Randy Billings

Press Herald

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.

Latest

Published
March 13, 2015

Health officials suspect food contamination made 22 Portland schoolchildren ill

The children, who all recovered quickly, started throwing up an hour after lunch Tuesday. A pickled beet salad is under suspicion.
Published
March 12, 2015

Facing uncertainty on General Assistance, Portland budgets for the ‘worst case’

Millions are at stake as the city awaits decisions on state funding for immigrants, shelters and more.
Published
March 11, 2015

Advocates press Portland councilors to act on citywide minimum wage

The city’s Finance Committee, which has been trying to determine the economic impact of a wage increase, was supposed to take up the issue Thursday, but it’s been postponed.
Published
March 11, 2015

Portland’s East Bayside selected for $200,000 planning grant

Portland is one of only 20 communities nationwide to receive the grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Published
March 10, 2015

Portland councilors take no action on housing safety recommendations

Without a vote by the public safety committee, the city manager will have to draft a budget with no provision for a housing safety office.
Published
March 9, 2015

Portland councilors to map out plan for beefed-up fire safety in rental units

Key topics will be a task force’s ideas for reforms, how to pay for them, and the city’s internal list of properties to avoid.
Published
March 8, 2015

Building violations can go years without correction or enforcement action

A closer look at three buildings with long histories of code and fire safety violations shows how properties can fall through cracks of Portland’s oversight program
Published
March 8, 2015

Fire safety programs vary in Maine, while some New England cities make it a priority

Maine municipalities vary, but three cities in New England inspect rental units regularly, and have the means to fund it.
Published
March 8, 2015

Is your building safe? What Portland won’t tell you

Even though Portland keeps an ongoing list of troubled properties where officials refuse to house recipients of General Assistance, other renters aren’t warned. We asked: Why the double standard, and what’s being done to correct it?
Published
March 8, 2015

Portland task force wants to step up oversight, but resources limit recommendations

The City Council’s Public Safety, Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday will take up a task force’s recommendations for improving the city’s housing inspection program. The panel could vote to recommend changes to the full council. Here are some of the top recommendations: • Create a new housing safety office to coordinate inspections between different city […]

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