Dylan Tusinski
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Dylan Tusinski
@dylantus.bsky.social
My job is to shed light. Investigative reporter with the @pressherald.com in Portland, Maine.
pressherald.com/author/dylan-tusinski/
“Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens.” - Harry Truman
September 19, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Reposted by Dylan Tusinski
The new MAHA strategy leaves pesticides alone.

The plan is a win for the farm industry, which successfully lobbied the White House to temper RFK Jr.'s health agenda.
RFK Jr.'s new MAHA roadmap is finally public
The long-awaited document stops short of surprise regulations and leaves pesticides alone.
www.politico.com
September 9, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Reposted by Dylan Tusinski
We, the workers of the statewide Maine Trust for Local News are excited to kick off our new campaign to bring the entire company under One Big Union. As our work grows increasingly unified, so should our representation.

It's time to bring the whole company together. Sign out petition here!
Support One Big Union at the Maine Trust for Local News
Under nonprofit ownership, the Maine Trust for Local News is building a business model that could be a roadmap to sustainability for local news organizations across the country. We are here because we...
actionnetwork.org
August 19, 2025 at 1:39 PM
NEW: Your local dispo's $40 ounce might've been grown by the Chinese mob
Growers warn "gray market" weed is flooding legal weed markets & crushing legit businesses.
“They’re not just fighting us, but they’re fighting each other. It’s a race to the bottom.”
www.pressherald.com/2025/08/17/h...
How cheap weed from ‘gray market’ growers ends up on Maine dispensary shelves
Law enforcement experts say cheap, sometimes tainted weed grown by Chinese criminal groups is getting into the state's medical market. Business owners say it's cratering market rates and pushing reput...
www.pressherald.com
August 17, 2025 at 12:27 PM
BREAKING: GUNMAN AT LARGE IN WINDHAM, MAINE
August 15, 2025 at 8:20 PM
NEW: Maine rejects Justice Department’s request for a list of local election officials and every registered voter’s personal information.
SOS Shenna Bellows told the feds to “jump in the Gulf of Maine.”

www.pressherald.com/2025/07/29/m...
Maine rejects Justice Dept. request for lists of all voters, election officials
Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said the federal government has sent the same request for voters’ personal information in all 50 states.
www.pressherald.com
July 29, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Hyde School alumni take out full page ad in the @pressherald.com after the paper reported on the school’s alleged practices of child abuse, manual labor & “attack therapy”
July 27, 2025 at 2:47 PM
A 'cluster' of HIV cases in Bangor has quietly become one of the largest outbreaks in Maine's history.
Local providers expect the county's thin support structure to face more strain as cases rise and the federal government cuts public health budgets.
My latest:
www.pressherald.com/2025/07/23/h...
How a ‘cluster’ of HIV cases in Penobscot County became one of Maine’s largest outbreaks
The vast majority of positive tests have come from people in Bangor who have either been homeless, injection drug users, or both. But officials say the outbreak is a culmination of factors much larger...
www.pressherald.com
July 23, 2025 at 4:10 PM
7 Chinese nationals have been charged for running a “a multi-million-dollar conspiracy” of illegal weed grows across New England.
One man was caught laundering $40k in drug proceeds while wearing a $120 Supreme shirt of an iron laundering money.
www.pressherald.com/2025/07/09/s...
July 9, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Maine Fire Marshal investigating dudes for rocking
July 8, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Maine woman who allegedly kept and sold "malnourished, lice infested" horses charged with animal cruelty for 2nd time in 15 years
www.pressherald.com/2025/07/06/b...
Burnham woman again charged with animal cruelty
The state is investigating a woman who allegedly kept and sold malnourished horses, cows, dogs and cats at her Burnham property and was convicted of nearly identical charges about 15 years ago.
www.pressherald.com
July 7, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Thanks for the shout in the newsletter last week @ire.org

www.pressherald.com/2025/06/04/h...
June 22, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Reposted by Dylan Tusinski
Cumberland County Jail officer detained by ICE had applied for asylum
Cumberland County Jail officer detained by ICE had applied for asylum
Gratien Milandou-Wamba was detained by ICE officers while driving to work on April 19. He is being held in a New Hampshire jail awaiting court proceedings.
www.pressherald.com
June 18, 2025 at 10:58 AM
Reposted by Dylan Tusinski
Scarborough last had an active student newspaper in 2012. That's a national pattern: between 2011-2021, the proportion of US high schools with a student newspaper dropped from 64% to 45%. In disadvantaged urban neighborhoods and rural areas, just 27% of schools have a student paper.
Scarborough High revives student newspaper after 12 years of inactivity
A group of underclassmen founded The Storm this school year at a time when more and more young people eschew traditional media sources.
www.pressherald.com
June 6, 2025 at 7:46 PM
A building once used by the notorious Elan school for troubled teens is back on the market after being condemned + used as an illegal Chinese-run marijuana farm for the last four years.
It was raided by police last year & is being sold "as is" but traces of its past lives are still visible inside.🧵
June 7, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Neat stuff in Gardiner. Officials specifically cited my investigation while rejecting two cannabis applications at an illegal Chinese-run grow mentioned in the story.

