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Greetings from western Maine, where the days are getting shorter and the grass is getting browner. 

Despite some cooler temperatures and a bit of rain last week, Farmington has slid out of “abnormally dry,” which sounds unpleasant enough to begin with, and down to “moderate drought.” My tomatoes would certainly contest the moderate part. Hopefully we get some rain soon.

Also: The Maine Monitor will be holding a forum Wednesday, Aug. 27 at Twice Sold Tales in Farmington at 5:30 p.m. in partnership with Daily Bulldog and Mt. Blue TV. It's part of a series of events being held across the state to learn what issues matter most to people. I hope to see you there.

“Water battery” proposed in western Maine

A primary goal is to boost resilience by putting power onto the grid at times when other renewable resources aren’t generating electricity.

Read this story by Julia Tilton of The Maine Monitor

While The Maine Monitor does not place its content behind paywalls, some newsrooms we link to in this newsletter may. 

The abnormally dry conditions in the southern portion of western Maine have advanced to moderate drought. | Maine Public

Two buildings at the Region 9 School of Applied Technology completed earlier this year remain closed due to inadequate water supply. | Bethel Citizen

The University of Maine at Farmington has launched an online program aimed at addressing a statewide teacher shortage. | Daily Bulldog

Angst over Maine’s high property taxes hampers efforts to make them fairer. | Bangor Daily News & The Maine Monitor

Kingfield will vote next month on whether to begin withdrawing from MSAD 58. | Franklin Journal

A proposal to create a wood bank in northern Franklin County got a boost this week after county commissioners approved $140,000 in TIF money to support the effort. | Livermore Falls Advertiser

Maine joins nearly a dozen other states around the country that have added “coercive control” to their definition of domestic abuse in civil code. | The Maine Monitor

Rumford police are continuing to search for three individuals who fired on officers with AR-style rifles during a pursuit last Saturday. | Rumford Falls Times

Oxford Hills students at the middle and high school level will need to turn off their cellphones while school is in session. | Advertiser Democrat

Livermore Falls select board has approved a 20-year lease to place solar panels on the town's capped landfill. The proposal next goes to the planning board. | Franklin Journal

Maine’s daily newspapers once employed D.C.-based reporters dedicated solely to covering the state’s congressional delegation. No Maine-based news outlet, however, has maintained a D.C. correspondent in more than 15 years. The Maine Monitor will break that trend by supporting a D.C.-based correspondent dedicated to covering Maine’s congressional delegation. | The Maine Monitor

Have feedback, a correction or know of something we should look into? Send it to our newsroom. If you have feedback or a tip that you want to send to Ben Hanstein directly email him at: benjamin@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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