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tagged w/ Maine
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Maine - contaminating inmate's food is a new entertainment for female corrections officers in Maine.
FARMINGTON, Maine - A federal lawsuit has been settled before a jury could decide whether corrections officers at the Franklin County jail violated the rights of two former inmates who claim their food was poisoned as a prank.
The deal was reached just days before the trial that had been scheduled to begin Monday in U.S. District Court in Bangor, but details of the settlement agreement remain unclear despite the potential for a financial effect on county taxpayers.
Robert Ayer of New Sharon and Stephen Wing of Industry made the accusations based on an alleged incident in 2008, when they were inmates at the jail in Farmington.
Attorney Jonathan Hull, representing both men, said Monday that he was prohibited from releasing any details of the settlement agreement, citing a confidentiality clause in the deal.
He called it typical for a legal settlement to have such as clause, which keeps either side from making public statements or releasing information. His clients had been seeking compensation for damages related to the incident.
When asked about whether or not his clients received money as part of the deal, Hull described it as a "satisfactory settlement" for both sides.
"Otherwise we would have been in federal district court this morning," he said.
Jail employees were accused of intentionally contaminating veal patties and spaghetti with pepper spray, mace or some other noxious chemical, according to the lawsuit, and then laughing at the inmates when they became sick after eating the tainted food.
The complaint also alleged that jail officials denied the inmates' repeated requests for medical attention, and that they threatened and harassed the men until their release.
The initial lawsuit named eight jail employees, including Sheriff Dennis C. Pike, as well as the county administrative unit as defendants.
The federal court already had dismissed the complaints against all but two of the jail employees, leaving two female corrections officers named as defendants in the jury trial.
Peter Marchesi, attorney for the county, said Monday that the settlement agreement applies to the entire list of initial defendants. The deal prohibits any appeals or future lawsuits tied to the incident, he said.
The settlement also states that none of the defendants admits to any wrongdoing or legal liability, Marchesi said.
Samantha Wyman and Nicole Quick are the two jail employees who the lawsuit claims had the most direct involvement in the incident and faced the trial, he said.
The defendants denied the allegation -- specifically that they used pepper spray on the inmates' food -- throughout the more than yearlong court proceedings, he said.
"(The defendants) looked at it as a good-natured prank that they put a very small portion of hot Chinese mustard into a small portion of their food," he said.
Hull said Monday that his clients maintained their food was "adulterated with pepper spray."
Marchesi declined to answer questions about whether the women or the county taxpayers would be responsible to pay compensation for any damages potentially awarded in the settlement deal.
The county government's insurance policy paid for the legal defense, he said.
Franklin County commissioners will learn about the details of the legal settlement at their meeting scheduled for 9 a.m. today, according to Julie Magoon, county clerk.
Magoon said Monday that the commissioners will discuss the settlement in executive session. She referred a request under the freedom of information law for the settlement documents to Marchesi, who didn't respond immediately Monday afternoon.
Pike said Monday that Quick remains employed as a corrections officer at the jail, but Wyman left in September 2008. He declined to give other details.
Ayer was serving a sentence for his conviction on two charges of assault and one charge of stalking, according to county jail officials, who didn't have his age. Wing, 33 at the time, was jailed on an aggravated criminal trespassing charge, officials said.
http://www.onlinesentinel.com/news/poisoning-lawsuit-against-jail-officers-settled-before-trial_2011-11-14.htmlFARMINGTON, Maine - A federal lawsuit has been settled before a jury could decide... more-
- MotherForTruth
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- 3 months ago
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LePage: Cut welfare and MaineCare or we’ll have to cut education
Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine)
AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage told members of the Higher Education Council on Wednesday that if lawmakers do not reduce Medicaid and welfare benefits, education funding will need to be cut to bring the state budget into balance.
“Eighty percent of the budget is Medicaid and welfare and education,” he said. “If the Legislature has the political will to fix the problem, education will keep the additional $63 million we gave it.”
LePage urged the leaders of the state’s colleges and universities, public and private, to encourage their lawmakers to support his proposals to reduce Medicaid, called MaineCare in this state, and welfare spending.
He has not spelled out his proposals to address the projected $70.9 million shortfall in DHHS this budget year, but in comments to the group Wednesday he said Maine should not provide coverage through MaineCare that is greater than the national average.
Read more: http://bangordailynews.com/2011/11/09/politics/lepage-cut-welfare-and-mainecare-or-we
"Hmmm, never know how to spell or never know why you are dying, seems like a Hard Choice to make!!!"Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage told... more-
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Maine Governor: Let’s Drug Test Welfare Recipients!
Gov. Paul LePage said he wants to deter people from 'benefit shopping,' but an advocate for the poor says the program would be unconstitutional.
"I'm going to ask the Legislature to allow us to do what every truck driver in the United States of America has to do, take a random test," he said. "I think if we're going to take our own limited resources, we ought to be able to test 'em on occasion."
The comments came at a business chamber breakfast in Jay, where LePage gave an overview of accomplishments from the last legislative session and previewed some of his goals for the new year.
With regard to drug testing, the Legislature added provisions in the budget this year that allow the state to test people who receive funds from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program if they have a felony drug conviction. LePage said he wants to take it a step further and explained that he believes people go "benefit shopping" when deciding where to live.
