Portland Press Herald from Portland, Maine • B1

LOCAL STATE SECTION Portland Press HeraldFriday, October 14, 2016 Follow us on Facebook Portland Press Herald Follow us on Twitter PROSPECTORS PANNING for gold in New England rivers B6 By JOE LAWLOR Staff Writer A advocacy group said Thurs- day it will gather signatures at Maine polling places on Election Day aimed at putting a refer- endum question to voters that would provide Medicaid cov- erage to 80,000 additional resi- dents. Maine Equal Justice Partners said the petition drive, which must gather 61,1232 signatures of registered Maine voters, would provide an alternative route to Medic- aid expansion if a legislative effort in the up- coming session is unsuccessful. Day is a big opportu- nity for said Ann Woloson, a policy analyst for Maine Equal Justice Part- ners, at a Port- land news con- ference. Gov. Paul LePage has vetoed five attempts to expand Maine- Care, the version of the federal Medicaid health insur- ance program for low income people.

Lawmakers have not been able to muster enough vot- ers to override those vetoes. Woloson said the goal is to have enough signatures to put the question on the 2018 ballot by this spring, so lawmakers know that if they approve expansion by a veto-proof mar- gin, voters could do so. LePage has no authority to veto a refer- endum question. She said private polling seen suggests Medicaid expan- sion would be popular in Maine. There has been no recent, inde- pendent polling on the issue.

In a June 2016 poll by the Press Herald, Mainers were evenly di- vided on where they stood on the Affordable Care Act, with 40 per- cent supporting and 41 percent opposed. Medicaid expansion is part of the ACA, but a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision allowed states to choose whether or not to expand. So far, 32 states have expanded Medicaid. While most Republicans have sided with the governor to op- pose MaineCare expansion, some moderate Republicans, like Sens.

Tom Saviello of Wil- ton and Roger Katz of Augusta, have supported it. Saviello said the makeup of the next Legis- lature will be closely watched, especially if more Democrats or moderate Republicans are elected, making a veto-proof majority more likely. Dr. Chuck Radis, a semi-retired Portland rheumatologist who is Group will seek signers for Medicaid petitions Advocates hope their Election Day effort will get a referendum in place to expand coverage. By BETTY ADAMS Kennebec Journal AUGUSTA Donald J.

Reiter, fired last November from his job as principal of Waterville High School after a student accused him of asking her for sex, sur- rendered his state teaching credentials permanently in exchange for the state dismissing a criminal charge against him. The official oppression charge was dis- missed Thursday during a brief hearing at the Capital Judicial Center. be in the Depu- ty District Attorney Paul Cavanaugh told Justice Michaela Murphy. The dismissal document filed in the court says the has agreed to permanently surrender his Department Fired principal gives up teaching credentials Donald Reiter surrenders his state credentials in exchange for having a criminal charge dismissed. Morning Sentinel G.

Seamans Donald Reiter leaves a public hearing on Nov. 10, 2015, at George J. Mitchell School when he was still principal of Waterville Senior High School.Please see REITER, Page B5 Associated St. Hilaire, Portsmouth Herald Emergency personnel investigate the scene of a 10-vehicle accident Thursday in York, where a dump truck filled with gravel overturned at the busy intersection of Route 1 and Spur Road. Four people were taken to a hospital but no one was seriously hurt.

Others were treated at the scene. Police believe the dump truck driver swerved to avoid another vehicle, causing the truck to flip. Story in Dispatches, Page B2 10-VEHICLE CRASH CLOSES ROUTE 1 Please see MEDICAID, Page B5 By PETER MCGUIRE Staff Writer Parts of the Down East coast have been reopened to shellfish harvesting because of declining levels of a poten- tially harmful biotoxin produced by an unusual algae bloom. On Thursday, the Department of Marine Resources re-opened some of the coastline between Calais and Cutler for the harvest of clams, mus- sels and carnivorous snails, and said clamming will be allowed on a portion of the coast between Isle Au Haut to Winter Harbor. Shellfish harvesting on much of the Down East coast remains restricted because of an algae bloom that pro- duces a toxin that can cause amnesic shellfish poisoning, or ASP, in hu- mans.

It is unclear if the limited reopening Thursday means the bloom is clear- ing up or if harvesting bans will be removed in other areas soon. speculate, but we contin- ue to test shellfish and phytoplank- ton along the coast, both inside and outside the impacted areas, and will Some Down East shellfishing areas reopened Declining biotoxin levels allow Maine authorities to lift restrictions on harvesting on limited stretches of the coast. Filter- feeding shellfish eat algae and can store a toxin that may cause amnesiac shellfish poisoning in humans. Testing two weeks ago showed levels six times the federal limit. Press Herald PagePlease see SHELLFISH, Page B6 By DENNIS HOEY Staff Writer Sen.

Susan Collins explained Thurs- day why she be voting for either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, said Congress is a reflection of the polarization, and offered some advice to whomever wins the presidency on how to get along with lawmakers of both parties. Collins made her remarks during the John F. Kennedy forum put on Thurs- day night by Harvard In- stitute of Politics. Collins, a moderate, was invited to speak at the signature event by Harvard University President Drew Gilpin Faust. Collins) improves the lives of her constituents and her fellow American citizens by working with colleagues of diverse political persua- Faust said.

a commitment that has sparked praise throughout her The Republican senator responded to questions posed by moderator Dr. Douglas Elmendorf, dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, as well as from the audience. One woman in the audience asked why Collins vote for Clinton, saying that any vote cast for a candi- Collins tells why she vote for either candidate At a Harvard forum, the senator says troubled by statements and actions of Clinton and Trump. COLLINS SUGGESTED THE NEXT PRESIDENT invite Congressional leaders to breakfast once a week.

believe that bringing people together makes a she said. much harder to demonize people that you have broken bread see COLLINS, Page B6 The number of times Gov. Paul LePage has vetoed legislation to expand Medicaid in Maine 5 By MATT BYRNE Staff Writer The 30-year-old woman who died early Wednesday in a one-vehicle crash on Commer- cial Street had been out having drinks with friends who did not know she planned to drive her- self home, said a coworker who was out with her that night. Rachel V. Schwartz, was killed when her 2009 Honda Fit slammed into a utility pole at about 1:45 a.m.

Wednesday, ac- cording to police. After she had left work at the Dry Dock Restaurant and Tav- ern around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, she met friends for drinks, said Caitlyn Planer, 24, who was out with her that evening. Planer worked with Schwartz at the Commercial Street restaurant but was not working that night. She estimated that Schwartz had about four or five drinks over the course of sever- al hours.

The night ended at an Old Port pizzeria, Planer said. The two talked about how Schwartz, who had just moved to Old Orchard Beach, was getting home. was very stubborn, she kept saying have a ride, I have a Planer said in a Rachel Schwartz, 30, died Wednesday morning when her car struck a pole on Commercial Street. Police: Speed likely a factor in crash that killed woman Please see CRASH, Page B5.