AUGUSTA – Supporters of Question 1A failed to reap a majority vote Tuesday, but they may be happy to settle for the full attention of the Legislature’s majority party. Democratic leaders in the House and Senate said Thursday they are looking forward to meeting with… Read More
BANGOR – With local and state approval for slot machines and a $30 million development deal with the city under his belt, racino developer Shawn Scott is gearing up for his next major challenge – obtaining a state harness racing license. As things stand, Bangor… Read More
AUGUSTA – Gov. John Baldacci said Wednesday he respects the will of the people – even when they make choices he opposes such as Tuesday’s endorsement of slot machines at the track. Still, the majority of voters who ignored the governor’s warnings about approving slot… Read More
AUGUSTA – Clawing its way to the top of the heap, the Question 1A property tax relief plan received the most votes on Election Day, but its future was anything but certain Wednesday as both critics and supporters pondered an array of strategies. Among the… Read More
AUGUSTA – Voters eager to have their say on the Indian casino and other referendum issues shattered Maine’s turnout record for an off-year election, according to the latest unofficial figures available Wednesday. Tallies from all 649 of Maine’s precincts show more than 509,000 votes were… Read More
SANFORD – On the morning after one of the most memorable election nights this town has seen, many of the lawn signs were still standing even though the debate over a proposed Indian casino here was all but over. But there was a new debate… Read More
SOUTH PORTLAND – Plans to build a $650 million Indian casino in southern Maine met a decisive defeat Tuesday as voters turned out in force to oppose the project, thus putting a swift end to the costliest and one of the most contentious campaigns in the state’s history. Read More
BANGOR – With results from more than 88 percent of the state’s voting precincts in, Question 2, the slot machine initiative, appeared to have passed. As of 1 a.m. Wednesday, the ballot initiative that would allow Maine’s commercial racetracks to install slot machines was ahead… Read More
BANGOR – The Maine Municipal Association’s property-tax relief proposal had the most votes early Wednesday morning, but not enough to win outright, as the complicated issue divided voters along rural and urban lines. With more than 88 percent of the precincts reporting, Question 1A had… Read More
Hundreds of thousands of voters turned out at the polls Tuesday, but most weren’t there for the $89.4 million in state bond issues. Though all three bonds appeared to have easy victories with 88 percent of precincts reporting, they weren’t what drew voters to the… Read More
Several controversial items on this year’s referendum ballot brought Maine voters to the polls Tuesday. “People understand casinos and property taxes,” Secretary of State Dan Gwadosky said Tuesday during a visit to the polls at Bangor Civic Center. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var… Read More
AUGUSTA – The chief of the Penobscot Nation and governor of Maine made their final stands at separate events Monday in the last day of the contentious and costly campaigns for and against a $650 million Indian casino, the fate of which rests today in the hands of… Read More
Support for a proposed Indian casino continues to fall, according to a new poll, and pro-casino forces find themselves on the defensive in the campaign’s final days. “Our only hope is that people … vote their hopes instead of their fears,” said pro-casino spokeswoman Erin… Read More
B on Question 1 While options A and B on this question seem much the same, they are not. Both seek to offer property tax relief to Maine citizens while increasing state funding for education to 55 percent, but they would do this in very… Read More
The fight over a proposed Indian casino in southern Maine has shattered campaign spending records, according to reports filed Wednesday with state election officials. As of Oct. 23, the major political action committees on each side of the issue had combined to raise and spend… Read More
BANGOR – Just as the Nevada-based firm that wants to develop Maine’s first racetrack casino in Bangor appeared to be heading alone down the homestretch toward its goal, at least one other developer has arrived on the scene to mount a challenge. Late Wednesday afternoon,… Read More
FARMINGTON – The debate over a proposed Indian casino landed in this small college town with a sense of urgency Tuesday, with both sides aiming to sway the few remaining undecided voters and perhaps pick up the even rarer convert during the final week of the campaign. Read More
AUGUSTA – A consultant for the Maine Municipal Association’s property tax relief plan charged Tuesday that the Legislature has failed to meet its financial obligations for local education funding for nearly 30 years, adding taxpayers will only see an improvement by voting for Question 1A. Read More
SANFORD – A proposed $650 million casino would bring more than 2,000 new students to schools in Sanford and surrounding communities, according to the Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission. The commission met with regional school officials Monday. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes… Read More
