Have you been looking for ways to get involved in climate action in our community? South Portland has committed to transitioning all municipal operations to clean energy sources by 2040, and to reducing community-wide greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050, but city staff cannot accomplish these bold goals alone. The foundation of our joint […]

We hope that South Portland residents enjoy our history column in the South Portland – Cape Elizabeth Sentry. We’ve been producing this weekly column since 2005. Over the years, we’ve used the column to not only share interesting tidbits of community history with you, but also to help us reach out to the public with […]

Monday, Oct. 18 was an important day for our state — it was the day that many new Maine laws officially took effect. You might not know, but the Maine Constitution specifies that all “non-emergency” bills signed into law don’t take effect until 90 days after the Legislature adjourns its legislative session. Since adjournment varies […]

This week, we continue our look at the many meeting houses that South Portland has used over its long history. As we have followed this look into our community’s past, we started with the Purpooduck meeting house on Cottage Road (for which Meeting House Hill was named), which was used by our community from when […]

It might feel like you only just dropped off your jack-o-lanterns at your food waste drop-off site, but we at the South Portland Sustainability Office know that the holidays are right around the corner, which for us means it’s recycling season. This time of year, alive with gift giving, leaves us burdened with packaging, so […]

The city of South Portland recorded 16,451 voters in the most recent presidential election, held Nov. 3, 2020. In a city where the total number of registered voters is approximately 20,000, this is a remarkable turnout. This had me wondering about the first presidential election. How many people voted? Who voted? Who did the people […]

“Voting is of critical importance to the strength and vitality of our system of government. … For our democracy to work, we must all participate in the process. Please register and vote and encourage your family, friends and neighbors to do the same.” These words are from the introduction to the State of Maine voter […]

Last week, we looked at the old meeting house on Cottage Road, the building for which Meeting House Hill is named. Our town meetings were held in that parish-owned building through 1834, when the parish members decided to tear the building down and build a new church on the same site. The meetings of the […]

In last week’s column, we mentioned the unfortunate fire in January of 1874 at John L. Parrott’s store on Ocean Stree. That fire also consumed the town hall that was located next door. Let’s take a look at some of the various meeting and town halls that South Portland has used over the years. When […]