Latest Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont news, sports, business and
Push to convert defense department vehicles to electricity
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s independent senator has proposed that the U.S. military play a role in reducing carbon emissions by converting some vehicles to electricity. Sen. Angus King’s bill calls for transitioning the non-tactical fleet of the U.S. Department of Defense to electric and other zero-emission vehicle types. King said his proposal would require three quarters of non-tactical vehicles purchased by the department to be electric or zero-emission and made in the U.S. Non-tactical vehicles include cars, vans and some trucks.
CONGRESS-MAINE-TRIBES
Bill to give Maine tribes benefits of federal laws advances
A U.S. House committee has voted to advance a bill that would allow Native American tribes in Maine to benefit from future federal laws, despite a state land claims settlement. Wabanaki tribes in Maine are governed by the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980 that stipulates they’re bound by state law. That sets them apart from the other 570 federally recognized tribes. Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, the bill’s sponsor, said the House Natural Resources Committee vote on Tuesday brings tribes in Maine a step closer to “better economic opportunity and basic fairness.”
MAINE-BOY DROWNS
5-year-old boy falls off dock and drowns in Maine
MILLINOCKET, Maine (AP) — The Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office says a 5-year-old drowned when he fell off a dock into Ambajejus Lake. WABI-TV reports that the victim’s family was renting a camp on the lake, and the boy fell into the water while fishing from the dock. Officials say his father had already started CPR by the time emergency responders arrived, but the boy died at a hospital. The lake is west of Millinocket Lake.
ALCOHOL BAN REVERSED
Residents of small Maine town end long ban on alcohol sales
CORNITH, Maine (AP) — Voters in a rural Maine town have decided to reverse a decades-old ban on alcohol sales. Residents of Corinth, a town of about 2,800 some 20 miles from Bangor, voted in the late 1960s and ’70s to impose bans on alcohol sales. But residents narrowly voted on Tuesday to allow the sales of beer, wine and liquor every day of the week except Sunday. The public vote allows licensed establishments to sell liquor for on-site consumption. The Bangor Daily News reported the Tuesday vote also allowed retailers to sell beer and wine for off-premises consumption.
ELECTION 2022-MAINE-GOVERNOR
Mills, LePage look ahead to November in Maine governor race
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Former Maine Gov. Paul LePage is seeking a political comeback. With no opposition, he coasted to the Republican nomination for governor on Tuesday, setting up a fierce general election campaign against Democratic incumbent Janet Mills. The race is among just a handful of competitive governor’s contests this year. The matchup revives a long-standing rivalry between LePage and Mills. The two were often at loggerheads when LePage was governor and Mills was attorney general. The campaign is emerging as a barometer of whether voters this year will be motivated by economic anxiety or political civility.
ELECTION 2022-MAINE-NEWS GUIDE
AP News Guide: A look at Maine’s primary elections
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Turnout was low as Maine voters faced a primary in which they were asked to chose governor candidates for the general election and select a Republican candidate for U.S. House. In the House race, a former Republican congressman is bidding to return to his old seat in Maine, and he held off a challenge from a fellow party member in Tuesday’s primary. The governor primaries were uncontested, and will serve as an appetizer before Democratic Gov. Janet Mills faces former Republican Gov. Paul LePage. Elsewhere, a group funded by Democratic megadonor George Soros is funneling $300,000 into a district attorney race.