Press Herald - Maine service providers are raising the alarm about the possibility that recruiters may be targeting homeless people to go to out-of-state detox centers. The Maine Statewide Homeless Council this week issued an announcement, warning that recruiters have reportedly approached people with “flashy brochures showing program residency in mansions, vague program details, and everything you need to get to California or other inviting locations.”
Top police officials in Portland and South Portland communicated regularly with a federal agent during the immigration enforcement surge in late January, according to records released Thursday. Text messages obtained by the Portland Press Herald and dated between Jan. 21–26, indicate police leaders in both cities collaborated to keep immigration agents safe during their hotel stay and helped surveil protesters. Read all of the texts.
Women’s sports bar coming to MaineStudent, parent sue Falmouth schools for not offering Pledge of Allegiance
Critics slam Palantir donations to Susan Collins. Maine Democrats got them too.
Maine heating oil prices up more than 20% since last week, state says
Snow returns across Maine over the weekend before giving way to rain, warmer temps
Maine measles cases reported last month contained, health officials say
Wolfe's Neck Center March events
Maine Morning Star - The Maine House of Representatives overwhelmingly supported a bill allocating $13 million to the Maine Commission on Public Defense Services on Thursday, one day after the agency warned it would halt payments to lawyers because of a budget shortfall. The bill received broad bipartisan backing, with 120 representatives voting in favor and one opposed.
Earlier: The state’s public defense agency has run out of money to pay the private defense lawyers it contracts with, who handle the vast majority of constitutionally-mandated indigent legal services in Maine. Hundreds of private attorneys who work for the Maine Commission on Public Defense Services will now go unpaid for legal work that they have already done, and will not be paid again until the start of the next fiscal year in July, unless the Maine Legislature approves emergency funding to close the commission’s $13 million budget shortfall. The budget shortfall is due to years of underfunding. On Tuesday, the public defense agency sent an email informing rostered attorneys that the last payments for this fiscal year will be made on March 23, according to Frayla Tarpininan, the commission’s executive director. “The indigent defense crisis has been festering in Maine for years. Just as we are beginning to turn a corner to resolve this situation, we find ourselves unable to pay the people who have done the work,” Tarpinian said. “This is a serious problem that will hurt people and result in fewer attorneys willing to accept these cases and a continued failure of the state to fulfill its obligations.”
Down East Magazine - This weekend, on March 15, we’re celebrating Maine's statehood anniversary. From our endless coastlines to the mountains and tiny islands to bustling mainland small towns, there is a pull about this state that keeps us craving more, and a lot of history behind where we are now. Maybe it's the fresh seafood, the unbeatable views, or just that certain Maine stubbornness that feels like home no matter where you go. Maine is the place where, if you know how great it is, you know.
Maine Morning Star - In Sanford, nearly one in six of the 3,200 or so public school students are considered economically disadvantaged, facing challenges such as food insecurity or housing instability. But because of the way school funding is currently determined, officials say the district is not getting enough support from the state, nor can it turn to local residents to make up the difference.
Instead, the district has been forced to close schools, cut essential staff and educational programming, Sanford Superintendent Matt Nelson told the Legislature’s Education Committee on Monday.
Dozens of school leaders from all over the state attended the public hearing and echoed Nelson’s call to update the public education funding formula. They highlighted how the current formula has consistently left schools in less affluent communities with far fewer resources than wealthier districts.
For instance, Sanford can spend about $15,000 on each student annually to provide basic services, which is about $3,500 less than the state average, and about $9,000 less than a wealthy district where less than 10% of the student population is considered economically disadvantaged.