The Maine Trust for Local News has hired two reporters to cover key areas in central Maine.

Abigail Pritchard earned her master’s in journalism from Boston University and was formerly the editor-in-chief of American University’s student newspaper, The Eagle. Her work has appeared in various Massachusetts-based publications and she previously worked as the Statehouse correspondent for The New Bedford Light.

Pritchard covers the Waterville area and writes the weekly Kennebec Beat North newsletter.

When she’s not working, she enjoys cooking, reading and taking long drives.

Sara Coughlin earned a degree in English and government with a concentration in creative writing from Bowdoin College, where she served as an editor for the student newspaper, the Bowdoin Orient, and wrote for Bowdoin Communications.

Originally from Brunswick, she previously interned for the Portland Press Herald and the Harpswell Anchor.

Couglin covers the Augusta area and writes the weekly Kennebec Beat South newsletter.

Outside of work, you may find her doing yoga — she’s training to become a yoga teacher —or crocheting a hat.

The Maine Trust for Local News, a subsidiary of the National Trust for Local News, is the parent company of the Kennebec Journal in Augusta, Morning Sentinel in Waterville, Portland Press Herald, and Sun Journal in Lewiston, as well as a host of weekly print and online publications.

Following the tragic death of a Pennsylvania state trooper, Gov. Maura Healey is being asked to urge the state RMV to conduct an immediate review of all commercial driver’s licenses issued in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts House Republicans are calling for the audit to include a scan of non-domiciled CDLs, as the Bay State already faces federal heat for issuing a commercial driver’s license to the suspect, a Haitian illegal immigrant.

The review would “determine whether any current license holders are facing any pending suspensions, revocations, or other outstanding issues,” GOP leadership wrote in a letter to the governor this week.

Michael Bon, a 33-year-old Haitian living illegally in Brockton, has been charged with killing  Michael Pahira, a 44-year-old state trooper, in a fiery crash on July 1 in Schuylkill County, Penn.

The Department of Homeland Security has said that Bon has been in the country illegally since June 2025 and that the Massachusetts RMV had issued his CDL. But the RMV has pointed its finger at the federal government, arguing that Bon was eligible for and received a non-domiciled commercial driver’s license under federal standards at the time of his application in March 2025.

In their Wednesday letter, House Republicans requested that Healey direct the RMV to review all commercial driver’s licenses within 30 days and submit details to the state Joint Committee on Transportation and the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security.

The GOP stated that the review could ultimately lead to safer roads.

“Due to the most recent tragedy in Pennsylvania and the uptick in wrong-way driving accidents in our Commonwealth,” GOP leaders wrote, “we call on you to take immediate action on this request to protect motorists and pedestrians on Massachusetts roadways and to ensure that the Commonwealth is in line with current federal roadway safety standards.”

A governor’s spokesperson deferred a Herald request for comment to the RMV.

An RMV spokesperson told the Herald Friday night that the agency is “preparing a thorough response to the letter.”

“We are confident that our programs for issuing commercial driving credentials,” the spokesperson said, “which are subject to annual review by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, are compliant with federal law.”

Bon arrived in the U.S. in early July 2024 as a parolee at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

That October, he filed an application for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under the Biden administration, which ultimately was never granted. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the federal government to end TPS for Haitian nationals earlier this month.

DHS has said that USCIS terminated Bon’s parole on June 13, 2025. Despite that, Bon has allegedly refused to leave the country and has remained in the U.S. illegally, settling in Brockton.

The RMV has described Pahira’s death as a “horrific and terrible tragedy,” calling for Bon to be “prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

At the same time, the agency has said that the non-domiciled CDL program is under federal purview, arguing Bon was “ruled eligible based on the Trump administration database and allowed to drive by federal law and Trump administration policies.”

Bon applied to renew his CDL in February 2026 and was again approved, the RMV has said, adding that he would not have been approved if he applied for renewal next year. The Trump administration implemented a new rule on March 16 directing states not to renew or issue new non-domiciled CDLs.

“These restrictions,” the House GOP wrote in its letter to Healey, “coupled with the reinstatement last year of federal English-language proficiency requirements for commercial truck drivers to ensure that they can read and understand traffic signs, represent ongoing efforts to enhance public safety on America’s roadways.”

The fiery crash happened on I-81 in Schuylkill County and resulted in Pahira’s death.

The Pennsylvania trooper was conducting a routine commercial inspection on another tractor-trailer at 7 a.m. on July 1. Authorities say both the tractor-trailer and Pahira’s police vehicle were pulled over on the right-hand shoulder of the highway.

Pahira had been speaking with the other driver, Walter Alfredo Reinoso, of New York, during the routine stop when Bon’s tractor-trailer suddenly veered into the right-hand shoulder and struck them.

ICE lodged a detainer request against Bon earlier this month. The illegal immigrant is being held in Schuylkill County Prison after failing to post his $700,000 bail.

At the federal level, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association – the largest national trade association representing small-business truckers and professional drivers – is demanding that Congress pass Dalilah’s Law to ensure that CDL holders are properly trained and meet safety standards, including proficiency in English.

Non-domiciled CDL holders are often unable to be vetted, whereas U.S. applicants have had their past 10 years of driving history reviewed.

“Had this legislation been previously signed into law,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer wrote in  a Wednesday letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, “the driver responsible for Trooper Pahira’s death would not have been eligible to receive a CDL in the first place.”

A New Hampshire court has ruled that a Concord man violated the state’s Civil Rights Act after assaulting a transgender woman at her workplace in a bias-motivated attack, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office announced Thursday.

The ruling, handed down by the Merrimack County Superior Court, stems from a May 19, 2024, incident in which Travis Lufkin, 25, struck the victim in the face after she asked him to leave the property where she worked. According to the attorney general’s office, Lufkin also called the victim a homophobic slur during the assault.

Citing court filings, the Concord Monitor identified the workplace as a Speedway convenience store in downtown Concord. The complaint alleged the victim had asked Lufkin to leave the store on multiple occasions before the incident.

The victim suffered several cuts, a swollen cheek, and bruises on her neck, according to the report. Lufkin reportedly fled on a bicycle following the assault.

The court found that Lufkin’s actions were motivated by “animus toward the victim’s gender identity.”

“The New Hampshire Civil Rights Act protects every person from violence and intimidation motivated by bias,” Attorney General John M. Formella said in a statement. “The New Hampshire Department of Justice will continue to enforce the laws of this state fairly and consistently, hold offenders accountable, and protect the rights and safety of all Granite Staters.”

New Hampshire’s Civil Rights Act allows the attorney general to seek civil penalties against people accused of committing bias-motivated violence or intimidation based on protected characteristics such as gender identity, sexual orientation, race, religion, or disability. 

As part of the ruling, the court ordered Lufkin to have no contact with the victim or her family and barred him from coming within 350 feet of the victim, her home, or her workplace for three years, according to Formella’s office.

The court also imposed a $5,000 civil fine, with $4,000 suspended for three years, provided Lufkin complies with the court’s order. Violating the injunction could result in additional civil or criminal penalties, including fines or incarceration, according to the attorney general’s office.

Lufkin was also prosecuted on criminal charges stemming from the same incident. He pleaded guilty to second-degree and simple assault and received a 12-month sentence on the first charge, with six months suspended for three years, and a consecutive 12-month sentence on the simple assault conviction, which was suspended for three years.