Many key bills, including the supplemental budget, remain on the table. But lawmakers don’t appear poised to call for a special session to give themselves more time.
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 inHealth, Local & State, News
Maine’s former landfills are leaking forever chemicals
The state has so far found PFAS-contaminated drinking water supplies in 51 wells near former landfills, but no one will say which landfills are leaking.
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Posted inNation & World
New federal limits on forever chemicals in drinking water are stricter than Maine’s
The Environmental Protection Agency released new limits Wednesday that are lower than Maine’s 3-year-old drinking water standards.
Posted inHealth, Local & State, News, Outdoors
Hooking a Maine fish is one thing, but is it safe to eat?
Maine has issued warnings not to eat fish in some waterways because of contamination from ‘forever chemicals,’ but most lakes, ponds and streams remain untested.
Posted inLocal & State
View the list of Maine’s PFAS advisories for freshwater fish consumption
The state has tested 1,800 fish culled from 112 locations since it first began testing for perfluoroalkyl and poly-fluoroalkyl substances.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State
Frequency of ferocious storms, power outages on the rise in Maine
Columbia University public health researchers found that the typical Maine customer went without power for longer than average between 2018 and 2020.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, Politics
Maine lawmakers add more environmental hurdles to a possible lithium mine
The new conditions, which would require legislative approval, would double the number of test borings required to prove the area is safe for open-air mining and cut the maximum size of the pit in half.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
Mild winter takes a toll on Maine’s outdoor sports, seasonal economy
The 2023-24 winter was devastating for the snowmobile industry and the communities that rely on visitors coming to enjoy Maine’s trails.
Posted inLocal & State, News
The winter that wasn’t: Climate change is transforming Maine’s coldest season
Unusually warm and mostly snow-free, the past few months have continued a long-term trend consistent with a warming planet.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, Politics
State lawmakers consider new mining rules that could open door to lithium mining
Some environmental groups say the rules that would allow for open pit mineral mining provide ample safeguards, but others demand more preliminary testing, smaller pit size limits, stronger reclamation standards and dark skies protections.