Special Report: Portland struggles with ‘explosion’ of panhandlers PORTLAND — A federal judge ruled Wednesday that a Portland ordinance prohibiting panhandlers — and anyone else — from standing on city median strips infringes on the public’s constitutional right to free speech and must be thrown out. The American Civil Liberties Union of Maine helped bring […]
Portland
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Landmark Portland tire business closing after 88 years
PORTLAND (AP) — A landmark Portland tire company is closing its doors after nearly nine decades in business. Century Tire is scheduled to close Friday after 88 years. Owner Dick Aronson said his Kennebec Street shop is the oldest family-owned tire company in New England. The 78-year-old Aronson got into the business in 1961 and […]
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Maine Med gets approval for $40M expansion
PORTLAND (AP) — Maine Medical Center has received final state approval for a $40 million expansion. The Portland hospital plans to add five new operating rooms and create a special cardiac operating room for the most critically ill patients. The 40,000-square-foot expansion will help ease a space crunch. Existing operating rooms are used at a […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Developer plans to demolish former African immigrant church in Portland, build condos
PORTLAND — In the latest project in what has been a development rush on Portland’s Munjoy Hill, developers are hoping to demolish a former African immigrant church and replace it with condominiums. The city’s Planning Board unanimously granted the project conditional site plan and subdivision approvals at its Tuesday night meeting. The Munjoy Hill neighborhood […]
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Rock band Foreigner asks Portland high schoolers to sing backup on ‘I Want to Know What Love Is’
PORTLAND — When Deering High School music teacher Gilbert Peltola told members of his chorus they’d been chosen to perform alongside one of the top-selling rock bands of all time, they had a variety of reactions. “I don’t think anybody really believed it at first,” said Olivia Ryan, a junior at the Portland school. “We […]
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After $33M renovation, Portland’s Civic Center set to reopen
PORTLAND — If you saw Judas Priest at the Cumberland County Civic Center in the ’80s, you’ve got another thing coming when the venue reopens Saturday. Since October 2012, the 1977 arena between Spring and Free streets has undergone a $33 million renovation and expansion from seat to ceiling. “It’s an amazing end to a […]
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University of Southern Maine to hold annual job fair Wednesday
PORTLAND (AP) — More than 50 employers will be represented at the University of Southern Maine’s annual job fair this week. The event at the Portland campus’ Sullivan Gym will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday. It’s free and open to the public, including USM students and alumni. Among the employers […]
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Portland librarian spreads wealth after his death
PORTLAND (AP) — A Maine reference librarian who died last summer at 89 is still showing his generosity. The man who spent much of his life reading, volunteering at a hospital and bicycling around Portland has left hundreds of thousands of dollars to a variety of organizations. The Portland Press Herald (http://bit.ly/1e4er9q ) said Franklin […]
Posted inLocal Sports
Pirates to move back to Portland after a full season in Lewiston’s Colisee
Video streaming by Ustream PORTLAND — The Portland Pirates are going home. The American Hockey League affiliate of the Phoenix Coyotes has called the Androscoggin Bank Colisee of Lewiston home this season after a lease dispute boiled up late last summer between the club and the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland. But Pirates ownership […]
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Maine Winter Sports Center losing Libra’s funding
PORTLAND (AP) — The Maine Winter Sports Center that produced Olympian Russell Currier is losing funding from a philanthropic organization that created it. The Portland Press Herald (http://bit.ly/1aZzgZo ) said the Libra Foundation will no longer provide funding after April 1. The Portland-based foundation has distributed more than $30 million to the Maine Winter Sports […]