Maine veterans gathered in Bangor on Monday to demand answers from Sen. Susan Collins following revelations that federal investigators had been investigating allegations of a pay-to-play arrangement involving the senator and a major campaign donor before the Trump administration shut down the investigation. The veterans, members of the Maine Veterans Alliance (which, like Beacon, is…
U.S. Navy Veteran and theologian Camden Ador called Pres. Donald Trump’s federal budget proposal, also known as the reconciliation bill, “not just a political failure, but a profound moral one.” Ador spoke at a press conference last week in Bangor, alongside other veterans, policy experts and advocates. They spoke outside Sen. Collins’ downtown Bangor office,…
The Trump administration has started canceling climate-related projects funded by Congress during the Biden administration, and elected officials want lawmakers to protect hard-won progress on those projects. As parts of the Inflation Reduction Act and environmental regulations are overturned, the bipartisan group “Elected Officials to Protect America” wants to see more accountability. Pat Spearman, former…
George Hart, a disabled U.S. Army veteran who completed two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan, has worked at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard since 2016. But now, he says, the system veterans rely on — and help sustain — is being destroyed. Hart, along with other Maine veterans and union workers, gathered in Augusta on…
Federal workers in Maine will join in nationwide protests Saturday against what they call President Donald Trump’s union-busting policies. Trump has signed an executive order to restrict collective bargaining for two-thirds of the federal workforce, claiming they are a national security risk. Andy O’Brien, communications director for the Maine AFL-CIO, called it the most egregious attack on workers’…
“Extremely wasteful and deeply traumatic.” That’s how Tessa Corsetti, a wildlife biologist who was abruptly fired by the Trump Administration from her job at U.S. Fish and Wildlife, described her experience. Corsetti was part of a diverse coalition of Mainers who gathered in Brewer on Wednesday to share how they’ve been hurt by the administration’s…
As federal cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs loom, women veterans in Maine are seeking additional state support. Maine lawmakers are considering a bill to provide funding for staff and a therapist at the Sisters in Arms Center in Augusta, the only center of its kind to help women who have experienced sexual trauma in the military. Rebecca…
On Monday night, probationary employees of the Veterans Administration’s Togus VA Medical Center in Chelsea were informed by email that they had been fired without any prior notice or due process. Like other probationary federal employees, the Trump administration informed Togus workers that they are being fired for “poor performance,” despite having exemplary records. The…
A lack of reliable transportation for some women veterans in Maine is preventing them from getting the services they need. The Sisters in Arms Center in Augusta provides these homeless veterans with counseling to heal from the sexual abuse some have suffered in the military. It’s the only center of its kind in the U.S. —…
Next month, U.S. Senator Susan Collins will likely become chair of the most powerful committee in the United States Senate — Appropriations. She will then, arguably, become the third most powerful member of Congress behind the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader. The question now is whether she will use that position…