The state reports there are 2,000 rent relief applications filed before Dec. 31 still being processed, and renters say they are running out of savings.
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 inMaine, News
Portland’s needle exchange program stands alone in keeping strict rules
With overdose deaths on record pace during the pandemic, city officials are urged to take advantage of state waivers intended to ensure that drug users have access to clean needles and overdose reversal drugs.
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Posted inMaine
Echoes of the past and the long road ahead for racial justice
Black Mainers reflect on the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Posted inMaine, Uncategorized
Maine police officials react to chaos at U.S. Capitol
One notes that President Trump could have averted the violent confrontations between his supporters and Capitol police if he had told his followers to stand down.
Posted inMaine
Portland bets on co-ops to meet need for affordable housing
Over the last year, the City Council has partnered with two fledgling organizations to develop three city properties into housing cooperatives, which are owned and managed by residents, not a landlord.
Posted inHealth, Maine, News
Maine says uncertainty around shipments is hampering vaccine rollout
The state delays its plans to vaccinate residents of assisted-living facilities after learning it won’t receive as many doses next week as it expected.
Posted inMaine, News
Portland’s racial equity panel will hold first public hearing next week
The group will hold its first session at 5 p.m. Thursday to solicit feedback about ‘the ways that the city interacts with the area agencies and organizations in the name of public safety.’
Posted inMaine
Three deputy fire chiefs in Portland disciplined for not enforcing mask mandates
Fire Chief Keith Gautreau, who was photographed without a mask in a firehouse, conceded that ‘we could all do better with this and we should be’ and ‘it starts at the top.’
Posted inMaine, News
Portland’s plan for a temporary homeless shelter falls through
City Manager Jon Jennings says the city is working with the state to secure more hotel rooms, including at a hotel near the jetport, to ensure that anyone seeking shelter has a place to stay this winter.
Posted inMaine
Eleven Portland firefighters exposed to COVID-19
Fire Chief Keith Gautreau says city officials determined that none of the 11 firefighters working at the Bramhall Station on Nov. 30 was following the city mandate that face masks be worn inside firehouses.