Continuing a pattern of opposition to a number of progressive labor and criminal justice measures, Gov. Janet Mills late last week vetoed a bill to bar retaliation by employers against workers who use paid time off and legislation to make pretrial conditions of release less restrictive. Both vetoes were upheld by the Maine House in…
In a vote just after midnight on Friday morning, the legislature’s budget committee increased the income threshold for one-time checks that the state plans to send to Mainers. It’s a move that some lawmakers argue would provide money to those who don’t necessarily need it at the expense of underfunded social programs that could be…
“It’s a horrible system that I got caught in,” said Lewiston resident Amy Sanchez, who spent three years on a waitlist for a federal Section 8 rental assistance voucher after leaving an abusive marriage. “I was on a waitlist for forever long.” After navigating a gauntlet of means testing and twice appearing before a judge,…
When it was announced last week that the state of Maine would have an $822 million surplus this year, I noticed a tweet by South Portland State Representative Victoria Morales. Her tweet was in response to a Bangor Daily News article outlining that Gov. Janet Mills was looking to negotiate with Republicans on how to…
Amid an ongoing affordable housing crisis, advocates and housing experts are concerned that the decision last month by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a federal moratorium on evictions will exacerbate an already challenging landscape for Maine renters. The Supreme Court order overturning the ban was issued in late August after the Biden administration took…
Around 20,000 units. That’s the shortage of affordable housing options in Maine. That fact— combined with the 25,000 Maine households on a waitlist for federal Section 8 housing vouchers, the nearly 60% of renters in the state who spend half their income on housing, and the 5,500 evictions that happen every year — has advocates…
On warm nights, P.J. Cragin likes to open up her windows and enjoy the summer air. But, as Cragin has learned over the years, sometimes that’s not a good idea in South Portland. Cragin lives about a third of a mile from one of the petroleum storage tank farms in the city. And last summer…
Dan Neumann contributed reporting to this piece. Gov. Janet Mills issued a series of vetoes Wednesday on bills passed by the legislature, including a measure to close Maine’s last youth prison, a tax fairness bill to bolster underfunded affordable housing programs, and legislation that would prevent companies owned by foreign governments from conducting electioneering on…
With the 50th anniversary of President Richard Nixon’s declaration of a “War on Drugs” approaching, Mainers who have been criminalized for substance use disorder gathered Wednesday at the State House to ask lawmakers to move away from decades of failed, punitive policies and support a bill that would decriminalize possession of small amounts of drugs.…
A group of Mainers who have experienced homelessness and housing discrimination joined with advocates at the State House on Thursday to call on lawmakers to use federal and state dollars to address a deepening housing crisis. “I’ve been told by numerous different landlords that they don’t take housing vouchers. I don’t have renting experience for…