Randy Billings is a government watchdog and political reporter who has been covering Portland City Hall for the Press Herald since 2012. His beat touches on a wide range of topics, including immigration, homelessness, education, tourism, real estate development and the economy in Maine’s largest city. He has been a Portland-based journalist since 2005. A life-long Mainer who loves the outdoors, Randy is also a bassist who brews his own beer at his North Yarmouth home, where he lives with his wife and two children.
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PublishedFebruary 17, 2023
Brewer lawmaker revives effort to ban child marriages in Maine
The legislation by Rep. Kevin O’Connell is part of a broader push to eliminate child marriage in the United States, and elsewhere, to prevent the exploitation of minors, especially girls.
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PublishedFebruary 15, 2023
Rising power costs help fuel Gov. Mills’ plan to speed transition to renewable electricity
During an address on Tuesday, Gov. Janet Mills announced plans to submit a bill requiring 100% of the electricity consumed in Maine to come from renewable energy sources by 2040 – a decade sooner than previously planned.
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PublishedFebruary 13, 2023
Waldoboro lawmaker accused of fraud and forgery continues to collect salary
Democratic Rep. Clinton Collamore Sr. heads to court this week to face 20 counts of aggravated forgery, 11 counts of unsworn falsification and 1 count of violating the Maine Clean Election Act.
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PublishedFebruary 10, 2023
State did not mishandle case of child who died from overdose, report says
Three-year-old Hailey Goding overdosed on her mother’s drugs after state caseworkers had investigated a previous report of drug exposure.
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PublishedFebruary 10, 2023
Lawmakers launch financial probe of Maine Veterans’ Homes
The director of the state’s nonpartisan watchdog agency said he received a whistleblower complaint from someone in a position to know about financial problems, but no details were disclosed.
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PublishedFebruary 10, 2023
State finds $2.6 million to boost pay for lawyers who represent indigent defendants
The Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services says it will increase its reimbursement rate from $80 an hour to $150 an hour after state officials realized money to pay attorneys had not been carried over from an “orphaned” account it last used in 2019.
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PublishedFebruary 9, 2023
Maine officials believed relief checks were tax exempt – but never asked the IRS
Lawmakers who negotiated the payments say they believed the pandemic-era aid would be tax-free, but a Maine Revenue Service official says no such assurance was made.
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PublishedFebruary 8, 2023
Committee endorses bill to enhance information sharing about potential criminal activity by police officers
The bill would require a prospective employer to report any suspected or confirmed criminal activity uncovered during a police officer’s background investigation or polygraph exam to the applicant’s current employer.
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PublishedFebruary 3, 2023
Maine lawmakers renew push for faster work permits for asylum seekers
Efforts dating to 2015 have failed to gain traction in Congress, stalling in the polarized debates over immigration reform and border security.
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PublishedFebruary 2, 2023
Legislative committee votes to restore funding for Portland Harbor dredging
Gov. Janet Mills proposed reallocating $10 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding to a program that helps small businesses afford health insurance, but a key legislative committee voted against that idea Thursday.
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