PORTLAND — The so-called “Education District” proposed for the city by members of the University Neighborhood Organization will remain just a proposal for the time being. The City Council’s Transportation, Sustainability and Energy Committee tabled the idea indefinitely on May 1. After urging by UNO President Carol Schiller, the committee had asked city staff to […]

PORTLAND — The Libbytown neighborhood, a historic area of the city that was decimated by changes in the transportation system a half century ago, is thriving once again. This time, transportation is helping. The neighborhood, which surrounds Congress Street between Sewall and Valley streets, was the home of mostly Irish immigrants in the mid-1800s. It […]

PORTLAND — Building wind turbines, collecting biological data on sea life and writing policy proposals for lawmakers about clean air are usually tasks for engineers, scientists and attorneys. At King Middle School, it’s just part of the curriculum. Throughout the school year, students at King take the traditional school-day lessons of reading, writing, art and […]

PORTLAND — From a Maine nonprofit group’s leak of confidential data in February, to the May 9 discovery that a worldwide gang of criminals stole $45 million by hacking into a database of prepaid debit cards, information security problems are a widespread concern these days. A group of national experts is in Portland this week […]

PORTLAND — A downtown business owner who organized counter-protests against anti-abortion demonstrators near his restaurant said he will close the business this summer. Mike Fink owns Mike’s Restaurant, at 437 Congress St., and Guitar Grave, a pawn shop and music store, at 441 Congress St. Both businesses are in the same building as the Portland […]

PORTLAND — After administrative turmoil and a slimming down of its original plans, the city’s first charter school received final approval from the Maine Charter School Commission on May 7. Baxter Academy for Technology and Science, which is slated to open this fall at 54 York St., reduced its enrollment projections, leading to reductions in […]

PORTLAND — A motorcyclist killed in a crash early Sunday was identified Monday as Mario Saravia, 27, of Portland. City Hall spokeswoman Nicole Clegg said Saravia died after the motorcycle he was operating eastbound on Ocean Avenue failed to negotiate a curve and went off the roadway about 3:30 a.m. The accident occurred near Wellwood […]

PORTLAND — The city is making it easier for residents to recycle organic waste, with the help of compost bins and other supplies being sold at discounts and delivered to residents’ homes at their next trash collection. Besides the bins, the supplies include compost thermometers, compost turners, kitchen scrap pails and rain collection barrels, according […]

PORTLAND — Longfellow Elementary School has received nearly $4,500 for new technology. The money, awarded by the Anne Foss Computer Curriculum Fund, will purchase six iPads and Apple TVs for the school, according to a Portland Public Schools press release. The technology will be used to improve classroom projection systems and as an alternative to […]

PORTLAND — Starting next week and continuing into the fall, Spring Street in front of the Cumberland County Civic Center will be reduced to one lane in each direction. Vehicles traveling in both directions will be routed to the eastbound lanes (south side of the median), away from the Civic Center construction zone, according to […]