NEWS & UPDATES
Panhandling restrictions fail to get Portland City Council support
PORTLAND – An ordinance that would have corralled panhandling, but billed as a public safety measure, spurred a debate about poverty and homelessness before being defeated Monday night by the City Council. "Simply put this is a pedestrian safety ordinance brought by request of the police," Councilor Ed Suslovic, chairman of the Public Safety, Health,
Portland rejects plan to limit panhandling
PORTLAND, Maine – The City Council voted 6-3 against an ordinance banning people from standing on median strips except as necessary to cross the street, a ban that homeless advocates say unfairly targeted homeless people who panhandle on median strips throughout Portland. City Councilor Ed Suslovic said the ordinance was first and foremost one concerned
Portland council rejects limit on panhandling
PORTLAND – The City Council voted Monday night to reject a proposed ordinance that would have prevented panhandlers from standing on city streets’ median strips. The proposal failed 6-3, with support only from Mayor Michael Brennan and Councilors Ed Suslovic and John Coyne. The council’s Public Safety, Health and Human Services Committee unanimously endorsed the
Ordinance would forbid median-strip panhandling
PORTLAND – Homeless advocates are opposing a proposed ordinance that would prevent panhandlers from standing on median strips in the city. The proposal — scheduled to go before the City Council today — would make homeless people less visible but won’t address the issues that cause them to live on the street, said Betsy Whitman,
Eastland's actions hurt housing efforts
Here in Portland, housing in general can be difficult to find. Securing affordable housing is practically impossible. Homeless Voices for Justice, a grass-roots group I work with, has continually advocated for affordable and accessible housing — fair housing. I have personally heard Portland referred to as a "no-housing city." This already dire situation has been
Proposed Portland ordinance would make panhandling in median strips illegal
PORTLAND, Maine – The city is weighing an ordinance change that would prevent panhandlers – and everyone else – from standing in the median strips. Panhandlers and advocates for the homeless say they’re unsure about the measure at this point. In a late addition to the City Council agenda Monday, councilors gave a first reading
Homeless advocates object to proposed panhandling ordinance
PORTLAND – Homeless advocates plan to oppose a proposed ordinance that would prevent panhandlers from standing in median strips in Portland. Members of Homeless Voices For Justice and staffers from the Preble Street Resource Center plan to speak against the ordinance when it comes before the Portland City Council on Monday, said Betsy Whitman, community
Freedom of speech: Emma Pope-Welch
It’s still one of the worst things anyone has ever said to her. Emma Pope-Welch was a 12-year-old middle school student in New Hampshire when classmates started bullying her. She had defended another kid who was being taunted with anti-gay slurs. Her goodwill prompted similar attacks on her awkward, unformed sexuality. By the end of
Portland City Council considers removing panhandlers from medians
PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — The Portland City Council is considering an ordinance that would make it illegal for panhandlers to stand in medians. There are several intersections in Portland where people typically stand with signs asking passing drivers for money. City councilor Ed Suslovic proposed an ordinance that would keep those people off of
Bowdoin student spends summer fighting hunger in Maine
PORTLAND – According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, with just over 15 percent of Maine households considered food insecure, Maine is the 13th hungriest state in the nation and hungriest in the region. Bowdoin College student Emma Johnson, 20, is trying to change that by educating people in greater Portland about resources available to
Local man’s tunes bear up in movie
Director Seth MacFarlane was looking for songs to use in his new comedy film, “Ted,” that would match the film’s “energy.” That wasn’t an easy task, given that the R-rated film is about a grown man (Mark Wahlberg) whose closest friend is his childhood teddy bear come to life. And that teddy bear just happens
Lunch break for kids
WINDHAM – Laura Smith knows how hard it can be to stretch a fixed budget during the summer. Mason Stoddard, 11, and Nickolas Keene, 3, picnic outside Little Falls Landing senior housing in Windham on Friday. This is the first summer that free lunches have been provided every weekday at the Windham site for children
