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3 weeks ago | 
mainepublic.org | Susan Sharon
Every 18 minutes someone accidentally kills another person — with a car, a gun, or by making an error on the job. When we read or hear about the victims of these tragedies, we have empathy for them and for their loved ones. But do we feel the same about the person who contributed to the unintentional death? Karen McKenna of Yarmouth recalls the driveway moment she had while listening to NPR in 2023.
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1 month ago | 
mainepublic.org | Susan Sharon
A day after Maine lawmakers were urged to support funding for the Maine Resiliency Center in Lewiston, Sen. Susan Collins announced the approval of more than $8.5 million from the U.S. Department of Justice.
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1 month ago | 
mainepublic.org | Susan Sharon
A Buxton woman who brought a medical malpractice wrongful death lawsuit against the federal government for her husband's death has been awarded $1.3 million by a federal judge. Roy Palmer was complaining of abdominal pain when his wife, Janet, dropped him off at the Togus VA Medical Hospital in Augusta in April of 2020. Palmer, who was 69 years old and a U.S. Army veteran, was prescribed high doses of pain medication along with a sedative that led to his cardiac arrest and brain damage.
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1 month ago | 
mainepublic.org | Susan Sharon
Judges, attorneys and advocates for low income Mainers are warning that the state's civil legal aid system is at a "breaking point." They say only about a third of the people who need it are getting help. And they're asking Maine lawmakers to sustain a $2 million appropriation set to expire in a few months and to add just over $3 million more each year to put Maine on par with other states.
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1 month ago | 
mainepublic.org | Susan Sharon
A federal judge on Friday ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture to "unfreeze and release" any federal funding that the department has frozen or refused to pay to the state of Maine over alleged Title IX violations. In a 70-page order, U.S. District Judge John Woodcock granted Maine's request for an emergency temporary restraining order after Maine filed a complaint in U.S District Court seeking to restore access to the money.
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2 months ago | 
mainepublic.org | Susan Sharon
In what appears to be the latest retaliation against Maine over its transgender policies, U.S. Attorney Pam Bondi announced that the Trump administration is withholding funding from the Maine Department of Corrections. The focus this time is not on transgender athletes but on a transgender prison resident.
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2 months ago | 
nhpr.org | Susan Sharon
What do a farmer, a food bank director and a Republican state senator all have in common? They're among those sounding the alarm about a proposal in Congress to cut between 20% and 30% from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program known as SNAP. In Maine, 174,000 people rely on it for food every month. But if the reduction is approved, advocates say food insecurity will rise and Maine's rural economy will suffer.
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2 months ago | 
mainepublic.org | Susan Sharon
Maine farmers, food banks and rural economies could be harmed by a 20-30% cut to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program known as SNAP under a bill being considered by Congress. Republican State Sen. Rick Bennett of Oxford is among those warning that the cuts will drive up food insecurity for tens of thousands of Maine children, veterans and older residents at a time of rising grocery costs and economic uncertainty.
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2 months ago | 
mainepublic.org | Susan Sharon |Carol Bousquet |Kaitlyn Budion
Thousands of people took to the streets in more than 20 cities and towns across Maine on Saturday to protest what they say is the chaos, harm and threats to democracy caused by the Trump administration and unelected billionaire Elon Musk. A crowd estimated at more than 1,000 gathered in Portland's Monument Square for one of the largest "Hands Off" rallies to urge Congress to defend the Constitution and fight back.
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2 months ago | 
mainepublic.org | Susan Sharon
Hundreds of people turned out in Cumberland on Sunday with a message for the Trump administration and anyone else challenging Maine's Human Rights Act: "We won't back down."Maine has become ground zero in a national culture war over the rights of LGBTQIA+ students after President Donald Trump confronted Gov. Janet Mills last month about allowing transgender athletes to compete according to their gender identity.
