PORTLAND — Proponents of legalizing the recreational use of marijuana in Maine’s largest city evoked the controversial George Zimmerman verdict during a Monday news conference in Portland and said laws against pot are used to unfairly target blacks. “Our justice system is failing us,” said Regina Phillips, an executive board member of the Maine NAACP, […]
Portland
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Portland council cracks down on panhandling
PORTLAND — After hearing public testimony from nearly two dozen residents, the City Council on Monday night unanimously voted into law a ban on loitering in street medians — a measure critics have said is a thinly disguised attempt to stamp out panhandling in the city. The ban, which was proposed a year ago but […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Portland City Council to discuss legalizing pot tonight
PORTLAND — The Portland City Council will discuss making it legal for adults to possess marijuana in the city in a public hearing tonight. The hearing focuses on a citizen initiative that would make marijuana possession legal for people who are at least 21 years old. The council could enact the ordnance or let voters decide. […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Portland school officials say military recruiters are allowed
PORTLAND — Portland Public Schools officials are disputing a claim by Republican Gov. Paul LePage that the city’s high schools limit uniformed military recruiters’ access to students. Officials said Monday that the district’s four high schools allow uniformed military recruiters to speak with students. Portland High School Principal Deborah Migneault says in a statement that […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
5 runners treated for heat exhaustion in Maine
PORTLAND (AP) — Officials say hot weather caused problems for some participants in the Shipyard Half Marathon, with about a dozen runners being treated for heat-related problems. Portland fire officials tell WGME-TV says that five of the runners had to be taken to the hospital on Sunday. The 13.1-mile road race looped through Portland. The […]
Posted inMaine
Portland struggles with ‘explosion’ of panhandlers
PORTLAND — On a recent afternoon, a man stood on a median strip holding a cardboard sign. “Homeless, hurtin & hungry. God bless. Anything helps.” Bearded, wearing glasses and a Red Sox shirt, he was in the middle of busy Forest Avenue and Marginal Way during 5 p.m. traffic near Trader Joe’s. “This is how […]
Posted inObituaries
Delphine ‘Sandra’ Martin
1943 – 2013 PORTLAND — Delphine “Sandra” Martin, 69, of Franklin Street, Rumford, died Thursday, July 11, at the Maine Medical Center, Portland. She was born in Rumford on Sept. 4, 1943, the daughter of Rene and Delphine (Lindau) Perry, and graduated from Mexico High School, Class of 1962. Sandra worked at LaVerdiere’s Drug Store […]
Posted inMaine
Panhandler: Kicking us off medians will send us to sidewalks
PORTLAND — As he panhandled inches from rush-hour traffic, Tony Sargent said the Portland City Council should make it illegal to stand on median strips. It’s not safe, said Sargent, 35, from Florida. His statement didn’t make sense, “considering I’m out here now,” he said. “But it’s dangerous for us, and dangerous for vehicles on […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Suspect in Portland slaying seeks bail
PORTLAND (AP) — Lawyers for a man charged with killing his girlfriend and leaving her body in a snow-covered SUV in a hotel parking lot said their client should be released on bail because evidence in the case points to other suspects. Anthony Pratt Jr. is being held without bail after pleading not guilty to […]
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Consumer finance agency to hold Maine event
PORTLAND (AP) — Members of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will be in Portland this week to discuss debt collection with residents. The agency is hosting a public event on Wednesday at 11 a.m. at the Merrill Auditorium. CFPB Director Richard Codray and Maine Attorney General Janet Mills will provide remarks. The event will […]