Penelope Overton

Press Herald

Penelope Overton writes about the lobster and marijuana industries in Maine, a mix of the iconic and the emerging, the economic powerhouse and the mysterious darkhorse. Just the right mix of old and new for a Maine transplant. Penny joined the Press Herald in 2016. She has covered politics and government, the environment and Indian Country in Florida, Connecticut, Arizona and Washington, D.C. Her favorite stories are when she gets to dive into a world where readers seldom venture. When she’s not newspapering, Penny and her young daughter like to hike, body surf, travel and explore new books, places, poems and people. She is plovertonpph on both Instagram and Snapchat.

Latest

Published
August 19, 2018

For Maine’s marijuana industry, security’s still high-risk

Largely shut out of federally regulated banking options, the lucrative medical pot marketplace in Maine – ‘a very soft target’ – presents some safety challenges for dispensaries, caregivers and growers in a field with few protections in place.
Published
August 19, 2018

Former Maine drug agent steps into an unlikely role

The security consultant and courier is still fighting crime – but now it’s from inside the legal marijuana industry.
Published
August 13, 2018

Transgender advocates adopt lobster emoji

In the meantime, they are pushing an online petition for their own pink-and-blue emoji.
Published
August 10, 2018

Large pogy catch good news for lobstermen who feared bait shortage

The amount of bait fish landed this year was twice last year’s haul, reassuring lobstermen that they should be able to avert a bait shortage.
Published
August 8, 2018

Depleted stock sinks Maine’s bid to increase its fishing quota for lucrative baby eels

Regulators deny the request in a 13-5 vote, but praise the state’s efforts to stick to its cap on the catch and also agree to extra landings for a new aquaculture center.
Published
July 29, 2018

Some lobster exporters are feeling pinch of Chinese tariff

The effects of losing a key market ripple through the industry – and could worsen – but Maine’s other lobstering sectors are riding high.
Published
July 23, 2018

Caught up in tariff, lobster industry faces new threat: Higher trap prices

The extra tax on imported raw steel raises the cost of wire mesh for manufacturers, which haven’t passed it on to fishermen – yet.
Published
July 17, 2018

Those lobster license plates are supporting $340,000 in research on vital industry

The grants will be used to assess and support the state’s most valuable fishery amid changes in the ecosystem.
Published
July 17, 2018

Looming bait shortage poses another threat to Maine lobster industry

Regulators want to cap this year’s herring landings at last year’s levels, and slash next year’s quota of the most popular lobster bait.
Published
July 13, 2018

Biddeford rapper offers free tickets to fellow rapper’s movie debut in Portland

Rory Ferreira, who raps under the name of Milo, hopes to fill all 129 seats of a matinee Saturday of Boots Riley’s ‘Sorry to Bother You.’