Seth Koenig
Portland Bureau
Seth Koenig, formerly of the Brunswick Times Record, covers the Greater Portland area for the Bangor Daily News. He has been named both New England Journalist of the Year and Maine Journalist of the year.
Harvard student asked to leave bar for ‘bad behavior,’ not drunkenness
PORTLAND, Maine — Ri Ra Irish Pub officials said Friday that when Harvard Business School student Nathan Bihlmaier left their pub, his intoxication level was judged to be a 2 out of 10. It was his behavior, not drunkenness, that caused them to ask him to leave their Portland establishment ...
Lawmakers challenge Maine Education Dept. for taking back $1 million in grants
PORTLAND, Maine — Two state lawmakers are taking the Maine Department of Education to task for rescinding nearly $1 million in grant money that had been awarded to four districts, a decision one local school official said tarnishes the department’s credibility. State Sens. Lois Snowe-Mello, R-Poland, and Nancy Sullivan, D-Biddeford, ...
SETH AND THE CITY
Pub owner defends decision to kick out Harvard student who later drowned
on May 24, 2012, at 4:17 p.m.
Jay Luther, owner of Ri Ra Irish Pub, and group business director James Thompson issued a statement today about the recent events surrounding the disappearance and eventual death of Nathan Bihlmaier, who was asked to leave their establishment around 11:30 p.m. Saturday and was never seen alive again. As has ...
SETH AND THE CITY
Mother doesn’t want tragic night of drinking to taint legacy of man found in Portland harbor
on May 23, 2012, at 10:16 a.m.
In the aftermath of the search for soon-to-be Harvard Business School graduate Nathan Bihlmaier, 31, whose body was found in Casco Bay after two days of searching by multiple agencies, close friends and family members of the man have understandably kept to themselves. Many — between 18 and 20, according ...
Autopsy planned on Harvard student’s body recovered from Casco Bay
AUGUSTA, Maine — An autopsy is expected to shed more light on the death of a Harvard Business School student whose body was recovered from Portland Harbor three days after he was told to leave a waterfront bar for being visibly intoxicated while celebrating his coming graduation. The Maine medical ...
Graduation will be ‘tinged with sadness’ after student’s death, Harvard dean says
PORTLAND, Maine — The dean of the Harvard Business School said Tuesday the death of student Nathan Bihlmaier will cast a shadow over the school’s commencement activities this week. Nitin Nohria told reporters in Portland on Tuesday afternoon, just two hours after Bihlmaier’s body was found by searchers in Casco ...
SETH AND THE CITY
AT&T officials visit Cheverus, release study: 43% of teens admit to texting and driving
on May 22, 2012, at 3:14 p.m.
The folks from AT&T have been visiting high schools all over the nation as part of a program to urge teen cellphone carriers not to use the phones — especially for texting –while operating a motor vehicle. Today, they were scheduled to be joined at Cheverus High School by representatives ...
VIDEO
Body pulled from Casco Bay confirmed to be missing Harvard student
PORTLAND, Maine — Police confirmed Tuesday afternoon that the body pulled out of Casco Bay at 11:45 a.m. was that of Harvard Business School student Nathan Bihlmaier, 31, of Cambridge, Mass. Bihlmaier had been missing from the Old Port since early Sunday morning and was soon to graduate. Police said ...
SETH AND THE CITY
Northern Arizona University dean chosen as new USM provost
on May 22, 2012, at 10:07 a.m.
Dr. Michael Stevenson, dean of Northern Arizona University’s College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, has been tapped to serve as the next University of Southern Maine provost and vice president of academic affairs, according to an announcement by the school this morning. Stevenson will replace John Wright, who is retiring ...
Portland raises parking garage rates as it finalizes budget
PORTLAND, Maine — Prices in Portland city parking garages will be going up after the City Council on Monday night approved a fiscal year 2013 budget that includes $160,000 in additional revenue from the rate raises. The $206.36 million municipal budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 calls ...
SETH AND THE CITY
Council confirms Mass. man as new Portland planner
on May 21, 2012, at 7:30 p.m.
The City Council voted to confirm City Manager Mark Rees’ recommendation of Jeffrey Levine as the city’s new Planning and Urban Development Director. From hereon out, I’ll be referring to him in these pages as “Jeff,” as he lightheartedly insisted to the council tonight they use the shorthand version of ...
