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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PublishedMarch 23, 2021
Portland to overhaul busy downtown crossroads starting this summer
The intersection of Congress and High Streets is in the heart of the city’s downtown, and changes intended to enhance pedestrians’ safety will include an expanded plaza in front of the Portland Museum of Art.
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PublishedMarch 23, 2021
New plan rekindles effort to create park on Portland’s harborfront
The city is receiving pro bono assistance from a team of community leaders who share the vision for public open space on the eastern waterfront.
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PublishedMarch 22, 2021
Apartment building with 171 units faces vote in Portland
The proposal would be the largest apartment project to move forward in the city in recent years and includes an outdoor courtyard and swimming pool.
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PublishedMarch 18, 2021
Universities to study racial disparity in arrests in Portland, South Portland
USM’s Cutler Institute and Northeastern’s Institute on Race and Justice will study data from each city to determine whether either police department’s law enforcement has been biased against people of color.
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PublishedMarch 15, 2021
Unanimous council vote makes way for high rise in downtown Portland
The 18-story, 190-foot building at Temple and Federal streets, which still faces review by the historic preservation and planning boards, would surpass Franklin Towers by 15 feet to become the state’s tallest building.
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PublishedMarch 12, 2021
Boston mayor apologizes for proclamation like one that stirred anger in Portland
Both Mayor Martin Walsh and Portland Mayor Kate Snyder have apologized, saying proclamations that inflamed tensions between Armenian and Azeri communities had not been sufficiently vetted.
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PublishedMarch 8, 2021
Portland rent board takes shape as lawsuit threatens to derail it
The board’s seven members, once confirmed by the council, will oversee the city’s new rent control rules and renter protections, which are also being challenged in court.
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PublishedMarch 1, 2021
Portland accepts $125,000 in donations for city parks
Private groups raised and donated money to expand a skatepark in Libbytown, improve the small boat launch at the East End Beach and launch a new Youth Corps parks program for underserved youth.
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PublishedFebruary 25, 2021
Portland mayor’s proclamation accidentally opens old wounds
Mayor Kate Snyder, whose acknowledgement of Khojaly Remembrance Day inflamed longstanding tensions between Mainers with Armenian and Azerbaijani ties, says future proclamation requests will face more scrutiny.
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PublishedFebruary 24, 2021
Portland activists, tenants want to join lawsuit and defend rent control
People First Portland and the Foreside Tenant’s Union want to intervene in a lawsuit by the Southern Maine Landlord Association seeking to block implementation of a citizen initiative approved by voters in November.
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