Stories by Michael Shepherd

Good morning from Augusta. The New England Patriots are Super Bowl champions, but you probably knew that already. We’re on to the news.

Good morning from Augusta. Gov. Janet Mills has had no problem getting her Cabinet assembled so far in a Democratic-led Legislature, but one nominee will face a loud test from conservatives and gun-rights supporters at his confirmation hearing today.

Good morning from Augusta. U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and a Democratic opponent to be named later are both sitting on healthy war chests going into a 2020 campaign that is shaping up to be potentially the most expensive political race in Maine history.

Good morning from Augusta. A largely unheralded 2016 legislative move made Maine a presidential primary state, but a quirk took the law off the books.

Good morning from Augusta. Maine is promising “a big week” for its Medicaid expansion push after enrolling more than 2,100 people in the nascent program so far during the first month of Gov. Janet Mills’ tenure ahead of her first budget proposal.

A longtime lobbyist for Maine doctors and public health advocate was introduced Thursday as Gov. Janet Mills’ pick to manage her new administration’s response to the state’s opioid crisis.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins will vote for President Donald Trump’s offer to reopen the federal government for $5.7 billion in border wall funding and a rival Democratic plan that will also come up for a Senate vote on Thursday.

Good morning from Augusta, where Gov. Janet Mills marked the 46th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion with a news conference signaling that her administration would work to counter anti-abortion efforts at the state and national levels.

Good morning from Augusta, where Medicaid expansion is ticking on under Gov. Janet Mills and a staff at the Maine Department of Health and Human Services that has done a 180-degree turn from the new governor’s predecessor in less than three weeks.

After a long history of being the main funding source for state government, the property tax lives on as the mainstay for every Maine city and town budget.