Electric vehicles (EVs) made up 5.8 percent of all vehicle sales across the country in 2022. This percentage is an increase from 3.2 percent in 2021, which matches the rate of increase anticipated by the federal government through 2032, when roughly two-thirds of all vehicle sales in the U.S. will be electric vehicles. With so […]

The South Portland Historical Society will hold a lecture on Wednesday, April 19, at 6:30 p.m. at the South Portland Community Center, 21 Nelson Road. Museum Director Seth Goldstein is curating a new exhibit at the society’s Cushing’s Point Museum at Bug Light Park (the museum opens on May 1). The lecture is a preview […]

April 22 is celebrated as Earth Day by millions across our planet, as a reminder of the modern environmental movement of the 1960s. Today, Earth Day represents the opportunity for people to mobilize in the name of global environmental action. In many ways, Earth Day has taken on a life of its own, creating space […]

In America today, when a loved one dies, we reach out to a funeral home to handle the arrangements for a service and burial. This was not always the case. The funeral industry didn’t really get its start in America until the time of the Civil War, when soldiers died of wounds or sickness at […]

When South Portland adopted One Climate Future in 2020, one focus of our waste reduction strategies was on the creation of circular economies. Today, the sustainability department is moving into the implementation phase and is excited about some forthcoming circular economy initiatives. What is a circular economy? The term circular economy isn’t often discussed in […]

We recently took a look at Charles and Thomas Phinney of Crockett’s Corner in South Portland (the intersection of Broadway and Westbrook Street). The Phinneys operated a busy ice cutting operation in that area. Let’s take a look this week at their neighbors, the Rundlett family. William, Charles and James Carlton Rundlett were brothers who […]

Electrify Everything!, South Portland’s electrification rebate program, has been recharged. Launched by the city of South Portland Office of Sustainability on Sept. 1, 2022, Electrify Everything! provides rebates for the purchase of electric vehicles, electric lawn care equipment, e-bikes, heating and cooling systems, and home weatherization. Through March 2023, we have given out $100,000 in […]

We’ve written previously about South Portland Engineering that once operated on Madison Street in South Portland; its large fabrication building was destroyed in 1965 in what is still called “the shipyard fire.” We hadn’t known much about the principal of the company, Marshall Turnbaugh, so I was thrilled to get a call from his son, […]

Next Thursday, March 23, I’ll provide an illustrated lecture on the history of Willard Beach. Willard Beach is a popular year-round destination in South Portland. In the summer on a sunny day, you’ll find the shore teaming with beachgoers. It’s always struck me as interesting to see the various ways that people choose to use […]