The Maine Monitor

Penobscot County officials say a new, larger jail is necessary to meet the needs of the people in their custody. But a group of concerned citizens is fighting against the latest plan. County residents will be asked to weigh in on Election Day.

Faculty, lawmakers, students and staff gathered at the University of Maine in Orono on Monday to call on university leaders to not cut faculty and staff as the state’s flagship university faces a $19-million shortfall.

The Maine Monitor will host a live blog on its website on Election Day, reporting from more than 40 polling places around the state. We’ll have reporters across Maine bringing you photos, videos, interviews with voters, breaking news, and updates.

Nearly three months into a ban on cellphones in Maine schools, educators told The Maine Monitor they have been surprised by how understanding students have been. They described the effects on students as overwhelmingly positive.

After 4 mobile homes in Brunswick were condemned for safety risks, the town and state came together to pay for temporary housing for the displaced families. The situation speaks to several problems facing Maine: deteriorating mobile home parks, a tight rental market and overburdened shelters.

The vast majority of medical providers across the country still accept Medicare, the federal insurance for Americans 65 and older. But some people have raised concerns that medical providers will opt out of Medicare due to reductions in payments.

Cancelled health insurance plans, little information from the federal government and general economic anxiety have dominated the start of open enrollment for Medicare, which ends Dec. 7.

​Mainers casting ballots in the general election this fall may notice that there is no option to vote for the secretary of state, attorney general, state treasurer or state auditor. Instead, their selection is left to lawmakers.

With Election Day fast approaching, faith-based groups have been working to engage voters across the political spectrum in Maine. Conservative and progressive organizations alike have distributed voting materials to churches, each emphasizing issue areas important to them.

More money is being spent on negative advertising in Maine’s Senate race than the state’s entire federal allotment for heating assistance this winter.

Earlier this year, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ordered New England transmission utilities to refund more than $1.5 billion to customers after finding that the companies’ authorized returns were set too high. The utilities are pushing back, and litigation is ongoing.

For small, rural churches in shrinking denominations such as the Episcopal Church, finding new clergy can take months or years. themainemonitor.org/aroostook-co...

Independent Rick Bennett, Republican Bobby Charles and Democrat Hannah Pingree all called for increased Medicaid reimbursements for providers, intensifying efforts to recruit new providers to the state and incentivizing established providers to remain.

Bobby Charles claims he has released his personal financial disclosure amid his campaign to be Maine’s next governor. In reality, his campaign has declined to provide the same level of information typically included in a financial disclosure statement.

The three candidates for governor all lamented the decline of standardized test scores among Maine children but shared differing ideas for how the state government should respond, in interviews with The Maine Monitor.

Democrat Hannah Pingree promised to continue Maine’s efforts to invest in building affordable housing; Republican Bobby Charles said he is eyeing property tax cuts; and independent Rick Bennett vowed to help homebuyers directly.

In partnership with C-SPAN, The Maine Monitor’s elections reporter Matt Junker sat down with each of the candidates for governor on the ballot for a wide-ranging interview. You can see what they had to say on specific topics, or watch the interviews in full: themainemonitor.org/governor-ele...

Election Day is just about a month away, and early voting started today, Monday, Oct. 5. As this process gets underway, The Maine Monitor is launching its 2026 Maine Voter Guide, where you can find everything you need to know to make an informed decision at the ballot box.

“This is one of the largest changes in the criminal-legal system in 30 years,” said Dr. Courtney Pladsen, the MaineCare medical director.

Six nurses in the emergency department at Northern Maine Medical Center in Fort Kent have resigned, straining emergency care for patients. The hospital also eliminated the position responsible for checking patients in at night, prompting safety concerns.

One woman said she now eats just a single daily meal. Others are traveling farther each week to different stores to save money.

A citizen-initiated ballot question will ask Lewiston voters if they want to place more limits on how many clean needles syringe service providers can distribute. themainemonitor.org/proposed-res...

When asked for their thoughts about what the next governor of Maine should prioritize, Common Ground Fair attendees identified a wide range of issues, which they wrote down on sticky notes displayed at The Monitor booth.

Join The Maine Monitor for an examination of Maine's housing challenges. Monitor housing reporter Caitlin Andrews will moderate the panel discussion Oct. 1 at the Belfast Free Library at 6 p.m. Both in-person and Zoom options are available. Register: www.eventbrite.com/e/monitor-ta...

