Randy Billings is a government watchdog and political reporter who has been covering Portland City Hall for the Press Herald since 2012. His beat touches on a wide range of topics, including immigration, homelessness, education, tourism, real estate development and the economy in Maine’s largest city. He has been a Portland-based journalist since 2005. A life-long Mainer who loves the outdoors, Randy is also a bassist who brews his own beer at his North Yarmouth home, where he lives with his wife and two children.
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PublishedNovember 22, 2020
State to demolish part of historic train trestle in Portland
The span, which is visible from Interstate 295, has been eyed by both trail and rail advocates but has fallen into ‘critical’ condition after being damaged by fire in 1984, according to the state.
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PublishedOctober 20, 2020
Sixty small-business owners oppose Portland minimum wage initiative
The group includes some who support a gradual increase to $15 an hour but oppose a hazard pay provision that could give Portland the highest minimum wage in the country.
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PublishedOctober 12, 2020
Portland voters asked to strengthen facial surveillance ban
Question B on the city ballot would add enforcement provisions – including a private right of action for people to sue the city – to an existing prohibition on city employees using facial recognition technology.
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PublishedSeptember 28, 2020
What’s that structure going up next to Back Cove?
It’s not a hotel or condominium. It’s a temporary part of a project that will reduce the amount of raw sewage and polluted stormwater runoff being discharged into the cove.
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PublishedSeptember 7, 2020
How to win an election during a pandemic: Candidates for local offices get creative
Many of the honored traditions of handshakes, door-knocking and group events carry a risk of transmitting coronavirus.
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PublishedSeptember 5, 2020
Protesters gather to condemn racism, police violence: ‘I need to be able to tell my children I did something’
The threat of violence by detractors leads Black Lives Matter Maine to postpone its demonstration in downtown Portland, but more than 100 people turn out Saturday, issuing a fiery call for change.
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PublishedAugust 28, 2020
Lawsuit challenges access to prized piece of Portland’s working waterfront
Attorney Glenn Israel, who represents Soley Wharf, says the aim is to allow the owners to enforce parking and gear storage rules.
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PublishedAugust 21, 2020
New proposal could be Portland’s tallest building and add 260 apartments downtown
Rents for most units are projected to range from $1,200 to $2,000, while 27 would be deed-restricted as workforce housing with rents affordable to median income tenants.
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PublishedAugust 14, 2020
City Hall encampment ends, but some homeless still have nowhere to go
Portland is still searching for ways to provide basic needs to unsheltered homeless people after a 2-week protest at City Hall disbanded.
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PublishedAugust 12, 2020
Debate heats up over public health versus police spending in Portland
Over the past decade, spending on police has increased by nearly 40%, while the public health budget has dropped by more than 50%. But city officials say those numbers don’t reflect additional investments in social services.
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