Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT)

"When you live on what’s essentially a sandbar, pollution, septic systems, and political roadblocks add up to one tough challenge."

"New York officials approved a clean energy standard on Monday that requires half of the state’s electricity to come from renewable sources by 2030."

"The drought that has taken hold in the Northeast is especially felt at John Lavoie's farm in Hollis, presenting him with some tough choices. Irrigation ponds are drying up, forcing him to choose between tomatoes and berries or apple and peach trees."

"As mosquito season heats up, bringing with it the threat of the West Nile and Zika viruses, one Long Island town is taking an unorthodox approach: bats."

"Scientists hope that by monitoring the presence of whales in real-time off the coast of New England they can protect them from colliding with shipping vessels."

"The New York City department charged with overseeing day care centers routinely failed to test the centers’ water for lead — and for years falsified reports that the tests had been completed, in order for the centers to receive operating permits — according to a sharply worded audit released on Friday by the city comptroller, Scott M. Stringer."

"Amid mounting alarm over how to pay for repairs to New Jersey’s roads and bridges, state lawmakers are lining up behind a potential solution once considered politically unthinkable: raising the state’s famously low gas tax."

"Gov. Paul LePage (R) stepped up his attacks on the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) in dramatic fashion this week by sending personal letters to the environmental group’s donors."

"'Rogue dirt brokers' with mob ties and criminal histories used fake documents to haul hundreds of truckloads of tainted soil and construction debris that were then dumped illegally onto environmentally sensitive sites in New Jersey, state investigators alleged Wednesday."