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The Maine Monitor

@themainemonitor.org
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A nonprofit newsroom delivering citizen-supported, nonpartisan journalism for Maine: themainemonitor.org. Read our Social Media and Community Guidelines: themainemonitor.org/community-guide…

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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 28/09/2026
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.
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This is what concerns Common Ground Fair attendees
Monitor Editor Kate Cough gave a talk about local news and the Maine news landscape. Listeners lamented the loss of local news in their communities.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 28/09/2026
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...
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 25/09/2026
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.
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They complained about housing and got an eviction notice
The Loring Development Authority and its property manager have not addressed ongoing mold and water damage, residents recently alleged in a lawsuit.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 25/09/2026
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.
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New blood tests may help speed up Alzheimer’s diagnosis
Not all insurance companies cover the tests, which help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. But some do, and more may in the future.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 24/09/2026
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:
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For one survivor, pain lingers after Catholic church settlement
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 Dioce...
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 24/09/2026
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...
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Ethics staff wants governor candidates to file financial statements
The proposed change follows reporting by The Maine Monitor this summer that highlighted an inconsistency in the state’s financial disclosure requirements.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 23/09/2026
At the height of the pandemic, hospitals in Maine spent $560 million on contract staffing. This year, that number dropped to $214 million.
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Hospital spending on contract staff almost back to pre-COVID level
At the height of the pandemic, hospitals in Maine spent $560 million on contract staffing. This year, that number dropped to $214 million.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 23/09/2026
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.
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Lawsuit names 2 ICE agents who allegedly threatened observer
A new court filing identifies the two agents publicly for the first time.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 16/09/2026
Seal Island saw a record 127 razorbill nests, while Eastern Egg Rock saw a record 213 puffin burrows.
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Seabird researchers report good year for razorbills and puffins
Seal Island saw a record 127 razorbill nests, while Eastern Egg Rock saw a record 213 puffin burrows.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 15/09/2026
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.
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Endangered salmon may soon swim freely up a downeast river
Cherryfield rallied to remove the last dam on the Narraguagus after decades of habitat rehabilitation by local conservationists and landowners. They are committed to decades more.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 14/09/2026
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...
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Inside RSU 24 embrace of Trump’s stance on transgender students
Newly public emails and texts show how school leaders sought advice from conservative organizations and then debated behind the scenes over their new rules to exclude transgender students from sports.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 11/09/2026
“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.
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What to know about this year’s flu, COVID-19 and RSV shots
Major medical groups issued immunization recommendations last week, ahead of the fall respiratory virus season that begins in October.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 09/09/2026
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:
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Troopers deny wrongdoing in lawsuit over violent Maine arrest
Justin Savage of Limerick sued three state troopers last September over the force they used arresting him in his driveway one night in March 2024.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 09/09/2026
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.
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Where Medicaid cuts could hit hardest in Maine
See how many people in each county could be subject to new work requirements in order to receive health benefits.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 09/09/2026
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.
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Voters know less about Troy Jackson’s finances than any other major U.S. Senate nominee
The Democrats’ replacement nominee hasn’t yet had to file information that’s typically available already for most Senate candidates.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 08/09/2026
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.
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Collins, Jackson navigated family lobbying ties under different rules
It’s been nearly 20 years since the federal government put some restrictions on lobbying by family members. Maine and other states haven’t followed suit.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 04/09/2026
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.
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Family defies convention to protest environmental destruction
Thousands have visited them to learn about living without oil, electricity or cars.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 03/09/2026
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/
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 02/09/2026
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.
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Mobile home group threatens lawsuit over rent control ordinance
The Maine Manufactured Housing Association is preparing to push back against a wave of local ordinances that restrict mobile home parks’ ability to raise rent.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 01/09/2026
​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.
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Maine court rules father can restrict daughter’s church attendance
A lawyer for the mother said they plan to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 31/08/2026
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.
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What used to be one of Maine’s smallest universities has seen the biggest increase in students
Online learners have fueled enrollment growth at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, which preliminary numbers show is now the third biggest public university.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 31/08/2026
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.
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5 people have used Maine’s red flag law on family members so far
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.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 28/08/2026
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.
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The people behind 1 jail’s new approach to addiction treatment
Officials involved in the Franklin County Detention Center’s addiction treatment program sat down with health care reporter Emily Bader at the latest in a series of Monitor Talks.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 28/08/2026
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.
