NY State senator: tax support to weapons maker “truly outrageous”
A New York state senator has called the state’s $5.5 million in grants and subsidies to a weapons manufacturer “truly outrageous” in light of the Newtown, Conn. shooting massacre and wants the practice...
View ArticleTax ‘game’ allows some towns to protect their state aid at expense of other...
Used originally to promote development in blighted areas, TIFs are increasingly being used by towns as a method to protect their share of state aid.
View ArticleDrunk on lottery’s millions, Maine asks no questions about ethics of...
The Maine state lottery receives little oversight by the state legislature because, as one ex-legislator put it, the state is "drunk" on the $50 million revenue that ticket sales add to the state...
View ArticleState releases preliminary findings in lottery review
Lawmakers from both parties question preliminary findings that show no evidence the state specifically targeted particular segments of the population in its marketing. The review comes after an...
View ArticleBoston PowerOptions is a larger, more transparent version of MPO
Part 3: Several northeastern states, including New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts, have formed groups similar to Maine PowerOptions. Boston-based PowerOptions runs an organization nearly identical...
View ArticleState program’s cozy relationship to supplier raises concerns
Part 2: Both a confidential state probe and a subsequent independent investigation by the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, including a review of a confidential agreement between Maine...
View ArticleValue of quasi-state electricity program called into question
Part 1: Five years after a scandal at the Maine Turnpike Authority landed its director in prison, a quasi-state program — Maine PowerOptions (MPO), which brings together municipalities, school...
View ArticleFollow-Up: Legislative committee questions electricity program staff
For the first time in 16 years, staff of Maine PowerOptions appeared before lawmakers Feb. 2 to explain how the quasi-state electricity consortium brings together hundreds of municipalities and school...
View ArticleFollow-Up: Legislature launches inquiry into Maine PowerOptions program
The Legislature's investigative arm launched a preliminary inquiry of the state-sponsored Maine PowerOptions electricity program Feb. 17, a month after a story by the Maine Center for Public Interest...
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