Press Herald - A bill to extend the state minimum wage to Maine farmworkers has now been approved by the Senate and House of Representatives. The new legislation is now headed to the governor. Supporters of the bill argued that the exclusion of farmworkers from minimum wage laws was a long-standing injustice. Opponents said the bill would hurt farmers and put them out of business.
Press Herald - Members of Maine’s fishing community are calling on President Donald Trump to change policies they say are harming the state’s lobstermen. Since passing an executive order in April to support the U.S. seafood industry, Trump has been signaling that he intends to change commercial fishing and lobstering regulations in New England. It’s unclear, though, whether any of those rules could change things for Maine fishermen.
WGME - A new filing with the Maine Attorney General's Office shows 18,820 Mainers have been affected by a data breach involving the company Kelly & Associates Insurance Group, Inc out of Maryland. The victim’s names, Social Security numbers and financial information may have been accessed in the breach. Nearly 500,000 people have been affected nationwide.
Newsweek - If [Susan] Collins loses her seat, it will prove more difficult for Republicans who currently control the Senate with a 53 to 47-seat majority. According to a Pan Atlantic Research poll of 840 Maine likely voters, 49 percent of people see Collins favorably, 45 percent unfavorably, making her net favorability +4 percent. The polling was conducted between May 12 and May 26 with a margin of sampling error of +/- 3.5 percent.
This is an improvement on previous polling released by the University of New Hampshire (UNH) in April, which showed 71 percent of respondents did not believe Collins should be reelected. That poll also showed only 12 percent of respondents had a favorable view of the Senator, and 58 percent had an unfavorable view.
Realtor - In 2024, the average cost of a starter home in Maine was approximately $266,120. To comfortably afford that, a household must earn at least $63,738 annually. That places Maine among the more expensive states in New England for first-time home buyers, though it remains relatively affordable compared to neighboring states like New Hampshire or Massachusetts, where starter home prices regularly exceed $400,000.