PORTLAND — City councilors Monday unanimously passed a resolution for renewed study of public transit, including possible rail service, to the Lewiston-Auburn area. Their counterparts in Lewiston and Auburn may be getting on board with the idea, too. The resolution directs city staff to continue research into a proposed transit link, in collaboration with officials […]
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Posted inPortland Forecaster, The Forecaster
Portlands schools seek input on pre-K education
PORTLAND — The School Department will hold two community meetings to gauge public support for continuing the city’s five public preschool programs. Preschool programming in the schools district began in 2011 after a community task force set a five-year goal of offering universal access to quality public preschool education to all 4-year-olds. There are now five […]
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Posted inCoastal Journal, Northern Forecaster, Portland Forecaster, Southern Forecaster, The Forecaster
Advocates decry holes in safety net for Maine fishing industry
PORTLAND — Advocates said they were baffled when one of the first serious attempts at improving fishing industry safety was stripped down in an annual act passed quietly last month. The U.S. Coast Guard Re-authorization Act of 2010 provision requiring all commercial fishing vessels operating more than three miles from the coast to have dockside inspections […]
Posted inCoastal Journal, Northern Forecaster, Portland Forecaster, Southern Forecaster, The Forecaster
Yarmouth legislators push statewide ranked-choice voting
AUGUSTA — So long, spoilers. That’s the message two Yarmouth legislators hope to send with legislation aimed at eliminating the chances of electing statewide candidates with less than a majority vote. Freshman Rep. Janice Cooper, D-Yarmouth, and veteran legislator Sen. Dick Woodbury, U-Yarmouth, have submitted draft legislation for ranked-choice voting to the Legal and Veterans […]
Posted inCoastal Journal, Northern Forecaster, Portland Forecaster, Southern Forecaster, The Forecaster
Maine radio news legend (and lousy car salesman) Mike Audet signs off
SCARBOROUGH — Mike Audet took a simple view of his career in broadcasting. “I went to work, I did my job, I came home,” he said upon retiring last month after more than 50 years on the air in Maine, Arizona and Connecticut. A Waterville native, Audet, 70, first stepped to the microphone as a high […]
Posted inPortland Forecaster, The Forecaster
Parking remains a hurdle for proposed Portland restaurant
PORTLAND — Developers of a restaurant proposed at 227 York St. suggested they aren’t ready to give up after their plan failed to receive a variance from the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals on Jan. 3. Neil Reiter hopes to build a restaurant in the dilapidated house that occupies the property. But first he needed […]
Posted inPortland Forecaster, The Forecaster
Portland charter school accepts applications
PORTLAND — Baxter Academy for Technology & Science is accepting applications for the 2013-2014 school year. The school, which is the third public charter school approved in Maine, is accepting applications for students entering grades 9 and 10. Enrollment will be capped at 160 students to ensure smaller class sizes. Tuition is free to any student […]
Posted inPortland Forecaster, The Forecaster
Regional planning study includes Portland's India Street neighborhood
PORTLAND — The city’s India Street neighborhood is one of 10 areas in southern Maine selected for a pilot study in a regional planning project. The Sustain Southern Maine project will look at ways to attract residential and commercial growth to the neighborhood while preserving its character and livability, according to a City Hall press […]
Posted inPortland Forecaster, The Forecaster
Anti-abortion, abortion rights demonstrators duel in Portland
PORTLAND — A business owner rallied an abortion rights demonstration on Friday to counter the regular appearance on his street of anti-abortion protesters he called “obnoxious.” The dueling demonstrations set the stage for chanting, arguing and sometimes yelling, as dozens of Planned Parenthood supporters turned out in opposition to what have become weekly protests outside […]
Posted inNorthern Forecaster, The Forecaster
Yarmouth power plant, Freeport junkyard hit with environmental fines
YARMOUTH — The Maine Department of Environmental Protection levied fines totalling more than $48,000 against the Wyman Power Station and a Freeport junkyard. Wyman, the oil-fired power plant at 667 Cousins St. on Cousins Island, was penalized more than $25,800 for air pollution violations. In Freeport, the DAB junkyard at 13 Allen Range Road […]