Author: Steve Robinson

The final three members of a brazen Chinese money laundering crew that washed more than $90 million in drug cash — much of it from cartels moving dope through Mexico — pleaded guilty Monday in federal court, the Justice Department announced. Two Chinese nationals — Enhua Fang, 38, and Jianfei Lu, 30 — along with Shu Jun Zhen, 36, of Staten Island, admitted to laundering tens of millions in drug profits as part of a Chinese Money Laundering Organization, or CMLO. “These defendants laundered staggering amounts of cash to help drug traffickers hide their profits,” said prosecutors in the Justice…

Seven Chinese nationals are facing federal charges for allegedly running a multi-million-dollar illegal pot empire hidden in quiet neighborhoods across Massachusetts and Maine — complete with smuggled labor, secret grow houses, and mountains of cash. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston, the accused turned suburban homes into unlicensed marijuana grow operations, then laundered the profits into real estate, Rolexes, and luxury cars. SHAMELESS PLUG: A secret drug empire backed by China is taking over small towns across America—now exposed in this shocking documentary, only on the Tucker Carlson Network. Filmmaker Steve Robinson has doggedly pursued the story throughout…

A Maryland man wanted for murder and multiple assaults was nabbed by federal agents in Auburn after nearly a year on the run, the U.S. Marshals Service said Tuesday. Ja’bril Roynell Walters, 31, was arrested in Auburn and charged as a fugitive from justice, accused in Maryland of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, use of a firearm in a violent crime, and five counts of first-degree assault. The Maine Violent Offender Task Force tracked down Walters following a lead from their counterparts in Maryland’s Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force. Authorities suspected Walters had fled north and was living under an…

Maine Gov. Janet Mills lost her cool on a Fox News reporter who asked her about re-surfaced allegations that she was a heavy cocaine user in the 1980s and 1990s, including while serving as a district attorney. Gov. Mills dropped an F-bomb on Tuesday after being questioned about her cocaine use, with a cheeky ambush interviewer asking whether an eight-ball of coke costs more these days given inflation. “Is sniffing cocaine at work a human right, Janet?” the reporter asked. “How much more does an eight-ball cost with inflation? Is sniffing cocaine at work a human right, Janet?” A clearly…

ABC News, Facebook, and Paramount’s CBS have all paid millions to Trump over attempts to silence, censor, or maliciously impair his political career. President Donald Trump has triumphed in his legal crusade against the media, securing a staggering $56 million in settlements from three major companies: ABC News, Meta (Facebook), and Paramount Global. The payouts follow a series of lawsuits in which Trump accused the media giants of defamation, censorship, and deceptive practices. The settlements allow each of the media companies to forgo the process of discovery, where the corporations would have to turn over some potentially embarrassing documents that…

https://twitter.com/BigSteve207/status/1939793686344196362 The Chinese Mafia is building a black-market marijuana empire across rural America—buying homes, churches, and even schools. They’re lacing marijuana with poisonous pesticides, laundering money, stealing power, and flooding the market with unregulated, chemical-laced weed that could harm someone you love. It’s a multi-billion-dollar industry. After nearly 600 days investigating and covering the proliferation of Chinese organized crime across rural Maine, the Maine Wire is excited to announce the worldwide release of our first-ever documentary: High Crimes: The Chinese Mafia’s Takeover of Rural America. We’ve partnered with Tucker Carlson and the Tucker Carlson Network to bring this compelling investigative…

The Trump Administration announced Monday a massive fraud investigation that has resulted in 324 defendants facing charges for more than $14.6 billion in welfare and health care fraud, including a man from Lewiston. Joseph Dobie, 36, has been charged with identity theft and fraud for allegedly stealing the identity of a Puerto Rican man to fraudulently obtain over $6,000 in food assistance benefits and over $10,000 in Medicaid benefits, known in Maine as MaineCare, according to federal court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine. The Lewiston man faces charges of aggravated identity theft, making…

Thirty-seven year-old allegations of cocaine abuse have returned to haunt Maine Gov. Janet Mills thanks to a resurfaced U.S. Department of Justice memo that details the probe into her alleged drug use when she was a district attorney. The DOJ documents, unearthed by Fox News on Friday, revive longstanding allegations that Mills had a substance abuse problem even as she was putting other Mainers behind bars for selling narcotics or driving under the influence. The newly discovered documents contradict the governor’s longstanding claims that an investigation into her cocaine use was politically motivated and baseless. The 1995 DOJ memo, penned…

Stephen S. Walker gives a speech to the Brunswick Town Council after resigning his District 2 seat. During Saturday’s annual moose hunt lottery, Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Commissioner Judith Camuso accidentally confirmed that a former IF&W supervisor used a state-issued device to purchase drugs on the dark web, an illegal act that went unprosecuted partly because state officials chose to conceal the incident. According to information provided to The Robinson Report by a source, the state Office of Information Technology (OIT) caught IF&W Resource Supervisor Stephen S. Walker attempting to purchase contraband from an international vendor using cryptocurrency and a…

A 27-year-old man from New York was cuffed and charged with a serious drug crime Tuesday after a high-stakes police raid at a Brimmer Street home, the Brewer Police Department said Tuesday. Kaprie Joe Lambert, now living in Brewer, was nabbed by the Brewer Police Department, with backup from the Maine State Police Tactical Team, during a search warrant execution at 7 Brimmer St. on June 17, 2025. Lambert faces charges of aggravated furnishing of Schedule W drugs—specifically cocaine base—a Class B felony. Depending on whether Maine decides to enforce its drug laws in his case, Lambert could land in…

Maine’s Democrat-controlled legislature easily passed a bill that will cement the state’s status as a sanctuary jurisdiction for illegal alien criminals and restrict state, county, and local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities. The bill (LD 1971) was introduced by Rep. Deqa Dhalac (D-South Portland), a former Somali refugee who has previously worked for the controversial immigrant services agency, Gateway Community Services. https://twitter.com/TheMaineWire/status/1924804997830615349 The bill in question will severely restrict the activities of state and local police when it comes to cooperating with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Both…

President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, once allies, clashed publicly Thursday in a bitter dispute over the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” a sweeping Republican legislative package central to Trump’s second-term agenda. The escalating war of words, fueled by social-media broadsides, threatens to derail the bill, fracture Republican unity, and unsettle financial markets. The social media spat, which played out on Musk’s X.com and Trump’s Truth Social, marks the first public sign of acrimony between the two MAGA billionaires since Trump secured victory in November. Musk had previously backed Trump’s presidential campaign with his America PAC and subsequently joined the…

