The Maine Monitor

Facts are important. Our nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization ensures that Maine's state government and institutions are held accountable. Our dedicated team of investigative journalists utilizes documents, data, and tough interviews to create impactful stories.

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Maine oyster growers are starting to electrify their operations

6 days ago | themainemonitor.org | Tux Turkel

From a distance, what appears to be an old pontoon boat with a shade canopy was tugging at its mooring near an island in Casco Bay. Up close, the retrofitted pontoon is actually something quite new: An oyster-processing barge that operates without a gasoline-fueled generator. The shade canopy is really a 2.4-kilowatt solar panel array. What looks like a big cooler is a box of marine-grade lithium batteries tied to an inverter.
Maine’s foster care population grew at the fastest rate in the nation

1 week ago | themainemonitor.org | Josh Keefe

Maine’s foster care population grew at a higher rate than any other state between 2019 and 2023, new federal data shows. It was one of just six states that increased its foster care population during that five-year period, according to a Maine Monitor analysis of data from the federal Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS).
Mainer’s tip got an immigrant wrongly detained for 65 days

2 weeks ago | themainemonitor.org | Callie Ferguson

This story appears as part of a collaboration between The Maine Monitor and Maine Focus, the investigative team of the Bangor Daily News, a partnership to strengthen investigative journalism in Maine. You can show your support for this effort with a donation to The Monitor. Read more about the partnership.
New law aims to expand rural pharmacy access

2 weeks ago | themainemonitor.org | Emily Bader

A bill signed into law late last month aims to increase pharmacy access in rural communities across Maine. L.D. 239 directs the Maine Board of Pharmacy to adopt rules for the licensing and regulation of retail pharmacy remote dispensing sites no later than June 2026. The bill’s sponsor, Sen.
Rumble strips are saving lives and money on rural Maine roads

3 weeks ago | themainemonitor.org | Benjamin Cassidy

The honeymoon was almost over for Steven Lavrenz and Sandhya Madan. After sightseeing in Acadia National Park, the newlyweds from Michigan woke early and started a long drive back to Boston Logan International Airport on the gray morning of June 3, 2019. But they wouldn’t get very far before their trip — and their lives — were nearly upended. Heading north on Route 102, Lavrenz noticed a red pickup truck on the other side of the thoroughfare veering toward his Subaru rental car.
Maine has 5th highest rate of emergency department visits

3 weeks ago | themainemonitor.org | Rose Lundy

Editor’s Note: The following story first appeared in The Maine Monitor’s free health care newsletter, Health Monitor, that is delivered to inboxes every other Thursday. Sign up for the free newsletter to stay informed of Maine health care news. Maine has the fifth-highest rate of emergency department visits in the country, which hospital officials say could get worse with cuts to Medicaid and further contraction of services.
Can seaweed be organic?

4 weeks ago | themainemonitor.org | Julia Tilton

Editor’s Note: The following first appeared in The Maine Monitor’s free environmental newsletter, Climate Monitor, that is delivered to inboxes every Friday morning. Sign up for the free newsletter to stay informed of Maine environmental news. A few weeks ago, I wrote about what goes into the organic food label. But I left out an important category: seaweed. Species like kelp and rockweed, which grow off Maine’s coast, are used in a variety of foods, crop fertilizers, and even skincare.
Maine's lawmakers, judicial branch clash over disciplining judges

1 month ago | themainemonitor.org | Josh Keefe

The legislature’s judiciary committee defied a warning from the chief justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court on Wednesday, pressing ahead with efforts to examine how the judicial branch handles ethics complaints against its judges. In a work session on, the committee considered how to address what one lawmaker called a “gap” in the judicial branch’s system for disciplining high court justices. But the legislators’ options appeared limited.
Maine lawmakers advance dam safety legislation

1 month ago | themainemonitor.org | Emmett Gartner

Editor’s Note: The following first appeared in The Maine Monitor’s free environmental newsletter, Climate Monitor, that is delivered to inboxes every Friday morning. Sign up for the free newsletter to stay informed of Maine environmental news. Two bills that would strengthen Maine’s lax dam safety regulations and replenish a long-depleted loan program for municipal dam repairs cleared their first hurdle when lawmakers voted them out of committee earlier this month.
Higher staffing requirements removed from assisted living bill

1 month ago | themainemonitor.org | Rose Lundy

Editor’s Note: The following story first appeared in The Maine Monitor’s free health care newsletter, Health Monitor, that is delivered to inboxes every other Thursday. Sign up for the free newsletter to stay informed of Maine health care news. Lawmakers have scrapped proposed increased staffing ratios for assisted living and residential care facilities, replacing the measure instead with reporting requirements and a stakeholder study group.