Posted inLocal & State, sj-web

Alfond attacks new Portland charter school for aligning with ‘extreme organization’

PORTLAND — Senate President Justin Alfond, D-Portland, attacked a new charter school in his district Friday for aligning itself with what he called one of the most extreme political organizations in Maine. Baxter Academy for Technology and Science, a new charter school set to open this fall in Portland, will host a policy luncheon next […]

Posted inBusiness, Local & State, sj-web

LePage backs Maine company competing to restart Portland-Nova Scotia ferry service

AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage is officially throwing his weight behind the only Maine-based company currently competing for a contract to restart ferry service between Maine and Nova Scotia. On Tuesday, LePage sent a letter to Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter to publicly back Eliot, Maine-based Quest Navigation’s proposal to restart the ferry service, which […]

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Posted inLocal & State, sj-web

Portland Fire Department gets $1.1M federal grant

PORTLAND (AP) — The Portland Fire Department has received a $1.1 million grant to help staff a special hazards response team. The grant will fund firefighter positions on the department’s Rescue 1 apparatus, which responds to confined space fires, hazardous material emergencies, and other special hazards. It is the second time the city has received […]

Posted inLocal & State, sj-web

Latest Portland plan to reduce panhandlers? Find them jobs

“A large percentage of the people who testified [on the median strip ordinance] said people were in those median strips because of the economic conditions and [lack of] jobs,” Portland Mayor Michael Brennan told the Bangor Daily News on Tuesday. “They criticized the city for not doing more to help solve the root problem of […]

Posted inLocal & State, sj-web

Suspect in Portland street assault goes to trial

PORTLAND (AP) — The trial of a Scarborough man charged with assaulting a woman on a Portland street and leaving her with permanent brain injuries is getting started. Jury selection in the trial of 28-year-old Eric Gwaro was completed Monday and opening statements are expected Tuesday. The Portland Press Herald (http://bit.ly/13zTPoT ) reported that Gwaro […]

Posted inLocal & State, sj-web

Authorities identify Portland swimmer who died

PORTLAND — A man who died Friday evening after he was pulled from the Fore River earlier that day was identified Sunday as 49-year-old Patrick Flynn of Portland. Nicole Clegg, spokeswoman for the city of Portland, released the information late Sunday afternoon. The South Portland Fire Department went to the Thomas Knight Park dock, directly […]

Posted inLocal & State, sj-web

Man dies swimming in Fore River

PORTLAND — A man swimming in the Fore River near the Casco Bay Bridge Friday afternoon was rescued by the Portland Fire Department, but later died at Maine Medical Center. Just before 5:30 p.m., the South Portland Fire Department responded to the Thomas Knight Park dock, directly underneath the bridge, for a report that a […]

Posted inLocal & State

Marijuana: The patients, the politics, the future

“Patrick” eats half a marijuana-laced brownie every night to keep away chronic diabetic nerve pain. The Sabattus man has a note from his doctor and buys from the local dispensary. Two years ago, “Barbie” in Peru secretly swapped legal prescription painkillers for marijuana for her chronic neck pain, growing one or two plants on the […]