As proof, he talked about an email he received recently from a woman who asked him if the benefits provided by Maine are better than those in New Hampshire.
"I found that very insulting," he said. "I responded by saying 'ask not what the state of Maine can do for you, but what you can do for the state of Maine. Have a nice life."'
Robyn Merrill of Maine Equal Justice, which provides legal services for the poor, said random drug-testing programs in other states have been found to be unconstitutional. She said that's why a bill that would have required random drug testing for MaineCare recipients did not pass earlier this year.
"Random drug testing is very questionable legally with respect to constitutional issues," she said. "If the government has the right to drug-test people based on receipt of aid from public assistance programs, what is to stop the government from requiring drug testing for anyone who receives a student loan or any other government benefit? This law would create a very slippery slope with respect to infringement on people's right to privacy."
In Florida, Gov. Rick Scott urged the Legislature to adopt a drug-testing initiative for welfare recipients earlier this year. A story in the Tampa Tribune published in late August stated that 2 percent had tested positive since the program began July 1. In Florida, those who get cash welfare benefits have to pay for their own test, but get reimbursed by the state if they pass, the newspaper reported.
The savings to the state could reach nearly $100,000 a year in Florida, although the cost of staff time and money spent to implement the program had not yet been calculated, according to the Tribune. The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida has since sued the state, which is appealing an injunction that has stopped the practice.
More than two dozen states have proposed drug testing for those who get welfare benefits or other assistance, but Florida was the first to enact such a law in more than a decade, The Associated Press reported.
While he is continuing to focus on welfare reform, LePage said he will also look to make changes in education, the economy and energy.
He discouraged people from signing a petition that is likely to be found at polling places on Tuesday that would require Maine's utilities to get 20 percent of their power from renewable energy sources by 2020. The current requirement is 10 percent by 2017.
"There's a movement on to have petitions signed that say we want to go to renewable clean energy and we want to get away from oil," he said. "Don't be fooled. This is a bad deal."
He said the push for wind and solar power will require state subsidies and will drive up the cost of energy for Mainers.
Dylan Voorhees, a member of Maine Citizens for Clean Energy, said it's important to reduce the state's dependence on foreign oil.
"It paves the way for more clean energy and energy independence for Maine," he said. "This petition just puts the question on the ballot. We think the will of the people is important to listen to on this."
http://www.pressherald.com/news/governor-drug-test-welfare-recipients_2011-11-05.htmlGov. Paul LePage said he wants to deter people from 'benefit shopping,' but... more-
- GrouchoMarxist [removed]
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- 3 months ago
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Video Petition to the President - Politically organized crime in Maine
BY TOM DUNN
Corruption in Maine has been ongoing for years…..and continues today. Many of the same people mentioned on this tape are still in positions of power today. IT’S TIME FOR A FULL HOUSE CLEANING!
http://unmasker4maine.wordpress.com/2011/08/26/most-powerful-revealing-video-by-tom-dunn/BY TOM DUNN Corruption in Maine has been ongoing for years…..and continues... more-
- MotherForTruth
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- 4 months ago
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Female teacher arrested for drugs, sex with student
Jessica Pomerleau, 36-year-old special ed teacher at Massabesic High School, Waterboro, Maine, has been arrested for gross sexual assault and aggravated furnishing drugs. Both charges are stemming from the alleged sexual relationship with a 15-year-old student.
Pomerleau has worked for RSU 57 for four years, with the last three as a Special Education Teacher in the "Success Program." The alleged victim is no longer a student at the school. An investigation was launched last month ago after the mother of another child contacted a school district resource officer and reported that she had information about a teacher who had engaged in a sexual relationship with a student.
Pomerleau, who is married, is said to have had a months long affair with the teen and she isalso alleged to have supplied him with marijuana during the course of their affair. Officials believe the relationship took place during the last school year and possibly into the summer.
Read more from the source:
http://badbadteachers.blogspot.com/2011/10/jessica-pomerleau.htmlJessica Pomerleau, 36-year-old special ed teacher at Massabesic High School,... more-
- b2r
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Bangor man's naked body was found bloody in the bathtub beaten and strangled by his wife in a fit of jealousy - she claims self-defence
Roxanne Jeskey, 48, enters the courtroom at Penobscot Judicial Center in Bangor for her initial appearance Friday, June 24, 2011.
BANGOR, Maine — Her voice barely audible in the large first-floor courtroom, the local woman accused of brutally slaying her husband in June pleaded not guilty Thursday to a murder charge during a brief hearing at the Penobscot Judicial Center.
Roxanne M. Jeskey, 48, was indicted by the Penobscot County grand jury in July on a charge of intentional or knowing murder or depraved indifference murder in the death of her husband, Richard Jeskey, 53.
Dressed in dark blue jail clothes, the accused killer appeared to have lost weight since her first court appearance after her arrest in June.
A trial date has not been set, but it usually takes at least a year for a murder case to be tried.
District Court Judge Bruce Jordan ordered Thursday that the defendant continue to be held without bail at the Penobscot County Jail. The issue of bail could be revisited at a later date, he said.
