Michael Shepherd

Staff Writer

Latest

Published
March 3, 2013

LePage’s pick for Dirigo Health head faces Legislature on Tuesday

Jonathan McKane, a longtime critic of Maine’s Dirigo Health program, is Paul LePage’s pick to head the program; Bob Higgins is unmasked as man behind “The Cutler Flies”; a Waterboro legislator wants to legalize loaded guns and crossbows in vehicles; Sen. Troy Jackson took a swipe at the governor’s vacation spot; and Down East Energy’s boss was named to the Brunswick Naval Air Station’s redevelopment panel.
Published
March 1, 2013

Drone use by Maine police might not be legal

The state police may need federal approval to use the toy for aerial views.
Published
February 27, 2013

Some legislators seek to loosen sign regulations on Maine’s roads

AUGUSTA — Maine’s pioneering law banning highway billboards has withstood the test of time since it was enacted in 1977, but the spirit of highway beautification is under siege at the State House.
Published
February 27, 2013

Maine’s decades-old billboard, signs laws under attack

Maine was the second state in America to ban off-premises billboards in 1977, but some lawmakers argue it hurts business.
Published
February 26, 2013

Maine bill seeks to regulate police use of drones

Stateline reported earlier this month that nine law enforcement agencies in six states have been authorized to use drones.
Published
February 24, 2013

Legislators make hay over Dem, GOP dual appearance on TV

Democratic and Republican leaders in the Maine House of Representatives made an interesting dual appearance on WCSH 6 on Friday, and each took some heat from the other side afterward.
Published
February 24, 2013

A Kennebec Journal investigation: Looking down the barrel of a gun, part 2 of 2

Winthrop town attorney denies knowledge of a police sting involving his son. Was it ‘vigilante justice’ or good police work?
Published
February 24, 2013

A Kennebec Journal investigation: Looking down the barrel of a gun, part 1 of 2

Winthrop police chief Joseph Young drew his pistol on an innocent man over stolen golf clubs in a sting set up as a favor to a ‘family friend’ — the son of the Winthrop town attorney.
Published
February 24, 2013

Hospital job cuts fuel debt debate

Republicans contend Democrats hold up action on Gov. LePage’s plan to pay what the state owes.
Published
February 23, 2013

GOP legislators attach Farmington hospital’s woes to budget fight over MaineCare

AUGUSTA — As lawmakers finished the job of closing a $153 million state budget gap last week, partisan tensions deepened over a key piece of the next two-year budget: Gov. Paul LePage’s plan for paying hospital debt with money from a new state liquor contract.