Alberto ‘Alpo’ Martinez was a federal witness living in Lewiston before he was killed in Harlem in 2021.
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 inBusiness, Lewiston-Auburn
Franco Center warns that without more money, it might close
The popular performance and event space in Lewiston is struggling to keep up with rising costs.
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Posted inNews
Balloon festivals often face rising costs and shrinking volunteer bases
Across the country, it’s been tough to keep balloons in the air year after year.
Posted inElections, Maine
Mixed reaction on Trump hush-money verdict from congressional candidates
Democrats expressed support for the jury’s decision in New York while Republicans defended Trump
Posted inNews
Lewiston, Auburn say balloon festival will ‘take off’ with municipal leadership
Festival organizers agree ‘show should go on,’ but will leave it to City Hall to make it happen.
Posted inAndroscoggin County, Maine, News
Angus King impressed by Wales farm operated by Somali farmers
‘I like this on every level,’ Maine’s junior senator said during his tour of Liberation Farms.
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine
Portrait of Bernard Lown to be unveiled June 7 in Lewiston
The painting of the inventor of the defibrillator and a Nobel Peace Prize honoree is part of Brooksville artist Robert Shetterly’s ‘Americans Who Tell the Truth’ series.
Posted inbPlus, Schools & Education
A blind graduate at Bates College in 1889 is a forgotten pioneer
Arthur Elmer Hatch was among the first blind Americans to earn a college degree.
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine
In Lewiston, state commission hears testimony on police response to 2023 mass shooting
State police chief said there is ‘always room for improvement,’ but he is proud of what police did during the Oct. 25 incident that killed 18 people.
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Bates College plans biggest price hike since 2009
Lewiston college increases its annual single fee by 5% for the coming academic year to $85,370.