Portland Press Herald

The City Council in Maine’s largest city has decided to continue a pandemic rule to allow outdoor dining and retail in place until at least the fall. Portland is looking to end a local emergency declaration about the pandemic on July 29. That would also end additional powers given to the city manager that can restrict public gatherings. The Portland…

The Maine mansion that actor John Travolta shared with his late wife, actor Kelly Preston, has been put up for sale. The 67-year-old star of “Grease” and “Saturday Night Fever” recently listed the home on Islesboro, an island off the coast of Maine, for $5 million, according to the Portland Press Herald. The couple bought the home in 1991 as newlyweds…

The target date for the first legal sales of marijuana in Maine are being pushed back again as the state and municipalities work on issuing licenses. The Portland Press Herald reports state officials had hoped the first marijuana stores could open this spring, but it now looks like June is more realistic. Applicants for licenses need to receive a conditional…

Allen’s Coffee Brandy, a venerable brand of liquor beloved in Maine, is no longer the top-selling alcohol in the Pine Tree State. The Portland Press Herald obtained state alcoholic beverage records that say Mainers spent $12.2 million on Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey and $11.7 million on Tito’s Handmade Vodka last year. Those sales were enough to eclipse Allen’s, which garnered $9.2…

If you live in Maine and you still like to start off every Monday morning by grabbing the newspaper from your front yard, get ready for a change to that routine soon enough.

Freeport, Maine is well-known as a summer shopping destination with its outlets and other stores. But is it still a dominant retail hub on Black Friday, as more and more people choose to buy online? Anecdotal and numerical evidence shows Freeport has taken an overall retail hit from the Internet. Freeport retail dollars dipped 20-percent or $15,000,000 between 2018 and...

Anecdotal and numerical evidence shows Freeport has tkaen an overall retail hit from the Internet.

Regulators in Maine are investigating concerns about marijuana-related advertisements at a sports arena. The Portland Press Herald reports several parents whose children play sports at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston have complained about the ads.

Maine’s largest city picked a new mayor Tuesday. Portland elected school board member Kate Snyder, receiving 39% of the vote in the first round of ranked-choice voting, according to News Center Maine. City Councilor Spencer Thibodeau followed with 28% of the vote, with both topping sitting Mayor Ethan Strimling’s 25%. Travis Curran received 7% of the vote.

Citizens of Portland, Maine, are voting in a mayoral race Tuesday.

A Trump administrative directive to shift federal resources from Boston and Newark, New Jersey, could increase delays for asylum seekers in the Northeast. The temporary reassignments are part of an attempt to reduce a backlog at the southern border, but it will have an impact in the Northeast.

Maine conservationists are hopeful a new database about roadkill will protect the state’s critters from becoming statistics. The Portland Press Herald reports Maine Audubon’s online database will let residents who see roadkill report the sighting. That will allow the group to identify roadkill “hotspots” that are especially dangerous for animals.

The American Civil Liberties Union affiliates of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont are asking a bus company to refuse access to immigration agents who want to board and conduct citizenship checks. The Portland Press Herald reports the affiliates sent a letter to New-Hampshire based Concord Coach Lines Tuesday asking it to reconsider its position.

The operators of a Maine power company didn’t adequately test a new billing system that proved to be prone to errors when it was rolled out in 2017. That’s the key finding of an investigation by Portland Press Herald that was published Sunday.

The operators of a Maine power company didn’t adequately test a new billing system that proved to be prone to errors when it was rolled out in 2017. That’s the key finding of an investigation by Portland Press Herald that was published Sunday.

Maine’s giant spinning ice disk is moving again thanks to one man’s efforts. The formation in the Presumpscot River in Greater Portland stopped rotating Wednesday, two days after a video of its mesmerizing movement was widely shared on social media. The roughly 100-yard (91-meter) wide disk became lodged against the river’s edge, preventing it from moving. Andrew Sims says he...

A body has been found in a Maine community amid an ongoing search for a missing elementary school teacher, authorities said. Law enforcement officers converged on a home on Gray Road in North Yarmouth Friday morning where the body was found, a scene that’s about a half a mile from Kristin Westra’s home on Lufkin Road, where she was last...

The number of parties intending to sue the town of Kittery over a bus crash that injured 11 summer campers is growing. The Portsmouth Herald reports that five notices of intent to sue have been filed following the Kittery Community Center bus crash.

Maine state records indicate the 21-year-old driver of a bus injured in a crash with summer campers has a number of moving violations, including two convictions for driving to endanger.

The 2018 Maine Lobster Festival Sea Goddess has been dethroned less than 24 hours after she was crowned because of what organizers described as photos of “inappropriate behavior” on her social media page.