Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey will delay the enforcement of new campaign finance limits approved by nearly 75% of Maine voters to allow time for a lawsuit to work its way through the courts.

Frey agreed to delay enforcement until May 30, according to a court order announced by the Institute for Free Speech. The national conservative advocacy group sued the state in U.S. District Court in Portland on behalf of two political action committees connected to a Republican state lawmaker.

“We’re extremely pleased that the state has agreed to postpone enforcement of Question 1,” said Institute for Free Speech Senior Attorney Charles “Chip” Miller. “The agreement avoids expense necessary to obtain a temporary restraining order, an expense that Maine would ultimately bear when we prevail.”

Maine voters approved a citizen initiative in November to limit the amount of money that can be donated to political action committees seeking to influence candidate elections. The limit does not apply to PACs operated by political parties or that seek to influence referendum campaigns.

The institute says the $5,000 contribution limit is unconstitutional and directly contradicts the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission. That ruling said the 1st Amendment in the U.S. Constitution allows PACs to spend as much money as they want in elections.

Advocates, including Citizens to End Super-PACs, expected the lawsuit to be filed. They are hoping the case will make it to the nation’s highest court, which has not yet ruled whether or not the 2010 decision also allows individuals and corporations to donate unlimited sums to PACs.

After Citizens United was decided, a federal appeals court ruled that limits could not be placed on donations to PACs, but the decision was never appealed to the Supreme Court.

In Friday’s ruling, U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen Wolf said the new state law was originally slated to take effect on Dec. 25, but the state agreed to postpone enforcement for five months “to allow time to resolve this case and avoid the need for the plaintiffs to seek a temporary restraining order.”

The order sets deadlines for each party to file their legal briefs in the coming months, with a hearing anticipated for March.

According to the schedule, the state must file its answer to the lawsuit by Jan. 6. Deadlines for additional briefs are Jan. 15, Feb. 14 and Feb. 28.

The two Maine-based PACs named as plaintiffs are Dinner Table Action PAC and For Our Future, which are controlled by Alex Titcomb and connected to Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn.

Over the last two years, For Our Future has raised nearly $406,000 — $375,000 of which came from the Concord Fund, which is connected to Leonard Leo, a major conservative donor and activist who played a central role in establishing a conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court. Leo owns a home in Maine.

The institute says the citizens’ referendum will force PACs to disclose the names of all donors, including small-dollar donors, who are currently exempt.

Dinner Table Action has raised nearly $502,000, with about $25,500 coming from small donors giving less than $50.

Copy the Story Link

A home in eastern Maine was destroyed by a fire that started with a propane gas explosion on Thursday morning.

The Maine Fire Marshals Office said it was called to an address on Milford Road in Grand Lake Stream around 10:30 a.m. Thursday for a single-family home that had been destroyed by fire.

They said the fire started outside the home, where a delivery driver from VL Tammaro was filling residential propane tanks. A malfunction in the filling process caused the release of gas, and an explosion occurred when the propane was ignited by an unknown source.

The driver of the propane truck sustained second degree burns and was treated and released from a local hospital.

The owner of the property was home at the time but was not injured.

The fire marshals office was assisted on scene by the Maine Fuel Board.

Grand Lake Stream, which only has about 125 residents, is located in far eastern Maine not far from the Canadian border.

There’s one way to grow plants right now that actually works better the colder it gets.

It’s simple to make mini “greenhouses” with household materials like clear plastic baggies, food containers or gallon jugs where seeds can grow through the winter.

Called winter sowing, it’s a way to start plants in the cold months that will prepare them to thrive in spring.

You can gather the materials you need around your kitchen without added expense, and the seedlings it produces are cold-hardy, ready to grow outside and can be started without lights, heat trays or other expensive equipment.

Some gardeners have also found that the method gives them a higher germination rate for their seeds and that the seedlings are less likely to be leggy. To get the timing right, many use the solstice as a starting date for winter sowing. This year, that’s Saturday, Dec. 21.

The method was developed by New York gardener Trudi Davidoff almost 25 years ago. There are now Facebook groups dedicated to education about winter sowing and numerous webinars with detailed guides.

The process varies a bit based on who you ask and what plants you’re trying. But, basically, you’ll start by poking drainage holes in the bottom of your milk jug or plastic container and air holes in the top half. One way to do this is with a heated screwdriver to burn through the plastic. Cut gallon containers mostly in half, leaving a small part connected like a hinge.

Fill it with 3 or 4 inches of soil, moisten it and sow your seeds. Tape the tops of the containers down. Leave them outside and wait until the seedlings have a few leaves and are ready to transplant.

You can do a similar process with slightly opened plastic baggies held up by dowel rods as well, and there are online gardening pages dedicated just to that method too.

Winter sowing is best suited to hardier vegetables; it can work with most greens, beets, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, peppers and squash, perennial plants, herbs, shrubs and trees.

This method can work particularly well for wildflower or other native plant seeds that need stratification, or a period of cold weather, before they’re ready to germinate. Research how long the types you’re interested in will take to be ready for planting.

Varieties with longer germination periods or more cold-hardiness should be started soon. Seeds that mature faster can be started in late winter or early spring depending on your growing zone.