For the past month or so, I've been buried in Google Sheets trying to understand how Maine students doing worse on tests.

What I found: some of Maine's most vulnerable students are falling the fastest.

Read my analysis here: themainemonitor.org/these-students-are-sinki...

Lawmakers aim to tackle the teacher shortage from multiple angles Educators and lawmakers have varying priorities on how to address the teacher workforce, but many are united behind a multi-pronged approach.

Here I am, back on Bluesky, to give you a story about some education bills.

What must be done to address a teacher shortage? Lawmakers pitched a couple ideas this session.

Read more for free (no paywall!) below

New job, new office (plus taxidermy)

It’s the last day for me with the Times Record. It’s bittersweet, but I’m very excited for what’s next! I’ll be moving on to cover education and workforce at The Maine Monitor.

Left is a photo from my first day in March 2024. The right is from my final office visit this morning. The year flew by!

High levels of toxic chemicals found in Brunswick airport hangar sewers Citizen PFAS monitoring revealed concerning levels of toxic chemicals in the sewer outfall of Hangar 6 in Brunswick, though a company hired to assess risk at the hangar said there is no leak of the to...

A local organization tested sewer pits near a Brunswick hangar back in November. Here are the results:

4.1 magnitude earthquake felt across southern Maine The magnitude 4.1 earthquake was centered near York Harbor.

4.1 magnitude earthquake felt across southern Maine

No, you didn't imagine it - it was an earthquake!

Brunswick foam spill contaminated nearby fish, DEP confirms Results that took months to obtain show that fish in nearby water had high concentrations of toxic chemicals.

Fish samples from weeks after the spill show high levels of PFOS

In case you missed it, the DEP uploaded its latest PFAS sampling results on Friday:

Brunswick cybersecurity specialist offers safety tips against hacking Ben Cameron of Brunswick-based Harbor Digital offers insight on why and how Midcoast residents should safeguard their information.

“I believe that we may, this far north, sometimes live in a world of denial that ‘that’s not going to happen to me.’”

Brunswick’s Ben Cameron of Harbor Digital breaks down why and how Midcoasters should safeguard their information.

Brunswick wrestlers revel in first meet in their home gym Mt. Ararat/Brunswick defeats Oceanside and Winslow in the first wrestling matches held at Brunswick High School.

When you've never had a true "home match" before, might as well make the most of it.

www.pressherald.com/2025/01/16/b...

Brunswick football coach Mark Renna resigns Renna is leaving the Dragons after two seasons for family reasons.

Come next fall, the Brunswick football team will have its fourth head coach in the last five years.
www.pressherald.com/2025/01/15/b...

Brunswick authority corrects toxic foam count at airport The Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority corrected the foam concentrate inventory for a Hangar 6 at the airport.

A Brunswick agency now says that there are actually 5,700 gallons of toxic foam (AFFF) at its airport - a decrease from an earlier report submitted in the wake of a toxic foam spill.

Read more below:

An updated inventory report for Brunswick Airport’s AFFF - the type of foam concentrate that spilled back in August - is now available on the Town’s website — Brunswickme.gov

Behind the scenes of company that makes PFAS testing kits used in Brunswick An in-depth look at Cyclopure, the Illinois-based maker of accessible PFAS testing kits.

I realized this company was Chicagoland-based one day before a personal trip to Illinois. What are the odds? I called to squeeze in a meeting.

Here’s the story that came from my side quest:

Reset for the week ☀️

Brunswick’s ‘bottleman’ gets new cart from community "Tom the Bottleman" received a new community-funded cart after the original went missing.

In case anyone’s looking for a feel good story to start their weekend, read about how the Brunswick community stepped up for this local bottle collector

Future of Brunswick recreation space in flux Changes are on the horizon for a large swath of land in East Brunswick, and residents get to weigh in now on what will happen.

Changes are on the horizon for a large swath of land in Brunswick. This Saturday, residents get to weigh in on the property’s use plan before it goes to Town Council.