Assistant Attorney General Leane Zainea, who is prosecuting the case, said after the hearing that she has filed a motion asking that Jeskey undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
Family and friends of the victim and the defendant attended Jeskey’s arraignment but declined to speak to the news media.
On June 13, Richard Jeskey’s body was found naked and bloody in the bathtub of the couple’s home on Ohio Street.
During her initial court appearance in June, Jeskey, who is being represented by her court-appointed attorneys, Joseph Baldacci and David Bates, said she was acting in self-defense. She said she had been brutally assaulted by her husband the night he died.
Baldacci reiterated Thursday that when he first met his client, she was “covered in bruises from head to toe” and recovering from her injuries at St. Joseph Hospital in Bangor.
Richard Jeskey was beaten and strangled by his wife in a fit of jealousy, according to Bangor police who investigated his death. When officers went to the couple’s home on June 13, Richard Jeskey’s body showed signs of trauma to his groin, upper torso, face and head, according to a police affidavit filed at the Penobscot Judicial Center.
The results of an autopsy conducted June 14 at the state medical examiner’s office in Augusta showed that he suffered extensive multiple blunt- and sharp-force injuries to the head, neck, torso and limbs.
Jeskey admitted that she and her husband had a fight the night of June 12 into the early morning hours of June 13 because of a phone call between her husband and his ex-girlfriend, according to court documents. She admitted that she assaulted her husband “with various weapons including pliers, a box cutter and a plastic baseball bat.”
http://bangordailynews.com/2011/09/08/news/bangor/bangor-woman-pleads-not-guilty-to-killing-husband-in-june/Roxanne Jeskey, 48, enters the courtroom at Penobscot Judicial Center in Bangor for... more-
- MotherForTruth
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- 5 months ago
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Imaboss_clothing
Ima BossClothing Men & women's urban fashion for go getters making success happen one day at a time.
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Shirts (short)Ima BossClothing Men & women's urban fashion for go getters making success... more-
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PUBLIC GATHERING MAY 17th AT BANGOR FEDERAL COURTHOUSE to SUPPORT MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAW and JEFFREY P. BARNARD'S right to Medicate
DEMONSTRATION CALLED TO SUPPORT MAINE MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAW & JEFFREY P.
BARNARD'S RIGHT'S
A statewide gathering has been called for on May 17th, 8:30am, at the Bangor Federal Court Building to support the Maine Medical Marijuana Laws and Jeffrey P. Barnard's right to choose marijuana as a medicine over the narcotics doctors are pushing on him.
Jeffrey is a legal Medical Marijuana patient with a card in Maine who is under Federal Release conditions. His condition is very serious, and he has just lost his foot. The conflict is State's rights vs Federal Law. Jeffrey's life and health are at risk as the Federal government continues to refuse the to accept the use of Marijuana as Medicine.
I would like to again remind people that the Federal government was the first to prove with their own doctors, in the case of Robert C. Randall, that Marijuana was Medicine. This led to a Federal Program that still awards patients 300 marijuana joints a month. Acceptance to this program was discontinued by our first president George Bush because he did not want his administration to be seen as soft on drugs. I guess he was trying to keep little George W. off cocaine. Didn't work out so well for him. Talk about a Snow Job! But the fact is, the Federal Government Still Gives Marijuana As Medicine by Prescription to this Day!
Jeffrey P.Barnard has been trapped in the legal system 15 years now, with only a few of them for his original crime. Most of this time spent is for Marijuana violations on Federal Release.
Jeffrey uses Marijuana for pain relief and has suffered greatly at the hands of the police. When arrested he was beaten so badly he had to have tubes inserted to urinate for months due to a bladder blockage. In Federal Jail he had both legs and his back broken in their custody. He then contracted infections under their care that led to the loss of his foot. He was coming from his doctors appointment with his wife Vicki when he was confronted by police. He saw them coming and tried to cut his own throat. He was then tackled, handcuffed and maced by police. He had just been told his other foot is now at risk due to the metal pins getting infected.
He was arrested as a fugitive from justice because he had not shown up for a court date. Jeffrey was afraid to go back to court because Judge Woodcock had told Jeffrey that he had a cell with his name on it for life. Jeffrey had stated to many that he would kill himself rather than going before Judge Woodcock again.
Jeffrey was again presented to Judge Woodcock, with a line of stitches across his neck. At that time Judge Woodcock did recant his threat of a life long cell, and set a new court date for May 17th at Bangor Federal Court House, early morning.
If I understand Jeffrey P. Barnard's situation correctly, Jeff will be tried for violations of parole on May 17th. in Bangor Federal Court. Court Time I believe is 8:30 am. At that time it will be in Judge Woodcock's power to give him as little as seven months and award him time served so he would not need to spend anymore time in jail. Furthermore, it will be in Judge Woodcock.'s power to choose the conditions of his release and could do so without court supervised release. He could immediately end this conflict between Federal Parole and Jeff's legal right to use medical marijuana in the state of Maine.
Many Marijuana and Caregiver Groups in Maine are rallying behind Jeffrey P. Barnard to support him in his right to use Marijuana as Medicine, and a Public Gathering has been called for on Tuesday, May 17th at 8:30am in front of the Bangor Federal Building & Court House to show support both for Maine's Medical Marijuana Laws and Jeffrey's right to legally medicate in the State of Maine.
