Scott Thistle

Portland Press Herald

Scott Thistle is the State House reporter for the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. He has covered politics and government in Maine since 2006. Prior to that he served as the State House reporter for the Duluth News Tribune in Duluth, Minnesota. A Maine native, Thistle has worked in journalism since 1990, when he got his start at a weekly newspaper in rural Oxford County, Maine. He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and an active volunteer with the National Ski Patrol. He resides with his wife, Amy and his two sons Finn and Kai, in Auburn, Maine.

Latest

Published
June 30, 2021

Legislature passes $900 million state budget update

The bill gained broad bipartisan support for the package, which includes $300 direct payments to Mainers who worked through the pandemic.
Published
June 29, 2021

Bill banning flavored tobacco loses funding in state budget compromise

The legislation, which would bar the sale of menthol cigarettes, could be in jeopardy as a bipartisan budget deal fails to backfill sales tax revenue that would be lost.
Published
June 27, 2021

New child tax credits offer lifeline for some Maine families

The monthly payments will go to some 230,000 Maine families, part of an expanded child tax credit approved by Congress under the American Rescue Plan Act.
Published
June 21, 2021

Lawmakers take up Mills’ updated budget, as Republicans seek leverage

Gov. Janet Mills says she’d like two-thirds support in the Legislature, which would require votes from Republicans who will seek changes in the budget package.
Published
June 18, 2021

Ethics commission again behind closed doors in CMP transmission line case

The state campaign finance watchdog agency is shielding the name of a political consultant as it considers whether a nonprofit formed to oppose a powerline project should be registered as a PAC.
Published
June 18, 2021

Bill to form consumer-owned utility rejected by one vote in Maine Senate

The measure, which called for consumer purchase of Central Maine Power and Versant Power, cleared the Senate in a preliminary vote but was turned away on final enactment, dimming the bill’s chances of passage this session.
Published
June 17, 2021

Bill to allow tribes to open gambling facilities moves ahead in Legislature

Tribal members believe the right to operate a gambling business is a matter of sovereignty. It’s unclear whether Gov. Janet Mills will support the measure.
Published
June 16, 2021

Senate approves bill to replace CMP, Versant Power with consumer-owned utility

The Maine House also has approved the bill, but Democratic Gov. Janet Mills has signaled she is likely to veto the measure.
Published
June 15, 2021

Bill to ban foreign companies from spending to influence Maine referendum campaigns advances

The bill, which has broad bipartisan support, was triggered by the millions of dollars spent by Hydro-Quebec in support of the New England Clean Energy Connect transmission line project.
Published
June 11, 2021

Maine ethics panel votes to pursue records from power line opponents

The unanimous vote against vacating a subpoena for information from an unidentified Virginia-based political consulting firm came after a lengthy closed-door meeting.