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While The Maine Monitor does not place its content behind paywalls, some newsrooms we link to in this newsletter may.
ICYMI from The Monitor: Between 28 and 57 percent of the state’s coastal marshes could disappear by the end of the century, victims of a rising sea, coastal development and polluted runoff. Read the first story in this series, Sinking in Saltwater: Maine’s coastal marshes at risk as sea levels rise, published in collaboration with the Portland Press Herald and with generous support from The Pulitzer Center.
More from The Monitor: The Maine Supreme Court asked large law firms for help with the state's indigent defense crisis, but just two attorneys from the seven firms — which collectively employ more than 450 lawyers — took indigent defense cases in the year since Stanfill’s letter, according to the Maine Commission on Public Defense Services. “I think that the idea that fat cat lawyer law firms can send their trial lawyers into court to defend these criminal cases is not realistic. They’d be unqualified to do it.”
...and more Monitor coverage: The Maine Department of Environmental Protection will decide by August 23 whether a proposed expansion of the state’s largest landfill would provide a substantial benefit to the public, a required step before the landfill’s manager, the state’s Bureau of General Services, can apply to increase the capacity of the facility.
Opponents to a land-based fish farm in Jonesport are coming closer to breaking ground. Maine’s Business and Consumer Court rejected the appeal from project opponent Protect Downeast. That group argued the town’s Planning Board misinterpreted the local land use code when it approved the project. | Bangor Daily News
The National Park Foundation has pledged to contribute $2 million to help build seasonal workforce housing in Acadia National Park. The donation comes just a few weeks after Friends of Acadia, which is the fundraising partner for the park, launched a $10 million capital campaign to address the housing shortage for seasonal park employees. | Mainebiz
Maine Community College graduates have always been welcomed into the state university system, but now administrators will be getting more aggressive in making sure that transition happens. | Bangor Daily News
The Committee on Judicial Conduct is calling for an elected probate judge to be stripped of his position for violation of state and federal law and his failure to cooperate with the committee. The panel made their request to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, which would take the matter to the Legislature. | The Ellsworth American
A new report by a real estate data bank shows that homeowners in Maine are the second most equity rich in the country. Equity rich means the homeowners’ loan balances were no more than half of their properties’ value. In the second quarter, 61.5 percent of mortgaged homes were equity rich, putting the state No. 2 nationwide. | Mainebiz
The Planned Parenthood affiliate covering Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, is projecting an $8.6 million budget gap over the next three years. They blame greater demand, higher costs and an uncertain political environment. | Bangor Daily News
A new national study has found people who have immigrated to the U.S. and are working and own businesses, but do not have proper documentation of their legal status within the country, paid $15.6 million in state and local taxes during 2022. The analysis found the economic contribution of these Mainers would have been $19.8 million if they had been granted work authorizations. | Mainebiz
A group seeking to block a referendum limiting cruise ship disembarkations in Bar Harbor were denied their request for an injunction. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled the challenger failed to meet the standards to issue such a relief. | Mount Desert Islander
Deer Isle residents are pitching in to help new teachers find places to live. School Superintendent Dan Ross says he is getting help from property owners, Island Workforce Housing, and The Island Agency. Ross said roughly half of the teachers and staff in the district commute in from surrounding towns. | Penobscot Bay Press
Stonington has a leak in their municipal water system, and they still are not able to pinpoint the source. The Stonington Water Company says a leak is the only explanation for the unusually high water usage this summer. Extra water is being trucked in. | Island Ad-Vantages
George Stevens Academy in Blue Hill is no longer boarding students at the school, although home stays will be allowed. The board says the school can no longer afford the expense. George Stevens had 25 boarding students before the pandemic, 15 during the pandemic, nine last year, and three this year. Trustees blame the reduced numbers on COVID, competition from other boarding programs, and American boarding schools overseas. | Penobscot Bay Press |
