The Latest
Chasing Maine: The Ball Game
Take a behind-the-scenes trip to Hadlock Field, home of the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs. With COVID-19 precautions loosening, Hadlock Field is once again a great place to experience the excitement of professional baseball. In this episode of Chasing Maine,...
The next solar frontier
As community solar farms spring up around Maine, RISK-FREE offers of GUARANTEED SAVINGS for subscribers descend on residents – in mailers and online, and even from door-to-door sales agents. Community solar farms do offer a vital exit ramp from fossil fuel dependence...
Spreading vaccine fears. And cashing in.
Editor's Note: This story is published in partnership with the Center for Public Integrity. Heather Simpson never thought to question vaccines. Her parents vaccinated her when she was a child, and she got tetanus and flu shots as an adult. But when she...
Conversations from the Pointed Firs: Poet and activist Mihku Paul
Editor's Note: The Maine Monitor is pleased to partner with Peter Neill to bring you a new hour-long interview podcast, "Conversations from the Pointed Firs." This monthly program is produced in partnership with WERU Community Radio in Blue Hill. What is the spirit...
Biden seeks to bring back traditional Democratic voters
It’s not about Trump. Joe Biden knows that. So do Joe Manchin and Josh Hawley. It’s about people. Donald Trump exploited the discontent of many Americans for his own political gain. Even as Trump fades, Biden and the two senators understand those Americans remain...
Top Stories
Lawmakers agree on ‘good start’ to overhauling state’s troubled legal defense system
Three bills cleared a major hurdle in the state House and Senate on Thursday and gained unanimous support of legislators. The reforms could change how Maine provides legal services to its poor and pays court-appointed attorneys.
Defense lawyers say system crumbling under huge backlog, inadequate funding for indigent defendants
The Legislature faces a vote on a $21.8 million package to overhaul the state’s criminal defense system, but Gov. Mills has yet to signal approval.
Following arrest, defense lawyer banned from representing defendants for state
Suzanne Dwyer-Jones was charged with impaired driving on May 10. She continued to represent the state’s poorest defendants — until she was suspended Thursday.
Despite federal bailout, Maine’s largest hospitals ended 2020 in the red
While CARES Act funding helped the state’s three biggest healthcare systems, it wasn’t enough to offset pandemic costs.
Overdose deaths leave a Maine tribe reeling
As the pandemic worsened mental health and substance use challenges statewide, a record-high 58 people died from overdoses in January. The losses have hit the Passamaquoddy tribe especially hard.
Maine’s legislature could become first to require divestment of public funds from fossil fuels
The bill has sparked constitutional arguments and a debate over how more than $17 billion of state funds should be invested to best serve the public.
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Follow the Money
Mainers are facing a historic congressional election season in 2020. Examine how campaign fundraising and spending are shaping the races for Maine’s federal and state offices using The Maine Monitor’s interactive campaign finance trackers.
The Last Responders
Along with provoking a pandemic, COVID-19 has triggered a grief epidemic. It has robbed families of final goodbyes, left loved ones to die with strangers, postponed wakes and funerals. And it has overwhelmed Maine’s “Last Responders,” priests, chaplains, funeral directors and hospice workers who must work around restrictions aimed at diminishing virus infections.
2020: A Class Dismissed
The Maine Monitor spoke to seniors from high schools across the state to tell the story of Maine’s Class of 2020 and how these soon-to-be graduates are dealing with the unexpected developments that come with a pandemic and a disrupted senior year.
Due Process: Inside Maine’s County Courthouses
The Maine Monitor examines Maine’s criminal justice system at a time when there’s appetite for major change. Our series looks at the system – successes and failures – to test whether defendants and victims can rely on it to give them due process.
Video
Chasing Maine: The Place of Peace
Now that the COVID-19 pandemic is subsiding, we pay another visit to the baby goats at Sunflower Farm Creamery, as in-person visits resume and an effort to hit 100,000 online subscribers is underway. Chasing Maine is a biweekly video series that explores...
Chasing Maine: The Epic Comeback
In a season that will be remembered for COVID protocols, the University of Southern Maine softball team set a school record with 15 straight wins earlier this year. The tie-breaking victory came against Eastern Connecticut, ranked No. 3 nationally. Chasing Maine is a...
Chasing Maine: The Cultural Ambassador
Messan Jordan Benissan is both a music teacher at Colby College and the owner of the Mé Lon Togo restaurant in Camden. Born and raised in Togo, West Africa, he uses music and food to enhance cultural awareness in his circle of students, friends and customers. Chasing...