PORTLAND – Casino supporters are quick to say a proposed casino in Maine won’t be like those in Las Vegas. They’re right, at least in regard to its size. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner… Read More
AUGUSTA – Proponents of the Maine Municipal Association’s Question 1A property tax relief plan were crying foul Monday over a new Question 1B television spot they quickly branded as “an attack ad.” The ad features former West Gardiner state legislator John Marsh enjoying a piece… Read More
Mainers traditionally embrace transportation spending packages like the $63.45 million for which Question 6 seeks authorization, and it’s easy to understand why: There’s nothing abstract about where the money would go. If the question passes, the funds would be applied to a host of tangible… Read More
WATERVILLE – Steely-eyed and confident, state economist Laurie Lachance stared down a circumspect crowd at Thomas College as she asked them to contemplate life in Maine if the Question 1A property tax relief proposition is passed by voters next month. Not exactly known around the… Read More
The Bangor Daily News will accept commentary relating to Nov. 4 election issues until noon Wednesday, Oct. 29. No election material will be published after Saturday, Nov. 1. Unfortunately, not all submissions can be published because of space constraints. Read More
We, of the Dawnland Metis of Maine, want to express our support for the establishment of a resort casino in Sanford. Our membership is made up of mixed-heritage people of European and American Indian ancestry and is comprised of Mainers from all walks of life. We are dedicated… Read More
Listening to the news the other night, it struck me what a bad deal this casino bill is, at least for the state. The newscaster said the state’s projected share of the slots was $100 million each year. On the face of it, it sounds… Read More
I am a member of the Mohawk Nation in northern New York state but I reside with my wife, an Oneida, on the Oneida Iroquois Territory east of Syracuse. Both places have had commercial casinos in operation for the past few years that have given our people an… Read More
I have visited every casino on the East Coast, as well as Montreal and Las Vegas. I have been to Foxwoods many times in the past seven years and it is clear to see that new businesses are popping up near the casino all the time. Never have… Read More
I have found recent pictures displays and comments made by Casinos No! very disturbing. They have taken pictures of hard-working non-Caucasian individuals and have exploited these individuals in the worst way. Some Mainers are scared of this new wave of welfare seeking, non-English speaking, crime- producing, immigrants that… Read More
In the next two weeks, you might hear Gov. John Baldacci telling you to vote against a proposed Indian casino, but you won’t see him do it – not on television, anyway. “It’s the message, not the messenger, that’s important,” said Baldacci spokesman Lee Umphrey,… Read More
On Nov. 4 voters will be asked to consider a $19 million bond that would pay for upgrading facilities and purchasing equipment at Maine’s post-secondary education institutions and public libraries. Beyond providing much-needed facelifts for dozens of state buildings, Question 5, if approved, would help… Read More
SANFORD – If there were ever any doubt about the intensity of the debate over a proposed Indian casino in Maine, one needed to look no farther than Carol Cabana’s front lawn. The Sanford woman and self-professed political junkie has displayed lawn signs in her… Read More
Q: Who would own the casino? A: The Penobscot Nation and Passamaquoddy Tribe would own the casino. The project would have investors, however, who would share in the revenues. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner… Read More
PORTLAND – It’s the $100 million question. What will the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy Indian tribes do with tens of millions of dollars they expect to get each year if a $650 million casino and resort is built in southern Maine? googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define… Read More
On Nov. 4, voters will be asked to approve a drastically scaled-down health and environment bond totaling about $6.9 million. If approved, the bond would bring in $14 million in federal matching funds. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes… Read More
SANFORD – No matter where you were in this town Saturday, whether inside a vacant textile mill or on a busy downtown street corner, the talk was all about jobs – 4,740 of them to be exact. It is the prospect of those jobs, promised… Read More
In less than a month, Maine voters will consider a measure that some say would preserve the state’s harness racing tradition and pump millions into the economy, but that others oppose on moral grounds and because of the social and economic costs. Question 2 on… Read More
AUGUSTA – In what is destined to be the most expensive referendum contest in the state’s history, those for and against the proposed Indian casino are filling and emptying their campaign coffers at record paces, raising close to a combined $7 million. With still four… Read More
AUGUSTA – Massive infusions of cash from a state municipal lobbying group and the national teachers union pushed total contributions in the Nov. 4 referendum on property tax relief past the million-dollar mark Friday as the battle for Question 1 continued to escalate on television screens across the… Read More