The vision of the The Department of Veterans Affairs is “to provide veterans the world-class benefits and services they have earned – and to do so by adhering to the highest standards of compassion, commitment, excellence, professionalism, integrity, accountability, and stewardship.”

http://www.vba.va.gov/VBA/

Maine Veterans’ Services

Maine Veterans’ Services was established in 1947. The Bureau’s main office is located at Camp Keyes in Augusta. The Bureau comes under the Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management. In addition to the main office, the Bureau has six field service offices strategically located throughout the state and a claims office located at the US Department of Veterans Affairs, Togus, Maine. The Maine Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery system is also a part of the Bureau and consists of two cemeteries located in Augusta, one in Caribou and is undergoing the planning stages for development of one in Springvale.

http://www.maine.gov/dvem/bvs/

SF 180 – Request pertaining to militray records

The Standard Form 180, Request Pertaining to Military Records (SF180) is used to request information from military records.

http://www.archives.gov/research/order/standard-form-180.pdf

• MaineHousing – Offers a variety of energy assistance and energy conservation programs for consumers and administers the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to help low-income homeowners and renters with their heating costs. MaineHousing and other organizations will be participating in a session on Saturday, February 12, 10am – 2pm at the Curtis Memorial Library, 23 Pleasant Street, Brunswick to give advice regarding the needs of and resources available to home owners, including LIHEAP sign-up for eligible citizens. Please call 1-800-452-4668 or visit www.mainehousing.org
• Maine Energy Marketers Association – Representing heating oil and propane providers serving more than 415,000 Maine households. The heating fuels industry is working with former Thibeault Energy customers to make sure that the customers are taken care of. To find a dealer near you, call 1-888-863-3753 or visit www.maineenergymarketers.com/dealers.
• Community Action Agencies – Partners with state and local communities to assist Maine residents who may not be eligible for limited federal, state or local fuel assistance programs.
  o Midcoast Maine Community Action – (207) 442-7963 or www.midcoastmainecommunityaction.org.
  o Kennebec Valley Community Action Program – 1-800-542-8227 or www.kvcap.org.
  o Peoples Regional Opportunity Program – (207) 553-5800 or www.wherepeoplecomefirst.org.
• 2-1-1 Maine – Connects callers to trained specialists who can help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week finding answers to fuel assistance questions. As quick and easy as dialing 2-1-1 or visiting www.211maine.org.
• Office of the Attorney General, Consumer Protection – The AG has issued consumer protection rules that regulate the sale of home heating oil, including provisions ensuing that dealers deliver the product for the agreed price under prepaid plans. The AG is taking calls and complaints at (207) 626-8854. Please visit www.maine.gov/ag/consumer for more information.
• Maine Credit Union League – Credit unions offer fuel assistance loans and programs. www.mainecul.org
• Maine Legislature – Search by town or zip code to find out who your elected officials are (US Congress, state senator and representative) to assist you with questions regarding heating fuel and other energy related constituent issues, please visit http://www.maine.gov/portal/government/edemocracy/lookup_voter_info.php.
• Governor’s Office of Energy Independence and Security – Works with federal, state and regional government officials and private and nonprofit sectors, to provide fuel supply and monitoring functions, advise on energy emergencies and energy policy and communicate with petroleum operators and dealers during an emergency. Call (207) 287-8927 or visit www.maine.gov/oeis.

The Governor’s Office recommends that constituents contact other oil/propane dealers in their area for immediate delivery needs and contact the Attorney General Consumer Protection division to register complaints regarding the prepaid contract and delivery issues with Thibeault Energy.

The fact sheet is a resource guide only! It does not provide legal or policy guidance or advice. Please contact individual organizations for the most current and accurate information.

Please visit www.maine.gov/oeis/energyemergency for additional information on these and other energy resources.

Nearly 200,000 Maine households qualify for a partial refund of property tax assessed and/or rent they paid in 2010. The maximum refund available is $1,600.

You may qualify for a refund if:

• You do not have a spouse or dependent(s) and your 2010 household income was $64,950 or less; or
• You do have a spouse or dependent(s) and your 2010 household income was $86,600 or less

AND

• Your 2010 property tax was more than 4% of your 2010 household income; or
• The rent you paid in 2010 was more than 20% of your 2010 household income.

NOTE: Seniors do not need to meet this requirement when their household income is below $14,700 for those living alone or below $18,200 for those living with a spouse or dependent. See the application booklet for more information on who qualifies for the senior portion of the program.

Please click here for more information.

Home Energy Savings

Vice President Joseph Biden announced that Maine will receive a $30 million grant to fund efficiency projects through the PACE program – legislation we enacted this session. This was a competitive grant application process and was part of the original ARRA bill the President signed last year. Maine received the second largest award.

In addition to the $30M federal grant just announced, the Efficiency Maine Trust has set also aside $6M for rebates to make home weatherization more affordable.
Since the beginning of this year 160 applications for up to $3,000 in rebates have been received by the Efficiency Maine Trust and 60 applications have already been approved.

With a goal of weatherizing 4,000 home before January 2012 there is plenty of opportunity for your constituents to lower their energy costs.

There is also $41.9M grant for low-income weatherization and heating systems operated by the Maine State Housing Authority and local CAP agencies that is currently being utilized.

For more information about efficiency programs, you can visit these two websites:

Efficiency Maine’s website with links to all of their programs: Efficiency Maine

Maine State Housing Authority’s Weatherization Program and Central Heating Improvement Program [Low Income Eligibility]

MaineHousing’s Weatherization Program and Central Heating Improvement Program (CHIP) provide grants to low-income homeowners and renters to reduce energy costs by improving home energy efficiency.

Weatherization improvements may include insulation, weatherstripping, caulking, and some safety-related repairs. CHIP grants may be used to repair or replace central heating systems.

Please click here for more information.

http://www.mainehousing.org/PROGRAMSWeatherization.aspx?ProgramID=49

Efficiency Maine

Efficiency Maine is a statewide effort to promote the more efficient use of electricity, help Maine residents and businesses reduce energy costs, and improve Maine’s environment.  Efficiency Maine is funded by electricity consumers.

Please click here for more information.

http://www.efficiencymaine.com/

Please click here for more information.
http://www.mainehousing.org/ENERGYProgramsDetail.aspx?ProgramID=37

The Appliance Replacement Program
The Appliance Replacement Program helps low-income people to reduce their energy costs by replacing older refrigerators and other home appliances that are inefficient and expensive to operate. The Appliance Replacement Program is made possible with funding from Efficiency Maine, a program of the Maine Public Utilities Commission.

Through this program we will also help you to review all your household energy expenses and show you how to save money by making your home more energy efficient.

Please click here for more information.
http://www.mainehousing.org/ENERGYProgramsDetail.aspx?ProgramID=28

Through this program we will also help you to review all your household energy expenses and show you how to save money by making your home more energy efficient.

Please click here for more information.

Click here to find your voting District by Street

Click here for a list of Bowdoin College dorms voting locations

More information can be found at
http://www.brunswickme.org/clerk/elections.htm#Polls