Articles – 2020

Maine can finally get out of Massachusetts’ shadow; The state has never quite shaken off its legacy as a colony of Boston. But the pandemic might speed a transformation of Maine’s economy and outlook; Boston Sunday Globe, IDEAS, 27 December 2020, FREEPORT, MAINE, p.K1

COVID-19 hospitalizations flatten across state but still shattering records at EMMC; Maine Med, however, had 41 COVID-19 inpatients Wednesday and Thursday, the highest daily number yet; Portland Press Herald; FRONT PAGE, 26 December 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

Mercy, Mid Coast, MaineGeneral, EMMC hit new highs for COVID-19 inpatients; The burden shot upward at EMMC after a lull but flattened at Maine Med, SMHC and CMMC; Portland Press Herald; FRONT PAGE,  19 December 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

Maine Medical Center, SMHC, MaineGeneral hit record number of COVID-19 inpatients; The burden continues to ease at hard-hit Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor and plateaus at Lewiston’s hospitals; Portland Press Herald; FRONT PAGE,  12 December 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

Facing pressure, state lab to stop processing COVID-19 tests for hospitals; Six hospitals rely on the Maine CDC lab almost exclusively, while others do so in times of surging demand; Portland Press Herald; FRONT PAGE,  9 December 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

York County becomes worrisome epicenter of pandemic in Maine; Mainers hosted an entire summer tourism season without a hitch, but a noncomplying wedding reception and a defiant pastor have created conditions for a new COVID-19 surge; Maine Sunday Telegram; FRONT PAGE, 6 September 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

COVID-19 hospitalizations remain low in Maine as summer tourist season ends; Portland and Bangor hospitals have been especially quiet as few acutely affected patients appear in emergency rooms statewide; Portland Press Herald; LOCAL & STATE, 5 September 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. B2

How Maine flattened the virus curve – so far; Early lockdown, broad public compliance, science-based policy and a bit of luck have kept the disease in check here while it has exploded in other parts of the U.S; Maine Sunday Telegram; FRONT PAGE, 23 August 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

Police and businesses now seeing broad compliance with Maine’s mask mandate; Voluntary compliance has improved over time, as customers have accepted COVID-19 containment measures; Maine Sunday Telegram; MAINE & NEW ENGLAND, 16 August 2020, FREEPORT, MAINE, p. B2

From hospitalizations to out-of-staters’ test results, Maine pandemic metrics look good; Deep into the summer tourist season, Maine has the second-fewest new cases per capita in the nation; Portland Press Herald; LOCAL & STATE, 15 August 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. B2

The charismatic, amoral, institution-destroying firebrands of U.S. history; Review of The Demagogue’s Playbook by Eric Posner; Washington Post, OUTLOOK, 9 August 2020, p. B7

Maine hospitals’ COVID-19 patient counts remain low for another week; Well into the summer tourist season, the numbers of inpatients with the disease remain near the all-time low; Portland Press Herald; LOCAL & STATE, 8 August 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. B2

Bar Harbor hospital, Maine CDC partner to respond to potential virus spreaders from other states; Mount Desert Island Hospital estimates that more than 35 coronavirus-infected people from out of state were in the area; Portland Press Herald; LOCAL & STATE, 5 August 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. B2

Bar Harbor hospital says at least 35 potential COVID-19 spreaders from other states have been in area; Out-of-state visitors took tests at home but didn’t learn they tested positive until they were in Maine and possibly interacting with others; Portland Press Herald; FRONT PAGE, 4 August 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

Bar Harbor hospital sounds warning on undetected COVID-infected visitors; With long testing delays in other states, some learn they tested positive after starting vacations in Maine; Portland Press Herald; LOCAL & STATE, 1 August 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. B2

COVID-19 hospitalizations remain low in Maine; Cumulative hospital counts are slightly higher than last week, led by modest increases at CMMC and Maine Med; Portland Press Herald; LOCAL & STATE, 1 August 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. B2

Nonresident COVID-19 rates on upswing, but no sign of spread to Mainers; Out-of-staters accounted for more than 11 percent of all positive tests over the past two weeks and have a positivity rate more than four times higher than state residents; Portland Press Herald; FRONT PAGE, 21 July 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

COVID-19 hospitalizations in Maine fall to new lows; Cumulative hospital counts for the week are at their lowest levels since the opening days of the pandemic; Portland Press Herald; LOCAL & STATE, 25 July 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. B2

As national labs bog down, some Mainers face long delays for COVID-19 test results, Maine’s self-reliant testing system is insulating most patients from long turnarounds that render tests ‘functionally useless’; Portland Press Herald; FRONT PAGE, 24 July 2020, YORK, MAINE, p. A1

State moves swiftly to remove illegal, racist names from 5 Maine islands; The islands bore slurs against Black people and Native American women even though both terms were banned as place names decades ago; Portland Press Herald; FRONT PAGE, 21 July 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

Number of COVID-19 cases among out-of-state visitors remains low; Midway into July, there is no indication of visitor-driven outbreaks, as Maine continues to benefit from some of the best disease metrics in the nation; Portland Press Herald; LOCAL & STATE, 21 July 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. B2

Numbers of COVID-19 patients in Maine hospitals sink to new lows; Maine Medical Center in Portland had the fewest pandemic inpatients this week since the opening days of the pandemic; Portland Press Herald; LOCAL & STATE, 18 July 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. B2

Number of COVID-19 patients in Maine hospitals hits lowest level since March; Hospitals in the hardest-hit counties see modest declines as a welcome lull continues into a sixth week; Portland Press Herald; LOCAL & STATE, 11 July 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. B1

Maine’s official island registry removed for review after illegal, racist names discovered; Three Maine islands officially have a horrible racial slur in their name 43 years after the state banned it, Two incorporate a Native American slur banned for 19 years; Portland Press Herald; FRONT PAGE, 10 July 2020, ARROWSIC, MAINE, p. A1

How the geography of the pandemic is determined by centuries-old regional differences
Analysis: Fundamental differences in the balance between individual liberty and the common good are reflected in COVID-19 trends; Portland Press Herald; LOCAL & STATE, 5 July 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. B2

COVID-19 hospitalizations stay low across much of Maine
MaineGeneral in Augusta had no patients all week, while Central Maine Medical Center, Maine Med and Mercy saw upticks;  Portland Press Herald; LOCAL & STATE, 3 July 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. B2

With Maine tourism season here, growing number of out-of-state visitors are testing positive
Figures updated by the Maine CDC hours after the Press Herald reported that only outdated numbers were available show a near quadrupling in the pace of new cases in the last 11 days of June; Portland Press Herald; FRONT PAGE, 3 July 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

Woodrow Wilson was Even Worse Than You Think
An incorrigible white supremacist, his racism was fundamental even to his “idealistic” plans for a peaceful post-WWI world order; Talking Points Memo; TPM CAFE; 29 June 2020.

America’s House has Always Been Divided
The unifying frontier myth was just that, a myth; Minneapolis Star Tribune, OPINION EXCHANGE; 28 June 2020, p. A15.

COVID-19 hospitalizations continue at low level across much of Maine; Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston saw an uptick, although its daily patient count still averaged less than 3; Portland Press Herald; LOCAL & STATE, 27 June 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. B2

Number of COVID-19 patients in Maine hospitals remains low; Maine Medical Center in Portland had fewer coronavirus patients this past week than at any time since the early days of the pandemic; Portland Press Herald; LOCAL & STATE, 19 June 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. B2

Quadrupling of state lab’s COVID-19 testing capacity puts Maine in good position, public health experts say
Beefing up contact tracing and disclosing data about it is the new challenge as the state continues its phased reopening plan; Maine Sunday Telegram; FRONT PAGE, 14 June 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

COVID-19 hospitalizations fall across the state, even in southern Maine; More younger, healthier people are being tested now, and fewer of them have to be hospitalized when they get the disease; Portland Press Herald; FRONT PAGE, 13 June 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

Maine CDC begins providing almost daily numbers for negative COVID-19 tests; Maine is the only state that has been unable to provide the key pandemic tracking metric; Portland Press Herald; LOCAL AND STATE, 9 June 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. B1

COVID-19 patients at Maine Med decrease dramatically with wave of deaths, recoveries; Coronavrius inpatient counts remain flat at most other Maine hospitals; Portland Press Herald; FRONT PAGE, 6 June 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

Lewiston has had the most virus cases of any Maine ZIP code; part of Portland has the highest prevalence; The newly released data, covering only 55 of Maine’s 400 ZIP codes, show the northern Maine town of Medway with the second highest-caseload per capita; Portland Press Herald; FRONT PAGE, 5 June 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

Maine still not providing basic COVID-19 metric but releases zip-code infection data; The Maine CDC is unable to provide full testing data each day but released zip-code level case counts and a searchable map Wednesday evening; Portland Press Herald; FRONT PAGE, 4 June 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

Portland’s major hospitals return to peak levels of COVID-19 patients; Maine Medical Center’s numbers match the early-April peak, while Mercy Hospital sets a new high; Portland Press Herald; LOCAL AND STATE, 30 May 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. B1

New cases spiking in southern Maine, raising concerns that COVID-19 is resurging; Androscoggin County’s daily trend has risen nearly 15-fold in recent weeks, while Cumberland County’s has tripled; Portland Press Herald; FRONT PAGE, 23 May 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

