Nick Murray

Nick Murray, of Cornish, currently serves as Policy Analyst with Maine Policy Institute, writing, researching, and bringing Mainers together over the issues facing the state. Previously, he served as Outreach Coordinator, planning events to spread the word about Maine Policy's work to new audiences around Maine.
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Coronavirus
WHO urges ‘careful interpretation’ of positive COVID-19 test results
On January 20, the World Health organization (WHO) issued an advisory for labs...
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Welfare
Maine’s food stamp error blues
As I dig deeper into the recent supplemental and biennial budget proposals from...
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Inside Augusta
Governor Mills’ budget sleight of hand
Maine Governor Janet Mills released the details of her second proposed biennial budget last Friday...
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Economy
Understanding the economic cost of 2020 pandemic policy
The economic shock from the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, exacerbated by the response...
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Coronavirus
The myth of widespread asymptomatic transmission
A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)...
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Energy Policy
Maine’s climate action plan heavy on spending, light on specifics
Earlier this month, the Maine Climate Council released its four-year plan titled, “Maine...
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Coronavirus
New studies on COVID-19 testing underscore need for greater transparency in Maine
Maine Policy Institute has previously noted the potential pitfalls of relying on a single health...
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News
SCOTUS rebukes NY pandemic orders targeting religious services
In a decision handed down late Thanksgiving Eve, a five-Justice majority of the...
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Coronavirus
PCR tests and the prickly partnership between science and state
As COVID-19 case counts rise across the United States and Europe, it is...
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Education
Biden advisor notes incoming administration’s plan to neuter charter schools
Last year, the Maine Legislature and Governor Janet Mills enacted a pair of...
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Coronavirus
Governor Mills’ coronavirus narrative is crumbling
Governor Janet Mills’ latest batch of doomsday rhetoric is an admission that her...
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Election Center
Massachusetts voters reject RCV in surprise Election Day upset
With more than 90% of the votes counted in Massachusetts, it appears that...
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Coronavirus
Gov. Mills stokes fear while doubling down on economic restrictions
Last Friday, Lindsey Crete, spokesperson for Governor Janet Mills, hinted to the Maine...
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Election Center
New Poll: RCV ballot question a dead heat in Massachusetts
A poll released Monday by UMass Amherst and WCVB is showing a tightening...
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Election Center
Despite massive fundraising disparity, RCV still a close contest in Massachusetts
A recent Ipsos poll asked 1,001 Massachusetts adults about a number of issues,...
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Coronavirus
Scott Atlas a vital voice of reason on White House Coronavirus Task Force
In a recent interview on Lockdown TV, Dr. Scott Atlas, a healthcare policy...
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Coronavirus
Maine artists continue to struggle under Gov. Mills’ economic restrictions
Our relationship with the arts has been severely and permanently altered this year....
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Coronavirus
Michigan Supreme Court rules governor’s emergency extension unconstitutional
Late last week, the Michigan Supreme Court in a 4-3 vote ruled that...
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Coronavirus
Maine CDC stalling release of coronavirus testing data
When we hear about the challenge of testing for the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), we...
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Inside Augusta
Mills’ curtailment order balances the budget for now, but tough choices remain in the future
Last week, Governor Janet Mills issued a “curtailment order,” a tool Maine governors...
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Taxes
BDN Editorial Board tells Mainers to pay up for Gov. Mills’ mistakes
The BDN editorial board’s recent commentary on the state budget shortfall reminds us...
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Economy
CBO projects highest rate of US debt-to-GDP since 1945
My colleagues and I have previously written on the State of Maine’s impending...
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Coronavirus
Understanding the CDC’s new data on COVID-19 deaths
Recently, some on social media have shared a misrepresentation of an August 26...
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Education
Waterville-area school district plans to bring students back to school full-time
In mid-August, the board of directors of Regional School Unit 18, a school...
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Coronavirus
Coronavirus found in Brazil sewage samples months before first cases reported
Researchers studying sewage samples from southern Brazil found remnants of the novel coronavirus,...
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Coronavirus
New CDC report highlights mental health costs of the pandemic
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday released a report...
