Rachel Ohm

Press Herald

Rachel covers state government and politics for the Portland Press Herald. It’s her third beat at the paper after stints covering City Hall and education. Prior to her arrival at the Press Herald in the summer of 2019, Rachel worked at the Morning Sentinel in Waterville, covering Franklin and Somerset counties, and the Knoxville News Sentinel in Knoxville, Tennessee, covering higher education. She has a master’s degree in journalism from New York University and when she’s not writing and reporting enjoys running, cooking and traveling to new places.

Latest

Published
October 13, 2021

Eighth-grade teacher in Hampden named 2022 Maine Teacher of the Year

Kelsey Stoyanova, who teaches at Reeds Brook Middle School in RSU 22, has been an advocate for student involvement in curriculum creation.
Published
October 12, 2021

Schools in Bangor and Cumberland ranked best in Maine

Fruit Street School in Bangor is named the top elementary school in the state, and Greely Middle School in Cumberland the top middle school by U.S. News & World Report.
Published
October 11, 2021

Number of COVID-19 patients in Maine hospitals remains elevated

The count rose slightly Monday to 165, but remains below the peak numbers the state was reporting 2 weeks ago.
Published
October 5, 2021

Maine community colleges to make $60 million investment in workforce training

The funding will be used to launch a virtual center overseeing a variety of short-term training initiatives aimed at the unemployed, front-line workers and Mainers lacking degrees.
Published
October 1, 2021

As COVID-19 surge continues, Maine college campuses remain virtually immune

Schools say a combination of vaccine mandates, indoor masking in public spaces and regular testing have kept case numbers low.
Published
October 1, 2021

Maine reports 738 new cases and 2 deaths as CDC continues to work through backlog

The seven-day average of new cases rose to 593 on Friday, but the state is continuing to work through a backlog of positive test results that date back more than a week.
Published
September 30, 2021

New COVID cases and outbreaks jump again in Maine schools

The 108 schools with reported outbreaks this week represent 15% of the schools statewide, but Education Commissioner Pender Makin says the department is confident that in-school learning can continue.
Published
September 30, 2021

Maine author says father died after COVID-19 exposure in Bangor hospital

Christina Baker Kline says the virus was not the ultimate cause of her father’s death, but ‘he died in quarantine with COVID with multiple infections that he got in the hospital as the result of COVID-related delays.’
Published
September 28, 2021

Old Orchard Beach High condemns photo of white students wearing do-rags, flashing ‘gang signals’

The photo posted on Instagram was deleted after school administrators raised concerns about cultural appropriation.
Published
September 27, 2021

Students push UMaine System to end its investments in fossil fuels

A policy adopted in 2016 has significantly reduced the university system’s investments in fossil fuels, but students say they want to see full divestment.