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What we're reading
— Members of Maine's small Ukrainian population are watching Russia's invasion with anguish, given a long historic relationship between the two groups of people. Yanina Nickless, who moved here to attend college at the University of Southern Maine, said news of the invasion made her sick. She has no doubt that family and neighbors in the small southern Ukraine farming village that she grew up in would take up arms against the Russians if they came to town.
— House Democrats shot down a Republican effort to block state COVID-19 vaccines mandates on Wednesday. The measure from Rep. Tracy Quint, R-Hodgdon, was never going anywhere in the Democratic-led Legislature and went down in an initial party-line vote. While Republicans were united in support of the bill, the floor debate showed a divide between a faction of those who sowed doubt in the proven safety and efficacy of the vaccines and a more moderate group that supports vaccines but dislikes mandates.
— Maine will not borrow for roads and bridges in 2022 for the first time in eight years. That is because Gov. Janet Mills has set aside $100 million that the transportation currently counts on voters to borrow in her recent surplus spending plan. Neither that money nor a coming influx of federal infrastructure funds will fix long-term road and bridge funding issues, however. |
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Follow along today
9 a.m. The Maine Public Utilities Commission will brief the Legislature's energy and utilities committee on recommendations to improve crisis response aspects of the state's 911 system. Watch here.
10 a.m. Attorney General Aaron Frey will update the Legislature's health panel on a national opioid settlement that will bring $130 million to Maine over 18 years. Later, the committee will work on key child welfare bills. Watch here.
10:30 a.m. U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, will visit a medical simulation lab at the University of Maine at Presque Isle.
3 p.m. Jackson and other elected officials will rally with workers at the Sappi mill in Skowhegan at their union hall. Their contract expired in August and members of the steelworkers' union there rejected a final deal from management two weeks ago. |
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| 📷 Lead photo: State representatives take part a special session of the Legislature at the State House, Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021, in Augusta. (AP photo by Robert F. Bukaty) |
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