Maine

Maine lawmakers return to Augusta as session begins

Published

1 year ago

January 8, 2025

Maine lawmakers return to Augusta as session begins

AUGUSTA — The 132nd Legislature gathered at the State House Wednesday to open a new session and begin the long process of formally referring new bills to standing committees for hearings and work sessions.

Lawmakers are expected to meet in their respective chambers only one day a week through February, as work slowly ramps up on reviewing hundreds — if not thousands — of bills submitted by lawmakers. Most of the work in the coming weeks will happen during more frequent meetings of the individual committees.

The session is scheduled to end June 18.

The top issue facing lawmakers is state spending.

On Tuesday, the governor’s budget office warned legislative leaders and members of the Legislature’s budget-writing committee about a $118 million shortfall in MaineCare, the state’s Medicaid program, in the current budget, plus a projected deficit in the next two-year budget of $450 million.

The state’s current two-year budget is $10.5 billion, but existing spending commitments already approved by lawmakers would push that spending level to $11.67 billion if they are fully funded, according to the Department of Administrative and Financial Services.

Gov. Janet Mills is expected to present her budget in the coming days. She has said she plans to protect certain investments, including continuing to provide 55% of public education funding, free community college, MaineCare expansion and 5% revenue sharing with municipalities.

Speaker of the House Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, speaks during first day of the 2025 legislative session on Wednesday. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

In addition to reviewing and amending the budget, lawmakers will take up a slate of new legislation. The deadline submit bills is Friday. During the previous Legislature, lawmakers submitted nearly 2,300 bills.

Democrats remain in control of state government. In addition to the governorship, Democrats retained majorities in the House and Senate, albeit by smaller margins. Democrats have had a trifecta since 2019.

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Maine

Gas prices hold steady across Maine in 2026

Published

9 hours ago

February 16, 2026

Press Room

Gas prices hold steady across Maine in 2026

MAINE (WABI) – Gas prices in Maine have continued to hold steady in 2026.

According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of gas in Maine is $2.89.

That is three cents cheaper than the current national average of $2.92 a gallon.

This time last year, the average price of gas in Maine was $3.09 a gallon.

Meanwhile, the average price of diesel is up this week compared to last week.

The current average is now $4.34 per gallon which is an eight cent increase.

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Maine

Waterville Police say Hannaford closure was a false alarm

Published

21 hours ago

February 16, 2026

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Waterville Police say Hannaford closure was a false alarm

WATERVILLE, Maine (WABI) – The Waterville Police Department is investigating after a false public alarm led to the closure of the Hannaford at JFK Plaza.

This update comes after police asked the public to avoid the building due to a safety issue.

In an updated post the department said that Hannaford will return to normal business hours.

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Maine

Today in History: February 15, USS Maine explodes in Havana Harbor

Published

1 day ago

February 15, 2026

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Today is Sunday, Feb. 15, the 46th day of 2026. There are 319 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Feb. 15, 1898, the battleship USS Maine mysteriously exploded in Havana Harbor, killing more than 260 crew members and bringing the United States closer to war with Spain.

Also on this date:

In 1879, President Rutherford B. Hayes signed a law allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 1933, President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt escaped an assassination attempt in Miami that mortally wounded Chicago Mayor Anton J. Cermak; gunman Giuseppe Zangara was executed by electric chair the following month.

In 1950, Walt Disney’s animated film “Cinderella” premiered in Boston.

In 1961, 73 people, including all 18 members of the U.S. figure skating team en route to the World Championships in Czechoslovakia, were killed in the crash of a Sabena Airlines Boeing 707 in Belgium.

In 1978, boxer Leon Spinks scored a massive upset as he defeated Muhammad Ali by split decision to become the world heavyweight champion.

In 1989, the Soviet Union announced that the last of its troops had left Afghanistan, after more than nine years of military intervention.

In 2001, the first draft sequence of the complete human genome was published in the scientific journal Nature.

In 2013, with a blinding flash and a booming shock wave, a meteor blazed across Russia’s western Siberian sky and exploded, injuring nearly 1,500 people as it blasted out windows.

In 2022, the families of nine victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting agreed to a $73 million settlement of a lawsuit against Remington Arms, the maker of the rifle used by a gunman to kill 20 first graders and six educators in 2012.

In 2023, Payton Gendron, the white gunman who massacred 10 Black shoppers and workers at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket in May of the previous year, was sentenced to life in prison without parole after pleading guilty to murder and hate-motivated terrorism charges.