These are some of the stories central Maine is talking about today.

(AP) —Gov. Paul LePage says he's going to issue $5 million in bonds for the Land for Maine's Future program. But he says it's too late for another nearly $6.5 million in bonds that expired last month. LePage wrote Monday in a letter to legislative leaders that he's dropping his insistence that the release of the bonds be linked to his proposal to divert revenue from timber harvesting on state lands to help low-income residents heat their homes. He said his opposition to the Land for Maine's Future program is because it takes land off the property tax rolls, increasing the burden on taxpayers. But he said he respects the will of voters and will issue the bonds while pursuing other ways to help Mainers keep their homes warm.

(AP) — Hunting accidents are down in Maine despite a slight increase in the number of licenses sold in recent years. There have been four hunting accidents in 2015 compared to an average of six per year between 2011 and 2014. The state has also experienced a 10 percent increase in licenses sold over the past five years. There hasn't been a hunting-related fatality in Maine since 2012. The state hasn't had three consecutive calendar years without a hunting death since it started keeping records in 1940. Experts say mandatory hunter education courses and the requirement for hunters to wear blaze orange have made hunting much safer in Maine's woods.

(WGME) -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture ranked Maine last among all state agencies in the time it takes to process food stamp applications. According to WGME the U.S. Department of Agriculture is equally frustrated. A letter sent a week ago by the USDA to DHHS Commissioner Mary Mayhew says Maine ranks last in processing food stamp applications within the required 30 days. But Commissioner Mayhew says she's not surprised by the delays, because they currently are moving from a paper file system to a computer driven system, which in the end is expected to be much more efficient. "This directly relates to this transition phase,” Commissioner Mayhew said. However, Senate Democratic Leader Justin Alfond says he wants more light shined on DHHS to figure out why the backlogs keep occurring in the food stamps program. DHHS says improvements are already underway.

(WGME) -- Augusta police arrested a man in connection to three armed robberies in the area, two of them occurred late Sunday night. According to WGME, police say during the investigation they learned a dark colored minivan was believed to be involved. That vehicle was located and stopped by police. Inside the vehicle was 25-year-old Daniel Couto. Police say they found evidence inside the vehicle linking him to the robberies. Couto was charged with two counts of armed robbery and one count of attempted armed robbery. Couto is being held at the Kennebec County Correctional Facility without bail.

(AP) -- The average retail price of gasoline has fallen 4.1 cents in Maine in the past week. GasBuddy's daily survey of 1,228 gas outlets in Maine says prices are averaging $2.14 per gallon. The national average has fallen 1.7 cents per gallon to $2.01. Maine gas was 56 cents more expensive per gallon at this time last year, and it was also 8.2 cents per gallon lower than a month ago. The national average dipped 15.8 cents per gallon during the last month and is 53.3 cents less than a year ago.

(WABI) -- Bangor’s minimum wage will increase. Monday night, council members voted 7 to 2 to pass an amended version of the original proposal. Meaning, if the statewide initiative to raise the minimum wage to $12 per hour over five years fails, then this plan to increase the minimum wage by 75 cents each year for three years will go into effect locally beginning January 1st, 2017. According to WABI, tipped workers and minors will see an increase too. Before the decision was made, the council opened the floor to folks from the area. Many concerned citizens, business owners and minimum wage workers spoke up both for and against the wage hike. Like any Bangor ordinance, this could be modified at any time.

(KJ) -- The Maine Department of Transportation will host a public meeting Wednesday on a proposed Interstate 95 traffic interchange on Trafton Road near the Sidney line. According to the KJ, the meeting to gather feedback, comments and concerns from the public will start at 6pm in the Spann Commons Summit Room at Thomas College. The forum will give space to local property owners to express concerns they may have and ask questions about the project. The $4.8 million interchange is a joint project between the state Department of Transportation and Trafton Road Properties Inc., a Rhode Island-based company that owns more than 900 acres in Waterville and Sidney and an industrial building at the intersection with West River Road that houses light manufacturing and warehouse space.

(KJ) -- The Augusta Community Warming Center opens today (12/15/2015) in a new location. But the mission is still the same: to provide a safe, warm place of refuge. The center is scheduled to open at 9 a.m. at St. Mark’s Parish Hall at 9 Pleasant St. The parish hall, located between Summer and Pleasant streets, is also home to the Augusta Food Bank, Addie’s Attic clothing bank and Every Day Basics, which provides free toiletries and other items to those in need. Those services are now together under one roof with the warming center, which provides a warm, free place for anyone to spend time during the day, every day of the week. The warming center will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. seven days a week and will use the Pleasant Street entrance.

(AP) — Congressional negotiators and the White House are closing in on a deal on a $1.1 trillion government-wide spending bill to stave off a shutdown, and a tax package extending dozens of breaks. In a Monday evening conference call among House Republicans, Speaker Paul Ryan said the bills would contain victories for both parties, but an official says Ryan provided few details. There could be votes later this week.

(AP) — Donald Trump will be standing at center stage, but Ted Cruz will be in the spotlight at Tuesday night's Republican presidential debate. The Texas senator is challenging Trump's lead in the kickoff Iowa caucuses. The debate will be the first for Republicans in more than a month, and also the first since the attacks in Paris and California.

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