SOUTH PORTLAND — Residents who mix trash with recyclables may face penalties of up to $500 or loss of access to curbside recycling. The city is considering the punitive measures because truckloads of recyclables from the Redbank neighborhood are deemed contaminated each week when they reach the ecomaine waste management center in Portland. One “dirty” […]

SOUTH PORTLAND — A preliminary budget projection shows the city could see a property tax increase of 3.5 percent to 5.3 percent in the coming fiscal year.  Those figures, presented to the City Council during a workshop Monday, are a picture of the municipal budget that hasn’t fully come into focus, City Manager Jim Gailey […]

SCARBOROUGH — The town has shifted course again on whether to allow consumer fireworks, this time advancing a proposal to allow their use five days a year.  A package of ordinance changes pushed by the Ordinance Committee won preliminary approval from the Town Council on Wednesday. It would allow the use of consumer fireworks July […]

SOUTH PORTLAND — No more static-burdened signals on emergency radio frequencies or so-called “dead zones” in cell phone service in the western end of South Portland.  That’s the upshot of the Planning Board’s approval Tuesday of a city-owned emergency communications tower at the West End Fire Station off Western Avenue. The 90-foot tower will host […]

HARPSWELL — Selectmen are hoping to take the town’s pulse on the construction of a boat launch at Mitchell Field at the annual Town Meeting in March. They’re also looking to bring Harpswell Community Television into the digital age with $82,500 worth of new equipment. While no spending on the boat launch will be authorized […]

CAPE ELIZABETH — Tradition overcame innovation for at least a year as School Superintendent Meredith Nadeau said she will submit a 2012-2013 school calendar with February and March vacation breaks. Nadeau told School Board members Tuesday she will continue to explore the idea of scheduling a single eight-day break in March in future years. Public […]

BRUNSWICK — There could be an initial cost estimate for a new police station within as little as six weeks. Town Manager Gary Brown said Tuesday that he’s negotiating a contract with Mike Ouellet of Ouellet Associates, the contractor chosen by the Police Station Subcommittee to build the new police station. Brown said he didn’t […]

SOUTH PORTLAND — High school students next year will have the option to take a career-oriented course in computer repair while servicing the schools and the wider community. Students enrolled in the semester-long course, “Tech Team,” will learn to troubleshoot and repair common personal computer hardware and software issues, and they’ll work with faculty to […]

CAPE ELIZABETH — The door remains open to regulating short-term residence rentals after town councilors forwarded proposed zoning amendments in a Monday vote. The unanimous approval by seven councilors means the Planning Board will now examine proposals to limit the number of overnight guests, require property owners to obtain permits, and meet parking and sewage […]

HARPSWELL — A man already charged with sex crimes in West Bath and Topsham now faces charges in Harpswell, too. Andrew Thomas Mank, 21, of Bowery Street, Bath, was summonsed Jan. 11 by the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office on charges of 15 counts of sexual abuse of a minor and one count of criminal restraint. […]