Aria Sanborn has grown a lot since escaping the rural Liberty mobile home her stepfather trapped her in, although she says her healing is still a work in progress.
Dylan Tusinski
Staff Writer
Dylan Tusinski is an investigative reporter with the Maine Trust for Local News quick strike team, where he focuses on telling the stories that impact Maine most through hard-hitting reporting, narrative storytelling and accountability journalism. His reporting ranges from government transparency and organized crime to housing policy and climate change. He previously worked for the Morning Sentinel in Waterville from 2023 to 2025, covering about a dozen communities in Kennebec and Somerset counties. He joined the Sentinel in 2023 after graduating from Colorado State University while double majoring in political science and journalism & media communications.
Posted inLocal & State, News
How central Maine farmers help make the state’s PFAS recovery program a success
Central Maine farmers were essential in building what officials say is the first state program in the nation to directly take on so-called ‘forever chemicals.’ Now it’s credited with helping dozens of farms continue operations.
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Posted inLocal & State, Maine Crime, News
Court documents provide deeper look inside Maine’s clandestine cannabis grows
Laborers living out of suitcases, $10,000 electricity bills and elaborate automatic growing systems are among what officials found inside several of the residences, according to recently filed federal documents.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Rascal the cat, the longtime Madison Hannaford mascot, dies
Following the cat’s death, shoppers left memorials for the friendly feline that greeted grocery store patrons for nearly a decade.
Posted inHealth, Local & State, News
Maine’s shelters are in crisis as homelessness surges
With the state’s homeless shelters struggling, legislators have what might be their final opportunity Friday to prevent some shelters from closing for good.
Posted inLocal & State, Maine Crime, News
Unity man held on bail after arrest for allegedly shooting at forest ranger
Sharod D. Parker, 38, was arrested on a charge of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon as a result of the incident, which drew a heavy response from law enforcement Monday afternoon.
Posted inLocal & State, Maine Crime, News
Sheriff: California man arrested, about 3,400 marijuana plants seized at illegal growing operation in Harmony
Dongming Liao, 41, was arrested at a residence on Cooley Road and charged with illegal cultivation of marijuana, officials said.
Posted inLocal & State, News
As Waterville begins enforcing camping ban, homeless shelter exceeds capacity and warns of closure
City officials say efforts to move homeless people from tents into the city’s lone shelter are working. Shelter officials say their facility is in financial trouble, and many homeless people fear arrest if the shelter closes.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Easter sunrise service in Waterville emboldens small churches
The annual interfaith gathering held at dawn at Head of Falls has become a tradition for the city’s smaller congregations, as churches throughout central Maine face waning attendance and shrinking numbers of parishioners.
Posted inLocal & State, Maine Crime, News
Sheriffs bust 3 more illegal cannabis operations in Somerset County
More than 1,000 marijuana plants, over 30 pounds of processed cannabis, and other “drug paraphernalia and documentation” was confiscated when authorities executed search warrants at two residences in Norridgewock and one in Madison, according to Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster.