Things You Need to Know Today: Committee Approves One-Year Moratorium on Marijuana Retail Sale in Maine
Here are the things you need to know today......
More than 3,000 women are expected at the Women's Rallies in Augusta Saturday. According to centralmaine.com are corresponding with the rally happening in DC.
A legislative committee voted to approve a one-year moratorium on the retail sale of marijuana in Maine. According to WCSH the moratorium was introduced to the committee as emergency legislation after Question 1 passed. If it passes in the full legislature, it would delay the start of retail sales of marijuana until February 1, 2018. Then a committee would work on laws addressing marijuana sales, workplace issues and public safety.
Gov. Paul LePage will give a State of the State address, after not doing slo last year. According to WABI it is schedule the address for Feb. 7. LePage’s office had no immediate comment Thursday. The governor last year chose to deliver a letter to legislators rather than deliver a speech .
Keith Coleman received the maximum penalty for killing 36-year-old Christina Sargent and her two kids in Garland in 2014. According to centralmaine.com he asked for mercy before a judge imposed three life sentences. He had told police he killed the kids because they witnessed their mothers death.
Could Mary Mayhew, the DHHS commissioner, be considering a run for governor in 2018? According to the Bangor Daily News there has been no announcements, but there has been there have been some slight indications in the past and now a website has been registered for Mayhewforgovernor.com .
From the Associated Press:
A South Paris woman has been charged for a November crash that killed a 13-year-old Lewiston Middle School student. Jayden Cho-Sargent, an eighth-grader, was crossing Main Street in a crosswalk when he was hit by a pickup truck driven by Laurie Young. She said she didn't see the boy until the last second. He died at the scene.
A Maine man convicted of killing his girlfriend and her two children has been sentenced to life in prison. Keith Coleman, of Garland, asked for mercy from the judge before receiving the maximum penalty for the slayings of 36-year-old Christina Sargent, 10-year-old Duwayne Coke and 8-year-old Destiny Sargent. There is no death penalty in Maine. He also received a 20-year sentence for sexually assaulting Destiny.
regulators are going to allow fishermen to catch more smooth dogfish, a species of increasing interest in commercial fisheries. The seafood industry has been trying to find new markets for dogfish in recent years. Catch of the sharks has been consistent, but they aren't recognized by many U.S. consumers and are of low economic value.
Swedish officials have told The Associated Press that the country is working on a new proposal about how to deal with American lobsters that have turned up in Swedish waters. Sweden wanted the European Union to consider a ban of imports of American lobsters into the EU. The call came after Sweden announced it had found 32 American lobsters in its waters. EU officials turned away the request in October.
Friday afternoon, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the nation's 45th president. In keeping with tradition, the president-elect is spending the night in Blair House. Earlier in the evening, Trump attended a concert with his family, and after, told supporters on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial that he'll unify the country and make it better for everyone.
The impending takeover of power in Washington by Donald Trump is drawing protests. One was held in front of Trump International Hotel and Tower in Manhattan. One Bronx resident said says she decided to protest and instead of moping. Celebrities joining the demonstration included actors Robert De Niro, Sally Field and Mark Ruffalo. In Washington, protesters jeered at participants at an event dubbed the "DeploraBall," a play on Hillary Clinton's reference to Trump supporters as a "basket of deplorables."
Infamous drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is expected to spend the night in a New York jail. He'll appear in federal court Friday to face drug trafficking and other charges. Guzman was extradited from Mexico, flown by drug enforcement agents late Thursday from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico to New York City.
Rescue crews at a remote Italian mountain resort flattened by Thursday's huge avalanche are continuing the painstaking search for some 30 people trapped inside. Italy's civil protection agency says the search continued throughout the night with searchlights, and would accelerate with the arrival of daylight. The first rescue teams arrived on skis, and firefighters were dropped in by helicopter.
Rescue teams in Iran's capital of Tehran have been working overnight to try to reach trapped firefighters and other victims after a commercial building caught fire and collapsed Thursday. At least 30 firefighters were killed. Scores of workers and dozens of trucks have been searching the ruins for victims. The head of Tehran's fire department, says: "The smoke is a sign of continuation of the fire under the rubble."