Breaking

Gov. John Baldacci’s current and former chief legal advisors are teaming up to start a new law firm in September.

FederleMahoney will comprise of Tom Federle, who served as Baldacci’s chief legal counsel from July 2005 to December 2006, and Michael Mahoney, who took over for Federle and still holds the position. The firm will be based in Hallowell.

“I will miss Mike’s expansive knowledge and expertise,” Baldacci said in a release. “He has served my administration and the People of Maine with distinction, providing key guidance in critical legal and policy issues during challenging economic times.”

The Maine Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the Democratic Party and will take Herb Hoffman, an independent Senate candidate, off the November ballot.

The Democrats, who are hoping to knock off Republican Sen. Susan Collins with Rep. Tom Allen, argued successfully that Hoffman's campaign did not gather enough valid signatures to make the ballot.

The court wrote in its decision:

We conclude that the plain language of the statute requires that each of the three petitions be stricken in their entirety, and, thus, we must vacate the judgment of the Superior Court affirming the Secretary's determination that the three petitions were valid.

Representatives from the group Fed Up With Taxes have turned in 90,000 signatures to the Secretary of State's office. That is about 35,000 more than needed, and should guarantee that the issue will be on the ballot this fall.

The Maine Supreme Court has sided with Melissa Innes in a recount dispute that dragged her primary race against Kimberly McLaughlin out for more than a month. Both are Democrats from Yarmouth running for a House nomination.

Click here for the court’s opinion. Innes said it came down around 11 a.m. this morning.

Innes said the court upheld the hand recount, which gave her a one-vote advantage. At a hearing last week, Harold Pachios, attorney for McLaughlin, argued that the recount was flawed because it came up one ballot short from what the optical scan machines tabulated.

The final count is 485 to 484.

Republican Presidential candidate John McCain will be in Maine on Monday for a private reception in Kennebunkport and a public presentation at the Maine Military Museum.

McCain is scheduled to speak at the South Portland museum Monday afternoon, according to its Web site. No further details are available.

The museum is hosting a special event honoring prisoners of war. McCain spent five years as a POW in Vietnam.

At 11:30 Monday, McCain will be in Kennebunkport for a fundraiser. For $2,300, donors can visit the Bush family compound for a VIP reception and photo opportunity. For $1,000, donors can attend a private reception and for $500 they can attend a general reception, both to be held at the Nonantum Resort.

The Host Committee includes: President and Mrs. George H.W. Bush, Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, and former Gov. John McKernan.