Tearing down apartment buildings and replacing them with condos lets developers skirt a rule meant to protect affordable housing. Residents and city officials call for a fix.
Randy Billings
Staff Writer
Randy Billings is a government watchdog and political reporter who has been the State House bureau chief since 2021. He was named the Maine Press Association’s Journalist of the Year in 2020. He joined the Press Herald in 2012 as the Portland City Hall reporter, where his beat touched on a wide range of topics, including municipal government, immigration, homelessness, housing and social services. Prior to that, he worked at various weeklies as well as business and arts publications. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine, Orono. He lives in North Yarmouth with his wife and two children and enjoys the outdoors and playing his upright bass.
Posted inLocal & State, News
City Councilor Thibodeau finally home after 5 weeks in hospital
Spencer Thibodeau, who was hospitalized on Oct. 25 with a burst appendix, praises the care he got at Maine Medical Center.
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Posted inBusiness, Local & State
Portland clears way for 123-unit housing project at Camelot Farm despite lawsuit
Neighbors opposed to the development are challenging the city’s decision to rezone the land.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Portland aims to add tenants’ rights in evictions from disorderly houses
The proposed changes come after innocent residents lost their place to live because a landlord failed to comply with a court order to fix problems at his apartment building.
Posted inLocal & State, Maine Crime, News
Fifth arrest made in Poland armed robbery
A transient, Isaiah Strong-Gassama, 20, was arrested Friday night, the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office says.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
Shoppers support small retailers, worthy causes in downtown Portland
Shop for a Cause, a fundraiser that this year will benefit Amistad, a nonprofit that helps people struggling with substance abuse, coincides with Small Business Saturday.
Posted inLocal & State, News
As developers raze buildings to make room for bigger ones, some on Munjoy Hill seek a pause
Residents say the city needs time to assess the impact as larger condos replace apartments and historic structures in Portland’s booming East End.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Landfill problems pile up, dimming Portland’s plan for solar array
The city is ordered to do more to secure the leaking landfill, and to stop or reverse some of the initial repairs.
Posted inLocal & State, Maine Crime, News
Portland council OKs 3-year police contracts that clear way for body cameras
City officials still need to draft a policy on how and when officers will use the technology.
Posted inLocal & State, Nation & World, News
In small California community, rent control’s a mixed bag
While it’s helped many tenants remain in the units they’ve long called home, landlords say it hurts the overall market, with apartments becoming condos.