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| 📷 Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey waves to state legislators on Dec. 2, 2020, at the Augusta Civic Center. (BDN photo by Linda Coan O'Kresik) |
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⛓️ Restarting parole has big obstacles in the governor and attorney general.
◉ A seven-hour public hearing on Monday underscored the difficult fight ahead for advocates of reestablishing parole in Maine as they ran up against testimony from the Department of Corrections, Attorney General Aaron Frey and victims of violent crimes.
◉ Maine repealed parole in 1976 with the advent of the modern-day criminal code that standardized sentences, although a parole board still exists for the small number of living prisoners who were convicted by that time. A commission formed by the Legislature backed bringing parole back in a recent report, and a bill from Sen. Pinny Beebe-Center, D-Rockland, aims to do that.
◉ But Frey echoed crime victims by saying it would traumatize victims again and there may not be community services to prevent reoffending, the Portland Press Herald reported. Corrections Commissioner Randall Liberty took another tack, saying in written testimony that his department's early-release program is sufficient and should be supported further as an alternative.
◉ In a Democratic-led Augusta, opposition from both the governor and attorney general will make it hard for any bill to go anywhere.
💧 The federal government sets strict limits for PFAS in drinking water.
◉ In a landmark move, President Joe Biden's administration rolled out new standards for "forever chemicals" in drinking water, saying it will require water districts to monitor for six PFAS chemicals and require them to reduce levels if they measure above 4 parts per trillion.
◉ That is a very low mark. It is below the long-standing 70 parts per trillion advisory threshold backed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. After a host of world-leading regulations on PFAS in Maine, the state's interim drinking water standard is 20 parts per trillion. |
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What we're reading
💰 Maine cities and counties lag in spending a wave of COVID-19 aid.
🦞 Lobster groups sued a California aquarium that red-listed the fishery.
🚨 State police want to kill a bill to fund Penobscot County deputies.
🪚 A new Maine dorm will showcase new wood technology.
🦭 Once-wayward seals will be set free. Here's your soundtrack. |
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