Hans-Bruns was cut off from his MaineCare because of a LePage policy. He has cancer and since then has only received emergency care for his critical illness because of Maine's new policy that discriminates against immigrants. courtesy photo

Maine Equal Justice Partners and the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine Foundation today filed suit in U.S. District Court against the Maine Department of Health and Human Services to restore health insurance coverage for a man with a life-threatening illness who is suffering unbearable pain.

The suit was brought on behalf of Hans Bruns, a resident of Fort Fairfield who lost health care coverage through MaineCare in October. In addition, the suit seeks class status for an estimated 500 individuals who were also denied coverage as part of a change in state law adopted last year.

“Hans Bruns has cancer and is suffering from incredible pain. Without proper treatment, Hans faces a terrifying and painful fight for his life with a very poor prognosis for survival,” said Robyn Merrill, a policy analyst and attorney for Maine Equal Justice Partners. “We are asking the court to restore Hans’ health insurance coverage so he can get the full range of treatment that could result in better health outcomes and ease his suffering.”

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A Healthy Home team with Seth Wescott on a hike at Brabury Park after the announcement of L.L. Bean's million dollar donation promoting outside activities in Maine.

Olympic gold medalists Joan Benoit Samuelson and Seth Wescott were on hand for the announcement of a million dollar donation from L.L. Bean to Healthy Hometowns. The company’s donation will expand the now-seasonal programs at the Caribou-based Maine Winter Sports Center throughout the year and help fund ways for young people to get outside and exercise.

The donation also expands the Healthy Hometowns program from 100 locations in Maine to 400.

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Rep. Emily Cain, Maine's Democratic Minority Leader in the state House of Representatives. photo by Ramona du Houx

Maine’s House Minority Leader, Rep. Emily Cain, sat down for an interview about this session. Cain is the spokesperson for democrats in the House of Representatives and since the LePage administration has moved in her public role has increased. Young, energetic, quick witted and intelligent she handles tense situations with ease and grace. She never backs down from her principles and has a clear understanding how to move Maine forward economically while maintaining Maine’s quality of life, Having severed on the Appropriations and Education Committees she brings unique insights to her job which helps during negotiations.

This session has been dominated by Gov. Paul LePage’s proposed cuts that would result in people losing health care. When did this all start?

Before we even arrived back in session, long before Christmas, the Appropriations Committee had held hearings on his supplemental budget that made $220 million in cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services.

First the governor tried to blame “too many people being on the program.” Then he blamed the federal government. He wouldn’t take responsibility for errors within DHHS — these were errors within his own administration — for why that cash-flow problem happened.

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Bigelow Executive Director Graham Shimmield (left), Director of Corporate Alliances and Technology Transfer Mark Bloom, and Congresswoman Pingree in the second floor conference space of the Bigelow Center for Blue Biotechnology in East Boothbay. Photo by Robert Mitchell.

U. S. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree visited East Boothbay in April for a tour of the new 27,000 square foot, state-of-the-art Bigelow Center for Blue Biotechnology (BCBB), the first building to be completed on Bigelow Laboratory’s new Ocean Science and Education Campus.

“Maine’s marine resources have always been a critical part of our economy and heritage,” said Pingree. “I was pleased to be able to visit Bigelow Laboratory’s newest facility, where extraordinary work is being done to find new uses for those resources. That work holds great potential for Maine’s economy and coastal communities.”

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Taking an energy assessment of heat loss

“Mainers should not wait until next winter to fix their homes,” said Richard Burbank, owner of Evergreen Home Performance in Rockland. “High heating oil process and a cold winter next heating season could devastate homeowners in Maine. Now is the time to weatherize.”

Burbank was taking part in a press conference that highlighted Efficiency Maine’s new loan program, PowerSaver, which offers a 4.99 percent rate for weatherization projects that meet energy efficiency standards.

“Now is the time to plan ahead,” said Efficiency Maine’s Executive Director Michael Stoddard. “Just within this past decade the cost of heating fuel has gone up by 300 percent.”

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Maine state capitol photo by du Houx

Last night, Republican state legislators announced they would not show up to work to consider the governor’s line-item vetoes in the state’s supplemental two-year budget. As a result, the veto stands and the $8 million shortfall in the budget for reimbursements to cities and towns will be shifted to property taxpayers.

“Republicans have passed the buck to property taxpayers who will now have to foot the bill,” said House Democratic Leader Emily Cain, of Orono. “Middle class families and small business owners are already struggling to make ends meet. They shouldn’t have to pay the price because Republicans are afraid to stand up to LePage and support the bipartisan budget they voted for just last week.”

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President Barack Obama at Southern Maine Community College on March 30, 2012. photo by Ramona du Houx

The roar from an enthusiastic crowd thundered throughout Southern Maine’s Community College gym the instant the president took the stage. That enthusiasm and excitement continued throughout his speech.

“Hello Maine!” started President Barack Obama.

Organizers said there were just under 2,000 people anticipating this moment, packed into the Hutchinson Union. Their excitement was palpable as cheers, whistles and applause filled the gym.

“Over the last two years, businesses have added nearly four million new jobs. Our manufacturers are creating jobs for the first time since the ’90s. Our economy is getting stronger. The recovery is accelerating. And that means the last thing we can afford to do right now is to go back to the very same policies that got us into this mess in the first place. Right?” asked President Obama.

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The Madison, Maine, tomato producer has plans to construct a research and development building on its River Road property to be used to test new tomato varieties and growing techniques. The new development will encompass 33,550 square feet, or about three-quarters of an acre. The greenhouse portion of the research building will total 15,200 square feet, with an additional 4,800-square-foot office building.

Backyard Farms was drawn to this rural Madison paper mill town in 2006 because of Governor John Baldacci’s Pine Tree Development Zone tax incentives, cheaper electricity, available land, and the workforce. It harvested its first crop of tomatoes in its 24-acre greenhouse in 2007.

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DHHS cover-up timeline

Democratic lawmakers in the state Legislature today strengthened calls for a nonpartisan investigation into an alleged cover-up of a significant computer error in the Department of Health and Human Services. The error led to 19,000 ineligible Maine people receiving access to state health care services.

Last week during a meeting of legislative leaders, Republicans in the Legislature voted to set aside a request from Senator Joe Brannigan, for a nonpartisan investigation of the incident by the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability.

“It is time for the administration to, first, take responsibility for their mismanagement and second, and most importantly, take responsibility for willfully misleading lawmakers,” said Sen. Brannigan.

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Total proceeds for Maine to date are over $30 million

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), spearheaded by the Baldacci Administration in Maine, brought in $1,439,023.44 million to the state from the last cap and trade auction. To date Maine has made $30,178,278.45 in proceeds that have benefited various weatherization and energy efficiency programs in the state.

“Every dollar we keep in our region supports growth in local economies,” said David Littell, a Commissioner of the Maine Public Utilities Commission and Vice Chair of RGGI, Inc. “RGGI investments keep $765 million in our states by reducing fossil fuel expenditures. At the same time, we are reducing harmful pollution. This double impact—of enhancing local economies and reducing emissions—is what makes RGGI so effective.”

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