Articles by David Harry
South Portland eyes Sacopee Valley principal to replace abruptly resigning high school administrator
SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — The school department is going out of town for the next principal of South Portland High School. The school board is expected Monday night to appoint Ryan Caron, currently principal at Sacopee Valley High School in Hiram, to replace James Holland beginning July 1. Caron, 36, ...
Maine Mall owners denied appeal of $242 million property tax valuation
SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — The latest appeal of 2009 city property tax valuations by the owners of the Maine Mall was turned aside by the Maine Board of Property Tax Review in Augusta. The board’s written decision is not yet available, but city Tax Assessor Elizabeth Sawyer said the refusal ...
South Portland manager cuts $420,000 from proposed budget to keep property taxes low
SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — Given a City Council guideline to keep a property tax increase at about a third of what he anticipated, City Manager Jim Gailey presented a draft municipal budget Monday night that carves about $420,000 from the $496,000 in additional spending he previously proposed. His fiscal year ...
Custodians, food workers can’t agree with Scarborough schools on contract
SCARBOROUGH, Maine — Stalled contract negotiations between the School Department and the union representing custodians and food service workers are headed to state mediation next month. Crystal Goodrich, president of the Scarborough Education Association, said the union sought mediation through the Maine Labor Relations Board. She said veteran mediator John ...
First-time candidate scores upset win in South Portland council race
SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — A close race produced a big upset Tuesday in City Council District 1, where political neophyte Michael Pock defeated three other candidates in a special election to fill the seat vacated by Tom Coward. Results released by City Clerk Susan Mooney after the polls closed showed ...
Quarantine lifted at Scarborough pet store
SCARBOROUGH — A state-ordered quarantine was lifted Friday at the Little Paws pet store on Payne Road after all dogs in the store tested negative for a potentially life-threatening illness. Liam Hughes, director of the Maine Department of Agriculture Animal Welfare Program announced the ban on sales and bringing dogs ...
No sign of life-threatening illness in puppies after month-long quarantine at Scarborough store
SCARBOROUGH, Maine — A state-ordered quarantine was lifted Friday at the Little Paws pet store on Payne Road after all dogs in the store tested negative for a potentially life-threatening illness. Liam Hughes, director of the Maine Department of Agriculture Animal Welfare Program. announced in a late afternoon, two-sentence news ...
POLL QUESTION
Scarborough pet store under state-ordered quarantine
SCARBOROUGH, Maine — A state-ordered quarantine continues at the Little Paws pet store on Payne Road after a second puppy tested positive for a potentially life-threatening illness last week. The ban on sales and bringing dogs in or out of the store owned by Barbara Shaw Cross was extended through ...
Red Claws co-founder named South Portland assistant city manager
SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — Expect Jon Jennings to give economic development in the city a full-court press. Jennings, 50, was named assistant city manager on Tuesday, with a specific task of spurring economic growth. He said he will bring his experience in sports, business and government to his new post. ...
Scarborough pet store remains under quarantine after fatal virus found in dog
SCARBOROUGH, Maine — A quarantine on animal sales at Little Paws pet shop on Payne Road continued this week while owner Barbara Shaw Cross obtains tests on 23 dogs at the store. “We are trying to figure out what we need to do to get ourselves off quarantine,” said Cross, ...
Questions surround South Portland High School principal’s surprise resignation
SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — Parents and school staff said they were shocked by the resignation submitted Feb. 8 by high school Principal James Holland. Holland was hired before the 2011 school year, and expressed excitement at the time about leading the school while it was being renovated and expanded. He ...
South Portland mourns former school board member
SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — A memorial service Friday will honor the life of Steven M. Onos, a former School Board member who died suddenly Feb. 3. Onos, 47, served on the School Board from 2001 to 2007, including terms as chairman and vice chairman. He was an unsuccessful candidate for ...
Trial begins for Falmouth couple accused of hosting drinking party for high school baseball, lacrosse teams
FALMOUTH, Maine — Were a Falmouth couple complicit in allowing minors to drink at their home during a party last June, or did they prevent teenagers from drinking before the party spiralled out of control? That is the question before a Cumberland County Unified Criminal Docket jury of nine women ...
Scarborough High School principal abruptly resigns
SCARBOROUGH, Maine — A team of four administrators, led by School Department Curriculum Director Monique Culbertson, will oversee Scarborough High School after Principal Dean Auriemma resigned Friday, Feb. 1. Superintendent of Schools George Entwistle III said he accepted Auriemma’s resignation, effective immediately. “Mr. Auriemma has recognized that the demands of ...
New Scarborough McDonald’s gets approval after a year of debate over designs
SCARBOROUGH, Maine — After more than a year of presentations and revisions, McDonald’s restaurant owners got their break Monday night when the Planning Board approved a new restaurant at 221 U.S. Route 1. The unanimous vote came after Kerry Corthell, serving as a nonvoting board alternate, criticized the revised exterior ...
Roman Catholic parish committee recommends closing historic South Portland church
SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — A parish committee is recommending St. John the Evangelist Church be closed by July. Monsignor Michael Henchal, pastor of the cluster of four Roman Catholic parishes in South Portland, Cape Elizabeth and Scarborough, said a decision has not been made. But the recommendation and future of ...
South Portland officials say LePage budget cuts would increase their property taxes 5 percent
SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — Even if the sky does not fall completely, the portions that do drop could land hard on city property taxpayers. That was the essence of a Wednesday night workshop involving the City Council and school board at City Hall. What had been intended as a chance ...
Scarborough bus driver accused of sex crime against a minor
SCARBOROUGH, Maine — Stephen C. Mitton, a former Scarborough and Cape Elizabeth school bus driver, faces a March 14 court date in Cumberland County Unified Criminal Docket in Portland on charges of sex crimes against a minor. Police said Mitton, 47, of 665 Saco St., Westbrook, was charged with Class ...
Portland tattoo artist hopes to open exotic pet store in Scarborough
SCARBOROUGH, Maine — What was once an office for a property management company could become a more exotic location if the planning board approves a change of use request at its meeting Monday, Jan. 7. Jason Chapman, who owns Hallowed Ground Body Art Studio on Congress Street in Portland, has ...
Nordstrom Rack coming to South Portland
SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — Nordstrom, the Seattle-based high-end fashion and accessories retailer, will open its first store in Maine this spring at the Maine Crossing Shopping Center off Running Hill Road. A 30,000-square-foot Nordstrom Rack will be built in the space formerly occupied by clothing retailer Old Navy. According to ...
LePage vetoes Medicaid expansion, says ‘Maine can do better’
Report: University of Maine System teacher-training programs rank among worst in nation
In support of Bangor library, schools budget
We don’t understand female politicians
Maine Sports Hall of Fame revokes Dana Wilson’s 2012 induction
Pellerin enthusiastic about job as new Lawrence High School boys varsity basketball coach
Rask gives Bruins 2-1 series lead
Retiring Hermon High School athletic administrator Soucy maintains love of sports
25 things to do this summer — boats, barbecue, the Bard and everything else
UMPI solar system model expanding into Canada
Saying goodbye to our Pakistani daughter