Gov. Paul LePage today signed a message to veto a bill to pay back Maine hospitals and expand Medicaid. It was a swift move that came less than an hour after the Senate enacted the bill along party lines. At issue is whether Medicaid expansion is good for Maine. Democrats are holding out for an override. But as Patty Wight reports, Gov. LePage has already submitted a new bill that would only pay back the debt owed to hospitals.

It's been a rough week for Gov. Paul LePage and Democratic leaders at the State House. On Sunday the governor was denied a chance to address the Appropriations Committee by the Democratic Senate chair. And today both sides found themselves embroiled in a flap over a TV - or, to be more precise, a 46-inch television monitor posted outside the governor's State House office. The Democrats say the monitor is not allowed under the Legislature's rules. The governor calls that censorship. And as Susan Sharon reports, he now says he's movin' out.

State regulators have some questions for Maine's largest alternative electricity supplier, Electricity Maine. The Auburn-based group has attracted an estimated 185,000 customers over the last year or so by advertising itself as a lower-cost option to the so-called "standard offer" rate, which is set by the state. But questions have been raised about that claim. Tom Porter has more.

For almost a month now, a group of workers has been trying to organize a union at Winslow-based trailer manufacturer Alcom Inc. But in the last week, five of those workers have been let go, leading to allegations of union busting. Now, labor groups are calling on the CEO of Alcom to reinstate those workers. As Jennifer Mitchell reports, the company seems surprised by the allegations. But workers are claiming the dismissals point to a culture of fear and intimidation, which they say has been present at the factory for years.

Unhappy with what he says is the Democrats' attempts to "silence" him, Gov. Paul LePage says he'll start holding meetings outside the State House. Democratic leaders say the governor stormed out of a meeting with them this morning after he was told that he could not have a television monitor hanging outside his office area on the second floor. As Susan Sharon reports, the monitor displays the number of days since Lepage proposed a balanced budget and a plan to repay the state debt owed to hospitals.

Maine Democrats and Republicans agree that it's time for the state to pay the outstanding bill it owes to hospitals from unpaid MaineCare reimbursements. The Senate is expected to join the House in enacting the bill tomorrow. But Gov. Paul LePage is expected to veto it. That's because the bill would also expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, which many Republicans oppose. And as Patty Wight reports, hospital administrators are also wary about linking the two bills.

More than 2,000 Maine telephone users should be getting reconnected today after a stressful 24 hours. On Tuesday afternoon some 2,200 customers of United Systems Access Telecom, also known as USA Telephone, were without warning disconnected. Well, perhaps not completely without warning: They knew that the financially-troubled carrier was planning to terminate operations, but in a letter sent last week, customers were told they had until June 14 to arrange a replacement landline and Internet service. Tom Porter reports.

Family and friends of 15-year-old Nichole Cable filled a courtroom in Bangor this morning for the initial appearence of the Orono man charged with her murder. Twenty-year-old Kyle Dube, who faces one count of knowing and intentional murder in the Glenburn teenager's death, did not enter a plea because a grand jury hasn't indicted him yet. A superior court judge ordered Dube held without bail, pending a hearing, and at the request of defense lawyers, temporarily impounded the police affidavit used to arrest him. Jay Field reports.

Allagash native Cathie Pelletier's latest novel, The One Way Bridge, brings readers back to the fictional town of "Mattagash." It's home to a cast of characters that mean more to Pelletier than just so many tools she uses to deliver a plot. Pelletier admits to having a close bond to her characters - knows their faces, and misses them whey they're gone. Keith Shortall spoke with Pelletier recently about the book, which has its origins in an idea born more than 20 years ago, when Pelletier was living in Nashville.

Police chiefs from more than 10 Maine communities gathered in Portland this morning to speak out against a proposal to scrap the need for a concealed weapon's permit. LD 660 is described as an act that would enhance Mainers' ability to defend themselves by "removing restrictions on the carrying and use of weapons." For those tasked with protecting and serving the people of Maine, this proposal has not gone down well. Tom Porter has more.

Proponents of a bill to require labeling for genetically modified foods are expressing relief that a last-minute maneuver by representatives of the infant formula industry to exempt their products failed to win support. The bill has yet to be considered by the full Legislature and members of the Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee are divided about its merits. But as Patty Wight reports, Maine is not the first state where infant formula manufacturers have tried this strategy.

Decades of research has comfirmed that kids from lower income families struggle more in school than children from wealthier homes with more educated parents. Yesterday, we learned about how one school in Northern Maine has been consistently bucking this trend. Presque Isle High School got a "B" under the LePage administration's new grading system. Like Presque Isle, Belfast Area High School, down in Waldo County, has between 500 and 600 students, half of whom qualify as low-income under federal poverty guidelines. But Belfast's test scores are lower, so it got a "D" from the state. Jay Field reports in part two of our series on school grading.

