PORTLAND — The city’s food truck task force is nearly ready to send its recommendations to a City Council committee. Task force members said the work represents a compromise between restaurant supporters and food truck proponents. The recommendations, if instituted as city policy, would restrict food trucks from operating on public property in much of […]

PORTLAND — More than a year after officials announced they were looking for a new home for the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum, the organization is ready to begin raising money for the move. The museum is looking to hire a fundraising consultant this month, Brian Durham, vice president of the organization’s board […]

PORTLAND — The city will host its annual community discussion of parks and public space initiatives, the Green Space Gathering, on Thursday, May 3. The forum, now in its third year, will provide an opportunity for the Parks Commission to present its work over the last year and its plans for the future. It also […]

PORTLAND — Nighttime traffic on Washington Avenue will be slowed by a construction project during the month of May, city officials warned. The project on a combined sewer overflow system is expected to cause delays at the intersection of Washington and Allen avenues between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. throughout the month. Officials advised drivers […]

PORTLAND — The nonprofit Regional Transportation Program announced Monday that it is as a finalist in Toyota’s 100 Cars for Good program. Five hundred organizations made the cut;Toyota will profile five each day on the project website, 100carsforgood.com, during the summer and take votes. One hundred winners will each receive a new vehicle from Toyota. […]

PORTLAND — Grants of more than $2 million will be used to open new after-school programs for students in Portland and Biddeford. LearningWorks received two Maine Department of Education 21st Century Learning Center grants totaling $2.2 million to expand and start the public-school programs. The grants will be used for programs expected to reach more […]

The Forecaster’s Matt Hongoltz-Hetling joined Thema Ponton of News 8 WMTW to discuss Hongoltz-Hetling’s story about a crumbling pier that’s troubling the town of Harpswell. The interview can be watched at wmtw.com.  Tune in to WMTW every Sunday morning at 7, when staffers from The Forecaster join News 8 to discuss the week’s top local […]

FREEPORT — A local man whose remains were discovered in northern Maine on Wednesday died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland. Dean Levasseur, 24, is believed to have shot himself around 1:30 a.m. Sunday, McCausland said. Levasseur’s body was discovered in a wooded area of Howland, […]

SOUTH PORTLAND — After refusing to budge Monday night, the School Board Wednesday whittled down its proposed budget for fiscal year 2013. In what board member Jeff Selser called a “feisty” workshop, the board found places to make cuts in its proposed operating budget. “It was a very difficult meeting,” Selser said Thursday. “There wasn’t a […]

PORTLAND — A small group gathered on Monument Square Wednesday evening under the Occupy banner to protest what they said was a student loan system out of control. About 20 activists wearing screen-printed patches reading “Hello, my debt is … ” began their protest with a call-and-repeat chant outlining the event’s purpose. “Tuition as collateral. […]