Matt Byrne

Portland Press Herald

Matt Byrne has covered crime and public safety for the Press Herald since 2016. It is his second beat since being hired at the Press Herald in late 2012, when he left the Boston Globe's suburban news bureau. Matt grew up outside Philadelphia, moved to Boston to attend Emerson College and now loves living in Maine. When he is not nerding out on court documents or listening to a police scanner, Matt loves to work on old cars, make things out of metal and try new craft beers. Offers to drive your race car, or news tips, are always welcome.

Latest

Published
June 28, 2019

Owner charged after loose dogs bite South Portland woman

The owner of two pit bull-type dogs was issued multiple summonses for the incident, which happened Monday in a yard on Elderberry Drive.
Published
June 27, 2019

Charge dropped for North Yarmouth driver who struck, killed woman

The Cumberland County district attorney is dropping an OUI charge against Jay Westra, whose car hit a mother of 4 in Gray in April.
Published
June 26, 2019

Fight over state funding for religious schools heads to federal appeals court

Judge D. Brock Hornby rules that Maine education money cannot pay tuition to religious schools in communities without state-funded schools of their own, but acknowledges an inevitable appeal.
Published
June 26, 2019

Maine prison inmate sues to receive cure for hepatitis C

A class-action lawsuit argues that the Department of Corrections should provide a cure to the more than 500 inmates who have hepatitis C, roughly one-quarter of the state’s prison population.
Published
June 25, 2019

Driver killed in South Portland car crash

David Folsom, 39, died following a crash Tuesday evening on Broadway in South Portland, police said.
Published
June 25, 2019

Portland diocese installs 24/7 misconduct hotline

But the new reporting system run by a private company is not designed to respond to allegations of sexual abuse, the diocese said.
Published
June 25, 2019

Saco man who sold bomb to federal agent gets 2 years in prison

Michael Rickett, 23, sold a military-grade improvised explosive device to an undercover agent for $350.
Published
June 24, 2019

Stephen, Tabitha King help push asylum seekers’ fund over $500,000

The city got $40,000 from his foundation and $22,000 from a West End family, Portland officials say.
Published
June 21, 2019

Four strangers, a minivan and a senator: Angus King’s long, unusual trip home

Faced with a canceled flight from Washington, D.C., to Portland on Thursday night, Sen. King hopped into a rented minivan with 4 strangers and drove through the night to get back to Maine.
Published
June 21, 2019

Maine congressional delegation says Iran situation fraught with danger

While the 4 members generally gave President Trump credit for halting a planned retaliatory airstrike, Sen. Angus King worries that the president could be boxed in by hawkish advisers.