Penelope Overton

Staff Writer

Penelope Overton writes about the lobster and marijuana industries in Maine, a mix of the iconic and the emerging, the economic powerhouse and the mysterious darkhorse. Just the right mix of old and new for a Maine transplant. Penny joined the Press Herald in 2016. She has covered politics and government, the environment and Indian Country in Florida, Connecticut, Arizona and Washington, D.C. Her favorite stories are when she gets to dive into a world where readers seldom venture. When she’s not newspapering, Penny and her young daughter like to hike, body surf, travel and explore new books, places, poems and people. She is plovertonpph on both Instagram and Snapchat.

Latest

Published
July 6, 2023

Maine lawmakers fail to override governor’s veto of tribal bill

The House voted 84-57 in favor of overriding Gov. Janet Mills’ veto, which falls 10 votes short of the two-thirds support needed and sustains the veto.
Published
July 5, 2023

Legislature returns to tackle veto of tribal rights bill

Lawmakers also will consider an $800 million supplemental budget, but the leadership of both parties in the House were focusing their efforts Wednesday on urging tribal bill supporters to stand by their votes in the hopes of overriding Gov. Janet Mills’ veto.
Published
July 5, 2023

Inside Maine lawmakers’ late-night scramble to pass expanded abortion access

Divisions nearly thwarted Democrats’ efforts to pass the landmark legislation.
Published
June 27, 2023

Maine Senate nixes MaineCare coverage for noncitizens

Senators rejected the bill with no debate or roll call vote, despite approval in the House of Representatives on Monday.
Published
June 27, 2023

House and Senate endorse Mills’ abortion expansion bill, passage is likely

The House voted 73-69 to enact the bill after a contentious debate, sending the measure to the Senate for a final vote before it heads to the governor’s desk for her signature.
Published
June 23, 2023

Maine Senate delays abortion vote until next week

Senate Democrats and Republicans agree to hold the debate on Gov. Janet Mills’ groundbreaking bill to expand abortion access in the daylight, where the public can easily observe, sometime next week.
Published
June 22, 2023

Maine House narrowly votes to expand abortion access

The 74-72 vote to advance Gov. Janet Mills’ bill to expand post-viability abortions came after a four-hour recess to count votes and consider a last-minute compromise.
Published
June 21, 2023

Maine Senate votes to ban flavored tobacco products

The bill sponsored by Sen. Jill Duson, D-Portland, would ban flavors such as mint, fruit, chocolate, menthol, vanilla and honey in all tobacco, including vaping products.
Published
June 21, 2023

State lawmakers overwhelmingly support tribal bill opposed by Gov. Mills

The 100-47 House vote and 26-8 Senate vote show strong support among state lawmakers, including among some Republicans, who will be needed to overcome a possible veto from the governor.
Published
June 11, 2023

A forever farm is no match for forever chemicals

A fourth-generation farmer running an organic dairy farm in Fairfield lost his livelihood when his milk and lands tested hot for PFAS contamination. ‘It got us good.’

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