Here’s the version you’re getting from Maine’s dying legacy media: A brave and loving New Mainer from China who did nothing wrong and only wanted to work hard and live the American dream is now being punished without due process by the evil Fascist Nazi Trump Regime. If you think that’s an exageration, here are a few quotes gleaned from legacy media coverage of Xing Feng “Tommy” Dong’s deportation case: “Family devastated after ICE arrests Lewiston Chinese restaurant owner,” says the Bangor Daily News / CBS 13 headline. Dong’s brother, who despite being in America for several years and running a…

A public school in Maine has suspended a middle school student for barking like a dog at another student who regularly crawls around the school on all fours, hisses at other students, and openly identifies as a furry. “[Student’s Name] will serve a 5-day suspension… for level 2 harassment,” a student incident report obtained by the Maine Wire states. “He barked at a peer in the classroom yesterday afternoon,” the report states. “This has occurred previously, which is the reason for the elevated level 2. During this process, [the student] met with the social worker and [Assistant Principal],” the report…

Eddie DuGay is a Navy veteran, a former Democratic member of the Maine House of Representatives, and a former aide to then-Rep. John Baldacci (ME-CD2). For four decades, DuGay has been a fixture of State House politics, advocating for his constituents in Washington County and later for his clients as a lobbyist and consultant. After his legislative tenure, DuGay founded Harvest Consulting LLC in Augusta, Maine, focusing on government affairs, business development, and tribal government advising, notably as the Economic Director for the Passamaquoddy Tribe. But he soon carved out a niche business as an advocate and advisor to commercial…

Starting this month, the state of Maine has begun rolling out new license plates featuring a nod to the 1901 flag—a green pine and North Star—or a no-fuss blue-and-white design. It’s all part of an initiative spearheaded by Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D), who’s looking to have the license plate transformation completed by July 2026, just after she’ll face off in the Democratic Party’s gubernatorial primary. While online commenters have debated the various aesthetic qualities of the new plate designs, a more substantive debate has emerged now that vehicle owners, especially those who manage large fleets of vehicles, have…

Former Republican Gov. Paul LePage joined The Robinson Report for an interview about his decision to run for Maine’s Second Congressional District. The firebrand conservative talks about how Maine has fared under Gov. Janet Mills (D) and what he makes of the current crop of gubernatorial candidates. Robinson and LePage cover Medicaid expansion, green energy, the former governor’s relationship with President Donald Trump, and incumbent Congressman Jared Golden’s record in Washington, D.C. [RELATED: LePage Leads Golden in CD2 Race According to Congressional Leadership Fund Poll…] To get interviews, investigations, and podcasts from The Robinson Report delivered to your email inbox…

State Auditor Matt Dunlap joined the Robinson Report podcast in Wednesday’s episode to talk about the controversy sparked by his audit of state spending in 2024. Dunlap addresses concerns about no-bid contracts, the associated risks, and suggests ways to improve budget transparency. Dunlap also sheds light on his decision to publicly float challenging fellow Democrat Rep. Jared Golden in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District. You can read more about the audit here: Maine Audit Reveals Systemic $2.1 Billion Financial Mismanagement and Corruption Risk. Watch the full episode here.

Hansjörg Wyss, a Swiss billionaire and prominent Democratic donor, is facing a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former employee of his California winery, Halter Ranch. Through his $2.7 billion Wyss Foundation, his $232 million Berger Action Fund, the Democracy Alliance’s Democracy Fund, and the Arabella Advisors network of dark money groups, Wyss has become a major financial player in progressive politics. In Maine, Wyss is the benefactor for the progressive “Maine Morning Star” blog, and he also reportedly helped finance the National Trust for Local News’ acquisition of the Portland Press Herald and its related media sites. The lawsuit,…

More than 2,100 allegations of abuse, neglect, and exploitation were reported in fiscal year 2024 among adults with intellectual disabilities or autism receiving services under Maine’s Medicaid program, according to a new state report. The stunning level of abuse was published with little public handwringing from Democratic lawmakers in a report submitted to lawmakers last month. The report — bearing the anodyne name “2025-2026 Biennial Plan for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities or Autism” — downplays the significant fact that a massive percentage of adults with intellectual disabilities or autism have reported caretaker neglect, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and exploitation. [RELATED:…

Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) is set to receive the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award, a nod from the group once called the RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights. The news was announced Thursday and shared with the Mills-friendly WMTW, prompting confusion and no small amount of laughter. The RFK Human Rights team is recognizing Mills for her administration’s legal showdown over Maine Democrats refusal to abide by federal civil rights law, Title IX in particular. The left-wing nonprofit framed the award around one particular part of that fight — the USDA freezing funding for Maine’s school nutrition…

A new poll reveals a bipartisan majority of Maine voters oppose several progressive education policies supported by Gov. Janet Mills’ administration and the Democratic-controlled Legislature, signaling potential challenges for their agenda as public sentiment leans toward greater parental control and traditional approaches in K-12 schools. The survey, conducted by SPRY Strategies from April 22-25, 2025, polled 500 likely general election voters in Maine using online-to-mobile and interactive voice response (IVR) methods. It carries a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points, with results weighted to reflect the state’s voter demographics. The poll, commissioned by the parental rights…

Former employees of Gateway Community Services, a migrant-run social services agency with offices throughout Maine, have alleged in interviews with The Robinson Report that the company artificially inflated Medicaid billing for at least seven years. The whistleblower allegations surfaced after a report by the Maine Wire on March 21 revealed that Gateway Community Services had previously been audited by the Maine Department of Human Services (DHHS) and received a Notice of Violation stating the company had over-billed MaineCare, Maine’s version of Medicaid, by close to one million dollars from 2015-2017. As of at least 2022, that sum had not been…

The Mills Administration’s spending via state contracts has come under increasing scrutiny in light of Democratic State Auditor Matt Dunlap’s report detailing material weaknesses and significant deficiencies in how the state evaluates and distributes roughly $2.1 billion per year on contracts for goods and services. Now, one company that benefited handsomely from the Mills Administration’s slipshod management of the procurement process is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, casting doubt on whether the company will survive for the duration of the multi-year MaineCare transportation contract it was awarded in 2023. [RELATED: Maine Audit Reveals Systemic $2.1 Billion Financial Mismanagement and…

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (DIFW) moved quickly on Friday to rescind a policy that the Trump Administration flagged as a discriminatory violation of federal civil rights rules, according to emails obtained by the Maine Wire. The Trump administration threatened Thursday to cut off all federal funding to the MDIFW, claiming the agency is violating civil rights law by requiring sex-based quotas in its hiring process. The policy adopted in Jan. 2020 required the department to meet a quota based on sex when assembling hiring panels, a policy nominally aimed at boosting the number of women working…

