A 2-year study tracked the toxic reach of forever chemicals from a 51,000-gallon spill of firefighting foam in 2024.
Penelope Overton
Staff Writer
Penny Overton 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 has 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.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
Maine renews attempt to expand state landfill
Despite opposition from the Penobscot Nation, state environmental regulators have issued a new ruling allowing expansion of the Juniper Ridge Landfill.
advertisement
Posted inBusiness, Food & Dining, Local & State, News
Cold weather and tariffs squeeze Maine’s maple producers
A stubborn winter has delayed the start of this year’s harvest by about a month.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
Maine lobsterman asks US Supreme Court to block GPS boat tracking
The legal challenge claims 24/7 surveillance of the lobster fleet is a warrantless search in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
Maine’s lobster haul hits 17-year low
The state’s fleet is grappling with a post-boom normal defined by fewer trips and narrower margins, while recent scientific surveys offer a sliver of hope.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News, Politics
To curb trash fires, Maine may require battery makers to offer free disposal
Regulators say batteries take up too much of the limited space in Maine’s landfills and have caused a surge in fires.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
UMaine taps into satellite data to help oyster farmers
A free online dashboard uses the information to help Maine oyster farmers predict time to market.
Posted inLocal & State, News
A Maine student is upending how the world thinks about the T. rex
The College of the Atlantic student used biomechanical modeling to show the predatory dinosaur walked on its tiptoes like an 8-ton bird.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
Salt shortage tests Maine’s private snowplow drivers
National suppliers are rationing or cutting off commercial plow operators to make sure they can fulfill government contracts.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
Maine Forest Service urges loggers to adapt to extreme weather
A new handbook calls for those who earn a living from the woods to embrace nontraditional methods to manage a changing climate.