Julia Arenstam

Portland

City Editor at The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram

Turning extreme nosiness into a career, one story at a time. City Editor @PressHerald

Articles

Maine crime victims could lose ‘safety net’ of services without major state investment

2 days ago | pressherald.com | Julia Arenstam

Decades of work in Maine to build up a network of civil services for those fleeing domestic violence and sexual abuse could be in jeopardy this year without more state and federal funding. Much of that work — establishing 24-hour helplines, emergency shelters, advocacy and free legal representation to survivors — has historically relied on federal funds and some state funding, at nearly the same level ever year.
Portland disputes rent violation report from city tenants union

2 days ago | pressherald.com | Julia Arenstam

The city of Portland says a recent audit of rental listings conducted by a tenants union was largely inaccurate because many of the violators it flagged are either exempt from rent control, in compliance, or already have an active enforcement case against them.
Maine judge won’t wait for supreme court to start releasing people from jail

2 days ago | pressherald.com | Julia Arenstam

A Maine judge says she will not wait for the state supreme court to rule on an appeal before she moves forward with releasing people from jail and dropping charges against those who have unconstitutionally gone too long without a lawyer. In doing so, Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy said the state would have one more week to find jailed defendants a lawyer before they get released.
Orange baby lobsters, the rarest of their kind, find a new home in Maine’s ocean

2 days ago | pressherald.com | Julia Arenstam

BIDDEFORD — With steady hands and firmly-planted feet, students at the University of New England gently lowered tiny orange lobsters, no bigger than their thumbs, into the cold salt water. UNE’s marine biology students had stepped in as “foster parents” for 30 baby lobsters since they were hatched last year. And the time for reunification with the sea had now come.
Man shot in Biddeford says he was defending himself, trying to disarm suspect

3 days ago | pressherald.com | Julia Arenstam

A Biddeford man says he was trying to defend himself from a stranger with a gun when he was shot outside his office Sunday afternoon and taken to the hospital for emergency treatment. Joshua Wolfe, 32, described the ordeal in a phone interview Monday after being released from the hospital for a gunshot wound to his hip. The man who police say shot him is now facing gun charges. He is currently in custody at York County Jail with a $1,060 bail pending his first court appearance on Wednesday.
Some of Maine’s colleges are renaming DEI offices under federal pressure

3 days ago | pressherald.com | Julia Arenstam

At least five Maine colleges and universities have opted to rename their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in recent months as part of a national trend that follows a Trump administration crackdown on DEI-related programming in education. The changes span public and private institutions, from the University of Maine to Colby College, as schools have opted instead for words like “community” and “belonging.”But what’s not clear is whether the offices are changing what they do.
Maine attorney general urges Supreme Court not to intervene in Laurel Libby’s lawsuit over censure

6 days ago | pressherald.com | Julia Arenstam

AUGUSTA — The Maine attorney general’s office urged the U.S. Supreme Court to deny an emergency request from a censured state lawmaker to restore her voting and speaking rights. “Like other censures of Maine House members, the censure resolution required Rep. (Laurel) Libby to apologize for her conduct — not recant her views. Rep.
Three men sentenced in connection with 2017 Down East fisherman’s death

1 week ago | pressherald.com | Julia Arenstam

Three men have pleaded guilty and been sentenced for crimes tied to the 2017 death of a Down East fisherman. Police say they found Wayne Foss’s body at his home in Whitneyville on Oct. 28, 2017. The home had been set on fire, but they were still able to determine the death was a homicide. Foss was 48, and a husband and father of three, according to his obituary. Family remembered him as selfless and talented, particularly in woodworking.
Deadly Bayside shooting last fall caught on video, prosecutors say

1 week ago | pressherald.com | Julia Arenstam

Prosecutors said they have video of a deadly shooting last fall in Portland’s Bayside neighborhood. Attorneys discussed the recording Thursday during a court hearing for a second person charged in connection with the death, who prosecutors say helped the suspect leave the scene before police arrived. Edgar Cando, 31, was shot multiple times on Portland Street in October and later died at Maine Medical Center, according to police.
Mainers witness selection of new pope as white smoke rises in Vatican City

1 week ago | centralmaine.com | Julia Arenstam

Mainers at home and abroad huddled over there phones Thursday as white smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel, signaling that the Roman Catholic Church has chosen a leader to succeed Pope Francis. Cardinal Robert Prevost was chosen as the first American pope in the Catholic Church’s 2,000-year history. He will become Pope Leo XIV, according to the Associated Press.