Daniel Kool

On Thanksgiving, this South Portland store is a savior With most retailers closed, the DiPietro's Market offers hope to customers desperate for a last-minute bottle of wine or can of cranberry sauce. It's one of the shop's busiest days.

On Thanksgiving, this South Portland store is a savior

​​Maine reshuffles money to pay for heating aid held up by federal shutdown​​ ​​ MaineHousing is temporarily moving $2.2 million from other programs to help some residents pay for heating costs.

As the government shutdown threatens heating assistance payments throughout the country (and as temperatures are starting to drop) Maine will reallocate about $2.2 million to cover some vulnerable household. But officials warn it's not a sustainable alternative to federal funding.
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Wiscasset loses ARPA funding after data center proposal, confusion The town’s plan to build affordable housing got muddled when a developer expressed interest in building an AI data center at the same site.

Last year, Wiscasset secured $240,000 to plan affordable housing near a former power plant. But when a developer eyed that parcel for an AI data center, town officials asked if the money could be used elsewhere.

In response, Lincoln County fully cancelled the grant.
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CMP bills could rise up to $35 per month under 5-year plan But the utility says those distribution cost increases will come around the same time that other, temporary charges expire, so the actual change in customers' bills could be much less.

Central Maine Power has filed its 5-year infrastructure plan, which includes rate changes that would increase an average Maine household's monthly bill by about $17 next year. While state officials have condemned the proposal, CMP argues it's necessary to ensure reliability. @pressherald.com

Renys Department Store to close downtown Portland location The company said it will not renew its lease in April and does not have plans to open a new location in the city.

Renys Department Store will close its downtown Portland location sometime in the next year, though the company has not settled on an exact date. Their lease ends in April.
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Maine preservation commission cancels grants, layoffs loom without without federal funding The commission canceled more than half a dozen grants to preservation organizations in Maine in hopes of avoiding laying off half its staff.

Having received none of its federal funding for this fiscal year, the Maine Historic Preservation Commission has cancelled grants and fears potential layoffs. The at-risk positions are responsible for helping local developers secure essential tax credits on historic rehabilitation projects.

Federal government announces plan to sell some buildings in Maine A list of more than 300 'non-core' properties slated to be sold includes the US Custom House in Portland and 3 other federal properties across the state.

The federally owned Custom House in downtown Portland may soon be offered for sale to the private sector. It's one of hundreds of federal properties listed for "disposal" in an announcement Tuesday.

Aldi supermarket chain signs lease in Portland at former Big Lots site The German company, which currently has no Maine stores, signed a lease in the Pine Tree Shopping Center on Brighton Avenue in Portland.

Aldi has signed a lease in the former Big Lots site in Portland, though it's not clear when a store may open. It would be the first in Maine.
www.pressherald.com/2025/02/05/s...

Live footage of the tree lighting up:

After all the pre-lighting criticism, Portland tree-lighting dazzles the crowd For more than a week, complaints have been circulating that this year's tree is thinner and scragglier than usual. But as the lights flashed on, precisely at 4:30 p.m. Friday, a crowd of hundreds chee...

People kept telling me Portland's tree this year looked "a little Charlie Brown-y."

Cape Elizabeth OKs new Cookie Jar site plan, leaves front parking untouched Under the new site plan, the parking spaces along the building's Shore Road facade are listed as 'existing casual parking' but are not delineated. Planning Board members said that should preserve the ...

The Cape Elizabeth Planning Board unanimously approved a new site plan for the Cookie Jar Tuesday night, allowing the bakery’s front parking spaces to remain in use without officially recognizing them.

News Center Maine parent company announces marketing layoffs It's not clear how many positions will be terminated, but the layoffs are part of a restructuring by the station's national parent company, Tegna.

News Center Maine's marketing department is facing layoffs as the station's parent company, Tegna, moves to consolidate its national marketing operations. It's not yet clear how many employees are impacted.
www.pressherald.com/2024/11/20/n...