AUGUSTA (WGME) — Maine’s top judge used her annual “State of the Judiciary” address to lawmakers to spotlight ongoing staffing shortages in the court system and to renew concerns about judicial pay.

Maine Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Valerie Stanfill delivered the address today in the Legislature. She told lawmakers Maine’s courts remain understaffed, a problem she said has persisted for years.

Stanfill also said Maine’s judges are the lowest-paid in the country. “If we could only do something about judicial salaries, which are [ranked] 51st in the country,” Stanfill said.

She said Maine’s courts are making strides in hiring, but there is still a need for staff across the board, especially court marshals.

Boston Home

The Challenge

The homeowner, who’d spent summers on Mount Desert Island for decades, dreamed of a more spacious retreat for his large family. A new barn on a 4-acre property straddling the rocky coast offered just the place he’d envisioned for his clan to gather and share adventures. But to accomplish that, the space needed a beautiful but functional great room equally suited for lobster dinners, indoor pickleball matches, and fireside evenings.

The Solution

The project team—architects from Lake Flato, builder Chris Mahaney, and his wife, interior designer Stephanie Mahaney—conceived the space as a soaring yet welcoming hub. A cathedral ceiling of single-plank fir with exposed beams plays against the raw concrete floor, balancing warmth and durability. At its center, a 34-foot-tall granite fireplace commands attention—a sculptural composition of boulders, none smaller than 2 square feet, surrounding a single 14-foot-long reclaimed granite hearth. A 15-person dining table rolls aside (or through 12-foot-tall steel doors to the patio) to make way for the indoor pickleball court, while teak sofas invite fireside relaxation. The result is a space that feels both enduring and exuberant: a Maine barn that serves as a year-round family playground.