We are asking Judge Woodcock to show some compassion in Jeffrey's case and to allow him to go home to his wife Vicki, and address his very serious health concerns.
Jeffrey's crime had no victim yet it has cost him 15 years of his life & freedom, his health and his foot. He has paid for his crime and it is time to now let him go home.
Press Release by:
David Bunn
A/K/A
Captain Joint
30 Front St
Brownville
Maine, 04414
Now for some entertainment, enjoy this marijuana parody song with pics from the festival scene
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkEGmw93-1I&feature=fvstDEMONSTRATION CALLED TO SUPPORT MAINE MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAW & JEFFREY P.... more-
- captainjoint
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Man involved in medical marijuana dispute tries to slit his throat during arrest
BANGOR, Maine — A man who friends say tried to slit his own throat with a knife when he was arrested by police Wednesday has been ordered to be held in custody until federal officials can determine the extent to which he has violated his probation.
Jeffrey P. Barnard, 47, who has clashed with federal officials over his use of medical marijuana, was pushed in a wheelchair into U.S. District Court in Bangor on Friday morning. He was in court for a brief hearing on whether he wanted to continue being represented by defense attorney Marvin Glazier. Scratches were visible on Barnard’s neck and forehead, which his wife said stems from his arrest Wednesday in Machias, as he told Judge John Woodcock that he was scared of going back to jail.
“You threatened to throw me in a [jail] cell forever,” Barnard said, referring to a previous hearing. “I was scared.”
Woodcock clarified his prior comments to Barnard, saying he had neither the power nor inclination to sentence Barnard to life in prison.
After talking privately for a few minutes with Glazier during Friday’s hearing, Barnard told Woodcock he wanted to keep Glazier as his defense attorney.
At issue is Barnard’s repeated use of marijuana while on federal probation — which Barnard has admitted to doing — and whether he violated his probation last year when he failed to return in a timely manner after being temporarily released from custody to receive medical treatment, according to court documents.
According to Barnard’s wife, Vicki Barnard, her husband was arrested Wednesday as he was hobbling on crutches through a Machias parking lot immediately following a doctor’s appointment. He scuffled with police officers as he attempted to slit his own throat with a knife during the arrest, she said, because he is fearful of going back to jail, where his life has been threatened multiple times.
Barnard said her husband has stitches all the way across the front of his neck from his suicide attempt.
“My husband wouldn’t hurt nobody but himself,” Vicki Barnard said Friday morning outside the federal courthouse. “They just need to let him go home.”
Barnard had been scheduled to appear in federal court on April 17 for a hearing on whether Glazier would withdraw as his attorney. After Barnard failed to show up, Woodcock issued a warrant for his arrest. On Friday, Woodcock ordered that Barnard remain in federal custody until at least May 17, when officials will discuss what should be done about Barnard’s federal probation violations.
“I’m going to keep you detained, because the last time you were supposed to be here you didn’t show,” Woodcock told Barnard.
Barnard has raised the ire of federal officials over his refusal to stop smoking marijuana, which he says he does to address his myriad medical and pain problems. Barnard has been prescribed pain relief pills but claims they resulted in severe stomach pain and blood in his urine. He said he has been prescribed marijuana by his doctor and is registered with the state as an approved user of medical marijuana, which he said is more effective in addressing his pain issues.
According to Barnard, federal officials are improperly preventing him from using medical marijuana.
Federal officials have indicated that Barnard’s federal probation predates Maine’s medical marijuana law and that it explicitly prohibits him from using or possessing alcohol or drugs. Barnard tested positive for marijuana 23 times between June 4, 2009, and Dec. 22, 2009, before the state law went into effect, according to federal court documents. Last November, Barnard filed a motion in U.S. District Court in Bangor asking for permission to smoke marijuana for medical purposes, but Woodcock denied Barnard’s request.
Both Glazier and the U.S. Attorney’s Office have declined to comment on Barnard’s case outside of court appearances.
Barnard claims that several of his medical issues stem from injuries he suffered during prior arrests and during previous stints in jail. Barnard said has been labeled a snitch by jail officials and, as a result, has been threatened several times with physical harm from other inmates.
Barnard has said that in June 2010, concerns about his safety prompted him to jump from a balcony at the Cumberland County Jail to a concrete floor 17 feet below, which resulted in serious injuries to his legs. Since then, Vicki Barnard said Friday, his left leg was amputated below the knee and he has had lingering issues with his right leg.
At the end of March, police confiscated 44 marijuana plants from a home in Gouldsboro that Barnard rents with his wife, according to court documents. According to Vicki Barnard, who has not been charged in the incident, the plants were hers and she had a legal right to possess them.