The former Loring Air Force Base is now an industrial park overseen by a public municipal corporation created to redevelop the land and provide services to tenants. Recent lawsuits follow previous concerns about the properties.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved two more blood tests to identify signs of Alzheimer’s disease. They have the potential to help patients and their families get to a diagnosis sooner — and also come with important caveats.

Wendy Little Bear is one of about 100 survivors of sexual abuse, including roughly 10 members of the Wabanaki Nations, who reached a recent multimillion-dollar settlement with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland. This is her story:

While candidates running for the State House have to file personal financial statements before the general election, the same is not true for candidates running for governor. Staff with the Maine Ethics Commission have put forward a proposal to change that. themainemonitor.org/governor-can...

At the height of the pandemic, hospitals in Maine spent $560 million on contract staffing. This year, that number dropped to $214 million.

Two federal agents who allegedly violated a Maine man’s constitutional rights by threatening him for observing their work during a January immigration enforcement surge were identified for the first time in a new court filing on Wednesday.

Seal Island saw a record 127 razorbill nests, while Eastern Egg Rock saw a record 213 puffin burrows.

The last barrier on the Narraguagus River just came down, opening up the way for salmon. But there is no guarantee they will come back in greater numbers given other challenges.

Texts and emails show the influence conservative policy groups had on a Sullivan-based school district’s debate over whether to align its Title IX policy with Trump’s executive order or to abide by state law. themainemonitor.org/rsu24-push-e...

“The best thing parents can do to keep their children out of the hospital this winter is to get them vaccinated.” — Dr. Mary Ottolini, MaineHealth Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital in Portland.

The Maine state troopers who violently arrested a York County man in 2024 denied the accuracy of his account of the incident in court filings this week. This story was co-published with @bangordailynews.bsky.social:

Some of Maine’s rural counties could be hit hardest by Medicaid cuts, according to data The Maine Monitor received from the state under a public records request.

Because of his late entry into the U.S. Senate race against Republican Sen. Susan Collins, Democrat Troy Jackson hasn’t yet had to file a quarterly FEC report or his Senate personal financial disclosure. Here’s what we know and don’t know about both candidates’ finances.

As Maine’s Senate race heats up, there has been a similar attack launched against both Republican Susan Collins and Democrat Troy Jackson: lobbying ties in the family. The Monitor asked both campaigns what they make of the critiques, and examined the different rules at the state and federal level.

Ethan Hughes travels throughout Maine, and around the world, to stand against corporations he sees as exploiting natural resources and Indigenous peoples. He and his family also protest humanity’s disconnection from nature by the way they live.

Come work with us! The Maine Monitor is hiring a Membership Coordinator, an Operations Manager and a Director of Audience Outreach & Community Engagement. Learn more and apply at themainemonitor.org/careers/

The trade group representing Maine’s mobile home industry told officials in one southern Maine town it is preparing to sue them and other municipalities if they pass ordinances restricting how much mobile home park owners can raise lot rents.

​A Portland District Court judge was correct in giving a father the power to decide whether his daughter could attend an evangelical church following a clash with the girl’s mother over her religious upbringing, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled on Sept. 1.

Preliminary counts for enrollment across Maine’s seven public universities and law school show that student enrollment could exceed 28,000 this school year, continuing an upward trend in enrollment driven by online learners.

Six months since the new red flag law went into effect, a total of eight orders have been filed. Law enforcement officers are continuing to favor the pre-existing yellow flag law.

The Maine Monitor hosted a panel discussion in Portland on Thursday as part of its ongoing series Monitor Talks. The panelists spoke about their efforts to launch a new treatment and re-entry program at the Franklin County jail in Farmington.

Central Maine Power is asking that the Maine Public Utilities Commission increase the return on equity the company is allowed to make from 9.35 percent to 9.8 percent.

With Lyme disease on the rise in Maine, physicians are eager for a Lyme vaccine to assist patients. One is on the horizon, but its future availability is up in the air because the Trump administration has effectively eliminated the federal committee that would provide guidance on the new vaccine.

The situation at Marshwood Estates highlights the entrenched infrastructure issues at aging mobile home parks. But it also shows how things can change with a coordinated response.