The measure would create a medical safety zone within 8 feet of the front door of all healthcare facilities.
Penelope Overton
Staff Writer
Penny is excited to be the Portland Press Herald’s first climate reporter. Since joining the paper in 2016, she has written about Maine’s lobster and cannabis industries, covered state politics and spent a fellowship year exploring the impact of climate change on the lobster fishery with the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team. Before moving to Maine, she covered politics, environment, casino gambling and tribal issues in Florida, Connecticut and Arizona. Her favorite assignments allow her to introduce readers to unusual people, cultures, or subjects. When off the clock, Penny is usually getting lost in a new book at a local coffeehouse, watching foreign crime shows or planning her family’s next adventure.
Relief fund created to help Maine farmers deal with forever chemicals
Maine Farmland Trust and the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association have raised $255,000 to create a short-term financial safety net for those affected by PFAS.
Farmers urge passage of bill to stop agricultural use of PFAS-laden sludge
One says at a news conference Wednesday that his family is ‘teetering on the edge of losing everything’ because of PFAS contamination.
Senate vote falls 1 short of threshold to send equal rights amendment to voters
Senators voted 22-12 in support Wednesday, just shy of the two-thirds majority that would be needed in upcoming votes to put the question on a statewide ballot.
House approves climate science training funds for Maine teachers
The $3 million state grant program would encourage school districts to partner with community nonprofits to build climate science training plans for teachers.
Lawmakers want more oversight of child protective services
A bill would require the Office of Child and Family Services to report to the Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee.
Maine considers $42 million plan to lighten college graduates’ debt load
Recent graduates who live and work in Maine would get as much $2,000 a year in relief from loan payments.
Equal rights amendment to Maine Constitution hits Republican opposition in House
The 80-57 vote in favor of the proposal falls short of the two-thirds majority required to put the issue to voters, with another vote coming later in this session.
In Saco, EPA chief says federal infrastructure funds will help Maine offset costs of adapting to sea level rise
The city’s wastewater treatment plant, one of six in Maine seen as vulnerable to rising ocean levels, will need $54 million to remain above water.
Maine’s child welfare system failed 3-year-old who died, grandmother tells lawmakers
The grandmother of Maddox Williams, whose mother is charged with murder in his death, gave emotional testimony to a legislative committee that’s investigating Maine’s child welfare system.