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
December 9, 2016

New net opens a way to help fishermen and protect cod

A new design releases bycatch like cod, which lets fishermen focus on their intended catch ratrher than quotas, restrictions.
Published
December 1, 2016

LePage questions integrity of state voting, accuracy of Nov. 8 results

He cites no evidence and offers no explanation in a routine letter to incoming legislators that also casts doubt on their election victories.
Published
November 28, 2016

Wanted: Lobstermen willing to try out life vests

A regional safety organization is looking for recruits to test customized personal flotation devices to prevent drownings.
Published
November 27, 2016

Effort to protect deep-sea coral has lobster industry on alert

Two rich lobstering areas could be closed if regulators prohibit all fishing in rare Down East habitats.
Published
November 14, 2016

All Maine lobstermen soon must double-tag traps to benefit rules enforcement

The state is expanding the practice to all fishing zones June 1 to make it easier to detect boundary violations and reduce line-cutting wars.
Published
November 10, 2016

Maine’s depleted shrimp fishery to remain closed for another season

However, the amount that shrimpers can take for scientific surveys and then sell more than doubles.
Published
November 10, 2016

Sound technology helping scientists assess health of Maine shrimp population

The Gulf of Maine Research Institute is helping to track where shrimp are so regulators can better manage the stock.
Published
November 8, 2016

Maine woman brings millions of Clinton fans to Pantsuit Nation

One month after Libby Chamberlain of Brooklin created the invitation-only secret Facebook group, almost 3 million Hillary Clinton supporters have come together to share their support.
Published
November 8, 2016

Maine close to record turnout for presidential election

While the presidential race is driving the big turnout, Mainers also are deciding an unprecedented five citizen-initiated ballot questions and choosing candidates to fill every seat in the Legislature.
Published
November 7, 2016

Illegal fishing fears prompt 2-tag plan for lobster traps

The policy is expected to make zone enforcement easier.