The most tragic example is a death in 1993, when a pyrotechnician was killed during a Bar Harbor show.
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 inNews
Mainer ‘lucky’ to be alive after explosion
John Littlefield spent 10 days in the hospital after Portland’s 2012 “Stars and Stripes Spectacular” fireworks display went wrong.
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Posted inNation & World, News, Politics
LePage vetoes study of tar sands oil
The bill calls for an examination of the risks of piping the controversial oil through the state.
Posted inNews
LePage on plastic foam ban: Don’t be ‘nanny’
He co-signs a letter to Portland councilors as a task force urges them to prohibit polystyrene use.
Posted inNews
Portland unveils new city slogan
The slogan is part of a new branding system the city expects to roll out over the summer.
Posted inNews
Lobster firm seeks processing space on Portland pier
Richmond-based Shucks Maine Lobster wants to lease nearly 19,000 square feet of space in the city-owned Portland Ocean Terminal on the Maine State Pier.
Posted inNews
Backyard coops provide urban respite, generate cackling at city halls
Backyard chicken farming arrived in Maine cities about five years ago, when communities from South Portland to Bangor debated whether to allow the practice in urban settings.
Posted inBusiness, News
Portland hospital planning $40 million expansion
Maine Medical Center has submitted preliminary plans for a $40 million expansion that would add four operating rooms to its Portland campus.
Posted inPolitics
Officials plan to act on Maine restaurant oversight
Legislators will look into fixes after the Sunday Telegram reported that the state’s inspection program is one of the least rigorous in America.
Posted inNews
Accessing, crunching the state’s results ultimately frustrate bid to create database
PORTLAND – Unlike in most other states, there is no easily accessible way for diners in Maine to look up the inspection history of their favorite restaurant. The inspection reports maintained by the state’s Health Inspection Program are accessible only through a time-consuming and costly manual process. Last fall, the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram […]