Ballotpedia has a staff writer, Bailey Ludlam, in Maine who is filing a very informative travel journal on her interviews with people on both sides of some of the major initiatives and referenda on the November ballot there--including Question 1 (same-sex marriage), Question 2 (auto excise tax) and Question 4 (a cap on state spending--a former of the so-called TABOR, or Taxpayers Bill of Rights limits that have been a hot issue in other states, most notably Colorado, which adopted TABOR and then repealed most of it).

MASSACHUSETTS DOGS: Massachusetts gives the legislature the chance to act on initiative proposals before they head to the ballot. A measure to ban dog racing in the state, which would close two tracks (including, I believe, the one you see Minnie Driver and Matt Damon visit during a date in Good Will Hunting), did not get the approval of a state panel, so it appears headed for the November ballot.

COLORADO SPEAKER TAKING IT TO THE PEOPLE: The Democratic speaker of Colorado's House says his proposal to alter the state's constitution rules on budgeting has no chance of passing the legislature, so he's going to qualify an initiative for the ballot. The proposal would undo parts of the state's voter-approved Taxpayer Bill of Rights, allowing the state to keep revenue above previous limits.

ANTI MARIJUANA INITIATIVE DROPPED: Organizers of an initiative to reverse Oregon's medical marijuana law have dropped the effort. Not enough time and money to get the signatures, the main sponsor tells Williamette Week.

MARYLAND SLOTS CONSENSUS: Labor and business groups are lining up behind a measure to legalize slot machines in Maryland to balance the budget.