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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PublishedMay 18, 2020
Group eyes 5 fall ballot questions in Portland
The initiatives, which include seeking to increase the city’s minimum wage to $15 an hour, must be reviewed by the city staff before petition signatures can be gathered.
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PublishedMay 16, 2020
Bangor police investigate shooting involving people in 2 cars
They’re looking for the occupants of two four-door sedans in connection with the incident Friday night at York and Essex streets.
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PublishedMay 16, 2020
Racial disparity in Maine’s COVID-19 cases deepens
But in one of the whitest states in the country, there is also growing concern about stigmatizing immigrant and minority communities.
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PublishedMay 7, 2020
Racial disparity grows along with Maine’s number of virus cases
Blacks and African Americans make up 1.6% of Maine’s population but more than 6% of its coronavirus infections.
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PublishedMay 7, 2020
Increase in arrests of Portland’s homeless worries civil liberties group
Police say the rise in arrests is due to many factors. The ACLU is concerned about introducing the coronavirus into the county jail.
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PublishedMay 5, 2020
Shortage of swabs hampers COVID-19 testing in Maine nursing homes
Most of the facilities that responded to a survey said they lacked the basic tool to detect the disease.
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PublishedApril 30, 2020
Newly released data suggest ‘alarming’ racial disparity among Maine’s COVID-19 cases
African Americans account for 1.7% of the state’s population but 3.7% of the state’s infections. The state CDC director says, ‘These disparities are concerning.’
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PublishedApril 30, 2020
Thousands of Mainers turning to program that helps renters and landlords
In less than 2 weeks, 5,000 people have applied for rent relief under the new statewide program aimed at keeping people housed during the pandemic.
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PublishedApril 30, 2020
State rents 115 hotel rooms to create social distancing for homeless Mainers
Hotel rooms in Portland and Bangor are reserved for people awaiting test results or recovering from COVID-19, while rooms in Knox County are used to create physical distance.
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PublishedApril 28, 2020
Some taxpayers get shut out of stimulus, prompting challenge to federal law
Anyone who doesn’t have a Social Security number or is married to someone who doesn’t is ineligible to receive payments. That includes many immigrants who have tax ID numbers.
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