Barnard said she, like her husband, is legally registered with the state as a medical marijuana user and that the plants were hers. She said state law allows such users to possess up to six flowering plants. Only six of the plants confiscated by police from the Barnards were large enough to produce medical marijuana, she said, while the rest were small enough that they do not count toward the state limit of six flowering plants.
http://new.bangordailynews.com/2011/05/06/news/bangor/man-involved-in-marijuana-use-case-tries-to-slit-his-throat-during-arrest/BANGOR, Maine — A man who friends say tried to slit his own throat with a knife... more-
- MotherForTruth
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- 9 months ago
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Anti-Muslim Incidents in the U.S.Video. « Ramanan50's Blog
Restraint called for.
http://ramanan50.wordpress.com/2011/05/08/anti-muslim-incidents-in-the-u-s-video/Restraint called for.... more-
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State of Maine gets 90 days to find buyers for Katahdin paper mills
Are there any renewable energy buyers out there? Recycle paper? Wood? Make fuel? Maine needs green jobs. Are there any green investors out there willing to take this on and help change the planet? How about you Seventh Generation? Do you know anyone who could invest in this and get it started? Pass this around and get it to someone who cares. THANK YOU!!! If we could only recycle instead of destroying...No more bleaching...no more dioxin..this is a chance....Please someone jump on it!
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AUGUSTA, Maine — State officials have 90 days to find a buyer for two Katahdin region paper mills before their Toronto-based owner begins decommissioning them.
Gov. Paul LePage announced Friday that Brookfield Asset Management Co. had granted the state a final extension of its decommissioning deadline to July 31, but East Millinocket officials said the mill on Main Street could not be dismantled yet in any event because the town still has a $2.17 million tax lien on it.
Brookfield made a partial payment covering almost all of the debt last week. Town officials were waiting Friday for the check to clear and said that Brookfield still owes about $18,778 on its 2010 tax bill, plus some slight and accumulating interest. Company officials had promised to pay the remainder this week.
“This gives us additional time to work on securing a qualified buyer,” LePage said in a statement Friday. “Brookfield has been generous with their extensions, and this shows the commitment the company has to finding a solution that will keep jobs in the region.”
http://new.bangordailynews.com/2011/04/29/business/dismantling-of-millinocket-area-paper-mills-on-hold/?ref=mostReadBox
More at link.Are there any renewable energy buyers out there? Recycle paper? Wood? Make fuel? Maine... more-
- futuregen
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- 10 months ago
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LePage sparks a child labor debate in Maine
Many long-dormant personnel issues have re-emerged in the states this year as Republican governors seek to change the rules for managing the public workforce. But nobody expected controversy over the personnel issue that has come to the surface in Maine: child labor.
One might have thought that debate on the issue had ended in 1938, when a federal law all but ended the practice of using younger minors in the workforce. Indeed, Maine has regulated child labor since 1847, when it enacted a law that sought to limit the exploitation of child workers by requiring that they have formal schooling.
But Governor Paul LePage is promoting legislation this year that would move toward deregulating non-adult employment. The Maine legislature is considering bills that would remove any limit on the number of hours children 16 or older can work on school days, raise their maximum hours each week to 24, up from 20, and allow them to work until 11 p.m., rather than 10 p.m.
“I went to work at 11 years old,” LePage said at a recent town hall meeting. “I became governor. It’s not a big deal. Work doesn’t hurt anybody.”
Describing what LePage wants as a “child labor” proposal might be a bit of a stretch, even though Le Page’s critics are doing so. No one in the state, including LePage, is arguing that children should be sent to work at hard physical labor instead of attending classes.
The issues before the legislature have more to do with how much time teenagers should be allowed to spend flipping burgers after school — and how much they should be paid to do so. But a convergence of events has led many residents of the state to link the proposal with draconian labor policies that prevailed in much of the country early in the last century.
Related Stateline stories
•Governors target rules at businesses' behest
•Labor union discord reaches New England
•Governors, unions brace for battle
Actually, the teenage employment bills might have passed through the legislature quietly by now had LePage not made a controversial decision to remove a labor history mural from the state Department of Labor headquarters last month. Among other scenes, the removed mural depicts child workers carrying pails, with a backdrop of photographs showing other children toiling away at strenuous factory work.
The governor deemed the mural to be biased toward organized labor at the expense of business interests. LePage also ordered the renaming of conference rooms at the Department of Labor that had been named after labor leaders. One of the rooms had been named after William Looney, a Republican state legislator who helped pass child labor laws in the 1800s.
Invoking history
The governor’s critics wasted no time in pouncing on the issue. Maine TV was flooded last week with repeat showings of an ad featuring an image of an impoverished child worker from the industrial era. “Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it,” a voiceover says as newspaper clips about the mural controversy flash across the screen. “Protect our children,” the ad says. “Don’t roll back child labor laws.” It was sponsored by two liberal organizations, the Maine People’s Alliance and the National Employment Law Project.
LePage's office takes umbrage at the comparison. “We feel that was farcical and far from the truth,” says Adrienne Bennett, a spokesperson for the governor. “That is implying that we are going to go back to those times and that's something that we find ridiculous.”
Legislative proponents of the measures are equally insistent that the commercial is a cheap shot. They say current state law is overly burdensome on employers and doesn’t allow teenagers enough flexibility to gain experience in the job market. The governor’s office argues that allowing students to work more hours could help them save more money for college, citing increasing loan debt among Maine students.
In addition to loosening the limits on hours of work, another bill now being considered in the legislature would allow employees younger than 20 years old to be paid a “training wage” of $5.25 per hour for up to 180 days. That's far less than Maine’s $7.50 per hour minimum wage. LePage has expressed support for this overall approach as well, although he has expressed concerns about whether it would be consistent with federal law.
