It's the first Nation's Report Card since the Trump administration began making cuts to the U.S. Education Department. The scores reflect the state of student achievement in early 2024.
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It's the first Nation's Report Card since the Trump administration began making cuts to the U.S. Education Department. The scores reflect the state of student achievement in early 2024.
The Department of Justice says the detailed data is needed to ensure Maine is accurately maintaining its voter rolls. But Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, says the DOJ is overstepping its bounds as part of a "fishing expedition." www.mainepublic.org/politics/202...
Famous artists like Hopper and Kent have captured the light and landscape of Monhegan going back over a century. Now, an exhibit from Bowdoin College and the Monhegan Museum is using that rich artistic body of work as ecological data. www.mainepublic.org/environment-...
The utility has installed hundreds of smart devices on power lines across southern and western Maine:
The landlords can get a waiver if they agree to let the city install artwork in vacant storefronts at no cost to them. www.mainepublic.org/business-and...
The Maine Bureau of Insurance has approved an average increase of nearly 24% for the individual market and nearly 18% for small groups, which is for businesses with 50 or fewer employees:
The Bayside Neighborhood is now one of the higher rent commercial districts in Portland, according to realtors, as it has been sprouting breweries, eateries and other businesses since the pandemic:
Dan Kleban is the eighth Democrat to enter the race, although it's unclear how many of them will remain in the contest if Gov. Janet Mills enters the race. His introduction video focuses on his personal story and efforts to build one of the largest breweries in the state:
Diamond, a Windham resident who died over the weekend, also served as Maine's secretary of state for eight years:
One hundred plaintiffs are seeking accountability from the Army, the Department of Defense and Keller Army Hospital for allegedly violating their own "policies, regulations and orders" intended to protect the public from soldiers with mental illness:
Hundreds of Maine students will take to outdoor classrooms this year thanks to a new pilot program administered by University of Maine Cooperative Extension:
The well-known progressive from Vermont also used the event to boost two Democratic candidates for statewide office in Maine: former Senate President Troy Jackson, who is running for governor, and U.S. Senate hopeful Graham Platner.
Market saturation in Maine's recreational cannabis market is contributing to a drop in average revenue per store, according to a new report from state regulators:
An analysis from the state Department of Labor finds job demand and availability coming into greater balance:
A new patch of the destructive plant in York is raising concerns about its spread:
Former CDC Director Susan Monarez was fired in August after than a month on the job. A White House spokesperson said Monarez wasn't "aligned" with President Donald Trump's agenda:
Wait, Maine Public has a shop stocked with cute & cool items like a "That's 70s Station" hat? 🛒 shop.mainepublic.org
Forty-five Maine prisoners are currently working remote jobs for outside companies. A few are working full-time, earning more than corrections officers. One is making well into the six figures. Here's why Maine's approach to education and work in prison is making waves in the world of corrections:
September is National Deaf Awareness Month. Did you know? Frontline and Maine Public teamed up to publish the award-winning podcast, Breakdown in Maine, as an ASL Video Podcast. Watch now on Frontline's YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
Hotter temperatures are intensifying normal short-term droughts in the Northeast:
Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey announced today that the Trump administration has agreed to release funding for AmeriCorps programs across the country, including $2.5 million in Maine:
Lisbon is one of roughly a half dozen school districts in the state starting the year without a new budget in place. The schools there will have to operate under last year's budget, which provides nearly half a million dollars less than what the district is seeking and was twice rejected by voters:
Daniel Crommett's family alleges that his death was the result of a business strategy that underfunded the facility in order to enrich its owners and operators:
The Republican chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee made the statement after the Trump administration used a "pocket rescission" to attempt to withhold an additional $5 billion to foreign aid and peacekeeping programs:
Malunda Destino was arrested last week at a gas station in Scarborough, according to his friends:
System officials say enrollment stands at more than 25,000 students across all campuses, the largest in four years:
Collins says she is alarmed by the abrupt termination of Susan Monarez from the nation's top public health position:
A state fund that incentivizes Maine public schools to purchase food directly from local producers is expanding this year. State officials say a new law is helping each dollar a school spends on local food go further:
Forty-five Maine prison residents have been hired by outside companies to do remote jobs from their cells. A few are earning more than corrections officers:
Use of the gun confiscation law has surged since the Oct. 2023 mass shooting in Lewiston. But Maine voters will cast ballots this November on a "red flag" gun proposal that would allow family members to go directly to a judge with their concerns about a member of their household:
There have been more than a dozen great white shark sightings on Maine's coast so far this August. And for beachgoers, surfers and swimmers, it's a reminder that the ocean is something to be shared:
Free meals are a key support for students during the school year in Maine, but summer vacation can create a void. Summer meal programs, which have bridged some of that gap, are helping to meet demand:
Edgar Vicente Bermeo Sicha was arrested in Maine in July, and has since been transferred to ICE custody in Texas:
Ryan Nichols, 37, was fatally shot in an altercation with police early on November 30th, 2024. Police responded after a 911 caller reported he was assaulting her family members, according to a letter from Attorney General Aaron Frey:
The new Capital Center complex features nursing simulation labs as well as a state-of-the-art training facility for UMA's cybersecurity degree program:
A group of residents addressed the Lewiston city administrator Tuesday as the city prepares to interview candidates for the open position:
During a heatwave, Mainers can head to the beach, the movies, a cooling center or turn on the AC if they have it. But Maine's wildlife don't have that option. On days where the mercury is high and the heat index is even higher, birds, fish and mammals can be at risk:
The citizens initiative proposed increasing the city's minimum wage to $20 an hour for businesses with 50 or more workers over three years, but the council amended it to an increase of $19 an hour:
Anthem says it suggested mediation last week and is pleased Northern Light is in agreement:
Swift and Kelce, who have been dating for two years, announced their engagement Tuesday in a joint Instagram post. Kansas City institutions are already offering their spaces as wedding venues. (from our friends at @kcur.org)
The city's waterfront hosts one of New England's last remaining coal stockpiles that has raised public health and environmental concerns:
Mainers for Humane Immigration says it has supported over 60 people since April:
Oyster farmer and military veteran Graham Platner and gubernatorial candidate Troy Jackson are expected to speak at the rally in Portland:
The Portland City Council will decide whether to send the measure, which raises the municipal minimum wage gradually over the next three years, to the November ballot:
The Maine Department of Transportation says July was the busiest month, with 2,500 riders:
The event included the reading of names of fallen journalists and a peaceful march to press and media offices:
This is the second time ICE has detained a driver involved in a fatal pedestrian crash in the last week:
The news organizations worked together to report on extreme heat in Maine and what's being done to prepare for dangerous temperatures in the future:
The council accepted $21 million back in January, but that was before Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy made compliance with ICE a requirement for all grant recipients:
Defeating Susan Collins is Graham Platner’s primary goal, but he and his campaign also signaled that they’re gearing up for a potential fight against power brokers in the Democratic National Committee:
Summertime in Maine can bring welcome sunshine and warmth. But under certain conditions, hot and humid weather can cause problems for the body: anything from minor muscle cramps and skin rashes to more serious issues like dizziness, vomiting, and seizures. www.mainepublic.org/climate/2025...
As summer temperatures increase, more attention is focused on the danger of working in high heat. www.mainepublic.org/climate/2025...
The city of Portland is expecting to earn roughly $185,000 from hosting the Back Cove Music Festival earlier this month:
Too soon to say if Platner will catch fire in Maine, but he has a team that could help him do it. Look at all the profiles in the NYT, Politico, etc. this little-known oyster farmer got at launch. Joe Calvello is his comms guy. He worked for Sen. Fetterman when he beat Dr. Oz in `22. Quick 🧵
Retailers across town said business is down 10% and 30% since U.S. tariffs — and Canadian countermeasures — went into effect in March:
A concern about chemicals in sunscreen has led some people to stop using it in favor of alternatives such as beef tallow or to just gradually expose skin:
An official with the Maine Department of Health and Human Services said this is the single largest electronic fraud incident to hit the state's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program:
In a letter to the insurance company, Northern Light accuses Anthem of using delay tactics rather than engaging in constructive discussions:
A total of nine children were rescued at Ogunquit Beach on Monday and Wednesday:
When it comes to seeing the effects of rising prices for goods and services food pantries are on the front lines. Nowhere is that more evident than in rural Washington County where the rate of food insecurity is the highest in New England:
797,030 people came to explore Acadia last month — about 6,000 more than in July 2024, according to NPS data:
Inclusion Maine hosted its 4th annual conference this week to hundreds of Maine participants. They say they're more committed than ever to prioritizing DEI efforts:
Industry experts and harvesters said the crop was doing OK until recent weeks, when high temperatures and dry conditions settled over most of the state:
The proposal called for the removal of hundreds of buoys in New England waters, including nearly 150 in the Gulf of Maine:
Around 2 p.m., police closed part of Route 302. A reporter from WMTW who's nearby says there is a body in the road:
Shah, who says he would run as a Democrat, would join a crowded field of nearly 20 candidates. As director of the Maine CDC, he became a household name during the COVID-19 pandemic:
Dry conditions are fueling "very high" fire danger in central and coastal Maine. Dozens of fires have been reported in the last two weeks alone:
So far this week, about 300 households have lost approximately $76,000 in benefits. That figure may rise, however. And the state officials say federal law prohibits them from replacing stolen benefits:
International border crossings into Maine dipped 28% in July compared with last year:
Nearly half of the patients who seek non-abortion care at Maine Family Planning are covered by Medicaid, known locally as MaineCare:
The 2026 gubernatorial election is 16 months away, yet Republican hopeful Bobby Charles has already managed to break through the mostly routine campaign rollouts by the rest of the ever-growing field of candidates:
Extremely dangerous heat is still unusual in Maine — but emergency officials across the state are already planning for a future where they’re responding to temperature spikes as silent natural disasters. bit.ly/413YzGd
The University of Maine graduate student workers union was joined by union members from around the state today, as they call on the university system to reach a fair contract:
Maine's attorney general is suing the Trump Administration for adding these requirements to federal grants:
A large great white shark was spotted on the morning of Monday, Aug. 11, in Saco Bay, near Scarborough Beach State Park and Higgins Beach, and again Tuesday morning off Pine Point Beach. There are no beach closures in effect at this time:
Portland Downtown operates the program and is activating a new QR code so people can log their complaints directly with the Downtown Ambassadors:
A high fire warning is in effect for most of the state due to the hot, dry weather. The Maine Forest Service has been dispatched to help local firefighters contain fires in Baileyville and Biddeford:
Almost three years into the legal battle over Bar Harbor's limit to cruise ship disembarkations, a panel of First Circuit justices has sided with the town — but a lower court will have to decide if the town should have used a less restrictive approach:
Water levels on major rivers in the southern half of the state are far below normal for this time of year:
Bowdoin is one of more than 30 colleges facing an antitrust lawsuit, filed Friday. The school allegedly used Early Decision admissions to reduce competition and increase prices:
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Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, instead asked a DOJ official why the department wanted the information, how it would be used and to provide details about which, if any, laws Maine has violated as part of its efforts to maintain voter rolls:
The Maine Center for Disease Control is urging people to stay out of the sun and in air conditioning if possible as temperatures reach into the 90s this week:
Maine fishermen and scientists are collaborating on a new tool to help study a warmer water fish species and assess its potential as a future commercial fishery in the rapidly warming Gulf of Maine:
The moratorium, which city councilors have twice delayed, would pause the development of music venues with a capacity for 2,000 people or more, including a controversial project spearheaded by a local developer Mile Marker Investments and concert promotion giant Live Nation:
Nationwide, 68% of school districts polled by the nonprofit research firm Bellwether experienced enrollment declines between 2019 and 2024. But in Maine, 73% of districts saw a decline over that time.
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U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine's 1st District is signing onto a draft letter with roughly a dozen Democratic colleagues urging the Trump administration to recognize Palestine as a state:
Last summer was Maine's hottest on record and data show the state is getting hotter:
In a rural Vermont county, spotty cell phone coverage is the norm. But a local tinkerer is using old technology to help his community stay connected free of charge.
As Canadian wildfires spread smoke across the U.S. the air pollution is dangerous to health. But there are ways to protect yourself. Here's what to know. By @alejandrabee.bsky.social and @juliaradio.bsky.social
Researchers at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences are part of an international team studying how zooplankton may contribute to carbon storage:
Mantz is the second American to win the race. Ben True of Maine was the first U.S. champion in 2016:
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Gov. Janet Mills, a top recruitment target for Democrats, has effectively frozen the field of prospective challengers to Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins. Mills says she has no timetable to make a decision:
Staffing cuts and rearrangements at the SSA are causing long wait times and stress in Maine, disrupting vital services for the state’s aging population and rural communities: