The state tapped its PFAS relief fund to spend $333,000 to buy a Palermo hay field where sewage sludge was once spread as fertilizer that tested 3 times above the state’s recommended level for safe dairy forage.
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 inNews, Politics
Who are Maine’s lawmakers taking to Trump’s address to Congress?
Every member of Congress can bring one guest to the presidential address, and they often use the privilege to honor a local hero or send a political message.
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Posted inLocal & State, News
Maine lawmaker wants state to help farmers affected by federal funding freeze
A proposed bill would create a state-funded no-interest loan program for Maine farmers whose federal contracts are frozen by the Trump administration.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Maine must prepare for storms and climate change, lawmakers told
A proposal formed in the wake of last winter’s back-to-back storms to help communities prepare for bad weather and climate change was presented at a legislative hearing on Thursday.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Get toxic firefighting foam out of Maine, lawmakers told
Residents of Brunswick Landing, the site of Maine’s worst toxic firefighting foam spill, joined environmental groups to urge lawmakers to quantify the amount of foam in Maine and fund a voluntary program to collect, store and dispose of it.
Posted inLocal & State, News
UMaine Augusta students among those floating climate resiliency ideas for Casco Bay
Concepts ranging from floating communities to elevated over-water bike paths populate the final exhibition of a multi-university design studio intended to help Portland and South Portland prepare for rising sea levels, warming temperatures and increasing extreme weather.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Central Maine farmers left in limbo by federal funding freeze
Despite having signed government contracts, farmers who have spent money on projects to conserve soil, water and power have been told they cannot get reimbursed until USDA programs and policies are reviewed by the Department of Government Efficiency.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Maine DEP: $50M sludge bond would preserve landfill space
The proposal to bond funding for grants to help local sewer districts tackle the statewide sludge-disposal problem needs approval by a legislative committee and two-thirds of the House and Senate before it could be sent to voters in November.
Posted inLocal & State, News
A year of extremes: 2024 was Maine’s hottest on record
The year of extreme weather began with floods and ended with a drought, and set a new record high average annual temperature across the state.
Posted inAnimals, Local & State, News
Maine airports seek exemption from wildlife protection laws
Aviation officials and businesses say a bill to exempt airports from state protections for Maine’s endangered or threatened species would prevent wildlife collisions, but environmental groups say the protections are needed.