Susan Sharon

Deputy News Director

Deputy News Director Susan Sharon is an experienced newsroom leader and reporter who has worked in both radio and television.  She's covered a wide range of subjects including politics, environmental policy, the opioid crisis and criminal justice as well as human interest stories.  Her work has been nationally recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists, Public Radio News Directors, Inc and by the Society of Environmental Journalists for breaking news, enterprise and beat reporting.

Susan is a graduate of the University of Montana School of Journalism. She's received additional training in management, newsroom leadership and editing from Central Maine Community College, Poynter and NPR..

Got a story idea? E-mail Susan: ssharon@mainepublic.org. You can also follow her on twitter @susansharon1

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Maine Closes Popular Coastal State Parks, Beaches Due To Overcrowding

By & • Mar 27, 2020
Andrew Catalina / Maine Public

The Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands (BPL) has announced that it will close nearly a dozen coastal state parks and beaches on Friday to protect the health and safety of visitors from the threat of COVID-19. The parks will be closed until April 8, but that could be extended.

Lewiston, Portland Mayors Call For Protections For Homeowners, Renters

By • Mar 24, 2020
David Goldman / Associated Press file

The mayors of Portland and Lewiston are calling on landlords to work with renters during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Maine DOC Will Consider Some Prisoners For Release To Prevent Spread Of Coronavirus

By • Mar 22, 2020
Joel Page / AP

Police, prosecutors and judges in Maine are taking steps to avoid sending non-violent offenders to jail. The spread of the coronavirus has prompted Maine courts to issue orders vacating outstanding warrants for unpaid fines and unpaid restitution.

Some Maine Jails Release Low-Risk Prisoners To Prevent Spread Of Coronavirus

By • Mar 19, 2020
Wikimedia Commons

Some Maine jails have begun releasing certain prisoners as a way to cope with the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

Maine Attorney General Investigating Reports Of Price Gouging

By • Mar 17, 2020
Office of the Maine Attorney General

With allegations of price gouging rising around the state, Gov. Janet Mills has issued a Declaration of Abnormal Market Disruption that prohibits certain necessities from being sold at inflated prices during the COVID-19 crisis. The order empowers the Office of the Attorney General to investigate the claims and take swift action if necessary.

Maine DOC Suspends All Visits To Its Facilities

By • Mar 16, 2020
Joel Page / AP

The Maine Department of Corrections is suspending all visits to its facilities. That includes visits from family, friends and volunteers. In a written statement the Department said it is working on reducing or eliminating phone commission rates during this time.

Maine Coast Heritage Trust Celebrates 50th Anniversary And Completion Of A $125M Campaign

By • Mar 1, 2020
Maine Coast Heritage Trust

Maine Coast Heritage Trust, a Topsham-based conservation organization, is celebrating its 50th anniversary and the completion of a six-year campaign to raise $125-million.

Protesters Vow To Keep Up Pressure To Close Maine's Only Youth Prison

By • Feb 27, 2020
Susan Sharon / Maine Public

Members of Maine Youth Justice, a campaign to end youth incarceration, are calling on a state task force to recommend closing the Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland by next year. On Tuesday morning they rallied outside the Capital Judicial Center in Augusta, where the task force was scheduled to meet. But that option is currently not among those being proposed to reform Maine's juvenile justice system.

In Maine, Residents Slice Through Thick Ice To Keep A Tradition From Melting Away

By • Feb 26, 2020

Ice harvesting was a thriving industry in the 19th century, employing tens of thousands of workers in New England alone. Big blocks of ice were removed with jagged-toothed saws from frozen rivers, lakes and ponds, packed in sawdust and shipped around the world.

Having access to ice year-round changed the way people kept and ate food. Then came the advent of electric refrigeration. Cutting natural ice by hand became virtually obsolete. But there are still a few places where the tradition is carried on, places such as South Bristol, Maine.

Maine Youth Justice Call For The Closure Of Long Creek Development Center

By • Feb 25, 2020
Susan Sharon / Maine Public

More than 60 youth rallied on the steps of the Capital Judicial Center in Augusta Tuesday morning to urge members of the state's Juvenile Justice Task Force to recommend closure of the Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland, where about 50 kids are currently held.

South Bristol's Annual Ice Harvest Keeps 'Working History' From Melting Away

By • Feb 19, 2020
Rebecca Conley / Maine Public

Ice harvesting was a thriving industry in 19th century New England. Using large, jagged-toothed saws, workers would cut heavy blocks from frozen rivers, lakes and ponds, pack it in sawdust and sell it around the world. Then came electric refrigeration, and ice-cutting became all but obsolete. But there are still a few places where the tradition is carried on.

Maine Lawmakers Consider Changes To Act That Would Alter Tribal-State Relationship

By • Feb 14, 2020
Robert F. Bukaty / AP File

Tribal leaders, lawmakers, religious groups and others are urging passage of nearly two dozen recommended changes to the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Implementing Act by a state task force.

Bill Aims To Alleviate Understaffing At Maine State Prison By Giving Raises To Corrections Officers

By • Feb 11, 2020

Corrections officers, their union representatives and prisoner advocates told a legislative committee Monday that a chronic and severe understaffing problem is causing pressure that could boil over in the Maine State Prison. In addition, they say it’s costing the state more than $1.5 million a year in mandatory overtime.

At Listening Session, Mainers Tell Angus King They've Lost Faith In Government

By • Feb 2, 2020
Susan Sharon / Maine Public

Mainers told independent U.S. Sen. Angus King of Maine they’re distraught, they’ve lost faith in the checks and balances of government and that they feel hopeless about the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.

National Consultant Recommends Gradually Moving Youth Out Of Long Creek Correctional Center

By • Jan 29, 2020

A national consultant hired by the state's Juvenile Justice Advisory Group to examine Maine's juvenile justice system and incarceration of youth at the Long Creek Correctional Center in South Portland says it would be a mistake to house adults with children in the same facility.

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