PORTLAND — A national expert and author on bullying prevention will speak Dec. 1 at 6:30 p.m. at Hall Elementary School, 23 Orono Road, about strategies parents can use in guiding their children. Prior to his presentation, Stan Davis will spend the day teaching Hall students and staff how to empower bystanders in the face […]

YARMOUTH — Herbert I. Hopkins Jr. of North Yarmouth is the new director of business services for the Yarmouth School Department. He replaces Carol Kinney, who is retiring after serving 19 years as the School Department’s business director. Most recently, Hopkins was business manager for the Portland Public Schools. During his 2 1/2 years there, […]

PORTLAND — A attempt to temporarily halt the transfer of Freeport emergency dispatch service to Brunswick was denied in Maine Superior Court, but a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the contract is continuing. Superior Court Justice Nancy Mills on Nov. 17 denied a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction sought by residents Marianne McGettigan, Donald Rice […]

PORTLAND — Newly elected city councilors and School Committee members will be sworn in at City Hall on Monday, Dec. 6. Councilors will take the oath of office at noon and School Committee members will be sworn in at 4 p.m. Mayor Nicholas Mavadones, an at-large councilor since 1997 and three-time mayor, will be sworn […]

PORTLAND — Over the past 335 years, the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church has had a history of transforming its trials into triumphs. A Revolutionary War cannonball that tried, unsuccessfully, to demolish the church in 1775 is now a link in a chain supporting the massive chandelier that graces the First Parish Meeting House. A more […]

GORHAM — Phyllis Jackson and Shirley O’Brien have been plagued by two different problems. The 93-year-old residents of the Inn at Village Square had difficulty doing tasks that most people take for granted. Jackson needed a way to carry a hot cup of coffee while pushing her walker. O’Brien, meanwhile, needed find a way to […]

PEAKS ISLAND — Life was breathed back into the Peaks Island Council on Monday evening when Portland City Clerk Linda Cohen swore in six new members to the advisory council, amid howls and cheers from about 30 people watching at the Inn on Peaks Island. Meanwhile, a separate group of islanders is reportedly beginning another […]

PORTLAND — A new fundraiser is taking over Port City Music Hall on Saturday, Dec. 4, and it’s an odd one — an Odd Ball, to be precise. Kimmy’s Odd Ball began as a 40th birthday party for Kimmy Welch Wilson, the venue’s hospitality and special events coordinator, but has expanded into a tribute to […]

PORTLAND — Nuisance crimes happen with certain regularity. On the first of the month, the unwanted furniture of departing tenants clogs sidewalks around the city. Black garbage bags appear on curbsides weekly on trash pick-up day. And Saturday nights invite public urination and noise complaints. Quality-of-life issues like these have traditionally been hard to tackle […]

A boat passes under the Cribstone Bridge, which connects Orr’s and Bailey islands in Harpswell. The bridge reopend last weekend after an $11 million repair and reconstruction project.