The Trump Administration has notified the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) that it will suspend all grant funding via the U.S. Department of the Interior until the state agency ends a policy that discriminates against employees based on sex. In a May 8 letter obtained by the Maine Wire, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Director Paul Souza informed MDIFW Commissioner Judy A. Camuso that all federal grant funding to her agency will cease by May 15 unless the department brings its hiring policies into compliance with federal civil rights law. “The MDIFW’s policy discriminates in the…

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R) on Thursday issued her strongest call yet for President Donald Trump and federal law enforcement agencies to dismantle the vast networks of illegal drug and human smuggling operations that have spread throughout rural Maine since Gov. Janet Mills (D) took office in 2019. https://youtu.be/lJjb5Zqzl4A?t=1324 During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Collins told Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem implored Noem to prioritize a “whole of government” response to shuttering the more than 270 illicit cannabis sites revealed in a leaked 2023 DHS memo. That memo, first reported by immigration reporter Jennie Taer, asserted the that cannabis…

A top Maine Democrat raised red flags in 2024 regarding the Mills Administration’s handling of non-competitive, no-bid contracts more than six months before Maine’s Democratic State Auditor issued a damning report detailing material weaknesses in state spending policies that left more than $2.1 billion vulnerable to cronyism, abuse, and fraud. Former Democratic Rep. Jessica Fay, who represented House District 66 and then 86 from 2016 to 2024, requested that the Government Oversight Committee (GOC), which she co-chaired, consider an Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability (OPEGA) evaluation of the State of Maine’s procurement policies in a June 17, 2024,…

The infamous cannabis grow at 128 Weld Road in Wilton, just behind the former Bass Shoe Factory, is a total loss following a mysterious fire that destroyed the facility. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security had previously flagged it as one of more than 270 such illicit cannabis sites in Maine. [RELATED: Raid on Illegal Chinese Marijuana Operation in Western Maine Seizes Illicit Drugs Worth $1M+…] The fire was first reported early Friday morning, according to a Facebook post from the nearby Farmington Fire Rescue, which said they dispatched fire fighters around 5:15 a.m. The location of the fire was…

Nearly 40 illegal aliens present in Maine without authorization and living in the U.S. illegally were detained in communities across Maine over the past 10 days, federal authorities said Friday. The U.S. Border Patrol (CBP) confirmed that 39 individuals were arrested in a series of targeted enforcement sweeps spanning multiple towns including Houlton, Augusta, Madison, Rangeley, Palmyra, Dresden, Madawaska, Mechanic Falls and Oquossoc. The detainees hail from a wide range of countries — including Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and China — and now face immigration charges under various sections of the Immigration and…

The attorney who filed a recently dismissed professional misconduct complaint against Kennebec County District Attorney Maeghan Maloney (D) has landed a plush job working for Attorney General Aaron Frey (D). Maloney was hit with the complaint just weeks before she would run against incumbent Attorney General Frey for the Democrat-controlled legislature’s nomination to serve as AG. Attorney Zachary Paakkonen filed the complaint on behalf of the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar just weeks before Maloney and Frey would compete for support among Democratic lawmakers. [RELATED: Maine Bar Dismisses Misconduct Complaint Against Kennebec DA Maeghan Maloney…] The Maine Board…

“Material weaknesses” and “significant deficiencies” are the worst possible items an auditor can find in any financial organization. Yet when State Auditor Matt Dunlap, a longtime Democrat appointed by the Democrat-controlled legislature, appeared before the State and Local Government Committee Monday, the Democrat chair of the committee repeatedly blocked him from answering any questions about the material weaknesses and significant deficiencies in how the Mills Administration spent taxpayer dollars in fiscal year 2024. The purpose of the hearing, Rep. Sue Salisbury (D-Westbrook) said at the outset, was “not for us to go over the findings in the audit report, but…

Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) approved 40 financial orders on April 24 to adjust state budgets for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, addressing payroll shortfalls and funding operational needs across multiple departments, according to a state document released by the Executive Department. The orders, detailed in a 40-page document, authorize the State Controller to transfer funds, increase allotments, and establish new positions to ensure state agencies meet financial obligations. The primary focus is correcting payroll shortfalls caused by unbudgeted collective bargaining costs and lower-than-expected staff turnover, which have strained budgets in departments such as Administrative and Financial Services,…

Bangor Publishing Company — the company that owns both the Bangor Daily News (BDN) and a lesser-known marketing agency — has received more than $2.4 million from state agencies since Gov. Janet Mills (D) took office in 2019, according to a review of contracts filed with Maine’s procurement office. The payments to Bangor Publishing Company are not regularly disclosed by the company’s newspaper arm but are available publicly via the state’s vendor payment disclosures and its procurement record websites. State financial records show that payments made to either Bangor Publishing Company, Pulse Marketing Agency, or Pulse Marketing LLC began almost…

A Guilford-based business is touting a simple trick to avoid disruptions caused by President Donald Trump’s tariffs and trade negotiations: making all of their products in Maine. Puritan Medical Products, a 500-employee business based in Piscataquis County, is expanding its workforce to meet the anticipated increase in demand for American-made medical supplies, the company announced Wednesday. “There will be no tariff-related disruptions to the supply of Puritan swabs and other products,” said Bob Shultz, Puritan’s president and chief financial officer. “Puritan remains bullish about the future and our ability to meet global demand for our many products,” said Shultz. Central…

Maine’s Democrat-controlled legislature has approved a measure that will create a $12M fund for the benefit of Maine’s abortion clinic operators, and the lead candidates to land the contract for managing the fund happen to be top donors to Maine Democrats. The legislation, titled “An Act to Improve Women’s Health and Economic Security by Funding Family Planning Services,” was introduced by Sen. Teresa Pierce (D-Cumberland) and cosponsored by a coalition of Democratic lawmakers, including Senate President Mattie Daughtry (D-Cumberland) and House Speaker Ryan Fecteau (D-Biddeford). Under the bill, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services would be required to…

The Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar has dismissed a professional misconduct complaint against Kennebec and Somerset County District Attorney Maeghan Maloney, concluding the matter without a hearing and with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled. The complaint stemmed from Maloney’s 2023 contact with a staff member of the Family Violence Project regarding Pamela Boivin, an Oakland woman who alleged she was drugged and sexually assaulted at a Waterville bar. Boivin’s lurid story about being drugged and assaulted at a popular Mexican restaurant in central Maine went viral online, but she declined subsequent interview requests from the Maine Wire.…

Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Golden (ME-CD2) is courting Maine’s “No Labels” third-party as speculation builds over when he’ll announce what he plans to do in 2026 — and for which office he will run. The 2026 election cycle in Maine will already include both an open gubernatorial seat and Republican U.S. Senator Susan Collins vying for re-election, but the statewide political dynamic will be shaped in no small part by which race Rep. Golden chooses to enter and with which party he chooses to align himself. Golden has yet to announce his plans publicly, but Maine political insiders have been…

Maine’s Racial Equity Commission has emerged among the most frequent abusers of the sloppy no-bid contract system recently scrutinized in State Auditor Matt Dunlap’s 2024 annual report. According to copies of Project Justification Forms (PJFs) related to the no-bid contracts obtained by the Maine Wire, the so-called “Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous, and Tribal Populations” has doled out five- and six-figure sums — often to friendly groups and consultants — despite having produced very little actual work in its five years of existence. The commission was initially aimed at renaming places in Maine that had been deemed…

When the head-turning girlfriend of former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick takes the stage in this year’s Miss Maine USA beauty pageant, she’ll be squaring off against another eyebrow-raiser: Isabelle St. Cyr, a 24-year-old Monson man who now identifies as a woman. According to a report in the Bangor Daily News, St. Cyr is set to compete in the beauty pageant, which crowns Maine’s representative for the national Miss USA contest. The event, a glitzy affair featuring a swimsuit strut, evening gown parade, and a high-stakes interview, has no rule requiring that entrants be women. Per the BDN,…

Bowdoin College, an elite liberal arts college on the coast of Maine, is coming under national scrutiny for its handling of anti-Semitism thanks to an investigation by the U.S. House Committee on Education and Workforce announced March 28. That investigation may inexorably point to questions over Bowdoin’s hiring of Nasser Abourahme, an assistant professor of Middle East and North Africa Studies, who has consistently voiced support and praise for violent anti-Israel militants, describing the October 7 Hamas massacre — the deadliest single-day slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust — as part of a “heroic” resistance. “I’m not shy about the…

Note: This story was updated after publication to include comments from a law firm representing Metrc who asked to be described as a Metrc spokesperson. A former executive at Metrc, Inc., a major provider of cannabis tracking systems that is active in Maine, has filed a federal whistleblower lawsuit accusing the company of enabling illegal marijuana diversion and retaliating against him after he raised concerns about the alleged practice internally. The lawsuit could have serious implications for Maine, where Office of Cannabis Policy Executive Director John Hudak is already facing a Government Oversight Committee investigation for his own ties to…

A northern Maine nonprofit has accused the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) of violating state procurement policies when it awarded a MaineCare transportation contract worth more than $100 million to an out-of-state corporation, according to documents obtained by the Maine Wire. Penquis C.A.P., a 501(c)3 nonprofit and longtime provider of non-emergency medical transportation in rural Maine, has alleged that DHHS ran a “lawless” and “arbitrary” bidding process that favored ModivCare—a massive, for-profit, out-of-state transportation company. Penquis’ allegations center on a Request for Proposal (RFP) issued by DHHS on May 15, 2023, in which the state agency sought…

President Donald J. Trump has issued a 31-page manifesto, “National Strategy to End the Use of Paper Straws,” aiming to save Americans from the “pulpy, soggy mess” of eco-friendly straws. Prepared in March 2025 by the Domestic Policy Council and released Friday, the report is as much a critique of paper straws as it is a policy statement against what Trump calls the “Green New Scam.” With characteristic style, Trump pledges to bring “common sense” back to beverages with plastic straws. While the document takes a lighthearted poke at misguided policies banning plastic straws based on flimsy science, the comic…

The Consensus Economic Forecasting Commission (CEFC) on April 1 revised its economic outlook for Maine, signaling slower growth ahead through 2029 and highlighting elevated risks from fiscal and trade policies. April’s update marks a shift from the Commission’s November 2024 forecast, showing weaker projections for employment, income growth, and inflation trends. The CEFC cited significant uncertainty around “economic policy, government spending, geopolitical tensions, and consumer sentiment.” While the changes are marginal across the board, the overall tone is downbeat. Non-farm employment grew 1.0 percent in 2024, slightly exceeding the November forecast of 0.8 percent. However, the Commission revised its overall…

The most aggressive sheriff in Maine notched another victory in Maine’s ongoing fight against Chinese organized crime Tuesday, executing a search warrant at a residential building on South Road the resulted in two arrests and the seizure of massive quantity of black market marijuana. Law enforcement officials seized more than 1,400 marijuana plants, 100 pounds of processed cannabis and a firearm during a Tuesday raid on a property in Harmony, Somerset County, in what authorities described as a large-scale illegal cultivation operation. The law enforcement operation, which included federal and state agencies, resulted in the arrests of two men described…

Following a Maine Wire investigation into the man Gov. Janet Mills (D) tapped to run her controversial migrant resettlement office, the Director of the “Office of New Americans” (ONA), Tarlan Ahmadov, has had his profile scrubbed from the governor’s website. In February, when Gov. Mills issued a lengthy press release praising Ahmadov and commending him for his work in diversity, equity, and inclusion with migrant populations, his photograph and bio appeared prominently on the web page for the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future (GOPIF), a collection of political insiders led by GOPIF Director Hannah Pingree. Now, however,…

Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) is shirking her duty to pay property taxes for a Salem Township lot she owns in Franklin County, according to records obtained by the Maine Wire. Franklin County Registry of Deeds records show that Gov. Mills, who backed a litany of tax increases on everything from paychecks and hospitals to cigarettes and entertainment streaming services, has skipped out on paying Unorganized Territory property taxes that help support Maine’s public schools. Even as Mills blasted Republican President Donald Trump for threatening to withhold federal funding from Maine unless the state complies with his efforts to protect…

In a scathing audit of Maine’s 2024 spending, Maine’s Office of the State Auditor has revealed systemic financial mismanagement, cronyism-friendly contracting practices, and multiple material weaknesses across state agencies—leaving taxpayers exposed to legal risks, unnecessary costs, and outright corruption. The audit, published Friday, reveals a shocking lack of practical and ethical guardrails for government spending after the Democrat-controlled legislature just passed an $11.3 billion budget and is prepared to spend another $300M-$600M — all funded by new taxes on tobacco, streaming entertainment, ambulances, and more. At the center of the audit’s most troubling findings is the state’s rampant abuse of…

