Grace covers city hall and Greater Portland for the Press Herald. She previously covered reproductive health for Texas Monthly and served as the local host of All Things Considered at Vermont Public. Before moving to Maine, Grace attended Columbia Journalism School in New York City and spent many years in Colorado and Oregon working in the non-profit sector. When she isn't reporting you can find her trail-running with her dog Loma, practicing her Spanish, surfing, or making pottery.
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PublishedSeptember 18, 2023
Portland City Council passes hotel fee proposal at meeting disrupted by hate speech
Zoom commenters attacking people of color temporarily derailed Monday’s meeting, prompting an executive session before the council passed a plan to fund a tourism marketing campaign.
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PublishedSeptember 18, 2023
Press Herald, UNE to host 2023 Portland mayoral debate
The newspaper is partnering with the University of New England to host an Oct. 3 debate with all five mayoral candidates.
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PublishedSeptember 18, 2023
Portland promised to store personal items from encampment sweeps. But nothing is in storage.
The city said the few valuable items found during the sweeps were given to police because they were suspected of being stolen.
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PublishedSeptember 15, 2023
Protesters gather at City Hall to protest encampment sweeps
Organizers say they want the City Council to pass an ordinance that will stop further encampment sweeps until longer-term solutions to the housing crisis are in place.
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PublishedSeptember 14, 2023
Portland to focus on expanding homeless shelter capacity ahead of winter
At a workshop Thursday on the encampments crisis, the city council floated proposals including increased police presence, sanctioned camping and expanding city shelter capacity.
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PublishedSeptember 12, 2023
Portland’s clean elections program off to rocky start
Candidates using the program approved by voters last fall say it has complicated timelines, burdensome paperwork and an all-cash or check system that doesn’t keep up with the times.
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PublishedSeptember 11, 2023
Portland Council hears update on Franklin Street redesign
The city plans to apply for federal funding and begin work later this decade on a project that was approved in 2015 in an effort to make the area safer for bicyclists and pedestrians while creating space to build housing.
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PublishedSeptember 11, 2023
Portland City Council grapples with harassment, hate speech from anonymous Zoom callers
Councilors say they are weighing options to stymie the disruptive calls during meetings, including returning to in-person-only public comments.
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PublishedSeptember 8, 2023
Portland’s Baxter Boulevard reopens after yearslong closure
The stretch of boulevard between Vannah Avenue and Payson Park has been closed for more than two years for construction of a waste and storm water storage system.
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PublishedSeptember 6, 2023
Portland council postpones vote on proposed tourism funding fee for many hotel guests
The council will vote on the proposal on Sept. 18.