With the Portland Harbor disposal pit completed, dredging at 3 waterfront sites will begin.
Penelope Overton
Staff Writer
Penny is excited to be the Portland Press Herald’s first climate reporter. Since joining the paper in 2016, she has written about Maine’s lobster and cannabis industries, covered state politics and spent a fellowship year exploring the impact of climate change on the lobster fishery with the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team. Before moving to Maine, she covered politics, environment, casino gambling and tribal issues in Florida, Connecticut and Arizona. Her favorite assignments allow her to introduce readers to unusual people, cultures, or subjects. When off the clock, Penny is usually getting lost in a new book at a local coffeehouse, watching foreign crime shows or planning her family’s next adventure.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Bills to find and destroy Maine’s toxic firefighting foam win over legislative committee
The Environment and Natural Resources Committee unanimously endorsed bills to catalog, collect and dispose of Maine’s stockpike of toxic firefighting foam.
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Posted inLocal & State, News
Maine makes first purchase of farm contaminated by forever chemicals
The state tapped its PFAS relief fund to spend $333,000 to buy a Palermo hay field where sewage sludge was once spread as fertilizer that tested 3 times above the state’s recommended level for safe dairy forage.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Politics
Who are Maine’s lawmakers taking to Trump’s address to Congress?
Every member of Congress can bring one guest to the presidential address, and they often use the privilege to honor a local hero or send a political message.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Maine lawmaker wants state to help farmers affected by federal funding freeze
A proposed bill would create a state-funded no-interest loan program for Maine farmers whose federal contracts are frozen by the Trump administration.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Maine must prepare for storms and climate change, lawmakers told
A proposal formed in the wake of last winter’s back-to-back storms to help communities prepare for bad weather and climate change was presented at a legislative hearing on Thursday.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Get toxic firefighting foam out of Maine, lawmakers told
Residents of Brunswick Landing, the site of Maine’s worst toxic firefighting foam spill, joined environmental groups to urge lawmakers to quantify the amount of foam in Maine and fund a voluntary program to collect, store and dispose of it.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Are taller seawalls the answer to rising seas and storm surge?
A bill would allow coastal seawalls to be raised by 2 feet to protect coastal homes, property and roads, but opponents claim higher walls would flood neighboring properties and result in sandy beach loss.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Design students float climate resiliency ideas for Casco Bay
From floating communities to over-water bike paths, this exhibit aims to help Portland and South Portland prepare for rising sea levels, warming temperatures and increasing extreme weather.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
Wolfe’s Neck Center’s $35 million climate grant caught up in funding freeze
A $335,000 reimbursement for 2 months’ worth of USDA program expenses is on hold.