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South Portland students win $3K for waste management

Feb 02, 2012 9:40 am

SOUTH PORTLAND —  A team of about 50 sixth-graders at Memorial Middle School took first place – and $3,000 – in a statewide contest to reduce waste at their school. The students competed in the "Zero-Waste Challenge," sponsored by the Chewonki Foundation and Poland Spring Bottling, to research their school's garbage habits and create a plan for cutting back on waste. The $3,000 prize will be spent to implement the children's plan. An oversized check was presented to the students in an award ceremony at the school on Wednesday. 

South Portland farmers market struggles to survive

Feb 02, 2012 9:10 am

SOUTH PORTLAND — Six month after holding its inaugural bazaar, the city's first weekly farmers market is still struggling for customers. If traffic doesn't improve, organizers say the market may not survive. "What that threshold is, I don't know," said Caitlin Jordan, of Alewive's Brook Farm in Cape Elizabeth, who manages the market. "We need the support in order to keep coming."

Over neighbors' objections, Scarborough Planning Board OKs 81-unit senior home at Oak Hill

Feb 02, 2012 8:40 am

SCARBOROUGH — A New York senior housing developer is a step closer to building an 81-unit facility at Oak Hill after the town's Planning Board gave the plan preliminary approval. In the process, the board rebuked several Oak Hill residents who oppose building the facility near the busy intersection of Black Point Road and Route 1. About a dozen residents said they are worried about increased traffic or the loss of "green space" in their neighborhood. 

Sprague Corp. pulls plan for Scarborough Beach park

Feb 01, 2012 4:40 pm

SCARBOROUGH — Sprague Corp. on Wednesday pulled its proposal for a new park on 62 acres of beachfront property near Black Point Road. “It really was an economic decision," Seth Sprague, president of family owned Sprague Corp., said in an interview Wednesday. "We were trying to project what our investment was going to be to get the project up, and it reached the breaking point.”

Cape Elizabeth school calendar change generates mixed response

Feb 02, 2012 12:00 am

CAPE ELIZABETH — When and how to take a break from school generated substantial response from residents and school staff this week. School Superintendent Meredith Nadeau said about 200 families and staff presented opinions on a proposal to change winter and spring school break schedules in the 2012-2013 school year. The deadline for responses to proposed vacation schedules was Wednesday, and Nadeau said she was still looking over the responses. She estimated there was about 55 percent support for maintaining traditional school breaks in February and April.

Portland's Gorgeous Gelato, 3 returning vendors get Fort Williams licenses

Feb 02, 2012 12:00 am

CAPE ELIZABETH — Al fresco snacks and meals will again be a part of summer at Fort Williams Park after Town Manager Michael McGovern approved license applications from four vendors on Wednesday. The second year of the program allowing food sales at the park features some tweaks, and could increase town revenue used for park maintenance, McGovern said. The number of available licenses was reduced by one, to four, and a site at Cove Beach was added. Partial licenses, granted in 2010 from May 1 to Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 to Oct. 31, have been eliminated this year.

South Portland Winter Festival postponed

Feb 01, 2012 10:20 am

SOUTH PORTLAND — The Winter Festival planned for this weekend at Mill Creek and Thomas Knight parks has been postponed for two weeks. Lack of snow, uncertain ice conditions and temperatures expected to stay in the 40s for the rest of the week made the bulk of activities planned impossible, said Dan Mooers, a South Portland Rotarian in charge of the event.  Events now scheduled for Feb. 17-18 will include a candle-lighting ceremony and skating exhibition, snowshoe races, curling, hockey, family ice skating and pony and carriage rides. 

Marley announces bid for county commissioner

Jan 31, 2012 12:10 pm

SOUTH PORTLAND — Former Portland state Rep. Boyd Marley announced he intends to run for the new District 4 seat on the Cumberland County Commission. Marley chaired the Legislature's Transportation Committee during his four terms in the House of Representatives. He is a special education teacher in South Portland, and worked on the Portland International Jetport Terminal Building Committee. The district includes South Portland, Cape Elizabeth, Westbrook and part of Portland.

Maine municipal heating funds pick up where LIHEAP leaves off

Jan 31, 2012 11:20 am

FREEPORT — Johanna Hanselman knows first-hand how cuts to the federal Low Income Heating Assistance Program are hurting Mainers. As the general assistance administrator for Freeport and Yarmouth, Hanselmen has heard from people who barely received enough money from LIHEAP to cover the bottoms of their oil tanks. "I've never heard of so many people saying, 'Oh I got like $105,'" she said, "It's so little that some people aren't even getting 50 gallons."

Produced by the people: Mainers crowd-fund their creative endeavors

Jan 31, 2012 10:30 am

PORTLAND — Last year, when talk of a double-dip recession was in the air, Alex Steed got nervous. He and his partners were looking to fund "Food Coma TV," a Web-based show about the untold food stories from "the rest of Maine" – places outside the foodie destinations of Portland or Mount Desert Island. Imagine a Pine Tree State version of "No Reservations." While fundraising for another project in 2008, the recession created a great belt-tightening, Steed said. No one was giving.

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