Several would-be attendees of the first meeting of the ‘blue ribbon’ commission on education funding were turned away, in violation of Maine’s public meetings law.
Noel K. Gallagher
Noel Gallagher covers K-12 and higher education issues statewide. Her stories are a mix of breaking news and trend stories. In recent years, they’ve ranged from why college costs so much, the launch of the state’s first charter schools, how a school welcomed a transgender student and why Maine schools have a hard time finding teachers. She’s enough of a news nerd to enjoy sitting through legislative education committee meetings and hours-long school board meetings so you don’t have to.
The Maine Press Association has honored Noel’s work, but she says she writes for the readers, in the firm belief that an informed citizenry is key to a healthy democracy.
Noel is a California native who has worked at wire services, online websites and newspapers across the country. She was in Washington D.C. during the early Clinton years, covering AIDS activism in 1990s San Francisco, documenting the business of wine in Sonoma County and riding out the boom and bust cycle of the early Internet era in early 2000s Silicon Valley. She arrived in Maine at the beginning of the recession and wrote quite a bit about the downturn here.
In her free time, Noel writes the occasional cookbook review, spends an inordinate amount of time at the Portland Public Library and hangs out with her three fabulous kids and wonderful husband. She is not a former member of the band Oasis.
Crash victim from Harrison known for zeal as teacher, environmentalist
Adam Perron, 29, loved his family, students and the lakes region where he grew up, say acquaintances. ‘It’s a tragic loss,’ a friend says.
Two New York men charged with heroin trafficking in Portland
Police say the pair were selling the drug from apartments, where they set up shop after giving the tenants drugs or money.
SAD 6 delays action on nepotism concerns involving school chief’s son
Zachariah Sherburne, who is charged with sexually assaulting a student in another district, was hired in February by SAD 6, which has an anti-nepotism policy.
Maine ranks 7th nationwide in high school achievement
Some of Maine’s top-ranked schools weren’t on the list last year.
Maine-based arson dog program isn’t moving to New Hampshire after all
The founder says he is using a New Hampshire location temporarily and will base the program in Brunswick starting in July.
Maine students win national awards for volunteer work
Connor Archer, 17, and Benjamin Levesque, 14, are named the state’s top youth volunteers for the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. They will go to Washington D.C., where the top 10 national winners will be chosen.
Worry, and mystery, after LePage says 900 layoffs coming in southern Maine
The governor’s spokesman declines to elaborate, and local and state officials say they are unaware of pending job losses.
Windham student suspended after threatening tweet refers to ‘Columbine’
Police say the two messages referencing the 1999 mass shooting in Colorado may not rise to the level of a crime.
UMaine Machias looking to share administration and academics with flagship campus
System officials say the Machias campus will not be financially viable unless it is restructured to cut administrative costs.