The U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce has raised serious concerns about antisemitism at Bowdoin College, demanding detailed records related to a recent student protest and how the college responded. In a letter dated March 27, 2025, addressed to Bowdoin President Safa Zaki and Board of Trustees Chair Scott Perper, Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) and Subcommittee Chairman Burgess Owens (R-Utah) cited a “national explosion of campus antisemitism” following the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel. The letter specifically questioned the college’s handling of a February 2025 protest organized by Bowdoin Students for Justice in…

A federal appeals court has reinstated a lawsuit brought by a Maine substance abuse counselor who alleges a state judge used his authority to sexually harass her, ruling that the judge is not shielded by qualified immunity. In a decision issued Thursday, the First Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that Samantha Pike, who worked with the Penobscot County Adult Treatment and Recovery Court (TRC), had plausibly alleged that Judge Charles F. Budd Jr. created a hostile work environment in violation of her rights under the Equal Protection Clause. The court found that “Pike has plausibly alleged a violation of the…

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) revealed Thursday — unintentionally — why President Donald Trump is almost certain to prevail in his bid to compel Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) to protect female sports in Maine by threatening to withhold federal funding until Maine complies with federal civil rights laws. [RELATED: Rainbow Bullies Have Hijacked Maine Democracy…] If you’ve been camping in Allagash wilderness and missed the last four weeks of Maine politics, here’s some background: Top Democrats have been advocating feverishly for a policy the forces Maine’s female high school athletes to compete against males who say they are…

An employee of the Guilford area school district (SAD 4) has been arrested and charged with possession of child pornography, according to an email Friday morning from the district’s superintendent. “I have been informed that an employee of the District was arrested and charged with possession of sexually explicit material,” Superintendent Kelly MacFadyen said in the the email. “This individual will no longer be an employee in this district and is not allowed on campus,” MacFadyen said. A copy of the email was posted to a community Facebook page Friday morning. The Maine Wire will update this story when more…

Maine House Democrats voted again on Tuesday to impose controversial rules on Rep. Laurel Libby (R-Auburn) that deprive her of her right to vote and speak on the floor of the House of Representatives, the latest in a weeks-long drama stemming from a social media post Libby made that Democrats did not approve. The 77-66 vote answered a question legislative insiders had been asking about whether the conditions of Libby’s censure, which arise from a House rule rather than the Maine Constitution, would extend into what is now the second session of the Legislature. [RELATED: Feds Rule Maine’s Transgender Policy…

Rainbow bullies have hijacked Maine’s state government and our allegedly democratic institutions. After winning majorities in the Maine State Senate and House by just a few hundred votes, the far-left Democrats are governing like they’ve got some kind of mandate. They don’t. Yet their thuggish abuses of power now pose serious threats to Maine’s democratic institutions. Thanks to these undemocratic thug tactics, the precedent now set is that Maine’s House Speaker can strip voting rights from members of the opposite party if he’s personally offended by or disagrees with a Facebook post. To recap the past few weeks of inglorious…

The Maine House Democrats endeavored to move forward with what will be a nearly $12 billion biennial spending program on Thursday—a controversial measure that the majority party is looking to pass, once again, on a majority basis with zero input from Republican lawmakers. But the debate over the record-setting budget devolved when it came time for Republican amendments to be considered, thanks in part to the House Democrats’ earlier decision to censure Rep. Laurel Libby (R-Auburn) for a social media post they didn’t like. [RELATED: Rep. Libby Files Federal Lawsuit Against Speaker Fecteau for Violating Her Constitutional Rights…] The censure,…

After failing to secure a $120 million MaineCare bailout package at the State house last week, the Democrat-controlled State Legislature is slated to vote on the first part of a nearly $12 billion budget that contains spending for fiscal years 2025, 2026, and 2027. As admitted last week by Sen. Mark Lawrence (D-York), the Democratic strategy appears to be to advance the a partisan spending package in two parts, with roughly $11.3 billion of spending up for a vote on Thursday. [RELATED: Here Are All the Taxes and Fees Janet Mills’ Budget Would Create and Increase to Fuel Record State…

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights ruled Monday that Maine’s education authorities and a local high school violated federal law by forcing female athletes to compete against a male athlete who identifies as a female. The ruling is the latest escalation a nationwide debate over transgender ideology, as well as fairness and safety in athletics. [RELATED: Mainers Rally at Capitol in Support of Girls Sports…] The debate has put Maine at the center of a media firestorm that began with Rep. Laurel Libby (R-Auburn) posting an image of the male athlete accepting his first…

The young Maine child who was given a controversial and experimental Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA injection at a public school without his parents consent may not have immunity from Covid-19. But the doctor who delivered the non-consensual shot and the powerful hospital system that supplied it do. Legal immunity, that is. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court decided on March 4 in Hogan v. Lincoln Medical Partners that the hospital system and its affiliates are fully immune from legal liability after administering an experimental mRNA injection to a five-year-old child without parental consent. The ruling, issued March 4, affirms a lower court decision…

Legislative Democrats failed this week to secure a $120 million supplemental spending bill — thanks largely to Republicans in the Senate opposing the latest version of the MaineCare bailout package. At the same time, Democratic lawmakers in the House and the Senate also rejected a handful of mild welfare reforms and other cost-saving measures Republicans offered that would make voting for the emergency bill more palatable for GOP elected officials. Here’s a brief look at the amendments Democratic lawmakers killed: Paid Family and Medical Leave Premiums (Rep. Boyer, R-Poland): This amendment required state employees, including those in the executive, legislative,…

The Maine Democrats’ failed to advance a $120 million MaineCare bailout plan after Democratic lawmakers rejected modest welfare reforms proposed by Republicans leaders and even Democratic Gov. Janet Mills. Following a lengthy procedural fight, complicated by the absence of some GOP lawmakers, the Democrat-controlled Senate could not get two-thirds support for LD 209, an emergency spending bill sponsored by Rep. Drew Gattine (D-Westbrook) on behalf of the governor. Thursday afternoon, a rushed session of the Senate ended with the measure dying. At the same time, debate over the controversial spending package revealed that Democratic lawmakers have already resolved to pursue…

The fentanyl crisis in North America is not just a drug problem—it is deeply intertwined with a sophisticated international money laundering operation. As President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth increasingly succeed in clamping down on the southern border, multiple federal and state law enforcement sources anticipate an increase in illicit border-crossing activities at the U.S.-Canadian border, including Maine’s northeastern border and relatively unguarded coastline. In the following investigative report, Sam Cooper exposes the vast networks linking Chinese Triads, Mexican cartels, and Canadian financial systems in a transnational crime web that fuels the illicit drug trade. Cooper’s reporting reveals…

