PORTLAND — Election Day will be historic not only because the city is choosing its first popularly elected mayor in 88 years, but also for the way the mayor is elected. The city will be using a process known as ranked-choice, or instant-runoff voting. It allows a majority winner to be chosen from a large […]

PORTLAND — Drivers should expect ramp closures at Maine Turnpike Exit 48 over the next few days for paving. The northbound Interstate 95 off-ramp to Riverside Street will be closed Tuesday, Oct. 18, from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. Wednesday morning. On Wednesday, Oct. 19, either the southbound or northbound off-ramps will be closed overnight, […]

PORTLAND — Penny St. Louis is stepping down as director of the city’s Planning and Urban Development Department to pursue other professional opportunities, the city announced in a press release.  City Manager Mark Rees is expected to conduct a national search for her replacement. St. Louis’s last day is expected to be Oct. 28. Rees […]

PORTLAND — Voters on Nov. 8 will choose between two at-large candidates for the School Board. Candidates for the District 4 and District 5 seats are unopposed in their races. Incumbent Elizabeth Holton is challenged by Josephine Okot for the three-year at-large term. Incumbent Justin Costa was elected in 2008 and is unopposed for a […]

FALMOUTH — The causeway between the mainland and Mackworth Island will be closed to pedestrians, and drivers should expect significant delays, for the next few months while the causeway is rebuilt. Andrews Avenue, the only road to the island, the Baxter School for the Deaf and the Real School, will be under construction beginning Monday, […]

YARMOUTH – The third annual Yarmouth Art Festival will showcase 75 Maine artists and their paintings, sculpture, photography, etchings and digital media. The event will be held Wednesday, Oct. 19, through Saturday, Oct. 22, at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church, 396 Gilman Road. Weekday showings will be from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from […]

Alexis Golubow of Richmond puts a new spin on the old Hula Hoop on Saturday, Oct. 8, at the end of Maine Hoop Day at Thomas Point Beach in Brunswick. Golubow’s hoops are studded with LED lights.

An Oct. 7 story, “Brunswick School Board at-large election draws 2 candidates,” should have said candidate William Thompson worked for U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. It also should have said that he does not support public pre-schools.

NATICK, Mass. — The Forecaster and staff writer Emily Parkhurst have received a prestigious Publick Occurrences Award from the New England Newspaper and Press Association. The award was presented for a series of stories that illuminated the use of therapeutic physical restraints on students in Maine public schools. The stories, published over several months last […]

SOUTH PORTLAND — The committee developing a plan for renovating South Portland High School is expected to seek bids for the estimated $41.5 million project next month. A final public comment session was scheduled Thursday night, Oct. 13, at the school, with discussion of interior plans for the cafeteria, the outline for green building certification, […]