Portland tackles childhood obesity with four school fitness courses
PORTLAND, Maine — Local officials on Monday celebrated the opening of four schoolyard fitness courses, a project representing the end of two years and $1.8 million in federal grant investments in healthy living initiatives in the city. The news conference at Ocean Avenue Elementary School on Monday afternoon was the ...
VIDEO
Police found piece of missing Harvard man’s clothing in Casco Bay
PORTLAND, Maine — Police Chief Michael Sauschuck said Monday that investigators have found an article of clothing belonging to soon-to-be Harvard Business School graduate Nathan Bihlmaier, who went missing from the Old Port early Sunday morning. During a news conference on Monday afternoon, Sauschuck declined to say what article of ...
Portland report shows more police calls related to mental illness, substance abuse
PORTLAND, Maine — New research shows that more calls received by Portland police are related to mental illness and substance abuse than previous reports showed, according to the department’s annual report. With a behavioral health specialist analyzing the narratives tied to each service call for the first time in 2011, ...
SETH AND THE CITY
City Council to consider accepting 14-foot-tall sculpture as public art
on May 20, 2012, at 12:02 a.m.
On Monday night, the Portland City Council will decide whether or not to accept a granite sculpture titled “Tidal Moon.” Mary Louise and William Hamill are offering the artwork in donation, and it was crafted by Jesse Salisbury, a Steuben sculptor well-known in part for his founding of the International ...
SETH AND THE CITY
Payne given environmental award by a longtime admirer
on May 19, 2012, at 4:24 p.m.
As the story goes, Laura Sewall wasn’t even living in Maine yet when during a visit to Portland, she recognized increasingly well-known environmentalist Joe Payne at a traffic light. Sewall, who would go on to become director of the Bates College Morse Mountain Conservation Area, decided to ambush the unsuspecting ...
SETH AND THE CITY
Portland Performing Arts Festival gets $40,000 boost (video)
on May 19, 2012, at 5:22 a.m.
On Wednesday, I wrote about Mayor Michael Brennan’s press conference announcing a slate of economic development initiatives in the city. One of them was the Portland Economic Development Plan Implementation Program (which creates what Brennan felt was an amusing acronym, PEDPIP), providing up to $75,000 to nonprofit and public organizations studying ...
SETH AND THE CITY
Zambian humanitarian to address SMCC graduates Sunday
on May 18, 2012, at 4:19 p.m.
Chomba Kaluba, a former Southern Maine Community College student and Bates College graduate, will be the commencement speaker at SMCC’s ceremony Sunday. This year’s graduating class of 1,000-plus is the largest in the school’s 66-year history, according to an SMCC announcement. Kaluba is the founder of the Kachlite Foundation, which ...
VIDEO
Water Festival makes educational splash with students in Portland
PORTLAND, Maine — At the annual Southern Maine Children’s Water Festival on Friday, approximately 700 fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders from around the state got to see the liquid from all sides. Activities set up throughout University of Southern Maine’s Portland campus allowed the students to interact with water as a ...
SETH AND THE CITY
Fiddlehead Center in Gray enters field of charter school candidates
on May 18, 2012, at 9:45 a.m.
The Maine Charter School Commission announced Thursday it had received nine charter school proposals by the Wednesday deadline, including the earliest outspoken organization, the Portland-based Baxter Academy for Technology and Science. Baxter Academy wasn’t the only proposal coming from within striking distance of Maine’s largest city, however. Fiddlehead Arts & ...
Glenburn art teacher killed in Friday morning collision in Bangor
Harvard student asked to leave bar for ‘bad behavior,’ not drunkenness
LePage blasts teachers union for endorsing same-sex marriage question
Reporting crime
A people’s revolt in Bar Harbor
Old Town football coach steps down
Perakslis helps UMaine beat Albany; Binghamton next in America East tournament
Orono baseball shuts out archrival Old Town for ninth straight victory
Stony Brook knocks out UMaine to win America East tournament
Aroostook businessman expands company out of home with hit mobile app 7 Little Words
Former CEO of MaineToday Media Richard Connor sued over $250,000 in loans
Small idea launches major project in Hampden
Diversity predicts export success, MIT professor tells Maine audience
New, old methods combine to deter scrap metal thefts in Aroostook
Gary Allan talks with the BDN leading up to Bangor concert
Out of the ashes, Central Street’s garden grows
Mid Coast Actor’s Studio provides new forum for classic plays
Signs lead artist to opportunity
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