Maine’s leading Democratic figures have recently condemned the act of posting pictures of minors on Facebook as a serious political offense — one worthy of stripping Rep. Laurel Libby (R-Auburn) of her right to vote and speak on the floor of the House of Representatives. Since House Speaker Ryan Fecteau (D-Biddeford) is in the business of determining what is acceptable to post on social media and what is not, it would be prudent for Maine Democrats to also examine the social media activity of OUT Maine. This taxpayer-funded organization, which advocates for transgender ideology in schools, uses its Facebook page…

A Maine church embroiled in a legal dispute with the Hermon School System has claimed that Drummond Woodsum—the law firm representing Hermon and numerous other public schools in Maine—intentionally withheld emails during the discovery phase. These emails, according to the church, could have demonstrated that religious discrimination influenced the school board’s decision to deny the church a rental lease. The lawsuit, brought by The Pines Church and its pastor, Matt Gioia, accuses the school district of religious discrimination after the Hermon School Committee denied the church a long-term lease for school facilities. As previously reported by the Maine Wire on…

As a result of every federal judge in Maine recusing themselves from a Republican State Representative’s case against the Democratic Speaker of the House, the case will now be heard by a Biden-appointed Rhode Island judge with a history of eschewing judicial tradition in favor of strident left-wing activism. The case in question—which will now be heard by Judge Melissa R. DuBose of the District of Rhode Island—involves Rep. Laurel Libby (R-Auburn), who was censured on Feb. 25 in a 75-70 vote led by House Speaker Ryan Fecteau (D-Biddeford). As a result of the censure, Fecteau claimed the House rules…

President Donald Trump issued an executive order Wednesday targeting the law firm Perkins Coie LLP, directing federal agencies to suspend security clearances for its employees, review contracts linked to the firm, and investigate its hiring practices for alleged racial discrimination. Perkins Coie, long a major legal power in Washington’s Democratic circles, rose to national attention for its role in helping promulgate and spread the debunked Christopher Steele dossier that was used to attack President Trump throughout the 2016 presidential campaign and during his first term in office. During Trump’s first campaign for office, Perkins Coie was paid by the Democratic…

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins has joined a bipartisan group of senators in introducing the Northern Border Security Enhancement and Review Act, which aims to bolster security along the U.S.-Canada border. The legislation, co-sponsored by Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), comes in response to growing concerns over illegal crossings and transnational criminal activity along the northern border. The bill mandates the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to update its “Northern Border Threat Analysis” every three years and its Northern Border Strategy every five years, a move lawmakers say is necessary to improve security efforts and…

President Donald Trump issued a memorandum Wednesday directing federal agencies to enforce a rule requiring plaintiffs who seek injunctions against the federal government to post security covering potential costs and damages in cases where an injunction is later overturned. The directive, addressed to executive departments and agencies, cites concerns over what Trump described as “activist organizations” leveraging the legal system to obstruct government policies. He argued that these groups, often backed by large donations and, in some cases, government grants, have obtained sweeping injunctions that interfere with executive policymaking and delay policies backed by voters. “This anti-democratic takeover is orchestrated…

Ever since President Donald Trump went full Don Rickles on Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) at the White House, Maine has taken center stage in a national debate over the morality and legality of forcing girls to compete athletically against males who say they’re transgender. But the political fight, more broadly, orbits 2019 changes Maine made to the Maine Human Rights Act (MHRA). These changes transformed “gender identity” into a legal construct which could be used to impose left-wing transgender ideology on public institutions. Following those changes, transgender ideology became the de facto state religion for Maine’s public schools, government…

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked Wednesday about Maine Gov. Janet Mills’ decision to defy federal civil rights law by forcing female athletes to compete against male athletes. Leavitt reiterated President Trump’s commitment to enforcing federal civil rights laws, including his Executive Order requiring the protection of female-only spaces and female athletics. “The Department of Education has sued the state of Maine,” said Leavitt. “As you know, there’s ongoing litigation. The President has made a commitment to ensure that states are being held accountable if they continue to allow men in women’s sports, which he believes is an…

Following the execution of a search warrant at 199 Middle Road in Fairfield related to an illegal cannabis growing operation, the Somerset County Sheriff’s Department released images from the raid that show illegal Chinese-made fumigants—highly toxic chemicals not approved for any use in the United States. According to a statement from the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office, more than 700 illegal cannabis plants were present at the time of the search warrant execution—a small haul compared to the dozens of raids executed over the past year that have resulted in thousands of illegal marijuana plants being seized. As previously reported exclusively…

Multiple Maine law enforcement agencies responded on Tuesday to a property at 199 Middle Road in Fairfield that has long been suspected of having ties to Asian Transnational Criminal Organizations (ATCOs) involved in illicit drug trafficking. Video obtained by the Maine Wire shows more than a dozen marked and unmarked law enforcement vehicles at the house Tuesday morning. According to a statement from the Somerset County Sheriff’s Department, more than 700 illegal marijuana plants were found on the premises but no arrests were made. According to Somerset Registry of Deeds records, the property is owned by Guoli Liu, aka Skylur…

Maine Gov. Janet Mills emerged from seclusion on Monday to address corporate media reporters for the first time since she and her Chief of Staff Jeremy Kennedy put on a petulant and embarrassing display in Washington, DC. Of her now-infamous tantrum in front of President Donald Trump, Mills compared the Commander-in-Chief to French “Sun” King Louis XIV. It’s true that King Louis’ most memorable saying, “L’État, c’est moi,” or “I am the state,” is grammatically similar to how Trump reminded the governor that he is in control of the executive branch of the federal government. But the context is key.…

Maine has become ground zero for a fight between the Trump Administration and the American left over “gender identity”— the nebulous concept that descended from the halls of academia to state houses, city councils, and school boards across the country to serve as a club that Democratic officials and progressive activists would use to batter voters and taxpayers into submission to far-left ideology. Marching under the banner of “gender identity,” leftists adorned American classrooms and city streets with Pride Progress flags, filled public school curricula with queer theory and pornographic children’s books, and labeled anyone who would not submit to…

Four Ecuadorian illegal aliens caught a one-way ticket back to South America thanks to a busted tail light and some diligent cops from a small town on the Maine-Canada border. A Fort Fairfield officer pulled a vehicle over for a busted tail light this week, but the roadside interview revealed the driver and his passengers were up to more than operating a defective motor vehicle. According to the local TV station that first reported the story, authorities discovered three Ecuadorian nationals and one Guatemalan national. All four foreign nationals were present in the U.S. illegally, U.S. Customs and Border Protection…