The facility was licensed by a former legislator & has since been operating illegally.
www.pressherald.com/2025/06/04/h...
June 5, 2025 at 2:46 PM
How a former Maine lawmaker grew weed with alleged Chinese crime groups

He & others in the cannabis industry/lobbying group he leads have helped numerous illegal Chinese grows find legal cover in rural Maine.

My latest investigation:
www.pressherald.com/2025/06/04/h...
June 5, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Reposted by Dylan Tusinski
Hundreds of pages of inspection reports, police logs and other documents reviewed by the Press Herald show how Eddie DuGay, a former state lawmaker turned full-time cannabis consultant, helped numerous Chinese nationals get medical marijuana licenses and set up shop across the state.
How a former lawmaker grew weed with alleged Chinese crime groups in rural Maine
A web of shell companies and illegal grows allegedly linked to Chinese organized crime traces its start to one former Democratic legislator, his cannabis consulting business, and his chain of central ...
www.pressherald.com
June 4, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Reposted by Dylan Tusinski
UMaine’s federal funds have been in limbo since February, when Trump ordered an investigation into the university system and threatened to pull its grant money following a public spat with Gov. Janet Mills over Maine state law allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls’ sports.
Trump administration has frozen $50 million in UMaine funding so far
More than $21 million was terminated or put on hold recently as the university was negotiating the grants' terms and conditions, the university says.
www.pressherald.com
May 28, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Reposted by Dylan Tusinski
COMMENTARY: Claims of election rigging will be tested in a courtroom in Colorado next week. Here's why many journalists, Democrats, and Republicans aren't talking about it.
May 28, 2025 at 1:14 AM
Reposted by Dylan Tusinski
"I have nothing to hide! I don't need digital privacy!" Well...

- AI companies are scraping your data
- Scammers are using AI to get better at their schemes
- And yeah, a new era of government surveillance...

A starter guide to protecting you online life:
A Starter Guide to Protecting Your Data From Hackers and Corporations
Hackers. AI data scrapes. Government surveillance. Yeah, thinking about where to start when it comes to protecting your online privacy can be overwhelming. Here’s a simple guide for you—and anyone who...
www.wired.com
May 27, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Reposted by Dylan Tusinski
President Donald Trump announced he is granting a “full and unconditional pardon” to a former Virginia sheriff, Scott Jenkins, who was convicted of conspiracy, honest services fraud and bribery.
Trump announces pardon for former Virginia sheriff convicted of federal bribery charges | CNN Politics
President Donald Trump announced he is granting a “full and unconditional pardon” to a former Virginia sheriff, Scott Jenkins, who was convicted of conspiracy, honest services fraud and bribery.
www.cnn.com
May 26, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Maine's only police partnership with ICE halted after pushback from residents and legislators
www.pressherald.com/2025/05/21/w...
Wells Police halts ICE partnership after pushback from legislators, residents
The York County town's police chief said the department is taking a "wait-and-see approach" after state lawmakers introduced bills to prohibit local police from carrying out federal immigration policy...
www.pressherald.com
May 21, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Reposted by Dylan Tusinski
X continued to take payments from accounts that appeared to be affiliated with Hezbollah leaders, Houthi officials, and militia leaders in Syria and Iraq, a nonprofit found. The report comes over a year after researchers warned that X may be violating U.S. sanctions by accepting such payments.
Terrorists Continue to Pay for Check Marks on X, Report Says
Elon Musk’s social media company has continued to accept payments for subscriptions from entities barred from doing business in the U.S., a nonprofit found.
nyti.ms
May 15, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Reposted by Dylan Tusinski
Use of the state's law to intervene in gun violence varies greatly between counties and their police departments. But it's unclear why.
Guns taken through Maine’s yellow flag law? It might depend on where you live.
Use of the state's law to intervene in gun violence varies greatly between counties and their police departments. But it's unclear why.
www.pressherald.com
May 14, 2025 at 7:19 PM