CUMBERLAND — The Town Council on Monday unanimously approved a new Comprehensive Plan. Councilors lauded the three years of work that the 2009 Comprehensive Plan Committee, Town Planner Carla Nixon and others put into the document. But they also made several amendments to reflect objectives the town has already accomplished since the plan was first drafted. […]

PORTLAND — A local Harley-Davidson dealer has offered to purchase and install signs urging motorcyclists to reduce street noise in the city. Peter Curless, general manager of Big Moose Harley-Davidson, said he has been working with the motorcycle company’s corporate office to find a way to proactively address concerns about excessive noise coming from motorcycles. […]

SOUTH PORTLAND — Police detectives have released the photo of man suspected of robbing a bank near the Maine Mall. Sgt. Steven Webster said in a press release the man entered the Gorham Savings Bank, 395 Gorham Road, just after 2 p.m. Monday and handed a note to a teller demanding money. He then left […]

FALMOUTH — With school budgets stretched thin, athletics programs are relying more heavily than ever on their teams’ boosters clubs to pick up basic expenses like equipment, salaries and officials’ fees. And these clubs depend on help from the community to make up the difference. In Falmouth, several clubs have found a much-needed benefactor in […]

PORTLAND — On weekday afternoons during the school year, hundreds of students pour onto Cumberland Avenue, where parents say their kids meet disdain from drivers speeding past Portland High School. That’s why parents are amping up pressure on city officials to address traffic conditions near the school’s main entrance. PHS Principal Michael Johnson said he […]

PORTLAND — The city’s new fire boat is temporarily out of the water following an accident Saturday night that ripped a hole in the hull of the craft and caused the propeller shaft to snap off, along with taking chunks out of the propeller itself. The $3.2 million City of Portland IV, which began service […]

PORTLAND — A nurses union has filed a grievance against an affiliate of the state’s largest health-care organization, following the layoff of four full-time employees.  Officials of Local 505 of the Maine State Nurses Associations, representing 55 nurses and therapists, said a breach-of-contract grievance was filed on Monday against HomeHealth Visiting Nurses, a subsidiary of […]

SOUTH PORTLAND — As school districts throughout the state scramble to vaccinate their students against the H1N1 virus, known as the swine flu, some students who are most at-risk for a serious case of the flu were not vaccinated during the first round of flu clinics. The state is focusing on vaccinating students because schools […]

PORTLAND — City economic development officials said they are disappointed, but confident that Congress Street will survive the departure of L.L. Bean. The Freeport-based retail giant L.L. Bean last week announced it will not renew its lease at 542 Congress St. next year and will close the outlet store by September 2010. “As leases are due, […]

TOPSHAM — Faced with an expected curtailment of funds from the state for the current fiscal year, School Administrative District 75 will save about $450,000 by freezing a variety of expenses. While some of those savings involve not filling vacant positions, there are no plans to lay off personnel, Superintendent Mike Wilhelm said last week. The […]