Firm that conducted key energy studies for Maine will be in the hot seat today

Good morning from Augusta. We’re rolling out a new design of the Daily Brief today on another platform. There were technical difficulties in sending out the email today. Here’s your soundtrack.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Ultimately, I think the conservative nature of the state and federal bureaucracies makes it unlikely that unless a mountain lion had kittens on the governor’s car they’d admit to a breeding population in Maine, but I think the evidence is pretty compelling that a small remnant population exists in northern New England and the Maritimes,” reader Geoffrey Wingard said of the often-contested subject of whether there are mountain lions in Maine (or New England, for that matter.) Here’s your soundtrack.

What we’re watching today

Officials from a firm that has conducted key Maine energy studies will be questioned by lawmakers who want to stop a state payment to them. It will be a day in the hot seat for London Economics International, which will present to the Legislature’s energy committee at 1 p.m. on its recently released study finding electric rates would rise initially if Maine enshrined a consumer-owned utility, though they should drop in the long term.

London Economics has been under scrutiny for that study after the Bangor Daily News reported this month the firm won the $500,000 contract despite past work for Emera Maine that should have disqualified it under state rules. It later emerged the firm was working for a subsidiary of Hydro-Quebec when it was hired to do a 2018 study on the economic impact of the proposed Central Maine Power corridor, which would bring Hydro-Quebec power to the regional grid.

Four members of the energy panel wrote to the Maine Public Utilities Commission last week urging it to halt payment to London Economics to preserve the right to take “corrective action,” according to a letter obtained by the news arm of the progressive Maine People’s Alliance. The commission responded that the firm has only been paid $159,000 so far.

The Maine politics top 3

— “Most youth are jailed in Maine simply because ‘they could not go home,’ new report says,” Callie Ferguson, Bangor Daily News: “In 45 percent of detention cases, the most serious charges pending against youth were for crimes involving property, drugs or alcohol, not for crimes against people. In addition, 53 percent of young people are booked to Long Creek ‘to provide care’ for their well-being, rather than out of concern for public safety.”

— “A voter guide to Maine’s Democratic presidential primary,” Jessica Piper and Michael Shepherd, BDN: “Maine Democrats will vote Tuesday in the presidential primary amid divides in the party on whether to push aggressive policy goals including Medicare for All and which of their eight candidates is best-suited to beat President Donald Trump. …The Bangor Daily News surveyed readers in January on the issues that matter to you most, with Democrats picking climate change and health care as their highest-priority issues.”

Presidential surrogates are continuing to make their case ahead of the March 3 primary. Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg picked up an endorsement from former Rep. Tom Allen of Maine’s 1st District on Tuesday. The Democrat from Portland applauded the billionaire’s ability to “unite a broad coalition” to take on Trump. Electability has been at the center of Bloomberg’s pitch in Maine and beyond, with his campaign arguing that front-running Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders would hurt Democrats down the ballot. Sanders has his own surrogates in Maine, with Ben & Jerry’s founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield handing out “Justice ReMix’d” ice cream while they campaigned for him in Maine yesterday.

— “State’s plan for special cannabis crimes unit sparks outrage,” Penelope Overton, Portland Press Herald: “The criminal enforcement unit would focus on marijuana crimes, like black-market sales to children, while a civil compliance unit would use regulatory tools, like license suspension or fines, to encourage licensed marijuana businesses to comply with state marijuana rules, like testing all products.”

Packaging bill strikes at heart of recycling debate

A bill that would cause producers of packaging products to pay into a recycling fund is sure to draw spirited testimony at the State House today. Under the bill, packaging producers will pay a fee based on the weight of material they sell — that money would then be used to pay for municipalities’ recycling programs. Producers can offset what they’d pay by creating recycling programs for the material they sell or by reducing production altogether.

The proposal is getting support from environmentalists and opposition from producers and box stores. It comes at a time when municipalities have begun to shelve recycling programs as costs increase — a result of fewer buyers and stricter standards for accepting recyclables from buyers like China. Even if your town does recycle, not all materials are created equal — especially some plastics.

 Ben, Jerry and a Bloomberg bus: Presidential campaigns enter the final week in Maine

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “In Bangor they’ll poison the youth with bad whiskey, to the devil they banish all brandy and ale,” Larry Gorman wrote in his song “The Boys of the Island,” penned around 1885. “And when on the corner they find the boy tipsy, they’ll send for Tim Leary and march him to jail.” Here’s your soundtrack.

What we’re watching today

Surrogates are hitting the campaign trail ahead of Maine’s March 3 presidential primary — though candidates themselves remain elusive. The founders of Ben & Jerry’s — Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield — are in town to host “ice cream socials” for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in Augusta and Pittsfield, as well as barnstorms in Skowhegan and Farmington today. Supporters can also catch the pair for ice cream in Portland and Old Orchard Beach tomorrow.

Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg will have national staff in the state today for a bus tour today, campaigning along with Augusta Mayor Dave Rollins in Lewiston, Scarborough and Portland.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s campaign said Monday it now has 20 staffers in Maine — matching Bloomberg’s high-dollar operation for now — while Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar picked up her first endorsement in Maine yesterday from first-term state Rep. Michele Meyer, D-Eliot. Her campaign also has canvassing operations up and running in Maine this week.

Seven Democrats — Bloomberg, Sanders, Klobuchar, Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden, billionaire activist Tom Steyer and former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana — will be in Charleston, South Carolina, tonight for the final debate before the primaries next Tuesday in Maine and more than a dozen other states. South Carolina, which holds its primary on Saturday, is virtually a must-win for Biden.

The Maine politics top 3

— “Paul LePage says he was paid $7,500 last year to advocate for CMP corridor,” Michael Shepherd, Bangor Daily News: “The Republican said in a Monday statement to the Bangor Daily News that he was paid $7,500 last year by Mitchell Tardy Jackson, a high-powered lobbying firm that has been working for the utility … to fend off legislative proposals aimed at killing the $1 billion proposal. LePage could do more paid work on the corridor in the future.”

— “What you need to know before voting on Maine’s vaccine referendum,” Jessica Piper, BDN: “Supporters of the referendum have made a range of arguments, with many saying the law infringes on religious and personal freedom and that children should not be prohibited from school for not having vaccinations. … Opponents of the referendum, including doctors and medical groups, say vaccines are necessary to prevent the spread of preventable diseases.”

Both arguments were on display Monday night during a televised debate on WGME. Lawmakers and advocates on both sides of the issue appeared for a 30-minute debate that later moved to Facebook, according to the Portland Press Herald. Dr. Laura Blaisdell, a pediatrician from Yarmouth representing the no side, said support from the medical community is “an inconvenient truth” for opponents. At one point, state Rep. Justin Fecteau, R-Augusta, accused Blaisdell of “fear-mongering.” His yes side argued the law is an overreach.

— “Maine considers restoring mental health crisis response system to divert people from jails,” Caitlin Andrews, BDN: “The Mental Health Working Group is now suggesting putting $4.4 million into an existing, state-contracted system for mobile services staffing and peer-support services with the goal of providing more effective treatment and saving money for county jails. It’s wrapped up in long-standing debates over jail funding and criminal justice reform.”

Susan Collins isn’t happy about Trump’s personnel shakeup

— The Maine Republican told Politico on Monday that she thought the director of national intelligence should have experience in that arena. President Donald Trump abruptly dismissed acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire last week after conservatives were upset by a briefing from his office on Russian election interference, installing Richard Grenell, a longtime Republican operative who is the ambassador to Germany.

Grenell does not have previous experience working in U.S. intelligence, and because he is working in an acting capacity, he will not face Senate confirmation. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who sits on the intelligence panel, said Monday she would have “much preferred” Maguire be nominated for the job, adding “the person needs experience in the intelligence community.”

Amended distracted driving law up for a House vote today

— The law isn’t going away — but the steep first-time offender fine would be. Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham, has said he never intended for first-time offenders to face a $230 fine for violating the new law barring hand-held use of a phone while driving. His amendment drops it to $50, but any penalty after that will cost you $250. It also clarifies that ham radio operators can use devices in their vehicles and allows people to text and call from a parking spot.

It seems likely to sail through the Legislature. The amendment seems to have encountered no resistance and has been supported by everyone from the Maine State Police and AAA of Northern New England to Maine’s chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Today’s Daily Brief was written by Michael Shepherd, Jessica Piper and Caitlin Andrews. If you’re reading this on the BDN’s website or were forwarded it, email clumm@bangordailynews.com (we’re setting up a new subscriber page soon) to subscribe to it via email.

To reach us, do not reply directly to this newsletter, but contact the political team at mshepherd@bangordailynews.com, candrews@bangordailynews.com or jpiper@bangordailynews.com.