There’s a parcel of land in Northeast Harbor on the corner of Neighborhood and Manchester roads that Steve Anastasia has walked by for years.  It’s on the edge of the village, a short distance from the library and elementary school. Just down the way is Main Street, with its quaint shops, galleries and the Great Harbor Maritime Museum. In the summer, the sidewalks are full, families meandering with shopping bags and ice cream cones in hand. But in the winter, it’s a different scene. “It’s desolate, it’s asleep,” Anastasia said. “It’s mothballed and put away.” Anastasia, a maintenance wor ..read more

The Maine Monitor has compiled the most recent data on compensation at Maine’s public universities, charting the top three highest earners at each school in the University of Maine System, plus the System as a whole. Data was sourced from the System’s April 2024 Regular Employee Compensation Report.  According to the report, salary information is annual base salary and includes stipends of at least one year duration; other earnings such as overtime, overload teaching and short‐term stipends are excluded.  ..read more

This article is part of U.S. Democracy Day, a nationwide collaborative on Sept. 15, the International Day of Democracy, in which news organizations cover how democracy works and the threats it faces. To learn more, visit usdemocracyday.org. As the notion that elections are rigged has taken hold among a subset of Americans, spurred in large part by former president Donald Trump’s refusal to admit he lost in 2020, the processes that have long been central to U.S. democracy have come under scrutiny, and the work done by local government officials responsib ..read more

Editor's Note: This piece was shared as part of the series Sinking in Saltwater, co-published by The Maine Monitor and Portland Press Herald, with support from the Pulitzer Center's nationwide Connected Coastlines reporting initiative. See the rest of the series. Maine salt marshes are a key tool in the fight against climate change, acting as a buffer against storms and soaking up planet-warming emissions. These reservoirs of "blue carbon" can be 10 times more effective at absorbing and trapping carbon than tropical forests. Marshes are also some of the state’s richest habitats, home to a w ..read more

Editor’s Note: The following story 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. State leaders tasked with reviewing Maine’s preparations and responses to climate change-fueled natural disasters are at a crossroads.  While Maine has seen seven federal disaster declarations for severe storms and flooding in the past three years, statewide enrollment in federally-backed flood insurance policies is d ..read more

The Maine Monitor Radio Hour is a monthly program in which reporters and editors from The Maine Monitor discuss the newsroom’s recent reporting. This month, deputy editor Stephanie McFeeters was joined by health care reporter Emily Bader to talk about Bader's reporting on two unique approaches to recovery — one in Machias and one in Millinocket.  Bader first told listeners about the work that went into her story on Safe Harbor Recovery Home in Machias, including her fact-checking process. Of the approximately 80 homes in the state certified by the Maine Association of Reco ..read more

This story was co-published with Sanford Springvale News. Farmington and Sanford lead the state in solar development, according to the Governor’s Energy Office, a result of their proximity to high-voltage transmission lines, municipal advocacy and the relative availability of large undeveloped blocks of land. Farmington has the most solar installed in the state with 94.2 megawatts, followed by Sanford, with 62.6.  Farmington’s dominance is largely due to a 76.5 megawatt array on a farm along the Sandy River — reported to be the largest array in New England when it came online several yea ..read more

The Maine Monitor has compiled the most recent data on compensation at Maine’s private colleges and universities, finding that Colby College president David Greene was paid more than $2 million in fiscal year 2023.  The data is based on 990s from fiscal year 2023 examined through the ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, and includes the top three earners at each school.  Compensation figures include base compensation, bonus and incentive compensation and other reportable compensation; non-taxable benefits are not included.  ..read more

On the morning of Dec. 19, 2023, Norridgewock Town Manager Richard LaBelle felt the Route 201A bridge sway beneath his feet as a surging Kennebec River lapped up against its bottom span.  One of the few Kennebec River crossings in Somerset County not yet closed from that day’s disastrous inland Maine flooding, the Cpl. Eugene Cole Memorial Bridge had become a chokepoint for evacuees heading south. LaBelle scrambled to get ahold of officials from the Maine Department of Transportation to determine whether he should shut off bridge access. But he and then-deputy fire chief Todd Pineo wer ..read more

Editor’s Note: The following story 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. Fall is in the air, though we have a couple weeks left of meteorological summer. It's a transitional time not just for our wardrobes, schedules and outdoor activities, but for the climate.  We know that the overall warming trend of human-caused climate change is reshaping and shifting the timing of our seasons — all anchored ar ..read more