PORTLAND — The area’s first proposed charter school has signed a tentative agreement with Rufus Deering Lumber Co. to lease a space at 54 York St. Baxter Academy, a science, technology, engineering and mathematics charter school, was announced earlier this year. It is expected to open in September 2012. “Being downtown is critical to our […]

PORTLAND — In a divided opinion, the state’s highest court decided Thursday that six lawyers at one of Maine’s largest firms had violated one of the ethics rules governing the conduct of lawyers. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled in a 3-1 decision that lawyers at Verrill Dana in Portland had violated a Maine Bar […]

SCARBOROUGH — Town councilors on Wednesday rejected an attempt to limit the use of consumer fireworks, and instead sent the proposal back to committee. Unless the town enacts its own limits before Jan. 1 – an option that now seems all but impossible – the decision means fireworks will be legal as of Jan. 1, governed […]

PORTLAND — The City Council on Wednesday voted 8-1 to deny OccupyMaine a permit to continue its encampment in Lincoln Park. The attorney representing the group later said OccupyMaine will probably seek a temporary restraining order to prevent the city from dismantling the encampment that is now in its second month. Oddly enough, a lawsuit […]

SOUTH PORTLAND — The city on Monday filed court documents defending its personnel policy against charges that the rules violate the First Amendment rights of its employees. South Portland School Board member Karen Callaghan, who is a city librarian, and former School Board member Burton Edwards, who is a part-time Parks and Recreation Department employee, […]

SOUTH PORTLAND — The new mayor is urging her fellow city councilors to create an activist, environmentally conscious city government. Councilor Patti Smith was unanimously elected mayor at a special meeting of the City Council on Monday. She replaces Rosemarie De Angelis, who continues as a city councilor. Smith asked other councilors to be courageous […]

BATH — The City Council on Wednesday approved borrowing funds for renovation of the former National Guard Armory, endorsed a fireworks ban and continued a moratorium on wireless “smart” electric meters. In a 3 1/2-hour meeting that also saw the council support the armory becoming the home of the Bath Youth Meetinghouse and Skatepark, councilors […]

CAPE ELIZABETH — Resident Michael Concannon hopes to build a gourmet market and offices at the corner of Route 77 and the high school driveway. The Planning Board heard a preliminary proposal to build the two-story business at 349 Ocean House Road at a workshop on Tuesday, Dec. 6. Concannon, the president of Port Printing Solutions […]

HARPSWELL — After several years of study, the Comprehensive Plan Implementation Committee has narrowed the options for possible village districts to the area around Mitchell Field. Town Planner Carol Tukey said ordinance changes are likely to appear before voters at the annual Town Meeting next March. If approved, the changes could allow for denser development […]

BRUNSWICK — Bowdoin College is accepting applications for its annual Common Good Grants. Local nonprofits can apply for grants of up to $2,500 to enable them to better serve the greater Brunswick community. The grants are endowed by an anonymous donor who annually gives $10,000 for students to award to area agencies. A panel of […]