House Speaker Ryan Fecteau (D-Biddeford) probably thought the Tuesday night censure vote against Rep. Laurel Libby (R-Auburn) would become a cause célèbre among Maine Democrats. After Maine Gov. Janet Mills embarrassed herself—and the state—by pitching an unwise fit at the White House, Democratic leaders and strategists have desperately searched for a way to save face. Instead, Speaker Fecteau created a new viral moment ripped from the pages of The Handmaid’s Tale as he and his fellow Democratic men stripped away a Republican woman’s right to vote. On Tuesday night, Fecteau loomed menacingly over a poised Rep. Libby like Commander Waterford,…

On Thursday, Attorney General Pam Bondi initiated “Phase One” of a high-profile campaign promise from President Donald Trump: releasing the secretive files pertaining to notorious pedophile and billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein, who was found dead in his prison cell in August 2019 under suspicious circumstances, was a close confidante of many international political elites, including President Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew of the British royal family. [RELATED: Bowdoin College Moved Slowly to Remove Epstein Pal Staley from Board…] Maine’s own George Mitchell, the former Senate Majority Leader, has been associated with Epstein via witness testimony, and his name and…

Nearly 30 percent of Maine’s government-run school districts will conceal children’s health information from parents as it relates to gender dysphoria or transgender treatments, often described by LGBTQ advocates as “gender affirming care.” That number was derived from public records obtained under Maine’s Freedom of Access Act by Parents Defending Education and reported exclusively Wednesday by The Federalist. [RELATED: Trans Identifying Male Leap-frogs Competitors at Girls’ Pole Vaulting Meet in Maine…] From The Federalist: According to documents reviewed by The Federalist and obtained by Parents Defending Education through public records requests, a significant portion of Maine’s public school districts —…

The U.S. Department of Justice has warned Maine officials that it is prepared to take legal action if the state continues to require girls to compete against boys in sports, a policy the department says violates federal antidiscrimination laws. In a letter dated Feb. 25 to Gov. Janet Mills (D), U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the DOJ will hold states accountable if they defy federal law. Bondi cited Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act of 1972, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally funded education programs, including athletics. [RELATED: Gov. Mills Vows to Resist Federal Ban on Boys in…

The Maine Democratic Party issued a rare off-cycle fundraising text message on Monday, asking recipients to donate money in support of Gov. Janet Mills’ fight to prevent male athletes from competing against female athletes, a policy decision that risks Maine losing hundreds of millions in federal funding. https://twitter.com/BigSteve207/status/1894081668832473298 Mills drew national attention last week when she threatened to sue President Donald Trump over his executive order requiring the protection of female-only spaces and sporting events. [RELATED: Mills’ Chief of Staff Threw a Tantrum and Stormed Off during White House Meeting: Report…] The order — “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports”…

The former SpaceX engineer who recently announced his intention to run as an unaffiliated candidate against Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins may be more aligned with far-left Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) than SpaceX founder Elon Musk if his political contributions are any indication. According to Federal Election Commission Records, Phillip P. Rench, 37, of Waterboro has made just five small political contributions — but all have gone to left-wing Democratic officeholders or committees, including Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Katie Hill (D-Calif.), and former Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris. The contributions were made through ActBlue, a massive online donation service that facilitates the…

President Donald Trump is threatening to withhold more than $250 million in estimated annual spending from the federal government for Maine’s public schools if Maine officials continue to flout his executive order requiring the protection of female-only spaces and activities. “I heard men are still playing in Maine,” President Trump said at a speaking event last night. [RELATED: Maine Education Department Tells Public Schools to Ignore Trump’s Order on Transgender Ideology…] “I hate to tell you this but we’re not going to give them any federal money. They are still saying that we want men to play in women’s sports,…

The amount of money taxpayers are spending on Suboxone prescriptions for individuals enrolled in MaineCare has surged to $26.2 million per year, making it the most expensive and most popular drug covered under Medicaid. According to state health spending data, Medicaid paid out $26,177,048 for Suboxone prescriptions for 7,920 individuals from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023. That’s an increase from the period from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020 of $5.6 million per year and nearly 1,000 Suboxone users. Suboxone, a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone, is used to treat opioid addiction. Versions of the drug come…

The 34-year-old man charged with allegedly murdering his wife in Readfield on Wednesday is a former SpaceX engineer who traveled the globe extensively with his now-deceased partner, a French woman who documented the luxurious trip on social media before the pair moved back to Maine. Maine State Police were called Wednesday to the Giles Road residence of Dorothy Whittemore, 67, and arrived to find 32-year-old Margaux Whittemore, née Margaux Nguyen, deceased in the driveway, also unclothed. Police took into custody Samuel Whittemore of Belfast, Dorothy’s son and Margaux’s husband, who had fled the scene. According to a press release from…

A Canadian national has been charged with illegally photographing sensitive U.S. military installations using a drone, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The charges stem from an ongoing multiagency investigation involving federal law enforcement and military agencies, per ICE. Xiao Guang Pan, 71, is accused of using an unmanned aircraft — a.k.a. a drone — to capture aerial images of critical defense infrastructure at Cape Canaveral Space Force Base in Florida on three separate occasions in January 2025. Federal prosecutors say Pan’s drone photographed Space Launch complexes, a payload processing facility, a submarine wharf, and munitions bunkers without…

Travis Mills, a retired United States Army staff sergeant, motivational speaker and author, known for his advocacy for wounded veterans, is floating the idea of running for governor of Maine. “I might have to start an exploratory campaign for Governor,” Mills mused in a Feb. 12 Facebook post. Although there has been some private speculation in political circles that Mills would run as an independent, unaffiliated with either party, his comments suggested that his politics are more in line with the current Republican majority in Congress and the man in the White House. “It’s just surprising how you can lose…

Maine’s Attorney General has instructed employees of at least one state agency to avoid cooperating with officials from the U.S. Department of Justice or the U.S. Attorney’s Office, according to a Jan. 10 email obtained by the Maine Wire. “All DHHS Departments have received a directive from the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) advising staff that if an attorney, or anyone else, from the Department of Justice or the U.S. Attorney’s Office reach out looking to meet or seeking information, staff should not respond,” the author of the email said. “Instead, they should forward the correspondence to their supervisor…