Portland’s major hospitals see sharp increases in COVID-19 hospitalizations; But cases at most other hospitals across Maine remained flat over the past week; Portland Press Herald ; LOCAL AND STATE, 23 May 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. B1

Maine CDC adds detailed pandemic data, promises more soon; Maine is the only state that’s not providing daily negative test data, and alone in New England in not reporting cases by town; Portland Press Herald ; FRONT PAGE, 22 May 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

Maine reopening despite missed benchmarks, inadequate testing regime; Experts say more widespread testing of people without symptoms is essential to beating the pandemic and restoring the economy; Maine Sunday Telegram; FRONT PAGE, 17 May 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

COVID-19 hospitalizations in Maine stay flat for 5th week; The data don’t likely reflect any effects yet of loosened social distancing measures; Portland Press Herald; LOCAL & STATE, 16 May 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. B2

Maine is the only state that’s not calculating positive test rate daily; The Maine CDC says the proportion of people testing positive for COVID-19 is a key metric used to monitor outbreaks and guide reopening, but it is calculating the rate only once a week; Portland Press Herald ; FRONT PAGE, 14 May 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

Neighboring New Brunswick has kept the coronavirus in check. Here’s how; Maine’s doppelganger neighbor, which acted early and decisively, has had no deaths and no nursing home outbreaks, and is down to just 2 active cases; Portland Press Herald ; FRONT PAGE, 9 May 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

COVID-19 hospitalizations in Maine flat for 4th week, but upticks in Portland and Bangor; Outbreaks at a meat plant, a rehab facility and a homeless shelter may account for the increases, as it’s too early to see any effects of loosened restrictions; Portland Press Herald; FRONT PAGE, 9 May 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

Maine reopening with ‘bare minimum’ testing strategy; The state’s plan calls for a doubling or tripling of statewide testing capacity, but more robust approaches would require 20 or 30 times that; Maine Sunday Telegram; FRONT PAGE, 3 May 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

Hospitalizations of Maine COVID-19 patients flatten or decline for 3rd week; Despite outbreaks in a Portland poultry processing plant and a Bangor homeless shelter, hospitalizations are down in those cities from a week ago; Portland Press Herald; FRONT PAGE, 2 May 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

Maine now the only New England state that won’t release COVID-19 cases by town; Vermont joined the rest of the region Monday in the practice, which gives finer-level information about the spread of the pandemic; Portland Press Herald; FRONT PAGE, 28 April 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. 1A

Numbers of virus patients in Maine hospitals continue to flatten and decline; Restricting activity in the state has flattened the COVID-19 curve and taken the pressure off hospitals, a Press Herald analysis finds, but dangers remain; Portland Press Herald; FRONT PAGE, 25 April 2020; PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

Protective gear wasn’t allocated to states based on population, despite administration’s claims; Maine got less than a third as many N95 respirators per capita as Vermont and Rhode Island but nearly three times as many as Texas; Portland Press Herald; FRONT PAGE, 22 April 2020; PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

Number of virus patients in Maine hospitals flattened or decreased in the past week; The Portland Press Herald’s analysis of hospital data suggests social distancing is keeping hospitals from being overwhelmed by COVID-19 cases, but experts say Mainers should stay the course to prevent a surge; Portland Press Herald; FRONT PAGE, 18 April 2020; PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

Chebeague Island ferry will carry suspected COVID-19 patients after all; Assistance from the Mills administration helped resolve insurance issues, the company says; Portland Press Herald; LOCAL & STATE, 16 April 2020; YARMOUTH, MAINE, p. B2 .

Why didn’t Maine get any ventilators from the federal stockpile?; It’s unclear. But the state will have to make do with alternative ventilators if a worst-case COVID-19 surge hits hospitals; Portland Press Herald; LOCAL & STATE, 16 April 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. B2

Maine lags New England states in reporting data on pandemic; A month into the outbreak here, the state CDC still is unable to post daily testing counts and other information;  Portland Press Herald; FRONT PAGE, 14 April 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

How America’s Earliest Colonists Dictate Today’s Coronavirus Response; Disparities in the reaction to COVID-19 mirror centuries-old cultural and ideological fissures; Washington Monthly, POLITICS, 9 April 2020

Maine doesn’t know how many COVID-19 patients are hospitalized; More than 3 weeks into the outbreak, the state doesn’t have complete, daily data from all hospitals; Portland Press Herald; FRONT PAGE, 8 April 2020; PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

Chebeague Island ferry won’t transport suspected COVID-19 patients; The island town’s primary ferry responds to emergency calls but says it won’t transport anyone suspected to be infected with the coronavirus; Portland Press Herald; LOCAL & STATE, 4 April 2020, YARMOUTH, MAINE, p. B2

