SOUTH PORTLAND — They call it the Bermuda Triangle of heat. In the corner of Scratch Baking Co. stands a 550-degree oven, a stove with pots of boiling water and a warm pastry oven. On a hot summer day this air conditioned-free-space can get up to 120 degrees. It’s not a place you would choose […]
Portland
Tow truck operators say Portland may lose their services if the city doesn’t charge higher towing fees
PORTLAND — Drivers whose cars or trucks are towed in Portland will soon be charged more to get their vehicles back. But tow company operators say the fee hike still isn’t enough to cover their increasing costs. As a result, the wrecker drivers say, the city may find itself without enough tow trucks to call […]
Portland voters to decide whether to legalize marijuana
PORTLAND — Proponents of legalizing the recreational use of marijuana in Maine’s largest city evoked the controversial George Zimmerman verdict during a Monday news conference in Portland and said laws against pot are used to unfairly target blacks. “Our justice system is failing us,” said Regina Phillips, an executive board member of the Maine NAACP, […]
Portland council cracks down on panhandling
PORTLAND — After hearing public testimony from nearly two dozen residents, the City Council on Monday night unanimously voted into law a ban on loitering in street medians — a measure critics have said is a thinly disguised attempt to stamp out panhandling in the city. The ban, which was proposed a year ago but […]
Portland City Council to discuss legalizing pot tonight
PORTLAND — The Portland City Council will discuss making it legal for adults to possess marijuana in the city in a public hearing tonight. The hearing focuses on a citizen initiative that would make marijuana possession legal for people who are at least 21 years old. The council could enact the ordnance or let voters decide. […]
Portland school officials say military recruiters are allowed
PORTLAND — Portland Public Schools officials are disputing a claim by Republican Gov. Paul LePage that the city’s high schools limit uniformed military recruiters’ access to students. Officials said Monday that the district’s four high schools allow uniformed military recruiters to speak with students. Portland High School Principal Deborah Migneault says in a statement that […]
5 runners treated for heat exhaustion in Maine
PORTLAND (AP) — Officials say hot weather caused problems for some participants in the Shipyard Half Marathon, with about a dozen runners being treated for heat-related problems. Portland fire officials tell WGME-TV says that five of the runners had to be taken to the hospital on Sunday. The 13.1-mile road race looped through Portland. The […]
Portland struggles with ‘explosion’ of panhandlers
PORTLAND — On a recent afternoon, a man stood on a median strip holding a cardboard sign. “Homeless, hurtin & hungry. God bless. Anything helps.” Bearded, wearing glasses and a Red Sox shirt, he was in the middle of busy Forest Avenue and Marginal Way during 5 p.m. traffic near Trader Joe’s. “This is how […]
Delphine ‘Sandra’ Martin
1943 – 2013 PORTLAND — Delphine “Sandra” Martin, 69, of Franklin Street, Rumford, died Thursday, July 11, at the Maine Medical Center, Portland. She was born in Rumford on Sept. 4, 1943, the daughter of Rene and Delphine (Lindau) Perry, and graduated from Mexico High School, Class of 1962. Sandra worked at LaVerdiere’s Drug Store […]
Panhandler: Kicking us off medians will send us to sidewalks
PORTLAND — As he panhandled inches from rush-hour traffic, Tony Sargent said the Portland City Council should make it illegal to stand on median strips. It’s not safe, said Sargent, 35, from Florida. His statement didn’t make sense, “considering I’m out here now,” he said. “But it’s dangerous for us, and dangerous for vehicles on […]