Local politics in Portland typically follows a well-worn path. The city is run by Democrats, there are some ongoing debates, a certain amount of mudslinging, and generally two sides are pitted against one another for political power: monied...
Andy O'Brien is the communications director for the Maine AFL-CIO, a statewide federation of 160 local unions representing 40,000 workers. He writes on live and labor in Maine for Maine Beacon, Working Waterfront, Mainer News, and the Free Press. ...
On Friday night, August 20, two individuals committed a hate crime against Tahmoor Khan and his family, spray painting racist graffiti on his car and destroying the family garden. Pine and Roses’ Todd Chretien spoke to Tahmoor to get his views on...
Andy O’Brien is communications director at Maine AFL-CIO. He has written extensively about far-right extremism in Maine for The Free Press and Mainer News Cooperative. This article originally appeared in The Free Press, a free weekly tabloid,...
At the beginning of August, an art installation in Congress Square in Portland called New Rhythms was set on fire. The artist, Jordan Carey, got the call as he was about to board a plane leaving Portland. Writer Sampson Spadafore sat down with the...
July 31 was a sweltering Saturday afternoon, but the crowd across from Mathew’s Pub kept growing as people gathered to protest the bar which has become a monthly meeting place for The Proud Boys. Pines and Roses reporters Tennessee Pierce and Sam...
How is it possible that in 2021 an American court helped the state of Maine steal from a federally recognized tribe? The answer is both frustrating and infuriating. A dispute between the state of Maine and one of its four federally recognized...
Over the past few months, conservatives have manufactured a new bogeyman that looms over public education: Critical Race Theory (CRT). According to their narrative, CRT rewrites the history of the United States and ingrains the idea into our...
Portland voters elected a City Charter Commission in early June which may reshape democratic structures and influence who holds power in Portland for a generation or more. Over the coming year, the newly-sworn-in Commissioners will work to create a...