New Mainers are especially likely to wind up underemployed when state won’t recognize foreign credentials.
Steve Collins
Columnist
Steve Collins became an opinion columnist for the Maine Trust for Local News in April of 2025. A journalist since 1987, Steve has worked for daily newspapers in New York, Connecticut and Maine and served as the State House reporter for the Sun Journal since 2016. The Maine Press Association named him Maine's Journalist of the Year in 2022. Among his other awards are the Society of Professional Journalists’ 2016 Ethics in Journalism Award, the I.F. Stone Whistle-Blower Award in 2015 and the Bob Wallack Community Journalism Award from the New England Newspaper & Press Association. Steve is a founder and board president of Youth Journalism International, a charity that teaches students around the globe about news writing, media literacy and issues of the day. His wife, Jackie Majerus, serves as its executive director. Born in Massachusetts, he grew up in a military family that took him to Norway, Ohio and Virginia, where he earned a degree in history from the University of Virginia. He and Jackie live in Auburn. They have two adult children, two collies and not enough time.
Posted inMaine, News
Larry Lockman’s proposal seeks to stop teachers from taking sides on political issues
The Republican’s measure draws criticism from educators and the ACLU.
advertisement
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, News, Politics
Protesting Donald Trump’s ‘national emergency’ on Presidents Day
About 40 people turn out Monday for a Lewiston protest challenging a White House move to build a southern border wall without congressional approval.
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine, News, Politics
Lawmakers push to make Maine’s state parks free to Gold Star Families
Auburn state Rep. Bettyann Sheats hopes to add Gold Star Families to the nearly one third of Mainers who already have free day access to parks.
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, News
Once a career-killer, crying now in vogue for populist leaders
Male populist leaders around the globe are increasingly likely to shed a few tears to prove they’re authentic to the public they claim to champion, a Bates professor says, but women are another story.
Posted inMaine, News
Maine congressional delegation takes aim at high drug prices
A bill introduced Wednesday by Maine Rep. Jared Golden to crack down on price spikes is only the latest in a series of measures backed by Maine’s lawmakers to lower the cost of prescriptions.
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine, News
Truancy law may soon cover Maine’s youngest students
After falling short after vetoes by Gov. Paul LePage the past two sessions, legislators this year are likely to push through a measure to extend truancy laws to 5- and 6-year-olds enrolled in school.
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine, News
Purging plastic starts at home, scientist advises at Bates College
Since half of all plastic comes in the form of single-use, disposable items that people don’t really need, there’s room to make a big dent in the flood of plastics that pose an increasing threat to the environment.
Posted inMaine, News
‘Who wants to swim in a cesspool?’
State lawmakers are likely to approve a measure to require the inspection of lakefront septic systems whenever a property changes hands, a regulation already in place for seaside properties.
Posted inMaine
Maine: It happened here first
The state’s do-it-yourself spirit has led to many innovations over the years, from earmuffs to doughnut holes and maybe even a universal snub.