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Before we get into today’s newsletter, The Maine Monitor is in the middle of our March Fundraising Drive, and we need to raise $45,000 by March 13. |
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The support of our readers is what makes this newsletter and all of our free-to-read reporting possible. Will you make a donation? |
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Please join all of us here at The Maine Monitor in welcoming our new housing reporter, Caitlin Andrews. She has written about many topics in the past — from politics and local school boards to health care and international AI policy — both from Maine and New Hampshire. Feel free to send her tips and story ideas about issues relating to housing at caitlin@themainemonitor.org. We are excited to have her on our team.
This week, check out reporter Emily Bader’s stories on how local governments in Maine spent $3 million in opioid settlement funds last year to address harms caused by the opioid epidemic. She found about 40 percent of the funding went to police departments and jails, which largely spent the money on behavioral health liaisons and addiction treatment programs.
Meanwhile, Knox County is in a bind because it has no budget. As reporter Dan O’Connor found, that is because its budget advisory committee does not have enough members to form a quorum to establish a county budget for this year.
And reporter Sean Scott wrote about a small but growing interest in paganism in Maine. Did you know Maine has a number of groups that support the faith, including a clergy association that appears to be the only one of its kind in the country?
Thank you, as always, for reading us, and I hope you remembered to set your clocks forward by one hour for daylight savings time today!
— Erin |
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As Paganism’s popularity grows in Maine, leaders are coming together around an often solitary practice
By some measures, Maine is one of the most Pagan states in the country.
Read this story by Sean Scott |
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Local governments across Maine spent $3 million in opioid settlement funds last year. There’s $19 million left in their accounts, and more on the way: Counties and municipalities were required to report their spending for the first time earlier this year. Money went to addiction treatment in jails, behavioral health workers, recovery centers and more. Read this story by Emily Bader |
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Charts: See what local governments spent on addiction treatment and recovery projects last year: Here’s how Maine’s counties, cities and towns used their opioid settlement funds in 2025, and who was involved in the decisions. Read this story by Emily Bader |
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$4.6 million awarded for wetland restoration around the state: The projects include restoring the largest freshwater wetland in Acadia and removing dams in Yarmouth. Read this story by Sam Norton |
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Knox County can’t find anyone interested in forming its next budget: Knox County is caught in a legal bind and has had no choice but to operate on last year’s budget for the past two months. Read this story by Daniel O'Connor of The Maine Monitor and Bangor Daily News |
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A price hike led Palmyra to ditch its fire protection deal with Newport: The upheaval in central Maine is not unique as small towns across the state are reeling from years of high costs. Read this story by Daniel O'Connor of The Maine Monitor and BDN |
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Note: Monitor Local publishes stories on Downeast and Western Maine every Saturday. Here are some highlights from this weekend. For more, visit our website. |
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Community School model seeks to lift students, families in rural western Maine: Cape Cod Hill School is one of a half‑dozen Community Schools in the state and the only one in western Maine that provides after‑school enrichment programs for students. Read this story by Ben Hanstein |
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Waterville chicken owner pushes to expand city residents’ right to raise, slaughter chickens: Leo St. Peter claims city regulations unconstitutionally limit who has a right to raise food. Read this story by Charley DiAdamo |
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Washington County tax bills contained a welcome surprise for most towns: Of the 35 Washington County towns that prepaid their portion of the 2025 TAN, 28 of them now have a credit on their 2026 taxes. Read this story by Judith Meyer |
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Upcoming annual town meetings in Franklin, Oxford, Somerset and Washington Counties |
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Caitlin Andrews joins The Maine Monitor as housing reporter
Andrews sees her role as covering one of the most politically, economically and socially important issues in the modern world, and is interested in exploring it through everything from mortgage rates to creative solutions to improve accessibility.
Read this story |
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Have feedback or a correction to send to Erin Rhoda? Send it to her directly via email: erin@themainemonitor.org.
The Maine Monitor is a publication of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, an independent and nonpartisan nonprofit news organization that produces investigative journalism. We believe news is a public good and keep our news free to access. We have no paywall and do not charge for our newsletters. If you value the reporting we do for Maine, please consider making a donation! We cannot do this reporting without your support. |
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