Susan Sharon

Deputy News Director

Susan is the deputy news director who handles assignments and planning by the news staff. She’s also a general assignment reporter who began her career at Maine Public Radio working at the State House in 1992, and still loves the work, which takes her to the Maine State Prison for a story on solitary confinement one day and to the foothills of western Maine to look for wood thrush the next.

Susan is a graduate of the University of Montana, where she got her first job in public radio news while still a student. She has also worked at television stations in Montana and Maine. You can occasionally hear her stories on NPR.

Ways to Connect

Oct. 12: Candidates In Red Hot Battle For Maine's 2nd District Seat

By , & • 15 hours ago

And now another edition of Maine's Political Pulse with our politics team in Augusta, Steve Mistler and Mal Leary.  In this episode, Susan Sharon sat down with the team to look at this week's heated debates between the candidates for Maine's 2nd District Congressional seat. 

Protesters React To Collins’ Decision To Vote To Confirm Kavanaugh

By • Oct 5, 2018
Susan Sharon / Maine Public

Even before Sen. Susan Collins announced how she would vote on the Kavanaugh confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court, dozens of people were gathering in Lobstermen Square in downtown Portland across the street from her office.

Maine Protesters Board Bus To Washington D.C. To Ask Collins To Vote ‘No’ On Kavanaugh

By • Oct 4, 2018
For Maine Public

More than two dozen Maine women, many of them survivors of sexual assault, are in Washington D.C. Thursday to try to meet personally with Sen. Susan Collins before a confirmation vote on Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

Protesters Gather Outside Collins' Portland Office Following Ford-Kavanaugh Testimonies

By • Sep 29, 2018
Susan Sharon / Maine Public

  Originally published 5:33 p.m.September 28, 2018 

More than 100 protesters took to the street outside Senator Susan Collins' Portland office Friday afternoon, where they demanded a no vote on Judge Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation.

Sept. 28: Could Ranked-Choice Voting Dethrone Chellie Pingree?

By , & • Sep 28, 2018

Incumbent U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat from Maine’s 1st District, has held her seat and defended it convincingly for a decade.

Maine Fishermen Worry That New Regulations on Herring Will Hurt Small Businesses, Lobstermen

By & • Sep 26, 2018
Willis Ryder Arnold / Maine Public

A day after fishing regulators adopted strict new measures to prevent herring stocks from collapsing, some New England fishermen say they fear for their own survival.

Judge: Candidate For District Attorney In Western Maine Violated Bar Rules

By • Sep 25, 2018

A Superior Court judge has ruled that a Republican candidate for district attorney in Androscoggin, Oxford and Franklin counties has violated several Maine bar rules, including unlawful conduct. Seth Carey will now face a hearing to consider whether any sanctions should be imposed, including possible disbarment.

Data: Moose-Car Collisions Down More Than 50 Percent In Last Decade In Maine

By • Sep 24, 2018
Pat Wellenbach / Associated Press File

Monday is the first day of moose season in northern and eastern Maine, and hundreds of hunters are expected to take part over the next six days. The hunt is divided into four segments, and continues by region around Maine until the third week in November.

‘There Was A Lot Of Hate Mail’ — Internet Buzzes Over Stoned Maine Lobsters

By • Sep 21, 2018
Charlotte Gill

Charlotte’s Legendary Lobster Pound in Southwest Harbor has lived up to its name this past week after a story, first reported in the Mount Desert Islander, circulated on the internet. That’s because owner Charlotte Gill has come up with a process to get lobsters high before they die. She is convinced that a small dose of cannabis can help calm crustaceans before they’re cooked in a traditional lobster pot.

Convicted Murderer On The Lam For 5 Days Is In Custody

By • Sep 18, 2018
Maine Department of Corrections

A prisoner who walked away from the Mountain View Correctional Center in Charleston last Thursday has been taken into custody.  The Piscataquis County Sheriff's Office says Arnold Nash was found in the Charleston area at about 7 o'clock Tuesday morning.

Mainers Worry About Effect Of Proposed Changes To Endangered Species Act

By • Sep 17, 2018
Susan Sharon / Maine Public

Sweeping changes proposed to the federal Endangered Species Act have conservation groups and others alarmed about protecting plants and animals on the verge of extinction in Maine and around the country.

Seminar Connects Inmates With Maine Employers Mired By Labor Shortage

By • Sep 12, 2018
Susan Sharon / Maine Public

Call it a potential match made in prison.

King: White House Decision To Withhold Kavanaugh Documents 'Wasn't About National Security'

By • Sep 4, 2018
Andrew Harnik / Associated Press

Maine U.S. Sen. Angus King is among those raising concerns about a Trump White House decision to claim executive privilege and withhold 100,000 pages of documents relating to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's years spent as White House counsel during the George W. Bush administration.

Psychiatric Patients Turned Away From Lewiston Hospitals

By • Aug 31, 2018
St. Mary's Regional Medical Center

Two Lewiston hospitals have undertaken corrective action after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid found they were turning away mentally ill patients in crisis from their emergency departments without adequate medical screenings or stabilizing treatment. Both hospitals were found to be in violation of a federal law that is intended to protect patients experiencing medical emergencies.

Judge Says Case Concerning LePage Censoring Facebook Page Can Continue

By • Aug 30, 2018
Gov. LePage

A federal judge in Maine has refused to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the practice of Gov. LePage to block constituents he disagrees with from his Facebook page.

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