PORTLAND — Literacy Volunteers-Greater Portland announced last week that it has merged with West End-based LearningWorks. The two non-profits each offer literacy classes for adults. The merger will allow Literacy Volunteers to take advantage of the resources and infrastructure of the larger LearningWorks. Susannah Kerest, spokeswoman for LearningWorks, said demand for adult English literacy classes […]

Eight local kids who had the best answers to the question “Why I want to go shopping with a police officer?” were selected from more than 100 applicants last week to participate in the second annual Shop With a Cop program, sponsored by the Portland Police Department and it’s two unions. The officers and kids […]

PORTLAND — An award-winning after-school program for low-income and under-served middle school students in Cumberland, York and Sagadahoc counties is one of 50 finalists for a $10,000 grant. The grant winner will be chosen through an online poll on Facebook, which will accept votes through Jan. 17. The winner will also be the subject of […]

PORTLAND — Portland Water District trustees recently approved a $47.8 million budget for 2010 that includes a more than 3 percent mid-year rate hike. The $37.2 million operating portion is essentially the same funding as the current budget, spokeswoman Michelle Clements said in a press release. Included in the budget is a $10.6 million capital […]

PORTLAND — Operators of the high-speed ferry known as The Cat announced today that they will no longer offer seasonal service between Maine and Nova Scotia. Bay Ferries Ltd. has operated the ferry between Portland, Bar Harbor and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, since May 2006. Service by The Cat succeeded the Scotia Prince ferry, which ended […]

SCARBOROUGH — The Scarborough Economic Development Corp. has two openings on its board of directors. Interested applicants may download an application from SEDCO’s Web site or the town’s Web site, or they may call SEDCO, 883-4893, or the town clerk’s office, 730-4020.

Maeve McQueeney strains her neck to look up at Crusher, mascot of the Maine Red Claws minor league basketball team, as he stops traffic for her, mom Jennifer and brother Finn on Wednesday afternoon outside Brown Elementary School in South Portland. During most of the school year, a brigade of volunteer crossing guards (also known […]

SOUTH PORTLAND — The City Council on Tuesday discussed creating a new program to fund an expansion of public transportation services and drafting an ordinance requiring some building projects to be certified as energy efficient.  Councilors met with representatives from the Maine Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council about the Leadership in Energy and […]

SOUTH PORTLAND — South Portland Community Television is now offering its programing on the Internet. SPC-TV Manager Tony Vigue said in a press release that programming will be offered in real time, via live streaming, on the city’s Web site, SouthPortland.org. The station will also archive city meetings online. The public access and government access […]

Louise LaMarque, left, an English teacher, chats with school nurse Sharon Morrill outside Morse High School during a protest on Friday morning, Dec. 11. Members of the Sagadahoc Education Association staged the protest because negotiations for a new teachers’ contract in Regional School Union 1 have gone on for about a year without a resolution. […]