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Any parent who has ever brought a child to an event that features a bounce house knows how chaotic the scene can be. It’s hard to keep track of your child’s shoes once they come off, it’s scary to watch little kids bouncing around with older ones, it’s beyond difficult to convince your child to bounce on down out of the house, and someone always ends up crying.

The town of Wilton usually relies on volunteers to supervise the ins and outs of the bounce house during the annual Wilton Blueberry Festival, but this year the town has to hire attendants. We have a story explaining why. We also have a story out of Fairfield about a special town meeting being scheduled to revisit a couple of failed articles from last month’s annual town meeting, and a story out of Kingfield about a change in vehicle weight limits crossing the Iron Bridge after a structural engineer found planks were sagging and beams were failing. 

These stories, and all of the stories published for Monitor Local, are written by community reporters who want to inform their neighbors about the business of government and how that impacts all of us. If that sounds like something you might be interested in, but you don’t have any journalism experience, I hope you’ll look into our Career Lab program through Journalism New England. We’re starting another cohort in September!

The program is free to attend, and we pay you a learning stipend for your time, plus payment for articles published by Monitor Local. It requires about 10 hours per week, including online classes as well as time spent attending and writing about public meetings in your area. The deadline to apply is Aug. 21. You can find more information and apply here. 

If you’re interested in freelance work but not interested in this training opportunity, please reach out to me at judy@themainemonitor.org. I’d love to hear from you.

Enjoy the weekend, and please share this newsletter with family members and friends. They can sign up on our website to have it delivered to their own inbox each Saturday.

Kingfield’s Iron Bridge restricted to 5 tons, must be replaced within 12 months: The safety limit cuts off heavy emergency vehicles to about 60 households, complicating local funding options and debate over a proposed Bowdoin College campsite. Read this story by Ashton F. LeCraw

Math scores stall in Franklin, Oxford, Somerset and Washington counties: Statewide assessment results show 1 in 2 students miss mathematics benchmarks. English language arts results are stronger but similarly stagnant. Read this story by Makayla Morello

Waterville restricts municipal employees, including police, from cooperating with ICE: City Council vote follows months of debate and a failed attempt to exempt local law enforcement. Read this story by Makayla Morello

Fairfield sets special town meeting to reconsider two articles that failed at June annual town meeting: Officials propose $28,000 in cuts to government administration and reserve funds ahead of an Aug. 5 public hearing. Read this story by Colin Hickey

Wilton Blueberry Festival hiring bounce house workers amid volunteer shortage: Prompted by a hallway clash at the July 7 meeting, a resident urges the Board of Selectpersons to enforce meeting decorum. Read this story by Bob Neal

Rangeley Board of Selectmen expands financial reports over transparency concerns: Officials explore ways to curb resale of items donated to Bargain Barn at transfer station. Read this story by Ashton F. LeCraw

MSAD 58 voters pass recommended budget at contentious meeting: One board director left the meeting after asserting voters were being silenced by meeting procedures, and another person was asked to leave after becoming disruptive. Read this story by Ben Hanstein

RSU 73 board accepts resignations of elementary principal, 3 teachers: Two teachers accepted jobs in home districts and a third at ND Paper, while interim leadership plans are set ahead of the new school year. Read this story by Bob Neal

How two rural Maine jails are rethinking addiction treatment: Monthly shots to treat addiction are promising, but costly. Read this story by Emily Bader

Her addiction started after a C-section. Her recovery began in jail: “If they can help you while you are in jail to get yourself set up for when you come out, that is the best thing that they can do for you.” Read this story by Emily Bader

The cost of treating addiction in Maine’s jails: The state’s 15 county jails spent an estimated $12.6 million on addiction and mental health treatment last year, often through a mix of grants and other temporary funding streams. Read this story by Emily Bader

Overdose rates soar after incarceration. How some jails are trying to improve the odds: Opioid-related overdose is the leading cause of death among recently incarcerated people. But not all jails have the resources for robust re-entry planning. Read this story by Emily Bader

Maine Democrats were headed toward a crowded Senate convention. Now it’s poised to be a Troy Jackson coronation: Some Democrats have raised questions about whether the party’s approach has been as transparent and inclusive as promised. Read this story by Matt Junker

Maine state trooper was suspended for punching handcuffed woman in the face: The Maine State Police sustained an excessive force complaint for the first time in a decade three months after a Maine Monitor/Bangor Daily News investigation called its practices into question. Read this story by Josh Keefe of The Maine Monitor and Callie Ferguson of the Bangor Daily News

The following stories are from other newsrooms. While The Maine Monitor does not place its content behind a paywall, some newsrooms we link to below may. Paywalled stories are followed by a ($). We encourage you to consider supporting local Maine newsrooms.

A new report found that the average Maine renter needs to work more than two minimum wage jobs to afford a two-bedroom apartment | Maine Public

A 13-year-old boy was rescued from Rangeley Lake this week, after drifting more than a mile away on a paddleboard | Spectrum News Maine

Qualifying residents will begin receiving $300 “affordability” checks later this month | Maine Public

Belgrade will hold a special town meeting next week to cover a $35,000 shortfall | Morning Sentinel ($)

Rot discovered in a historic grandstand in Farmington has resulted in the closure of the structure and a nearby sidewalk | WMTW

ICE is increasingly targeting younger immigrants, following the removal of special protections at the federal level | Public News Service 

The chair of the Livermore Falls Select Board has resigned | Livermore Falls Advertiser ($)

Doctors are asking the public to consider donating blood, amid a national shortage | Maine Public

Maine is one of two dozen states suing the federal government over new restrictions on FEMA grant funding | WGME 

Voters in Mexico rescinded a prior vote and will not accept a former school building, returning it to RSU 10 | Rumford Falls Times ($)

Have feedback, a correction or know of something we should look into? Send it to our newsroom. You can reach Monitor Local editor Judy Meyer directly via email:  judy@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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