“The administration strongly supports the idea of allowing a training wage to give youth real work experience while encouraging businesses to offer it by keeping it low-cost,” Michael Roland, deputy director of the Maine Department of Labor, testified in a legislative hearing. Opponents argue that if employers were allowed to pay students less than other workers, they might start firing longtime employees in favor of cheaper labor, or firing students as soon as they became ineligible for the lower wage.
Unexpected flap
In a recent article in the Portland Press Herald, Republican state Representative David Burns, the sponsor of the “training wage” bill, expressed surprise over the controversy that has erupted around the issue. Burns argued that he only wanted to give minors access to entry-level jobs that employers could not afford to fill at higher wages.
“The Legislature and state have systematically taken away opportunities for young people to join the workforce,” Burns wrote. “We have usurped the responsibility of families to make intelligent decisions and transferred that responsibility to school officials and the state.”
State Representative Mark Bryant, a Democrat and leading critic of the idea, says that even though decades have passed since the nation’s industrial era, the fundamentals of the debate are the same. “We don’t want to have our youth working more hours while they’re trying to go to school, and working for less money,” he says. “That’s just unacceptable.”
--Contact Melissa Maynard at mmaynard@stateline.orgMany long-dormant personnel issues have re-emerged in the states this year as... more-
- Holly348328
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- 10 months ago
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Republican Governor's Removal of Maine Labor Mural Was Legal, Judge Says.
Gov. Paul LePage declares victory but says he wasn't trying to disgrace Maine workers by taking the artwork from the Department of Labor.
By Tom Bell tbell@mainetoday.com
MaineToday Media State House Writer
A federal judge ruled Friday that Gov. Paul LePage did not violate the free speech clause of the First Amendment when he ordered a mural removed from the headquarters of the Maine Department of Labor.
In a 45-page decision, Justice John Woodcock Jr. said that state-owned works of art are "government speech," and that political leaders are entitled to select the art that is displayed in state offices.
The judge denied the request of six plaintiffs for a temporary restraining order that would have compelled the administration to return the mural to the Labor Department's lobby.
LePage ordered the mural's removal last month, saying it offered a one-sided view of labor history that some business owners found offensive.
While LePage's order may strike some people as an act of state censorship, Woodcock wrote in his ruling, it was a permissible exercise of gubernatorial authority.
Woodcock said political leaders are entitled to express their views, and the resolution of the issue must not rest on the opinion of a federal judge. "It must rest instead with the ultimate authority of the people of the state of Maine to choose their leaders," he wrote.
Jeffrey Young, a lawyer who sued to have the mural returned, said late Friday that he was disappointed by the ruling. He said the plaintiffs, including labor leaders and artists, are considering other legal options.
"We may have lost this preliminary skirmish in the court of law, but we already have won in the hearts and minds of Maine people," Young said in a prepared statement.
At a town hall meeting Friday in Topsham, LePage told a group of almost 200 people that the judge had thrown out the lawsuit. "We won," he said.
While federal money covered part of the cost of the $60,000 mural, LePage said the state's share came from a surplus in unemployment insurance premiums paid by employers.
"When that money was used, (the employers) got no credit for it," he said. "I'm not trying to disgrace the worker, because from the time I was 11, I've worked every kind of job.
"I have no problem with the mural. I just have a major, major issue with deception."
He received loud applause from some in the crowd, including a standing ovation from about 15 people.
The 11-panel, 36-foot-long mural depicts scenes from Maine's labor history, including two strikes, Rosie the Riveter during World War II, loggers, child laborers and textile mill workers.
During a hearing on the case Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Bangor, Maine Deputy Attorney General Paul Stern defended the governor's action as a form of "government speech."
Central to Stern's argument was a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2008 in a case involving Pleasant Grove City, Utah. That case was about whether the city could deny an obscure religion's request to display a monument in a public park, while the city allowed the display of a monument about the Ten Commandments.
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that monuments in public places should be recognized as the government's own speech, and that decisions about their placement are exempt from the free speech clause of the First Amendment.
On Tuesday, Young countered that a mural is different from a monument. When most people see a painting, they assume it represents the viewpoint of the artist, not the government, he told Woodcock.
In his ruling, Woodcock sided with Stern. He said the relatively large size of the mural makes it obvious that it was intended to be a permanent piece of decor in the room and therefore express the views of the government, not just the artist.
"Like a monument in a public park, it seems the mural was contemplated as more of a fixture ... than as a temporary display of a private work," he wrote.
The plaintiffs sued the state on April 1, alleging that LePage's action had violated the First Amendment. They moved for a temporary restraining order on April 8.
The plaintiffs also asked the court to order LePage and the other defendants -- acting Labor Commissioner Laura Boyette and Maine State Museum Director Joseph Phillips -- to reveal where the mural is now, and to ensure that it is in good condition and protected.
Woodcock has not ruled on that issue.
Young said that Woodcock will schedule a conference with attorneys on both sides to discuss how the case should proceed following this decision.
http://www.pressherald.com/news/removal-of-mural-was-legal-judge-says_2011-04-23.htmlGov. Paul LePage declares victory but says he wasn't trying to disgrace Maine... more-
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Got Justice?
When I think our judicial system cannot get any worse I am often surprised by the reasons it is worse than I thought. Here is an example of one of the cases I have been following.
