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.
-
PublishedJuly 19, 2021
Portland city councilors affirm support for 200-bed shelter, with referendum looming
The council commits the city to paying $250,000 to the Developers Collaborative to investigate whether a city parcel on Riverside Street can be developed into a homeless service center, even as residents seek a November referendum to block the project.
-
PublishedJuly 12, 2021
Some Portland residents face sharp rise in tax bills following revaluation
Neighborhoods on the Portland peninsula, such as Munjoy Hill, Bayside and the West End, saw the largest increases in both property values and projected tax bills.
-
PublishedJuly 8, 2021
Portland may soon charge electric-vehicle drivers to plug in, and zap those who stay too long
More communities in Maine and around the country are considering fees for charging stations that initially were free to use, in part to shift the costs from taxpayers to users.
-
PublishedJuly 6, 2021
High court says Portland hazard wage is constitutional, but not effective until 2022
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court’s ruling means employers in Portland do not have to provide hazard pay to workers even though the city’s emergency declaration remains in effect.
-
PublishedJuly 6, 2021
Portland Youth Corps gets to work
The inaugural program, funded through private donations, will give 24 teenagers experience working outdoors in city parks, where they can learn about trees, plants, wildlife and more.
-
PublishedJune 30, 2021
Longtime Portland city councilor Mavodones won’t seek re-election
Nicholas Mavodones, who served 3 decades in office, including 24 years as city councilor, said he wants to spend more time with family.
-
PublishedJune 28, 2021
Portland Charter Commission selects leaders
Michael Kebede, a policy counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine, and Shay Stewart-Bouley, a writer and executive director of Community Change Inc., a Boston-based anti-racist nonprofit, were elected chair and vice chair, respectively.
-
PublishedJune 28, 2021
Portland residents brace for new home values
Some longtime homeowners in neighborhoods like the East End fear they may not be able to live with the higher taxes that result.
-
PublishedJune 23, 2021
Man accused of sexually assaulting a Maine minor arrested in Virginia
Oscar Geovanny Melgar-Flores was arrested Tuesday in Newport News, Virginia, and is awaiting extradition on charges that he sexually assaulted a 13-year-old.
-
PublishedJune 23, 2021
Drug overdose deaths continue to rise at record pace in Maine
The latest figures indicate that Mainers with substance use disorder continue to struggle with the effects of the pandemic, putting 2021 on pace to surpass the record deaths in 2020.
- ← Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 45
- 46
- 47
- 48
- 49
- …
- 243
- Next Page →