The Maine Polis

The Committee on Health and Human Services recently held a public hearing for LD 867, an emergency bill prohibiting mandatory covid-19 vaccinations in the state.  If passed, covid-19 vaccination mandates would be forbidden for 5 years, starting from when the emergency use authorizations were first enacted, to allow for safety testing and investigations into possible reproductive harm.…

This is the final part of a 3 part series looking  at the New England Clean Energy Connect Project.  This episode looks at Hydro-Quebec and a handful of their largest hydroelectric facilities;  The Beaurharnois, The Bersimis, The Manic-Outardes, The Romaine and James Bay Projects.  The episode also looks into the environmental cost of this type of clean energy for the local environment and for the entire region. Continue Reading Below for Sources & Show Notes

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At the End of TMP Podcast #7 – Maine Election Process Part 1, I mentioned 3 documents Id be using for Part 2 and that because it would be some time before Ill pull a show together for Part 2, I would put these up in the meantime for anyone wishing to see them.  They are….
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This episode goes in deep on Maine’s Election process at the municipal level.  I explain the specific roles and responsibilities of those involved in pulling of a Maine Election on both Election Day & the 3 Months of Absentee Voting leading up to Election Day.

We get even deeper exploring the rules around 3rd parties helping voters cast absentee, how “Get Out The Vote” groups get your address and the legality of making copies of blank ballots vs. making copies of completed ballots. Continue Reading Below For  Sources & Show Notes.

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The Secretary of State’s office has released the certified results from the Senate District 14 Special Election showing Democrat Craig Hickman as the winner.…

Governor Mills declared a special election for Senate District 14 to be held March 9th.  There are two candidates running for the vacated position; Republican William Guerette and Democrat Craig Hickman. …

This is Part II of the TMP Podcast’s analysis of the NECEC Project.  In this episode we focus on the 5 companies pushing for this project.  Their history, subsidiaries and what their presence within New England’s energy market looks like. Continue Reading Below for show sources.

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This episode is the first part in a series looking at the New England Clean Energy Connect Project.  In this part we look at how, exactly, a project like the NECEC gets legs in the first place.  How does New England’s wholesale electricity market work & what’s happening in Massachusetts to spur this project forward?  Continue Reading Below for show sources.

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Despite defeating her main competitor, Democrat Sara Gideon, by 8.5 % in the November 3rd election, Susan Collins avoided an Instant-Run Off by only .4 percent. Her 50.42% majority victory is a far cry from her 2014 re-election bid when she carried 67% percent of the state-wide popular vote and got over 60% of each county’s popular vote.…

In this episode we use Maine’s Secretary of State Election data to look at the top 5 counties where Biden’s surge in support came from.  We also take a look at the vote tabulator machines use by over half of Maine’s communities and their known security issues.  Continue Reading Below for Episode Sources.

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Biden got record breaking support in Maine in the November election and in this episode. we’re going to dig at where, exactly, his support came from. We’ll take a hard look at the Associated Press election projections and also take a look at Secretary of State’s voter registration data and party enrollment shifts in Maine since the 2016 Presidential election. Continue Reading Below for Episode’s Voter Enrollment Data Sources.

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On the second episode of The Maine Polis Podcast we take a in depth look at the result in Maine’s November 3rd Election. Starting with what’s changed and what’s staying the same in Maine’s legislature and then we’ll examine the results of Maine’s federal elections.

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On the first episode of the Maine Polis Podcast we take a closer look at Sara Gideon’s record in the Maine State House. Gideon is running for a senate seat against incumbent Susan Collins, Lisa Savage and Max Lin.

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A Judicial Watch report released last month found that Cumberland, Sagadahoc, Hancock, Lincoln and Waldo counties all had voter registrations exceeding their total eligible voter populations. The study compared publicly available voter registration data to the Census’s American Community Survey data from 2014-2018.…

Approximately 85 community members, made up of teachers, parents & bus drivers packed the PRHS Library for the March 9th School board meeting.

While the subject of school configuration was not listed on the agenda, Board Chair Mary Martin allowed several parents to speak on the matter and express their concerns regarding plans to reconfigure the district’s 3 elementary schools.

During this question and comment period, Martin stated that……

The parents of Maine School District RSU 16 (Poland, Mechanic Falls & Minot), have recently become aware of an administrative plan to eliminate the district’s three community based, preK-6th grade elementary schools in order to reconfigure the grade-span of each building to only include 2 – 3 grades each.  …

Senators and Representatives have submitted a total of 397 bill requests for The Legislative Council’s consideration during the current legislative session.…

UPDATE:  After reconsidering LD 1363 on May 22^nd, the Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology (the committee) provided three different options for the legislature’s consideration.…

UPDATE: After Passage in the Senate on May 15, Governor Mills signed LD 1209, a bill requiring all citizen-initiated legislation (referendums) face committee hearings prior to being allowed on a ballot, into law on May 23.…