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Consumer advocates argue against CMP’s requested returns
The scrutiny over Central Maine Power’s request is part of a growing movement to lower investor-owned utilities’ return on equity.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 28/08/2026
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.
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RFK hobbled the panel needed for smooth Lyme vaccine rollout
“All the rules are out the window,” said a physician who once served on the committee that gave guidance on new vaccines. “I don’t know how this plays out.”
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 27/08/2026
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.
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Eliot residents turned to state for mobile home park help
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.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 26/08/2026
The University of Maine System, which oversees the state’s public universities, will now accept credentials that high schoolers earn through the long-time Jobs for Maine Graduates program as course credits.
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Maine universities hope to boost college aspirations
The University of Maine System will accept credentials earned through the Jobs for Maine Graduates program.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 25/08/2026
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/
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 24/08/2026
Efforts to combat erosion with natural materials at Popham Beach and Sebago Lake, among other places, show how landowners must factor continued upkeep into the projects’ costs.
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Living shorelines in Maine show mixed success
Efforts to combat erosion with natural materials at Popham Beach and Sebago Lake, among other places, show how landowners must factor continued upkeep into the projects’ costs.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 21/08/2026
Join The Maine Monitor for a panel discussion Aug. 27 at 5:30 p.m. on how Maine’s county jails are providing addiction treatment, the types of treatment being used and the growing medical costs jails are facing. Register to attend in person at UNE North in Portland or to receive the Zoom link:
eventbrite.com
Monitor Talks: Treating Addiction in Maine’s Jails
An expert panel discussion on on how county jails are providing addiction treatment.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 19/08/2026
The mother met all of Maine’s reunification requirements except for finding housing, which did not “constitute evidence of parental unfitness,” Justice Andrew Mead wrote.
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Maine terminated parental rights over a lack of affordable housing
Child welfare authorities said the mother’s inability to move from New Mexico to Maine made her an unfit parent. The state’s highest court disagreed with that finding on Tuesday.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 18/08/2026
​A team in Phippsburg has been working for nearly a decade to get wild oysters to regenerate in Maine’s cold, turbulent waters.
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They wanted to restore wild oyster reefs to the Maine coast
A team in Phippsburg has been working for nearly a decade to get wild oysters to regenerate in Maine’s cold, turbulent waters.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 17/08/2026
Low-income homeowners are least likely to test and treat their well water for arsenic, and a state program to help them has treated fewer homes than anticipated.
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Maine struggling to get homeowners to treat wells for arsenic
Low-income homeowners are least likely to test and treat their well water for arsenic, and a state program to help them has treated fewer homes than expected.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 16/08/2026
Join members of The Maine Monitor this week in Portland and Blue Hill for casual conversations about our journalism and the issues that matter to you.⁠ ⁠ We'll be at Coveside Coffee in Portland on August 18 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. and at the Blue Hill Library on August 21 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 15/08/2026
Maine plans to use some of its funding from the federal Rural Health Transformation Program to create a Maine Rural AI Hub and a Rural Health AI Innovation Institute — but it has shared few details about what that will entail.
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Maine to explore the role of AI in rural health care
The state needs “a new approach to delivering rural health care,” officials said in a proposal for federal funding.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 14/08/2026
A federal judge recently struck down the Trump administration’s latest effort to shift federal funding for homelessness services away from housing-first initiatives. Here’s what that means for social service organizations in Maine. themainemonitor.org/homelessness...
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Homelessness service providers grapple with changing guidance
A federal judge once again blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to overhaul federal homelessness aid, pausing a round of grant applications due later this month.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 13/08/2026
We're looking for candidates to join the next cohort of our Community Reporting Career Lab Fellowships, which will teach participants the foundations of journalism. For more information and to apply: themainemonitor.org/community-re...
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 12/08/2026
Researchers are diving in Casco Bay as part of an effort to better understand Maine’s seagrass meadows — and to potentially restore the plant to places where it has been lost.
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The race to save Maine’s seagrass meadows
Eelgrass is declining along Maine’s coast. As scientists try to understand why, they’re also preparing to restore these crucial marine habitats.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 11/08/2026
As Maine colleges and universities confront federal inquiries, regulatory pressure and lawsuits, some have seen federal lobbying costs and legal expenses skyrocket to the highest levels on record, according to a Maine Monitor review of schools’ tax returns and lobbying disclosures.
