The inaugural program, funded through private donations, will give 24 teenagers experience working outdoors in city parks, where they can learn about trees, plants, wildlife and more.
Randy Billings
Staff Writer
Randy Billings is a government watchdog and political reporter who has been the State House bureau chief since 2021. He was named the Maine Press Association’s Journalist of the Year in 2020. He joined the Press Herald in 2012 as the Portland City Hall reporter, where his beat touched on a wide range of topics, including municipal government, immigration, homelessness, housing and social services. Prior to that, he worked at various weeklies as well as business and arts publications. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine, Orono. He lives in North Yarmouth with his wife and two children and enjoys the outdoors and playing his upright bass.
Posted inMaine, News, Politics
Longtime Portland city councilor Mavodones won’t seek re-election
Nicholas Mavodones, who served 3 decades in office, including 24 years as city councilor, said he wants to spend more time with family.
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Posted inMaine, Uncategorized
Portland Charter Commission selects leaders
Michael Kebede, a policy counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine, and Shay Stewart-Bouley, a writer and executive director of Community Change Inc., a Boston-based anti-racist nonprofit, were elected chair and vice chair, respectively.
Posted inMaine, News
Portland residents brace for new home values
Some longtime homeowners in neighborhoods like the East End fear they may not be able to live with the higher taxes that result.
Posted inCops & Courts, Maine, News
Man accused of sexually assaulting a Maine minor arrested in Virginia
Oscar Geovanny Melgar-Flores was arrested Tuesday in Newport News, Virginia, and is awaiting extradition on charges that he sexually assaulted a 13-year-old.
Posted inMaine, News
Drug overdose deaths continue to rise at record pace in Maine
The latest figures indicate that Mainers with substance use disorder continue to struggle with the effects of the pandemic, putting 2021 on pace to surpass the record deaths in 2020.
Posted inMaine, News
Land swap paves way for another link in loop trail around the Portland peninsula
The $1.6 million trail project is part of a larger land swap between Portland and the state, which would assume ownership of the International Marine Terminal.
Posted inMaine, News
State’s supreme court sends clean elections case back to Portland City Council
The court ruled Thursday that it did not have enough information to decide whether the city’s decision not to send a citizen proposal for a local clean-elections program to voters was justified.
Posted inMaine, News, Uncategorized
Charter commissioner who called city manager ‘white supremacist’ can’t be recalled, lawyer says
The opinion comes as the 12-member commission is slated to meet for the first time later this month, kicking off a year-long review of the city charter.
Posted inMaine, News
Initiative to limit size of homeless shelters in Portland gets on November ballot
The proposal would limit most new emergency shelters to 50 beds, while making other changes to standards new shelters must meet.