Steve Mistler

Portland Press Herald

Latest

Published
May 27, 2013

Maine lawmakers divided over bill to end fines for lobster bycatch

Maine’s groundfishermen call the change necessary; lobstermen fear it will harm the state’s most valuable fishery.
Published
May 26, 2013

House GOP approves LePage’s vetoes, without fail

House Republicans back Gov. Paul LePage’s vetoes without fail; Rep. Seth Berry, D-Bowdoinham, and Speaker Mark Eves, D-North Berwick, apologize for evicting a reporter from the House floor; Lee Schultheis, of Freeport, doesn’t want your vote for governor; and tax reform heads for a showdown this week.
Published
May 24, 2013

Maine lawmakers grapple with falling gas tax revenues

Transportation advocates say the state needs to find new sources for upkeep of the state’s highways.
Published
May 23, 2013

Maine Medicaid bill meets its fate: passed, vetoed

Minutes after Democrats’ symbolic victory, LePage wipes it out and calls for a different bill to repay Maine’s hospital debt.
Published
May 23, 2013

Fuss over LePage’s TV exceeds trivial dispute

LePage tells reporters and Democrats he will move out of the State House because of the disagreement.
Published
May 21, 2013

Hospital payback, Medicaid expansion hinge on LePage

The House and Senate approve a bill that would pay state hospitals back $186 million, and give basic health coverage to 60,000 Mainers using federal dollars.
Published
May 20, 2013

Maine Senate backs bill to expand Medicaid, pay hospital debt

The bill, fiercely opposed by Republicans, is designed to combine one of the Democrats’ leading policy initiatives with Gov. LePage’s payback plan.
Published
May 19, 2013

State House Notebook: Republicans try to debunk Medicaid savings claim

Also: Gun-show bill remains in the Senate.
Published
May 19, 2013

Study claims huge savings under MaineCare expansion

An oft-cited study by the Kaiser Family Foundation claims Maine would save $690 million over the next 10 years if Medicare is expanded nationwide; the fate of a bill designed to stop private sales of guns if buyers aren’t screened for prior criminal activity remains unknown; a “first-of-its-kind” work force bill gets kudos from Democrats and Republicans alike; and Democrats’ vague, conceptual alternative to LePage’s A-to-F grading system for Maine schools gets heard this week.
Published
May 19, 2013

Gov. LePage silenced in visit to panel

His surprise request to speak is rebuffed in order to keep ‘politics’ out of talks to deal with his MaineCare cutoff warning.