Maine
Maine Trust for Local News hires new executive editor
Tampa Bay Times Managing Editor Carolyn Fox has been named executive editor of the Maine Trust for Local News. Boyzell Hosey
The Maine Trust for Local News has hired an executive editor to lead all of its news operations, including the Press Herald and more than a dozen other daily and weekly newspapers across the state.
Carolyn Fox will be stepping down as the managing editor of the Tampa Bay Times to take on the newly created position. She starts on Oct. 7.
Maine Trust publisher and CEO Lisa DeSisto announced the hire Tuesday in a memo to employees.
“After a rigorous recruitment process that attracted candidates from all over the country, we’ve found an exceptional newsroom leader who brings hands-on experience leading transformational work with the end goal of producing impactful journalism that makes a difference in the lives of our readers,” DeSisto wrote.
Fox, 42, is the first newsroom leadership hire since former owner Reade Brower sold the Press Herald and his other papers last year to the National Trust for Local News, a nonprofit journalism organization. The Maine Trust was created to manage operations here, while the National Trust has created similar state trusts to oversee news organizations in Colorado and Georgia, and is looking to expand into other states.
In an interview Tuesday, Fox said she has dreamed of being an executive editor for years and called this “an incredible opportunity to do great journalism.”
Fox said the model set up by the Maine Trust – which accepts donations and grant support in addition to generating advertising and circulation revenue – is one of the reasons she was interested in the job, and she hopes to have resources and access to analytics that will help serve readers.
“The nonprofit model is so exciting in part because you can make that pitch to people that the journalism matters – what we do matters – and then sell that,” she said.
The position was created after the departure of Portland Press Herald Executive Editor Steve Greenlee, who stepped down this summer for a faculty position at Boston University. Fox will oversee the Press Herald’s news department, but also be in charge of the newsrooms of the Lewiston Sun Journal, the Kennebec Journal in Augusta, the Morning Sentinel in Waterville, the Times Record in Brunswick and several weekly papers in southern and western Maine.
With a background in digital newspaper and magazine platforms, Fox is expected to continue leading the Maine Trust’s transition as fewer readers rely on traditional print papers. Although circulation numbers have declined at the trust’s newspapers – as with every newspaper across the country – more and more people read coverage online.
Dan Kennedy, a professor of journalism at Northeastern University who closely follows media trends, said he doesn’t know Fox, but said the Tampa Bay Times has long been “a terrific paper,” even amid financial challenges.
“The Tampa Bay Times – and maybe this is why she was so attractive to the Maine Trust – is a for-profit newspaper owned by a nonprofit (The Poynter Institute). So, it’s exactly the same setup,” he said.
He also said Fox’s background in digital operations makes sense.
“It’s all digital now, so I suppose if you brought someone in who is a print nostalgist, that would be disturbing,” Kennedy said. “I think it probably makes sense to have someone with overall editorial authority over all the papers but at the same time I hope there are people on the ground who are in charge of individual papers as well.”
Fox’s role as executive editor for all the trust’s papers and websites is “designed to support our ‘one company’ vision by accelerating our collaboration, digital transformation, and focus on staff training and development across all Maine Trust newsrooms,” DeSisto said.
“I think that was one of the top criteria for us, not only digital expertise but experience leading that transformation,” she said. “At the core of all of it – regardless of platform – is important, ambitious, relevant journalism.”
Fox hinted that changes could be coming, but not at the expense of quality journalism.
“I think when it comes to change, it’s important to understand that within this business, you try things, see how they go and adjust accordingly,” she said. “The number-one person you serve is your reader, and they will tell you quickly if they like something or not.”
One of Fox’s first tasks will be to rebuild the leadership structure of the Press Herald newsroom. In addition to Greenlee, managing editor Nita Lelyveld stepped down this month.
Fox is a native of San Diego and has held positions at USA Today, National Geographic, Advance Local – a New York-based news organization – and the Times-Picayune in New Orleans. She has spent the last five years as an editor at the Tampa Bay Times, which is widely regarded as one of the top regional newspapers in the country. The paper has won 14 Pulitzer Prizes since 1964.
“I have never worked somewhere with such good journalism and good people,” she said. “The journalism is of the highest quality for regional newspaper, but the people here are as good as colleagues get.”