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Maine colleges are spending more on legal fees and lobbying
Bowdoin College’s legal fees nearly tripled last year. It’s not the only Maine school that saw a jump.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 10/08/2026
The Monitor’s summer fundraising drive is underway. Thanks to the Ezra James Briggs Family Fund, every dollar of the first $20k raised will be matched! But only until midnight on Wednesday. Independent, nonprofit journalism for Maine only works with your support. Give today:
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Help us tell Maine’s important stories: Donate now
As a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on individual donations to support The Maine Monitor's in-depth investigative reporting and enterprise storytelling.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 10/08/2026
Hotel Ursa — a private-public partnership at the heart of the University of Maine’s campus — has failed to meet its annual operating income goals, putting the state’s flagship university on the hook for more than $1.5 million over the last three years.
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UMaine on the hook for financial shortfalls of Hotel Ursa
Now the public university plans to put students in the hotel to offset costs, but it will pay more than $1 million in rent each year to do so.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 07/08/2026
Washington County residents gathered to air fears and frustrations over Eastport’s economic and environmental future at the first of two public hearings on citizen‑initiated ordinances that could halt preparations for an underwater AI data center in the Bay of Fundy’s Western Passage.
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Eastport residents oppose underwater AI data‑center plan
Residents, Tribal leaders and regional advocates pressed for passage of citizen‑initiated ordinances aimed at stopping the Western Passage project.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 06/08/2026
The labor and delivery unit at MaineHealth Lincoln Hospital in Damariscotta is set to close on Dec. 18. That will mark the 12th maternity unit that has shuttered since 2015, meaning fewer than half of Maine’s 34 hospitals will offer a place to give birth. themainemonitor.org/mainehealth-...
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MaineHealth will close Lincoln Hospital’s labor and delivery unit
The hospital system’s board of trustees voted to close the Damariscotta hospital’s birthing center on Thursday. It promised no additional closures in the next two years.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 05/08/2026
A group representing customers is seeking to understand why Central Maine Power is requesting higher returns than its multinational parent company Iberdrola has previously said is necessary for its U.S. holdings.
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Iberdrola must open its books as CMP seeks greater profits
A group representing customers is seeking to understand why Central Maine Power is requesting higher returns than its parent company Iberdrola has previously said is necessary for its U.S. holdings.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 04/08/2026
​There is more money at stake in Maine’s Senate contest on Kalshi than in that of any other state besides Texas.
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Prediction market users wager millions on Maine elections
There is more money wagered on the financial trading platform Kalshi for Maine’s Senate contest than in that of any other state besides Texas.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 04/08/2026
Researchers with the Audubon Seabird Institute have counted 200 active puffin burrows on Eastern Egg Rock this summer — a new record.
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New record of puffin burrows on Eastern Egg Rock
Researchers with the Audubon Seabird Institute counted 200 active puffin burrows on the island, up from 188 in 2019. They also spotted a razorbill chick.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 03/08/2026
A ​Maine man is suing federal agents for allegedly violating his First and Fourth amendment rights amid an immigration enforcement surge in January. It’s the first lawsuit filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act against the US for actions of immigration agents during “Operation Catch of the Day.”
themainemonitor.org
Mainer puts U.S. government in crosshairs of immigration lawsuit
This is the first lawsuit filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act against the United States for the actions of immigration agents during “Operation Catch of the Day” in January.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 31/07/2026
MCPIR and The Maine Monitor welcomed Mike Federle as its newest board member this month. Federle retired as CEO of Forbes Media in 2025 after 7 years of leading the global media brand. The newsroom also announced a partnership with C-SPAN ahead of the November midterm election.
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Monitor announces new board member, C-SPAN partnership
Mike Federle retired as Chief Executive Officer of Forbes Media after seven years of leading the global media brand.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 30/07/2026
This week, after an inquiry from The Maine Monitor, former Maine congressional candidate Paige Loud changed the language on a fundraising page to make clear she was trying to cover personal expenses, not pay off campaign debt. themainemonitor.org/paige-loud-a...
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Paige Loud admits mistake in GoFundMe appeal for donations
This week, after an inquiry from The Maine Monitor, Paige Loud changed the language on a fundraising page to make clear she was trying to cover personal expenses, not pay off campaign debt.
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The Maine Monitor @themainemonitor.org · 30/07/2026
Maine is in the process of adjusting how it regulates the manufactured housing industry and helps support residents of mobile home parks.
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Maine moves to strengthen mobile home park oversight
The Maine Manufactured Housing Board has been dissolved and its responsibilities transferred to the Maine Office of Community Affairs.
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