Stories by Michael Shepherd

5 years ago

Common ground remains elusive on Maine’s latest gun-control effort

Overflow rooms were filled Monday at the State House complex as Mainers took turns providing testimony on Democrats’ biggest gun control push of the 2019 session — a revived “red flag” bill fought by gun-rights groups that still may have a compromise waiting in the wings.

5 years ago

What the biggest Maine state employees union wants from Janet Mills

Good morning from Augusta. Bargaining between Maine’s new chief executive and the largest state employees union over a new two-year contract began in earnest at the end of February and has largely been kept confidential since then, but there are plenty of hints about what employees are seeking.

5 years ago

Vaccination rates continue to drop among Maine schoolchildren

Vaccination rates among schoolchildren continued to drop in Maine this school year, when the share of kindergartners receiving one required vaccine dropped for the third straight year, according to data from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.