation for a state law allowing transgender athletes to participate on girls' sports teams.

2 weeks ago | bangordailynews.com | Steve Mistler

Maine U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King voted Wednesday for a failed effort to block President Donald Trump’s global tariffs announced last month. The resolution marked the second attempt by Democrats and several Republicans to reassert congressional authority to check Trump’s erratic deployment of import taxes that have worried businesses, rattled financial markets and raised concerns about an economic downturn.

2 weeks ago | mainepublic.org | Steve Mistler

The Maine House on Wednesday gave initial approval to add more state police officers to patrol four rural counties. But the state budget crunch will make funding the new positions difficult. The proposal adds two dozen positions to Aroostook, Somerset, Franklin and Androscoggin counties through a mix of patrol officers and corporals. The bill is the latest effort to beef up patrols in rural areas where response times are often measured in hours instead of minutes.

2 weeks ago | bangordailynews.com | Steve Mistler

Maine’s revenue forecasting committee is making modest adjustments for the next few fiscal years, but it’s also warning state lawmakers that President Donald Trump’s erratic tariff scheme is injecting a high degree of risk in its projections. The committee’s projections are critical to how the Legislature crafts the state’s two-year budget. The committee’s revised report will be released Thursday, and it’s projecting moderate declines in sales tax and corporate income tax revenues.

2 weeks ago | mainepublic.org | Steve Mistler

Maine's revenue forecasting committee is making modest adjustments for the next few fiscal years, but it's also warning state lawmakers that President Donald Trump's erratic tariff scheme is injecting a high degree of risk in its projections. The committee's projections are critical to how the legislature crafts the state's two-year budget. The committee's revised report will be released Thursday and it's projecting moderate declines in sales tax and corporate income tax revenues.