Things You Need to Know: USPS Working on Temporary Fix to Winthrop Postal Problems
Here are the things you need to know today......
Centralmaine.com reports despite past failures, the lawmakers are again looking a bill to give an advantage when they bid on state contracts with new legislation.
Centralmaine.com says the USPS has set up a postal service van in Winthrop to take the place of some of the basic postal services lost after the fire destroyed the building, and soon there will be a trailer onsite for those who had mail boxes.
Work will start next week on a resurfacing project for Millikins Bridge on Rt 201 in Hallowell. Centralmaine.com says it should be done by the end of May.
From the Associated Press:
A group of senators including Maine's Sen. Angus King wants to overhaul the way the federal Department of Veterans Affairs handles appeals. The senators say more than 450,000 appeals are pending before the VA and the system needs updating. The proposal is a reintroducing of legislation from the last Congress. That proposal was supported by the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars.
The U.S. Alpine Championships are drawing to a close at Maine's Sugarloaf. The men's giant slalom on Tuesday closes out the four-day event featuring some of the nation's biggest names in skiing. The event was held on Sugarloaf's Narrow Gauge Trail, and the atmosphere was more laid back compared to the World Cup circuit. After Tuesday, they can rest up before starting preparations for next season, which includes the Winter Olympics in Korea.
Maine's governor is now truly a politician you could get a beer with. Republican Gov. Paul LePage served up drinks as a celebrity bartender at the Quarry Tap Room in Hallowell on Monday. One dollar for every drink sold went to a foundation to help wounded veterans set up by former soldier Travis Mills, who lost his limbs in an explosion in Afghanistan.
A plan to invest up to $75 million a year into storing natural gas in liquid form is receiving criticism. Maine's chief consumer advocate says the contracts would be an "extremely risky investment" in exchange for "uncertain benefits."
Authorities in Maine say a lobster boat owner charged with manslaughter has been arrested on suspicion of violating the conditions of his bail. Christopher Hutchinson was owner and captain of the boat No Limits, which flipped in heavy waves more than two years ago several miles west of Matinicus after hauling in lobster traps.
He has called global warming a "hoax" and now President Donald Trump is poised to take steps to roll back former President Barack Obama's sweeping plan to curb global warming. Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Tuesday that will suspend, rescind or flag for review more than a half-dozen Obama climate initiatives. The president's order will also lift a 14-month-old moratorium on new coal leases on federal lands.
Nonprofits and local officials say an agency that works to end homelessness among veterans is up for elimination under President Donald Trump's proposed budget. The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness coordinates the efforts of 19 federal agencies that play a role in preventing and ending homelessness among all Americans. But there've been strides made in reducing homelessness among former military.
House intelligence chairman Devin Nunes (NOO'-nehs) says he went to the White House grounds to review intelligence reports and meet the secret source behind his claim that communications involving associates of President Donald Trump were caught up in "incidental" surveillance. But Nunes also says he did not coordinate his visit with White House aides. Democratic leaders are calling on Nunes to recuse himself from the intelligence committee's Russia probe.
A powerful cyclone has slammed into Australia's tropical northeast coast, tearing down fences, snapping trees and knocking out power to thousands. Cyclone Debbie made landfall in Queensland state Tuesday as a Category 4 storm, packing winds up to 160 mph.