The Tampa Bay Times announced Fox’s departure on Tuesday as part of a broader leadership reorganization at that paper. Editor Mark Katches praised Fox in the Times article.
“I couldn’t be more proud of what she has accomplished at the Times. And I’m grateful for every day I’ve gotten to spend with her in this special newsroom of ours,” Katches said.
DeSisto said readers should expect improvements in the Maine’s Trust digital products and presentation but said the goal of serving communities remains unchanged.
Fox said said she looks forward to meeting with staff at all the Maine Trust newspapers and learning more about the communities they serve. She fondly remembers visiting Maine as a child, but she also went to Emerson College in Boston and has family and friends in New England.
Her top goal is to put staff in a position to do their best work and to have fun.
“When people have fun and enjoy it, they are going to give you their best,” she said.
Prior to Fox, Greenlee served as the Press Herald’s top editor beginning in 2021. Greenlee was the paper’s managing editor for nine years prior to that under former Executive Editor Cliff Schechtman.
In announcing his decision to step down, Greenlee cited both the heavy burden of leading a newsroom and an exciting new opportunity to work with student journalists at BU.
“We have terrific leadership across the room, and the work we’re doing to accelerate our digital transformation will set us up well to face the future and sustain our operation,” he said in a memo to Maine Trust staff in June. “With the backing of the National Trust for Local News and a publisher who cares about good journalism, this newsroom has a bright future. You’re well-positioned to continue doing exceptional work.”
Maine
This Classic New England-Style Cottage in Maine Has 200 Feet of Atlantic Ocean Frontage
A waterfront home with open ocean views on the coast of Maine came to market Tuesday asking $4 million.
Built in 1978, the three-bedroom cottage is at the southern point of Cape Elizabeth, less than 10 miles from downtown Portland. The 1.1-acre property on Sunny Bank Road features 200 feet of south-facing water frontage on the wide open Atlantic.
It is bordered by a rocky sea wall that’s about 28 feet high, according to listing agent Sam Michaud Legacy Properties Sotheby’s International Realty
“The views are like a Monet painting,” he said via email. “The water sparkles and the waves are endless.”
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The 3,364-square-foot home was built in classic New England style, with shingle siding, a single sloped roofline and large windows—complemented by white-washed walls, exposed-beam ceilings and wide-plank flooring on the interiors.
The main common area features cathedral ceilings with a step-down between the living and dining room, and a partial wall divides the dining room from the kitchen. There is also a wood-paneled family room off the kitchen, a gym and a covered porch.
The sellers purchased the property in 2010 for $1.562 million, according to property records accessed through PropertyShark. They could not immediately be reached for comment.
“I have received quite a few inquiries since hitting the market two days ago,” Michaud said. “Buyers understand that this is a golden opportunity to own over an acre with 200 feet of bold oceanfront in Cape Elizabeth.”
MORE: Iranian Strikes on Dubai Put the City’s Roaring Real Estate Market to the Test
There are currently just seven three-bedroom homes available for sale in Cape Elizabeth and fewer than five waterfront properties, according to Sotheby’s and Zillow data. It is also the most expensive listing in the town, with another waterfront property on a tiny lot just south of Portland coming in a close second, according to Zillow.
Michaud sold the former Cape Elizabeth home of Bette Davis this past summer for $13.4 million, the priciest sale on the cape in at least a decade—and even those views can’t compare. They’re “just magical,” he said.
Maine
NECEC conservation plan will not protect Maine’s mature forests | Opinion
Robert Bryan is a licensed forester from Harpswell and author or co-author of numerous publications on managing forests for wildlife. Paul Larrivee is a licensed forester from New Gloucester who manages both private and public lands, and a former Maine Forest Service forester.
In November 2025, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) approved a conservation plan and forest management plan as mitigation for impacts from the NECEC transmission corridor that runs from the Quebec border 53 miles to central Maine.
As professional foresters, we were astonished by the lack of scientific credibility in the definition of “mature forest habitat” that was approved by DEP, and the business-as-usual commercial forestry proposed for over 80% of the conservation area.
The DEP’s approval requires NECEC to establish and protect 50,000 acres to be managed for mature-forest wildlife species and wildlife travel corridors along riparian areas and between mature forest habitats. The conservation plan will establish an area adjacent to the new transmission corridor to be protected under a conservation easement held by the state. Under this plan, 50% of the area will be managed as mature forest habitat.
