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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PublishedSeptember 8, 2021
Portland council supports mask mandate, but pushes vote back until next week
At a workshop Wednesday, councilors expressed support for requiring everyone 2 and older to wear masks in all public indoor settings.
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PublishedSeptember 7, 2021
Portland health officials recommend that city restore indoor mask mandate
Portland would become Maine’s first municipality to revive a requirement that people wear masks in public indoor spaces regardless of vaccination status.
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PublishedSeptember 6, 2021
Portland plans to seize midtown lot using eminent domain
The city, which is embroiled in a lawsuit with the developers of the failed project, is proposing to pay just $30 for the land, citing an appraisal that claims the property has a negative fair market value.
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PublishedSeptember 5, 2021
Ticket agent struggles with guilt, trauma over two decades
The American Airlines agent who gave two of the 9/11 terrorists their boarding passes from Portland to Boston is haunted by that unthinkable day.
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PublishedSeptember 3, 2021
Portland councilor, a plaintiff in lawsuit against the city, won’t recuse herself from dispute
April Fournier’s decision runs counter to the city attorney’s recommendation that she recuse herself from deliberations of the clean-elections case.
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PublishedSeptember 2, 2021
Jon Jennings selected as next city manager of Clearwater, Fla.
Jennings, who was named Portland’s city manager in 2015, said he is excited to begin negotiations in Clearwater but sad to be ‘possibly leaving Portland city staff.’
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PublishedAugust 31, 2021
Portland councilors consider next move in clean elections case, but too late for fall vote
Advocates want the City Council to reverse course and put the 2019 citizen initiative on the November ballot, but the clerk says ballots are already being printed.
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PublishedAugust 30, 2021
Portland City Council debates how to go about its search for a city manager
Current City Manager Jon Jennings could leave in as little as 90 days if hired for a job in Florida, but the city’s Charter Commission might change the job description, and some said looking for an interim candidate might make sense.
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PublishedAugust 29, 2021
Sixty years after Union Station demolition, historic preservation in Portland looks to the future
Greater Portland Landmarks plans to focus more on community and culture over bricks and mortar, and connect preservation to sustainability. But critics argue preservationists are overreaching and trying to stop development.
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PublishedAugust 25, 2021
Candidates set for council, school board races in Portland
With 3 city councilors not seeking re-election, 8 candidates have qualified to compete for their seats.
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