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Biennial Budget
Maine’s current economic forecast should prompt substantial spending cuts
The latest report from Maine’s Revenue Forecasting Committee (RFC), published earlier this month,...
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Daily Catch
‘Defund the police’ is not a real reform strategy
The last few months have been tense, marked by social distancing and physical...
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Child Care
Pediatric medical experts agree: Send kids back to school
These days, in states across the nation, public health officials are discovering more...
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Coronavirus
Sanford-area charities rally to urge Gov. Mills to let them open
Yesterday, a few dozen people gathered in the parking lot of American Legion...
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Daily Catch
Maine Brewers Guild urges Gov. Mills to relax reopening rules
On Tuesday, Scott Sullivan, head of the Maine Brewers Guild, a nonprofit trade...
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Judiciary
‘How is this constitutional?’ Understanding the limits of emergency executive power
On Thursday, May 14, Maine Policy Institute hosted an online panel discussion with...
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National
Modest meat reforms would help Americans stay fed during the pandemic
Recent stories of farmers euthanizing livestock and dumping milk have startled many Americans,...
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Commentary
How similar are the recovery plans in Maine and New Hampshire?
Last Friday, Maine Governor Janet Mills released a revision to her phased reopening...
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Education
Homeschooling experts highlight the varied paths to gaining an education
On Thursday, April 9, Maine Policy Institute hosted a panel of veteran homeschoolers...
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Daily Catch
New documentary ‘America Lost’ explores America’s forgotten cities
With recent reports of staggering numbers of new U.S. unemployment claims–including over 21,000...
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Commentary
SEIU pledges $150 million to defeat President Trump in 2020
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s Janus decision in June of 2018,...
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Daily Catch
What you need to know to participate in next week’s election
This upcoming Tuesday will be Maine’s first primary election for president since 2000,...
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Energy Policy
New report highlights the downfalls of establishing a state-owned utility
A recent report by London Economics International (LEI), a Boston-based financial advisory firm...
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Judiciary
Maine’s high court strikes down warrantless blood tests
On Tuesday, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court struck down a law requiring police...
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Commentary
Want a new mobile phone? First, give the state your face
Last week, the government of China initiated a mandate that every new SIM...
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Daily Catch
How unworkable government rules separate man from his bacon
Farmer Randy Canarr of Souder Station Farm has been farming and raising livestock...
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Tech Policy
Calls to break up ‘Big Tech’ are misguided
In recent weeks, Americans have heard much about the problems with “Big Tech.”...
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Labor
CMS finalizes rule to end dues skimming of in-home caregivers
Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized a rule...
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Labor
What’s next for workplace freedom?
Three employees of Kent State University on Monday, April 29 filed suit against...
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Tech Policy
There’s no need to neuter the net in Maine
This week, the Maine Legislature’s Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology held a...
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Education
New bill creates unnecessary burden for special needs students and their families
On Thursday, Feb. 14 the legislature’s education committee held a public hearing on...
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Education
Don’t close the book on virtual charter schools
State Representative Michael Brennan of Portland recently introduced a pair of bills concerning...
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Daily Catch
Lessons in disruption from the 19th Century
Today’s world is in many ways at a crossroads, especially as technology and...
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National
Open markets for internet providers can bridge the digital divide
Many would agree that consistent access to the internet is an important part...
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Commentary
Portland City Council chasing opportunity into oblivion
Recently, the Housing Committee of Portland’s City Council met to discuss the possibility...
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Daily Catch
Microsoft’s ‘Airband Initiative’ serves rural Maine without government’s clumsy hand
Twenty-three million Americans–about 39 percent of the population–do not have access to broadband...
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Daily Catch
Portland City Council considers burdensome paid sick leave mandate
On Tuesday, April 24, the Portland City Council’s Health and Human Services Committee...
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Education
Maine can build on the success of its chartered schools
When conservatives in Augusta pushed to implement the law enabling charter schools in...
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Commentary
Sanford City Council needs a Constitutional Reality Check
On Tuesday, the Sanford City Council met to take public comment on a...