Lapses in hospitals’ reporting left Maine CDC lacking key data; As the agency has prepared for a surge in coronavirus cases, not all hospitals have shared numbers of intensive care unit beds and ventilators;  Portland Press Herald; FRONT PAGE, 3 April 2020; PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

Maine scrounges for medical supplies, but little more is expected from feds; The state is preparing for a surge of patients, but its allocation from the federal stockpile is tiny; Portland Press Herald; FRONT PAGE, 2 April 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

Maine company led by man facing fraud indictments delivers masks as promised; Noble Partners’ Diane Russell drove to New Jersey over the weekend to pick up and personally deliver the coveted gear to customers in Massachusetts; Portland Press Herald; LOCAL & STATE, 31 March 2020; PORTLAND, MAINE, p. B2.

Maine company taking orders for masks and COVID-19 tests as its founder faces fraud charges; Noble Medical Supply is taking orders from hospitals and firefighters for millions of masks while its founder and CEO is under criminal indictment on charges of securities fraud and theft by deception; Portland Press Herald; FRONT PAGE, 26 March 2020; PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

Federalism made the United States possible. Could it now fracture the union?; A Review of Don Kettl’s “Disunited States of America; Washington Post; OUTLOOK; 22 March 2020, p. B8

Colony, Chapter VI: Legacy; Enduring 170 years as a colony of a colony has left a lasting imprint on Maine and its people; Maine Sunday Telegram; COLONY, 22 March 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

Why Maine authorities are not disclosing exactly where patients live; The virus is probably widespread, so deviating from federal guidelines would be unhelpful, public health experts say; Portland Press Herald; LOCAL AND STATE, 18 March 2020; PORTLAND, MAINE, p. B2

Maine island life in the age of coronavirus; Residents of Chebeague are accustomed to planning ahead and pulling together, but they are at the very end of critical supply chains; Maine Sunday Telegram; FRONT PAGE, 15 March 2020; CHEBEAGUE ISLAND, MAINE, p. A1

Colony, Chapter V: Liberation; The War of 1812 and Boston’s complacency toward foreign occupation fuel Maine’s drive for statehood; Maine Sunday Telegram; COLONY, 15 March 2020, EASTPORT, MAINE, p. A1

Colony, Chapter IV: Insurrection; An uprising against Massachusetts land barons sets the stage for statehood; Maine Sunday Telegram; COLONY,  8 March 2020, THOMASTON, MAINE, p. A1

Colony, Chapter III: Conquest; Massachusetts makes Maine a colony of a colony; Maine Sunday Telegram; COLONY, 1 March 2020, ELIOT, MAINE, p. A1

Colony, Chapter II: Rivalry; An acrimonious relationship develops between Maine and Massachusetts.  Maine Sunday Telegram; COLONY,  23 February 2020, PHIPPSBURG, MAINE, p. A1

Half of Americans Don’t Vote. What Are They Thinking?; Inside the largest ever survey of the politically disengaged; POLITICO Magazine; FRIDAY COVER; 19 February 2020; PHILADELPHIA.

Colony, Chapter I: Dawnland; Maine’s path to statehood began long before you think it did; Maine Sunday Telegram; COLONY, 16 February 2020; PORTLAND, MAINE, p. A1

Maine on target to meet near-term greenhouse gas emissions goals; New estimates of how much carbon Maine forests store indicate that achieving carbon neutrality will be easier than hitting Gov. Mills’ robust emissions targets for 2050;Portland Press Herald; LOCAL AND STATE, 30 January 2020; AUGUSTA, MAINE, p. B1

Stacey Abrams, who called loss in Georgia race tainted, warns Maine audience of voter suppression; Abrams, the first black woman in U.S. history to win a major party gubernatorial nomination, speaks to 900 in Portland; Portland Press Herald; LOCAL AND STATE, 23 January 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. C1

Stacey Abrams, rising star in national Democratic Party, is coming to Portland; Abrams will speak at the University of New England on Jan. 22; Portland Press Herald; LOCAL AND STATE, 14 January 2020, PORTLAND, MAINE, p. B1 .

‘Putin’s favorite congressman’ moves to Maine; Dana Rohrabacher, who once arm-wrestled the now-Russian president and represented Orange County, Calif., for 30 years in the U.S. House, now lives in York; Maine Sunday Telegram; MAINE & NEW ENGLAND, 12 January 2020, YORK, MAINE, p. B1

Gov. Mills grants full pardon to late tribal attorney Donald Gellers; Maine’s first known posthumous pardon brings closure to a 1968 case that was one of the most sordid in the state’s legal history; Portland Press Herald; FRONT PAGE, 8 January 2020, AUGUSTA, MAINE, p. A1