A 20-year-old Orono man has been charged with murder in connection with the death of Nichole Cable, a 15-year-old girl from Glenburn whose body was discovered last night in a wooded area of Old Town. The suspect is identified as Kyle Dube, but police are not disclosing much yet about why Dube has been implicated. Keith Shortall reports.

The Maine Senate voted today to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. It's part of a bill that would pay back the debt owed to Maine hospitals using the state liquor contract. Despite the Senate's approval, the Medicaid expansion is not a done deal, and is being hotly contested along party lines.

One day after being denied a chance to address members of the Appropriations Committee about a $35 million budget shortfall in the Department of Health and Human Services, Gov. Paul LePage said he doesn't feel he was personally mistreated, but he said the office of governor was. Speaking with reporters this afternoon, LePage said he only came before the committee to clarify a few issues, and offer to work with its members.

Most of the schools that got As and Bs under the LePage adminstration's new grading system are in more affluent Maine communities. Schools in poorer areas got a majority of the Ds and Fs. Decades of research confirms a link between parents' socioeconomic status and their childrens' academic performance. But don't tell Steve Bowen, Maine's education chief, that the new grading system is unfair.

Maine Sen. Angus King has found himself at odds with the Department of Defense over the law governing the use of military force. At a Senate hearing last Thursday on armed conflict and the law, Pentagon officials said the U.S. could be at war with Al Qaeda and its affiliates for another 20 years, and that no congressional approval would be needed. Such action, they said, would be justified by the Authorization for Use of Military Force, or AUMF, a resolution passed by Congress in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. It was meant as a way of authorizing then-president Bush to take military action against the perpetrators. Sen. King, an Independent, said the Pentagon is trying re-write the Constitution.

The shore bird known as the "red knot," makes an 18,000 mile round-trip each year. It goes from winter grounds near the southern tip of South America to breeding grounds north of the Arctic circle. It's believed most red knots only live long enough to make the trip about a handful of times. But one bird, banded back in 1995, has been spotted almost continuously since and has just re-appeared on the shores of Deleware Bay. Maine-based author Phil Hoose wrote about the bird, known by his band number: B-95 in a book entitled "Moonbird."

A group of lawmakers called the "Gang of Eleven" has proposed a thorough overhaul of state taxes. It would raise the sales tax a penny, extend it to a wider range of goods and services, cut the income tax in half and raise the homestead tax exemption from $10,000 to $50,000. Some legislators in Augusta say it may be too late this legislative session to deal with such sweeping tax reform. Then there are those, like retired accountant Albert DiMillo, who have considered it and rejected it. DiMillo wrote a detailed critique of the plan published May 12 in the Maine Sunday Telegram. Here, responding to DiMillo's criticisms, is Yarmouth independent state Sen. Richard Woodbury. Woodbury, along with five Republicans and five Democrats, drafted the plan. He was interviewed by MPBN Morning Edition host Irwin Gratz.

After opening the doors for a limited number of charter schools two years ago, the LePage administration now wants to remove the cap and push the public discussion about school choice into uncharted waters. During a public hearing on the measure, the administration also argued in favor of requiring local school districts to pay the educational costs for students enrolled in religious schools. A.J. Higgins has more.

A handful of eighth-grade students from mid-coast Maine have found themselves at the center of a constitutional flap over First Amendment rights. At issue is the so-called "Blessing of the Fleet," when the kids launch boats they built themselves into the ocean. The annual ceremony is usually accompanied by a short prayer. But that won't be happening this year, out of concern that it violates one of the basic principles of the U.S. Constitution - the separation of church and state. Tom Porter has more.

For the last 30 years, the big agriculture story has been the decline of the family farm, and the rise of the biotech giants, such as Monsanto. But early indications from the Cooperative Extension Service show that in New England at least, the small farm is poised to make a big come back. As Jennifer Mitchell reports, Maine's local foods movement has ushered in a new era for new farms - and new farmers.

We're delighted to kick off a new summer series in partnership with the Portland-based Telling Room, a non-profit writing center dedicated to the idea that children and young adults are natural storytellers. Every Friday we'll share an essay from a student between the ages of six and 18 with a unique perspective on the world: tonight, 13-year-old Toby Choyt of North Yarmouth Academy, on his interview with a Maine lobsterman.

The state is now set for a major legislative floor fight over Medicaid expansion, following a committee vote - divided along party lines - over a controversial liquor contract bill. The measure defines the process for re-opening the state's wholesale liquor contract for bids, and directs proceeds from those sales to repay nearly a half-billion in Medicaid debt owed to Maine's hospitals. But over Republican protests, it also now includes a last-minute demand by majority Democrats to expand Medicaid to 70,000 more Mainers. A.J. Higgins has more.

Several abortion bills drew standing room only crowds to the State House today - in fact, crowds spilled over into hallways, and even into other rooms. Two of the measures would seek to add new consent requirements for those seeking an abortion. Another would allow certain family members to file a wrongful death lawsuit when a viable unborn fetus dies. Patty Wight has more on the reaction to those bills at today's public hearings.