Penelope Overton

Press Herald

Penelope Overton writes about the lobster and marijuana industries in Maine, a mix of the iconic and the emerging, the economic powerhouse and the mysterious darkhorse. Just the right mix of old and new for a Maine transplant. Penny joined the Press Herald in 2016. She has covered politics and government, the environment and Indian Country in Florida, Connecticut, Arizona and Washington, D.C. Her favorite stories are when she gets to dive into a world where readers seldom venture. When she’s not newspapering, Penny and her young daughter like to hike, body surf, travel and explore new books, places, poems and people. She is plovertonpph on both Instagram and Snapchat.

Latest

Published
August 28, 2023

Housing, cost of living top of mind for Mainers in UNH poll

Hot-button issues like abortion and gun control have taken a back seat to the economic concerns that affect respondents’ lives on a daily basis.
Published
August 24, 2023

Grants for Kennebago preservation project on hold over lack of public access

The Rangeley Heritage Land Trust will have two years to secure deeded public access or it will lose $1.7 million to protect thousands of acres along the Kennebago River.
Published
August 24, 2023

Massive algae bloom in Gulf of Maine mystifies, worries scientists

Researchers say this kind of algae does not produce harmful toxins, but they worry its eventual die-off could lead to low oxygen levels that have preceded large fish and shellfish kills in other areas.
Published
August 22, 2023

Research at Baxter seeks to identify plants that will adapt to global warming

Scientists say sediment taken from below Chimney Pond, and other Alpine lakes in the Northeast, will yield a fossil record of the plants – those that have died out and those that have survived – since the last ice age.
Published
August 19, 2023

UMaine professor’s computer model tells the story of Earth’s changing climate

Recent news coverage of the planet’s record-breaking heat wave relied on the online climate visualization tool developed Sean Birkel, who is also the state climatologist.
Published
August 17, 2023

Large turnout in Augusta for contentious hearing on clean car and truck mandate

More than 150 people gathered for the forum to argue about whether Maine should adopt California-style electric vehicle standards.
Published
August 16, 2023

What has the Inflation Reduction Act done for Maine’s climate so far?

The biggest benefits provided to Mainers by the landmark law so far are the federal electric vehicle and heat pump tax credits that became available in January.
Published
August 13, 2023

Maine’s salt marshes play key role in fight against climate change, new report says

The state has at least 84 square miles of blue carbon reservoirs, which store at least 1.7 million tons of carbon in the soil and vegetation. That much carbon is equal to the annual emissions of 1.25 million passenger cars.
Published
August 9, 2023

Opponents of Maine law expanding abortion access won’t try to overturn it at ballot box

Wednesday was the deadline for initiating a so-called people’s veto initiative. Opponents say they will instead focus on electing anti-abortion lawmakers in 2024.
Published
August 7, 2023

Maine sludge crisis is over – for 2 years, at least

A temporary compromise reached by lawmakers means Maine communities are once again burying sewage sludge in the state-owned landfill at Juniper Ridge near Old Town, and don’t have to pay extra to haul the waste to New Brunswick, Canada.