The War Is Over Brunswick's high-pitched battle over a new town budget has finally ended, with councilors approving a spending plan for the new fiscal year that calls for a tax rate increase of three and a half percent--higher than many like but considerably lower than...
A High-Decibel Rally in Bath A lively midday union rally outside the Bath Iron Works shipyard in Bath. Workers wearing black t-shirts emblazoned with the words "we will strike." The word "dictator" was tossed around quite a bit, and there was a larger-than-life "anti-union rat" on...
The Natives Are Restless In Freeport, there are some unhappy residents on the western edge of the town near I-295, where state transportation crews have been cutting trees, saying that it's necessary for safety reasons, so that the trees won't get in the way of the...
Decision Day Nears In Brunswick, we're approaching a decisive hour, with the town council due to approve a new budget plan a week from Thursday, and a consensus developing among councilors that there will be a tax rate increase in the range of three to four...
Resistance to a Large Tax Hike Brunswick town councilor John Richardson says he senses no appetite for a town tax rate hike of nearly five percent, which would be necessary if the council were to fund both the school budget as approved last week by the...
Saying No To A Pay Raise The LePage administration and various business groups are joining to urge the legislature to stop cities and towns from enacting local minimum wage requirements exceeding the state minimum of $7-50 an hour--something under consideration in Portland and Bangor. This effort...
Unrest At The Shipyard Simmering labor tension at Bath Iron Works. Local S6 of the Marine and Shipbuilding Workers is asking a judge to rule that a contract dispute should not be settled by arbitration. The union is at odds with management over a company plan...
Thumbs Down on Single-Use Bags In Freeport. a unanimous town council to move toward a ban or the imposition of fees on single-use bags. It's a move toward greater levels of recycling and less litter. The vote follows a lively wave of support for the plan...
Injected Drug Use On The Rise In Maine But at the same time, there is a greater response to this problem. A new report from the state department of health and human services finds the number of those enrolled in Maine's needle exchange programs increasing by...
The Winter That Won't Leave The calendar says spring, but there is a wintry look to the Midcoast today in the aftermath of the arrival of up to two inches of new snow. No significant problems as a result, but there was enough snow and slush...
