The wind industry needed help overcoming hurdles by Gov. Paul LePage and turned to friend and supporter Justin Alfond, the president of the Maine Senate.
Naomi Schalit
Naomi Schalit is a co-founder of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, which operates The Maine Monitor.
LATEST ARTICLES
Legislators use timing and creative wording to skirt spirit of fundraising rules
An examination of campaign records and fundraising techniques shows how Maine statehouse politicians have found creative ways ways to skirt the spirit of laws meant to limit the influence of special interests.
New bill proposes contractor training, certifications to reduce lead poisoning
Seeking to reduce the instances of Mainers getting lead poisoning due to careless renovations, a lawmaker introduced a proposal to require EPA training and certification in lead-safe removal methods for contractors working on older buildings.
Lawmaker: PACs shouldn’t pay the legislators who run them
Saying he wanted to stop a practice that was “the closest thing to getting directly paid” by lobbyists, Rep. Louis Luchini introduced a bill to bar legislators from paying themselves, businesses they run and family members from political action committees they control.
In-Depth: The full interview with Isabel Sawhill
When senior reporter Naomi Schalit began her nine months of research for our series on Maine’s single parents in poverty, one of her first stops was Isabel Sawhill’s office at the Brookings Institution. You’ll find many quotes from Sawhill in Schalit’s five-part series; here is the complete interview transcript.
The story behind the story
I have been a reporter for 34 years and this was the hardest story I have ever written. People didn’t want to talk to me. They didn’t want to give me “fodder for woman-blaming.”
500% rise in single parenthood fueling family poverty in Maine
A nine-month investigation reveals that the inability to lower the poverty rate in Maine is due in part to a change in the makeup of the state’s families.
One wrong guy and an ‘endless struggle’ for a single mom
Part 2: The story of one single mother speaks to the struggles shared by many single parents in Maine. “Every week’s the same,” she said. “I’m always broke. The electric, internet, diapers, toiletries, food when we run out of my food card…”
Chaos in the classroom: Too many kids not ready and able to learn
Veteran teachers and school officials are on the front lines of the crisis of the growth of children coming from poor families, many with just one parent at home. Their experiences show the impact of the changing face of the Maine family.
‘I’m supposed to provide for my family — where am I?’ The story of the childless fathers
The story of the fathers who are rarely there. Interviews with men at the Maine State Prison who have one or more children with women to whom they are not married.
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