YARMOUTH — Juniors and seniors who want to dance at the high school prom will first have to take a test. The School Committee on April 12 unanimously approved a pilot project requiring all students at the May 19 prom to be tested for the presence of alcohol. High school Principal Ted Hall emphasized the […]

FALMOUTH — Fewer than a dozen residents commented during a public hearing on the municipal and school budgets, with only one person speaking against an education spending plan that calls for a tax increase. John Winslow, a third-generation resident who lives on Gray Road, was the resident who spoke against the $11 million municipal budget […]

CAPE ELIZABETH — Public Works Director Robert Malley finds it a bit strange his crews are already preparing to mow grass. Usually at this time they are busy cleaning up the remnants of winter, sweeping streets and putting everything back in order for the warmer seasons ahead. Instead, thanks to a mild winter, “everything’s a […]

CUMBERLAND — The overall assessment from School Administrative District 51 to its two member towns could increase 7.8 percent in fiscal 2013. Cumberland could see a tax rate increase of 50 cents per $1,000 of property valuation, a climb of 3.1 percent. The increase would be about $150 a year on a home valued at […]

PORTLAND — By now, we were supposed to have flying cars. Instead, city streets will see a fleet of bicycle rickshaws offering cross-town rides this summer as a national pedicab company expands into Portland. The arrival of Maine Pedicab – with eight pedicabs, an office at 58 Fore St., and the guidance of the USA […]

PORTLAND — School Board Chairwoman Kate Snyder next week will present the City Council with a $94.9 million education spending plan she called the “right budget, right now.” The budget, which requires a nearly 3.7 percent hike in local property taxes, was approved April 10 by a 7-1 School Board vote. After a City Council […]

PORTLAND — High school students across the city are learning about and evaluating education models that over the next few years will provide more avenues to graduation. In February, the district was awarded a $5 million, multi-year grant from the Nellie Mae Foundation that will allow the district to implement a student-centered model of education […]

PORTLAND — The search for a new school superintendent is moving forward as School Board members begin the process of selecting semi-finalists from a pool of more than 150 applicants. School Board members are expected to meet in executive session for about three hours Tuesday night to review applications from people who want to replace […]

FALMOUTH — Matt Hongoltz-Hetling, who joined the staff of The Forecaster last month, was named Monday as a 2012 Pulitzer Prize finalist for his work at the Advertiser Democrat in Norway. Hongoltz-Hetling and A.M. Sheehan, editor of the Advertiser Democrat, were nominated for what Pulitzer jurors called “their tenacious exposure of disgraceful conditions in federally-supported […]

Freeport firefighters responded to a brush fire on Baker Road at about 1 p.m. Sunday. The dry and windy conditions created a potential danger to the surrounding area, so several other communities responded with mutual aid to put down the fire. Freeport Fire Department Lt. Cory Sloat knocks down the flames.