Central Maine News: July 9, 2015

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

Gov. Paul LePage has signed a bill that will allow residents to carry a concealed handgun without obtaining a permit. Maine will become the sixth state in the country with such a policy when the law goes into effect 90 days after lawmakers adjourn later this month. Supporters of the bill signed say permits are a burden on responsible gun owners and don't prevent bad people from carrying firearms. But critics say it's essential to ensure the public's safety. While background checks are required by federal law when someone purchases a gun at a licensed gun dealer, they aren't required for private sales in Maine. The bill deeply divided Maine's law enforcement community. Maine State Police supported it, but many local law enforcement agencies opposed it. (AP)

Democrats say several bills opposed by Republican Gov. Paul LePage have become law after he failed to take action on them. Usually, a bill becomes law if the governor doesn't take action on a bill after 10 days. But a LePage spokeswoman said that because lawmakers adjourned last month, the constitution allows LePage to submit his vetoes when the Legislature meets again for three days. But Democrats say that's not the case. While they technically adjourned on June 30, it was only a temporary recess. They plan to return next week to consider LePage's vetoes. Among the measures in limbo is one fiercely opposed by LePage that would ensure people seeking asylum receive municipal welfare benefits. (AP)

A grand jury has indicted a farm and driver in a fatal hayride accident last fall. The panel formally charged Harvest Hills and driver David Brown with manslaughter in the crash that claimed the life of 17-year-old Cassidy Charette of Oakland. Another 20 people were hurt during the hayride in Mechanic Falls in October. Authorities have said it appears a mechanical problem caused the accident. The Jeep that was towing a wagon in the crash was examined by a team of state troopers, motor vehicle inspectors and fire marshal investigators. A company that owns the property on which the farm buildings are located filed for bankruptcy last week, citing personal injury claims as its biggest liabilities. (AP)

Authorities say there was no working smoke detector in a Hermon home where a 9-year-old boy died and his cousin was injured. Fire marshal investigators say they found only one smoke detector in the mobile home in Hermon and that it didn't have batteries. Killed in the blaze Tuesday morning was Wyatt Parker, who was spending the night with two cousins. Officials say 10-year-old Ashlyn Parker suffered from smoke inhalation, and another cousin escaped unharmed. Investigators believe the fire started in the kitchen area after the adults left the children alone to run some errands. (AP)

A woman from Oakland who stole $35,000 in Social Security benefits has now admitted to stealing almost $42,000 in state welfare benefits. According to WABI, 51 year old Laura Mathieu pleaded guilty to the new theft charge. She was sentenced to 90 days in jail and ordered to pay back the money. Officials says Mathieu claimed for six years she was a single mother with no income. But authorities found out during that time her husband was actually living in the house and had a full-time job. Last year Mathieu was sentenced to serve three years federal probation for the Social Security case. (WABI)

Waterville’s mayor has vetoed the city’s $37.4 million budget. The Mayor was concerned about the use of an unexpected $58,000 from the state. According to WABI the council wants to put it into the city’s surplus. The Mayor thinks it should be used to buy back education cuts or offset property taxes. The budget will go back to the council for a vote July 21st. (WABI)

Oakland is going to owe about $170,000 more than it had planned for its share of the Regional School Unit 18 budget. According to the KJ, the school district’s budget team mistakenly had transposed figures for required additional local revenue for Oakland and Sidney in an earlier version of the budget, making it look as if Oakland would pay less and Sidney more. But the mistake was never explained to the Sidney and Oakland town officials, who were using earlier projections to compute next year’s property tax rate. It also means that voters had inaccurate budget figures in the run-up to the second vote on the budget. (centralmaine.com)

A bill to remove the Confederate flag from South Carolina's Capitol grounds now heads to Gov. Nikki Haley for her signature. The state House early Thursday approved the bill in a 94-20 vote after more than 13 hours of debate. State Rep. Joe Neal says, "South Carolina can remove the stain from our lives." (AP)

Asian stocks markets are volatile Thursday, as China's main index has been seesawing after a prolonged sell-off while Hong Kong's benchmark rebounded strongly. Frantic efforts by Chinese authorities to arrest the nearly month long slide in the country's stock markets appear to be giving investors pause, with the main benchmark swinging between gains and losses. In the latest move to stabilize the market, the China Securities Regulatory Commission says it's ordering investors holding more than 5 percent of a company's shares not to sell any of their holdings for the next six months. (AP)

Thursday is the deadline for Greece to come up with a detailed economic reform plan. Meanwhile, the financially troubled country has asked for a new three-year rescue from its European partners. Greece's banking system is teetering near the edge and banks have decided to remain closed into next week. Without a deal, Greece faces an almost inevitable collapse of the banking system, which would be the first step for the country to fall out of the euro. (AP)