Sarah Thompson tells the City Council that the district plans facilities upgrades and curriculum changes.
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, Schools and Education
Health officials suspect food contamination made 22 Portland schoolchildren ill
The children, who all recovered quickly, started throwing up an hour after lunch Tuesday. A pickled beet salad is under suspicion.
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Posted inMaine, News
Facing uncertainty on General Assistance, Portland budgets for the ‘worst case’
Millions are at stake as the city awaits decisions on state funding for immigrants, shelters and more.
Posted inBusiness, News
Advocates press Portland councilors to act on citywide minimum wage
The city’s Finance Committee, which has been trying to determine the economic impact of a wage increase, was supposed to take up the issue Thursday, but it’s been postponed.
Posted inMaine, News
Portland’s East Bayside selected for $200,000 planning grant
Portland is one of only 20 communities nationwide to receive the grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Posted inMaine, News
Portland councilors take no action on housing safety recommendations
Without a vote by the public safety committee, the city manager will have to draft a budget with no provision for a housing safety office.
Posted inMaine, News
Portland councilors to map out plan for beefed-up fire safety in rental units
Key topics will be a task force’s ideas for reforms, how to pay for them, and the city’s internal list of properties to avoid.
Posted inMaine, News
Building violations can go years without correction or enforcement action
A closer look at three buildings with long histories of code and fire safety violations shows how properties can fall through cracks of Portland’s oversight program
Posted inMaine, News
Fire safety programs vary in Maine, while some New England cities make it a priority
Maine municipalities vary, but three cities in New England inspect rental units regularly, and have the means to fund it.
Posted inMaine, News
Is your building safe? What Portland won’t tell you
Even though Portland keeps an ongoing list of troubled properties where officials refuse to house recipients of General Assistance, other renters aren’t warned. We asked: Why the double standard, and what’s being done to correct it?