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News and notes
The National Governors Association meeting in Portland goes into public view today.
— Our reporters had to hang out in a hotel lobby to get face time with governors in Portland this week for the three-day meeting, which kicked off on Wednesday. Public events start today, with a speech from Mills as well as sessions on computer science education and tourism. The agenda.
— Many of the nation's governors are not in Portland this week. Reporter David Marino Jr. was passed a list of 18 attending governors yesterday. Many Republicans have skipped the events, while one big name, Democrat Gavin Newsom of California, was at the White House on Wednesday.
— Abortion-rights protesters met governors as they went to a dinner at Boone’s Fish House and Oyster Room at the Custom House Wharf in the Old Port, the Portland Press Herald reported.
Maine's senior senator says a deal to reform the Electoral College count is close.
— Sen. Susan Collins told Politico that senators are closing in on a deal to modernize the certification of presidential elections, governed by an arcane 1887 law that was used by former President Donald Trump and his supporters in a bid to try to get Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the results of the 2020 election ahead of the Capitol riots of Jan. 6, 2021.
— The main thrust of the effort is to make clear that the vice president's role is only to officiate the counting of electors and make it harder for members of Congress to challenge specific ones.
— “My hope is that we will wrap up our work shortly … I suspect we will introduce a bill within the coming days,” the Maine Republican told Politico.
National Republicans are getting more bullish on Maine's legislative races.
— The Republican State Leadership Committee, the party's campaign arm for legislative races, on Thursday moved Maine to a list of states where they have the chance to flip a chamber or two.
— Republicans have been more active than ever during the 2022 cycle to date, releasing a poll last week showing a tight generic-ballot race for control of the Maine Legislature. But legislative Democrats won a June special election for a competitive Senate seat and have a huge money edge going into the fall. |
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What we're reading
— Phish is coming to Bangor and marijuana dispensaries are making big plans to still with demand. Here's your soundtrack.
— The University of Maine is on the verge of securing an $18 million federal earmark for a cutting-edge lab to study "forever chemicals" as part of a large batch of requests from Collins and Sen. Angus King.
— Joshua Colgan of Jefferson, one of four Mainers charged in the Capitol riots, has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges.
— COVID-19 is now the third-leading cause of death in Maine, behind only cancer and heart disease, Maine Public reports.
— More home contracts are falling through in southern Maine, the latest sign of a quick cooling of a wild housing market. |
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| Gov. Janet Mills walks through the lobby at the Westin hotel in Portland on Wednesday at the start of a three-day National Governors Association conference. (BDN photo by Troy R. Bennett) |
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| 📷 Lead photo: Former Maine Gov. Paul LePage speaks to the press at a Wednesday campaign stop in Westbrook. (BDN photo by Troy R. Bennett) |
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