PORTLAND — The Portland Public Schools is hosting a back-to-school fair at Ocean Avenue Elementary School from 1-5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 25. During the event parents will get help with the district’s new online enrollment system and also get a chance to sign their children up for afterschool programs, athletics and other activities. In addition, families […]

PORTLAND — Planning Department staff are now available each Tuesday morning for individual 30-minute sessions to review building or life safety code requirements. City spokeswoman Jessica Grondin said staff will be available from 9 a.m.-noon, and appointments must be about a specific building permit application. The application does not have to be submitted at the […]

PORTLAND — Available city funding for affordable housing is approaching an all-time high. But the good fortune may be fleeting as city officials look for ways to consistently capitalize the Housing Trust Fund at a time when an important component – fees paid by housing developers – are slowing. “We leveraged 200 units with $1.2 million; 1,000 […]

PORTLAND — As the developer and city prepare to celebrate the opening of a unique preschool in the former Thomas B. Reed School, plans for housing in the building have also been filed. A ribbon-cutting for the private, nonprofit Children’s Odyssey preschool will be held at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 9, at 19 Libby St., city spokeswoman Jessica […]

PORTLAND — Two potential City Charter changes will be considered at the City Council meeting Monday, Aug. 13. One requires additional financial reporting for local candidates. The second, sponsored by Mayor Ethan Strimling and Councilor Pious Ali, would amend Article IV to allow legal immigrants, including refugees and asylees, the right to vote in municipal […]

PORTLAND — An organization founded 10 years ago to help immigrants and refugees build successful careers and businesses and create financial stability has a new name and an expanded mission. Community Financial Literacy has re-branded itself as ProsperityME. With a $75,000 matching grant, the group now hopes to provide college scholarships, as well as continue to […]

PORTLAND — Showing what STEM-focused education can become is a key goal for Angela Atkinson Duina, the new principal of faculty and instruction at the Baxter Academy for Technology and Science. Atkinson Duina joined the 5-year-old charter school Aug. 1 and said what she most appreciates about Baxter is its willingness to take risks and to […]

PORTLAND — Last summer, the city turned a parking lot into $3.3 million. Now city councilors could turn much of the proceeds from sale of the lot at the corner of Thames and Hancock streets into new housing, a rebuilt fire station and a joint study on sustainability and environmental health. “The City does not typically budget […]