In announcing lower crime rates yesterday, Gov. Paul LePage made it clear the improvements were not nearly enough. He told reporters Maine still has a major problem with illegal drug smuggling.
"Twelve-year-olds are being addicted to heroin in our state," LePage said. "Eighteen-, 19-, 20-year-olds are being found dead of overdoses."
The other New England governors met in Massachusetts yesterday to talk about developing a regionwide strategy to deal with opioid addiction and overdoses. Asked why he didn't go, LePage told reporters in Augusta "rather than listen to chit-chat, I'm here tryin' to get the work done."
Reporter Deborah Becker was at Brandeis University, where the rest of the New England governors met yesterday. Listen to her report: