A Q&A about what motivated Nancy Mills to address the high rates of mental illness among Maine defendants. Read More
A new committee studying ways to stem the rise in prisoners awaiting trial questions how to “break the futile cycle of task forces.” Read More
Three single mothers have been stewing over the future of their Portland homes for weeks now, and a new letter has only seemed to replace a hard deadline to leave with an ambiguous one, they said. Read More
Low-income tenants at a housing complex in Portland who were surprised and devastated to get eviction notices last month should never have received the letters, a representative for the property owner said late Tuesday. Read More
The company that recently purchased a Portland apartment complex and is evicting a large number of low-income families there was formed by members of a Massachusetts family known for their philanthropy. Read More
At least 16 low-income households at an apartment complex in Portland have been told to move out during the coming holiday season, in what may be one of the biggest mass evictions in Maine’s largest city in recent years. Read More
A former Lewiston landlord owes the city more than $200,000 in fines and fees for keeping his apartment buildings in disrepair, according to court records and city officials, but he didn’t list that debt when he filed for bankruptcy this summer. The omission raises questions about whether the… Read More
The Bangor Daily News’ examination of public records shows for the first time how much general assistance went to the very landlords the city had or would sue for letting their buildings deteriorate. Read More
The saga of 32 Horton St. in Lewiston. Read More
In recent years, the Lewiston code enforcement office has been more aggressive in pursuing remedies from landlords who operate unsafe housing. That sometimes means taking them to court to make them fix their buildings. Read More
More than 400 people have contributed to a vision for housing in Lewiston that they hope will be funded with $30 million from the feds. That’s just the beginning. Read More
In Lewiston, the economics that keep a healthy rental market afloat have largely collapsed. Read More
The Penobscot County sheriff shared the names of the people he recently appointed to a county jail oversight board, reversing his earlier position of keeping their names private for fear it would expose them to harassment. Read More
The state is working with the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office to develop a blueprint for establishing medication-assisted opioid treatment programs inside Maine county jails. Read More
All Jeannie Chapman remembers from her overdose was drawing the heroin into the needle, sticking it in her arm and then waking up in an ambulance. Read More
Marc Karun had lived in Stetson for six years before police arrested him Wednesday in connection with the murder and sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl in Norwalk, Connecticut, nearly 33 years ago. Read More
Being incarcerated before a trial means defendants have a harder time reaching their attorneys, are cut off from the support of their family, can’t continue working to support their defense and can’t take steps to rehabilitate themselves in the eyes of the court, making it more likely that they will plead guilty. Read More
How 1 Mainer was jailed for sleeping in the wrong place, while another accused of murder walked free
Research shows that requiring cash to bail out of jail is no more effective than just releasing people with no financial requirement, and it fundamentally disadvantages those of lesser means. Meanwhile, the number of people unable to bail out has reached unprecedented heights in Maine. Read More
The growth of Maine's jail population has been driven not by an increase in people serving sentences for crimes but an increase in the number of prisoners like this woman who are being held prior to their conviction. Read More
The initiatives include a new mental health court, medication-assisted treatment for addiction and revising bail policies. Read More
