Gov. John Baldacci is asking for $3.6 billion in aid from a proposed federal stimulus package asks to improve Maine’s infrastructure and educational system.
In a letter to President-elect Barack Obama, Baldacci asks for $1.88 billion for school construction and repair; $500 million for roads and bridges; and $186.9 million for other transportation projects from airports to walking trails, according to Capitol News Service.
Another $800 million is requested for technology needs in business parks, libraries, museums and other cultural centers. The governor wants $250 million to repair, upgrade and the weatherize state facilities from office buildings to state parks, and $130 million for water and sewer projects that are “shovel-ready,” the paper reported. Another $200 million is requested for a business loan program to improve energy efficiency and $115 million to expand fiber-optic communications infrastructure into rural Maine. It also lists a $100 million expansion of the state’s electric transmission grid and funding for the first year of a 10-year plan to weatherize every home in the state.