A woman with a history of violence against her children and her husband decided to punish her husband for a decision to leave their abusive relationship (after 16 years of marriage) and protect his children and himself from her abuse. At first she reported to police that her husband molested their children. But a police investigation did not support her wild story. So she came up with another story and claimed her husband raped her. Apparently Maine prosecutors can proceed with rape charges without ANY evidence. All that is needed is the accuser's testimony.
This video clip reveals that the wife who claimed marital rape was coached by her friend when the investigator briefly left the room. The friend is heard telling her that she should cry for the story to be believable!!!!
There are many dishonest people. But what is really unbelievable is that prosecutor Mary N. Kellett and DA Carletta M. Bassano have evidence proving this man is innocent and yet the DA’s office continues to prosecute an innocent man. This even after the Maine Supreme court ruled prosecutorial misconduct and the divorce judge ruled that the children must reside with their farther for protection from their mother.
Please watch the video and sign the petition to disbar ADA Mary Kellett! Here are excerpts from this article:
"Ligia Filler is being coached on her statement to police, reportedly by a female friend...
As you can see for yourself there is an acute awareness that tears play an important role in the credibility of a statement to police. Well, that and lip gloss.
I also could not help but notice that Filler claims to be doing this not for justice or out of outrage that she was raped by her husband, but “for her children.”
Those would be the same children she abused.
... she’s doing this for the children. And there may be some truth to that given that at the time, she was involved in a dispute for possession of the children.
Not for the children, but for who gets to own them. And in Ligia’s case, this would clearly mean the right to continue their abuse.
Also, reportedly both women denied the existence of this conversation until the tape was produced at trial, when they suddenly found their memories."
http://www.avoiceformen.com/2011/04/14/ligia-filler-getting-coached-on-making-her-story-seem-real/
Here is a petition to "Disbar Assistant District Attorney Mary Kellett for Prosecutorial Misconduct" http://www.change.org/petitions/disbar-assistant-district-attorney-mary-kellett-for-prosecutorial-misconduct#?opt_new=t&opt_fb=tWhen I think our judicial system cannot get any worse I am often surprised by the... more-
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Abuse shelter exploits mentally-ill woman to push political agenda
April 10, 2011
I've reported over the years on the problems facing our nations' abuse shelters, including funding woes, over-worked staff, loosey-goosey procedures, and even illegal conduct. But nowhere have I seen what I'm going to reveal about the Next Step, a shelter located near Bar Harbor in lobster-addled Maine...
On March 15, 2007, the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence unveiled three ambitious bills. One bill would create a new class of crimes for "domestic violence assaults." A second bill would establish a so-called "predominant aggressor" policy that would help police sort out cases of mutual abuse. And the third bill would restore $1.9 million from previous budget cuts: http://www.nextstepdvproject.org/2008-dv-legislation/
But to get political traction, the issue would need to garner loads of media coverage. And enticing media interest would require...you guessed it...flesh and blood victims.
As revealed by blog entries on its website, the Next Step staff is a politically active bunch, making frequent lobbying forays to the state capitol in Augusta. The shelter workers knew they desperately needed to find a poster child who could be paraded around so legislators could be persuaded to sign on to the proposed laws.
Problem is, victims of battering are in short supply these days. So when no victim is known to exist, the solution is obvious: fabricate one!
Following is the account of Ligia Filler, 41, a native of Guatemala and ersatz domestic violence victim. A web of police reports, judge's orders, sworn testimony, and a recent Maine Supreme Court decision forms the basis for the improbable tale I'm about to share...
Abandoned as a child, Ligia first traveled to the United States at age 17 to meet her parents for the first time. By then Ligia had developed severe psychological problems, attempting suicide several times.
In 1991 she met Vladek Filler. They married and eventually had two children. But the marital union didn't resolve the emotional torment; in fact, she repeatedly abused the children, both physically and emotionally. Once she punched Vladek in the face in front of the children.
A judge would later award custody of the children to the father, finding that "The children were victims of violence from their mother," including hitting one child "with spatulas and spoons, leaving bruises."
The children began to speak openly about wanting to avoid their mother for their own safety. In the Spring of 2007, Vladek decided he had to take necessary steps to protect the kids from the escalating abuse.
When he announced that he and the children would soon be leaving the marital residence, Ligia went into a funk that turned rageful, her abuse quickly spinning out of control.
The following day, Vladek contacted the Next Step shelter, begging for help. Not only did Next Step refuse his request, the staff mocked him. Little did he realize that the Next Step had already taken Ligia under its wing, coaching her to make allegations of domestic violence against the very victim of her long-standing abuse, Vladek Filler.
April 24 witnessed a complete break-down, with a partially dressed Ligia running in the streets, vowing to kill police officers on the scene, and accusing Vladek of child molestation and marital rape. One officer can be heard remarking the woman was "certifiable" for involuntary commitment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsKIcQhjaJg&feature=player_embedded#at=20
Regarding the child molestation claim, the Ellsworth District Court later ruled, "That allegation was false and known to be false. She has shown a capacity to manufacture claims."
But inexplicably, a marital rape accusation by an unhinged woman was viewed as credible. Vladek was arrested and charged.
