Maine Things Considered

MaineCare's ban on abortion coverage was challenged in the state Supreme Court Wednesday.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection got an earful at a public hearing Tuesday from a group of high school and middle school students worried about climate change. The public hearing was prompted by a petition the students filed earlier this year about what they say is the state's failure to do its part to protect them. They're are asking the DEP to take steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There are elements to the school day that can feel dire for any student. For 14-year-old

A new law took effect on May 1, changing the language used to describe substance use in Maine's laws. The law seeks to do a small part of the work that's required to deal with the state's opioid crisis, by moving toward destigmatizing the way we describe it. For example, the law removes references to terms such as alcohol and drug abuse and replaces them with "substance use disorder." Rather than saying alcoholic or drug addict, someone will be described as a "person with substance use disorder.

Maine voters in next month’s state primary will be the first to use ranked-choice voting for state elections. Election experts say many voters don’t understand how the system works, but they’re hopeful voter education programs now running can help clear up any confusion.

Maine's highest court heard oral arguments Tuesday that could decide whether a Portland landlord should be jailed for violating codes at an apartment house he owned, where six people were killed in a fire in 2014. Lawyer Luke Rioux argued for vacating Gregory Nisbet's conviction and 90-day jail sentence on a misdemeanor code violation. Rioux maintains that the state's code requirement for window size was unconstitutionally ambiguous, and he argued that state prosecutors failed to properly enter

When lawmakers abruptly ended the second regular session of the Legislature earlier this month, they left some unfinished business. Among the bills left in limbo or unfunded is one affecting Maine’s county jails, and failure to correct the situation could create some unintended serious consequences. Like scores of other bills, a measure providing funding for county jails was left unaddressed when lawmakers adjourned. The bill would have provided $3 million to cover budget shortfalls this year

It’s being called a landmark Supreme Court decision and a historic day for American sports, as the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a federal ban on sports gambling is unconstitutional.

The polarization of American politics has made its mark in all corners of our society, including schools. In an effort to teach high school students how to engage in civil discourse, and to find common ground on important issues, the organizers of a new project in southern Maine brought together 29 students with diverse backgrounds and points of view.

As we make plans to celebrate Mother's Day, some of us will also think back about the Moms we've lost. On Maine Things Considered, writer Sara Anne Donnelly shared a final lesson from her mother, thanks to some long lost friends who showed up at her mother's memorial service. Donnelly lives in Portland and is working on a book about her mother.

Flooding in Northern Maine has been worse than usual this spring, thanks to late snows, a fast melt, and ice-choked rivers. And just over the national border, the flooding along the St. John River is being described as historic. It has been days since 49-year-old Markus Harvey has been able to drive a car. "I've been driving the last two weeks by tractor on the road between my place and up river,” he says. “From my place downriver, there is no vehicles.” Harvey says that he is one of about 20

The number of young people in Maine has been declining for decades. The trend concerns many independent and private town academies in the state. Some have lost up to a quarter of their students over the last ten years.

As promised, Maine's two U.S. senators had plenty of questions for Gina Haspel Wednesday morning, as President Trump's nominee to head the CIA appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Haspel was asked about her 33-year career with the agency and about the use of interrogation and torture techniques during that tenure. President Donald Trump has said he believes torture works, but during questioning from the Committee Wednesday, Haspel says she does not. Still, there was no shortage of

Members of Maine’s congressional delegation don't see eye-to-eye on President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal. Independent U.S. Sen. Angus King says that while Tuesday’s decision is not surprising, it is disappointing and potentially disastrous to U.S. interests. He says by all accounts, the plan effectively hindered Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons in the near term. "At a moment when our country already faces serious threats across the globe, the decision

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court has reaffirmed a lower court’s decision that invalidated the candidacy of Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Max Linn. Linn, a financial planner who lives in Bar Harbor, had appealed a ruling by Kennebec Superior Court Judge William Stokes, who found that the secretary of state acted appropriately when he invalidated a number of signature petitions submitted by Linn’s campaign. The secretary of state’s review left Linn 10 signatures short of the 2,000 he needed to

A urine test could become another tool in the fight to reduce opioid overdose deaths in Maine. The test screens for fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that caused more than half of the 418 drug overdose deaths in the state last year. Some health advocates say the test can be used to check drugs before they’re injected, but others say it’s an unscientific method that could actually cause harm.