The South Portland City Council is meeting tomorrow evening, and one topic of consideration will be the continuation of letting motels serve as de facto shelters.
Newly arrived asylum seekers from Angola and other countries waited in Sanford this week. Photo by Mal Meyer of WGME CBS13.
A group of asylum seekers speak with Mike Guthrie (in blue), director of Portland’s family shelter, and an interpreter, in colorful suit on Wednesday afternoon after disembarking from a bus from Sanford. Guthrie told the group the city could not promise shelter space for single adults in the group. Credit: Ari Snider / Maine Public Ramada
Later in the week, a few dozen of the new arrivals to York County were sent by the City of Sanford back to Portland.
As part of the Transit Together Plan, Greater Portland METRO is hosting three public meetings this month (one in Westbrook, one in Portland, one via Zoom) for riders and stakeholders.
For Androscoggin County residents — “The Drummond Woodsum law firm is hosting a Focus Group at the Lewiston Ramada, 490 Pleasant Street, Lewiston, ME on May 18th from 5-8pm. We are looking for a diverse group of people from Androscoggin County, typical of a jury pool in the area. Essentially, we will present the group with two sides to a case in order to gauge responses from attendees to assist us in preparing for an upcoming jury trial. We will pay them $150 to attend.”
January 17, 2023
The South Portland City Council is considering a rent control proposal next month. Acknowledging “The council is very concerned overall with the unintended consequences of rent control,” South Portland Mayor Kate Lewis said the proposed rent control amount would be moderate.
In commemoration of National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, scores of people attended a memorial vigil in downtown Lewiston last Wednesday to raise awareness of the issue. “There are people and resources that want to help,” said Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline.
Two months after Samuel Mugisha disappeared from his Portland home, his family is reiterating the need to find him. “What can you say when you have a missing person and you don’t know where they are and if they’re dead or alive,” asked his uncle, Claude Rwaganje. “It’s hard.” According to the Press Herald report, “Anyone with information can call the Portland Police Department at 207-874-8479 or the Westbrook Police Department at 207-854-0644.”
A new study found the Bangor area needs $5 million annually in housing investments in order to keep pace with demand. Said Jason Bird, a housing expert with Penquis and the Maine Affordable Housing Coalition: “The reality is we as a state and as a nation really have underfunded housing for decades, and now that issue is really coming home to roost.”
The Brewer School Committee adopted a new policy of celebrating diversity and acknowledging the need for equitable access to resources. “We welcome everyone, period,” said Brewer Superintendent Gregg Palmer, “and research indicates that people learn better when they feel valued.”
WMTW‘s James Corrigan reported on how Pine Tree Legal Assistance has been working with people facing eviction from hotels this month, which his colleague Terry Stackhouse covered. “The challenge for people who are staying in hotels and people who are month-to-month tenants,” said PTLA attorney Chris Marot, “is that there is this anxiety about what’s going to happen in the long term.”
Andy O’Brien continued his history of immigration in Maine series for Amjambo Africa, with this installment focused on the Black community of maritime workers in Portland of the early 1800s.