Maine Attorney General Aaron M. Frey has joined a coalition of 12 state attorneys general in opposing the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s decision to grant Elon Musk and his newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) access to sensitive financial and personal data of American citizens. In a joint statement released Thursday, the attorneys general condemned DOGE’s cost-cutting measures, calling the initiative an “unlawful, unprecedented, and unacceptable” violation of privacy and constitutional protections. So far, the highest-profile spending reductions have targeted the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), a $50 billion per year government sub-agency that exists almost exclusively…

A Maine-based nonprofit funded entirely by U.S. taxpayers is using its social media presence to teach illegal aliens tips and tricks for evading Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Maine. The nonprofit, Presente! Maine, is funded almost entirely by government grants, which means taxpayers are footing the bill for the Spanish-language activists’ efforts to undermine the Trump Administration’s enforcement of long-standing federal immigration laws. According to publicly available tax documents, Presente Maine’s 2022 Form 990 tax document indicates gross receipts of $1,431,085 and government grants totaling $1,424,520. According to an analysis performed by DataRepublican.com, much of Presente Maine’s taxpayer…

The Trump Administration’s rapid moves to impose fiscal restraint on the sprawling federal bureaucracy will hit at least one governmental organization in Maine: Medical Care Development, a 501(c)3 group that pulled in $37 million in 2023. Medical Care Development, which operates as “MCD Global Health,” is a Hallowell-based nonprofit that claims to employee 195 people, according to its 2023 Form 990 tax filing. According to tax documents, MCD Global Health worked on USAID-funded malaria control programs in Mozambique, Niger, and Uganda under USAID agreements, as well as cervical cancer screening in Equatorial Guinea, funded by a corporate donor. MCD also…

A Lynn man admitted in federal court Monday to running a large-scale drug operation that peddled fentanyl-laced pills disguised as candy—part of what authorities say was one of the biggest drug busts in Massachusetts history. Deiby Felix, 41, pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking and firearms charges after investigators seized a mind-boggling eight million doses of fentanyl and methamphetamine—some pressed into pink, heart-shaped pills—from a clandestine drug lab in Lynn. Photo Source: FBI The drug operation, the FBI’s Boston office said, flooded the North Shore with dangerous narcotics, including fentanyl-laced methamphetamine, cocaine, and cutting agents like xylazine, the powerful animal…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results for 2024 were released on Wednesday and the results are nothing short of disastrous for Maine’s public schools. The NAEP, which measures the reading and mathematics proficiency of 4th grade and 8th grade students in American public schools, is one of the few nationwide standardized tests policy makers can use to evaluate the efficacy of public education systems. By any standard, Maine is failing relative to its peers, though almost no state in the Union can boast a meaningful return on the higher-than-ever rates of per pupil spending. Per the NAEP results…

“Jason” spoke broken English. But the energetic Chinese man communicated well enough to tell an HVAC tech from Lewiston-Auburn about working for the Chinese Communist Party as an organ harvester. Jung Yen Tsai, or Jason, was a middle-aged man from the Flushing area of New York with a noticeable scar over one eye. He told Maine locals that he emigrated from China in the 1990s or early 2000s. Prior to arriving in the U.S., his specialty was kidneys, the HVAC tech recalled Jason saying. But by late 2019, he’d found his way into Maine, begun forming a web of interconnected…

In a meandering and at times pedantic speech Tuesday night, Gov. Janet Mills (D) defended her proposed FY 26-27 spending plan, painted the state of Maine’s economy as glowing and growing, and assailed critics of her plan to raise taxes on cigarettes. “I am proud to report to you that Maine’s economic growth is outpacing the national average, including the rest of New England, and it’s outpacing even large states like New York and California,” Gov. Mills told lawmakers. [RELATED: Protestors Gather in Augusta for Gov. Janet Mills’ 2025 State of the Budget Address…] “In fact, over the past six…

(Editor’s Note: The following opinion editorial represents the opinion and perspective of the MMCM and its leadership.) Protect Small Businesses: Maine’s Cannabis Industry Needs Fair Policies Gov. Janet Mills’ proposal to impose mandatory testing and tracking on the medical cannabis market is a misguided approach that will harm small businesses while failing to address real concerns. Her claim that regulation is necessary for consumer safety ignores the fact that Maine’s medical program has been operating without incident since its inception in 1999 and that Maine’s existing adult-use (AU) testing program is deeply flawed. Inconsistent lab results, arbitrary microbial thresholds, and…

Gov. Janet Mills (D) will deliver her annual address to a joint session of the Maine State Legislature tonight starting at 7pm. The Maine Wire will livestream the address — along with some commentary — here and across our social media platforms.

Maine is at rock bottom. The state is half a billion dollars in the hole, even after receiving an unprecedented injection of some $15 billion in invented-from-thin-air pandemic funds. The roads are like a Zydeco vest frottoir, the schools are so terrible that Mills will stage a cover-up of the latest NAEP results tomorrow, and transnational criminal organizations are making millions in Maine by peddling fentanyl and trafficking poisonous cannabis grown in slave houses. Absolutely nothing in the state has improved as a result of all that spending. Nothing has improved; everything has gotten worse, and Mills is so low…

Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) and her finance commissioner have remained silent in the face of bipartisan condemnation of the administration for withholding information from lawmakers. The controversy over the Mills Administration’s closed-door governance spilled into the public when the deputy director of Maine’s Department of Administrative and Financial Services (DAFS) admitted to illegally withholding documents from lawmakers during a Jan. 16 meeting of the Veterans and Legal Affairs (VLA) Committee. Despite the outcry—and even belated coverage from media outlets other than the Maine Wire—Gov. Mills and DAFS Commissioner Kirsten Figueroa haven’t commented publicly on a scandal that continues to…

A leading progressive law firm in Maine is advising public school officials on how they can effectively resist potential immigration enforcement actions that may involve the families of minors who attend government-run schools, including by destroying evidence of potential immigration crimes. The advice may place school officials in the legal crosshairs of the Trump Administration under a new policy advisory distributed by the U.S. Department of Justice, which warns state and local officials not to interfere with federal law enforcement activities. “[S]chool officials should generate a plan for what to do if immigration officials seek to conduct activities at school,…

A self-described independent investigative journalist admitted Tuesday to falsely accusing a pro-Trump activist of providing drugs and alcohol to a minor as part of a ruse to get the activist fired from his job. The alleged journalist — Chris J. Barry, 56, a.k.a. Crash Barry — confessed to leveling the false allegations against an activist he’s been targeting for several years with similar tactics, but he explained that he was driven to make the phone call by the inauguration of President Donald Trump and some unusually potent cannabis oil. In an expletive-ridden, 2,600-word self-aggrandizing blog post entitled “Mea Culpa,” Barry…