Under the forest management plan, a typical even-aged stand will qualify as “mature forest habitat” once 50 feet tall, which is only about 50 years old. These stands will lack large trees that provide wildlife denning and nesting sites, multiple vegetation layers that mature-forest birds use for nesting and feeding habitats and large decaying trees and downed logs that provide habitat for insects, fungi and small mammals, which in turn benefit larger predators.
Another major concern is that contrary to the earlier DEP order, the final approval allows standard sustainable forestry operations on the 84% of the forest located outside the stream buffers and special habitats. These stands may be harvested as soon as they achieve the “mature forest habitat” definition, as long as 50% of the conserved land is maintained as “mature.”
After the mature forest goal is reached, clearcutting or other heavy harvesting could occur on thousands of acres every 10 years. Because the landowner — Weyerhaeuser — owns several hundred thousand acres in the vicinity, any reductions in harvesting within the conservation area can simply be offset by cutting more heavily nearby. As a result, the net
mature-forest benefit of the conservation area will be close to zero.
Third, because some mature stands will be cut before the 50% mature forest goal is reached, it will take 40 years — longer than necessary — to reach the goal.
In the near future the Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) will consider an appeal from environmental organizations of the plan approval. To ensure that ecologically mature forest develops in a manner that meets the intent of the DEP/BEP orders, several things need to change.
First and most important, to ensure that characteristics of mature forest habitat have time to develop it is critical that the definition include clear requirements for the minimum number of large-diameter (hence more mature) trees, adjusted by forest type. At least half the stocking of an area of mature forest habitat should be in trees at least 10 inches in diameter, and at least 20% of stands beyond the riparian buffers should have half the stocking in trees greater than or equal to 16 inches in diameter.
Current research as well as guidelines for defining ecologically mature forests, such as those in Maine Audubon’s Forestry for Maine Birds, should be followed.
Second, limits should be placed on the size and distribution of clearcut or “shelterwood” harvest patches so that even-aged harvests are similar in size to those created by typical natural forest disturbance patterns. These changes will help ensure that the mature-forest block and connectivity requirements of the orders are met.
Third, because the forest impacts have already occurred, no cutting should be allowed in the few stands that meet or exceed the DEP-approved definition — which needs to be revised as described above — until the 50% or greater mature-forest goal is reached.
If allowed to stand, the definitions and management described in the forest management plan would set a terrible precedent for conserving mature forests in Maine. The BEP should uphold the appeal and establish standards for truly mature forest habitat.
Maine
Rage Room in Portland, Maine, Developing ‘Scream Room’ Addition
For a lot of people throughout Maine, there’s some built up frustration that they’ve just been keeping inside.
That frustration can come in a lot of different forms. From finances to relationships to the world around you.
So it makes plenty of sense that a rage room opened in Portland, Maine, where people can let some of that frustration out.
It’s called Mayhem and people have been piling in to smash, crush and do dastardly things to inanimate objects that had no idea what was coming.
But Mayhem has realized not everyone is down with swinging a sledgehammer. So they’ve decided to cook up something new.
Mayhem Creating ‘Scream Room’ at Their Space in Portland, Maine
Perhaps the thought of swinging a baseball bat and destroying a glass vase brings you joy. The thought of how sore your body will be after that moment makes you less excited.
Mayhem Portland has heard you loud and clear and is developing a new way to get the rage out. By just screaming.
Mayhem is working on opening their very first scream room. It’s exactly what you think it is, a safe place to spend some time just screaming all of the frustration out.
There isn’t an official opening date set yet but it’s coming soon along with pricing.
Mayhem in Portland, Maine, Will Still Offer Rage Rooms and Paint Splatter
While a scream room is on the way, you can still experience a good time at Mayhem with one of their rage rooms or a paint splatter room.
Both can be experienced in either 20-minute or 30-minute sessions.
All the details including some age and attire requirements can be found here.
TripAdvisor’s Top 10 Things to do in Portland, Maine
Looking for fun things to do in Portland, ME? Here is what the reviewers on TripAdvisor say are the 10 best attractions.
This list was updated in March of 2026
Gallery Credit: Chris Sedenka
Top 15 of The Most Powerful People in Maine
Ever wonder who the most powerful players are in Maine? I’ve got a list!
Gallery Credit: Getty Images
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