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What we're reading
— King told reporters on Thursday the U.S. should gird for Russian cyberattacks as Putin escalates his war in Ukraine, arguing that a potential attack may not target military capabilities but could instead hit the private sector or critical infrastructure like water or transportation systems.
— Maine's quick move to hew to federal mask recommendations highlights a national shift to more hands-off COVID-19 management. Gov. Janet Mills' decision to stop recommending masks in all schools as of March 9 came a day after Nirav Shah, the director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said it was too early to fully embrace relaxed federal standards. His office said he agreed with the governor's move to phase out the guidelines over a week. The changes in standards are leading some school districts to begin rolling back lingering local requirements.
— A tiny outpost with the highest property taxes in Penobscot County is trying to deorganize. The Legislature approved a 2006 measure allowing Drew Plantation to disband, but it was rejected locally by a single vote. Only 26 residents remained in the 2020 census with local officials wearing many hats to keep the bare-bones town government going.
— A company that wants to launch small rockets into space from Jonesport is conceding its plans are increasingly unlikely to win local approval. BluShift wants to use a small island to launch rockets up to 80 feet long and have cited a desire to work with local fishermen, but many remain worried about the effect on their industry. Jonesport will take a non-binding vote this month on whether launches should be permitted. |
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Follow along today
10 a.m. The budget committee is in for a full day of work in public hearings on Mills' spending proposal. The judiciary, energy and conservation committees will join appropriators in that order for briefings on their areas of the document. Watch here.
The health panel will work on measures that would expand mental health services for people in jails and raise reimbursement rates for behavioral health care services. Watch here.
Lawmakers on the criminal justice panel will hold hearings on a jail funding measure and another one that would study Maine's emergency medical services system. Watch here. |
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| 📷 Lead photo: Motorists fill up vehicles at a gas station on Feb. 16, 2022, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) |
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