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What we're reading
— Some of Mills' early-pandemic advisers were family members. Her sister, Dr. Dora Mills, an executive at MaineHealth, provided advice on how to keep the governor safe from COVID-19, emails show.
— Here's what the so-called Inflation Reduction Act means for Maine. (There are lots of benefits, but it probably will not do much to address inflation.)
— Bangor is considering rent control to curb rising costs, something only Portland has done so far in Maine.
— For the first time in 13 years, cities and towns will get 5 percent of state tax revenue under budgets passed by Mills and the Democratic-led Legislature, Maine Public reports.
— Someone asked us why Maine has interstates 95, 195, 295, 395 and 495. It turns out they are just easier to remember. |
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| đź“· U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat from the 2nd District, speaks to the press at Husson University in Bangor on June 28, 2022. (BDN photo by Linda Coan O'Kresik) |
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Maine's swing-district congressman launched his first round of ads.
— A 60-second spot titled "Independent" kicks off what will be a long and expensive ad war for Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat from the 2nd District. Watch the ad.
— He faces former Rep. Bruce Poliquin, a Republican, and independent Tiffany Bond. All three were on the ballot together in 2018. The district voted for former President Donald Trump in both 2016 and 2020, although Golden narrowly outpolled the Republican in the last election.
— As you might expect from the title, the ad highlights Golden's votes against his party in Congress, including on President Joe Biden's "Build Back Better" plan in November. Poliquin's campaign has tried to work around his notable swing votes to tie him to leadership in a familiar tactic from past campaigns.
A senator holds her first public event in Maine since the high court's landmark abortion decision.
— Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, will be in East Millinocket this afternoon to visit the Katahdin Higher Education Center, an offshoot campus of Eastern Maine Community College and the University of Maine at Augusta, to highlight a child care initiative funded by a recent $4 million earmark.
— Collins has not held a public event in Maine since mid-June, before the Supreme Court overturned federal abortion rights. The senator was a key figure after the decision after predicting the court would not overturn Roe v. Wade and later said two justices she voted for "misled" her on the issue.
— Early this month, Collins, who is one of the rare Republicans to support abortion rights, introduced a bipartisan bill aiming to codify Roe protections, but the 60-vote filibuster makes it unlikely to advance through the 50-50 Senate.
Five referendum questions are heading to Portland's ballot.
— Four came from the Maine chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, including one that would bump the city's hourly minimum wage to $18 by 2025, a mark that is higher than any minimum wage in the country right now, and repeal the tipped minimum wage. Another one in that slate would impose cruise ship restrictions.
— City councilors officially advanced each question to the ballot at a Monday meeting, according to the Portland Press Herald.
Get your absentee ballots.
— Mainers can now request absentee ballots for the November election. Do it.
— While requests opened on Monday, you will not get your ballot until roughly 30 days before the election. The deadline to return them is 8 p.m. on Nov. 3, which is Election Day. Here's your soundtrack. |
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