Ligia was carted off to the hospital for a shrink-check. And as soon as she was released, Ligia became a god-send for the Next Step and its stalled legislative agenda.
Knowing that the Next Step was footing the legal bill, Ligia allowed herself to be persuaded to make lurid allegations of sexual violations, shamelessly amplified by the local prosecutor. "It was sexual punishment," prosecutor Mary Kellett recounted with a straight face to the Bangor Daily News. "It was punitive and angry."
Maine newspapers would eventually run 11 separate stories on the case, replete with riveting details of the alleged attack.
The facts that Ligia was a known child abuser, that there was no confirmatory medical or forensic evidence, that she refused a rape kit evaluation, that she was likely motivated by an impending custody dispute, and that Ligia was known to locals as "that crazy woman" gave little pause to the media bloodhounds.
During the trial, DA Kellett improperly withheld key exculpatory evidence, leading the Maine Supreme Court to later chastise her for prosecutorial misconduct and to remand the case for a retrial: http://www.courts.state.me.us/court_info/opinions/2010%20documents/10me90fi.pdf
The Next Step's devious ploy was successful, the political payoff incalculable. All three domestic violence bills introduced in March were enacted into law. At the ceremonial signing on July 25, 2007, Gov. John Baldacci marveled at the achievement, warning, "Too many women and children are being victimized, and each story is tragic and compelling."
Vladek Filler and his two children, victims of an abusive woman, were not in attendance. And Ligia, now divorced and estranged from her children, has yet to receive the mental health treatment she so desperately needs.
By Carey RobertsApril 10, 2011 I've reported over the years on the problems facing our... more-
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LePage's "OPEN FOR BUSINESS" sign updated
This is so awesome! -
Maine Welcome Sign Redux
This is SO COOL. Check the link for more details. and a VIDEO of the sign being made into realityThis is SO COOL. Check the link for more details. and a VIDEO of the sign being made... more-
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Maine Governor Paul LePage Has To Pay For Mural He Destroyed
Department Of Labor steps into battle over Maine mural-
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Woman Who Falsely Accused Duke Lacrosse Players Of Rape, Arrested For Stabbing Boyfriend
DURHAM, N.C. – Authorities say the woman who falsely claimed she was raped by Duke lacrosse players has been accused of stabbing her boyfriend in the chest at a North Carolina home.
Durham police say 32-year-old Crystal Mangum was arrested Sunday morning several hours after the stabbing that seriously injured her 46-year-old boyfriend.
Investigators said the two were arguing but didn't release any other details.
Mangum is charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill. She is being held without bond, and jail officials did not know If she had an attorney.
Mangum was convicted in December of several misdemeanor charges, including child abuse, in a fire that nearly destroyed her home.
As for her rape claims, the state attorney general's office later concluded there was no credible evidence an attack ever occurred.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/04/crystal-mangum-woman-who-_n_844712.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_duke_lacrosse_accuserDURHAM, N.C. – Authorities say the woman who falsely claimed she was raped by... more-
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US Labor Dept. steps into Maine mural dispute
If Maine Gov. Paul LePage doesn't wish to display a mural depicting the state's labor history, then the U.S. Department of Labor wants back the federal money used to create it.
The department said Monday that LePage violated the terms of a federal grant that paid for most of the mural's $60,000 cost when he removed the art work from state offices last month.
The request for reimbursement came in a letter to state labor officials from Gay Gilbert, administrator of the U.S. Labor Department's office of unemployment insurance. The letter was obtained by The Associated Press.
Gilbert's letter is the latest twist in a growing national dispute over LePage's decision to remove the 36-foot mural from the state Labor Department headquarters. LePage said it was biased towards organized labor at the expense of his pro-business agenda.
The mural, in place since 2008, depicts scenes that include a paper mill strike in the town of Jay, a strike at a shoe plant in Lewiston, women shipbuilders at Bath Iron Works and former U.S. Labor Secretary Frances Perkins, a native of Maine.
Adam Fisher, a spokesman for the Maine Department of Labor, said he did not have any immediate comment on the letter.
LePage's removal of the mural attracted attention at a time when lawmakers in Wisconsin and other states are considering measures to restrict collective bargaining by public workers. Labor advocates, artists and others say the mural depicts an important part of Maine history and belongs at the state's Department of Labor office.
LePage spokeswoman Adrienne Bennett said last week that the mural is in storage and awaits transfer to "a suitable venue for public display." She did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the demand for repayment of federal funds.
The mural was created in large part with a federal grant that provided 63 percent of the cost of art work. Gilbert's letter said the state must return 63 percent of the current fair market value of the mural, which could now be higher than the $60,000 it cost to create it.
"Alternatively, the state could again display the mural in its headquarters or in another state employment security building," the letter said.
U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis has not commented publicly on the mural dispute. Her spokesman, Carl Fillicio, said she "has monitored the situation and asked staff to look into it."
LePage's decision to remove the mural was prompted by an anonymous fax to the governor's office -- signed by "A Secret Admirer" -- that said the mural was propaganda in line with "communist North Korea where they use these murals to brainwash the masses."
http://www.salon.com/wires/allwires/2011/04/04/D9MCVNQ01_us_labor_mural/index.htmlIf Maine Gov. Paul LePage doesn't wish to display a mural depicting the... more-
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