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.
Portland’s Congress Square at a crossroads, pedestrian-friendly zone could be the answer
PORTLAND, Maine — A plan to redevelop Congress Square Plaza into event space for the incoming Westin Portland Harborview Hotel has been divisive. Consensus is easier to come by concerning the streets that pass by. The intersection of High Street, a thoroughfare that pipes heavy commuter traffic from South Portland ...
SETH AND THE CITY (blog)
Mainers looking long and hard at vacations in Kissimmee, Fla.
on May 23, 2013, at 3:47 p.m.
A few weeks ago I met with Lauren Salisbury, a media relations person from Osceola County, Fla. She was in the process of visiting the places from where Kissimmee tourists are most likely to hail, and that journey led her to Maine, among other places. Lauren told me that about ...
New York City rumble showcases Maine’s lobster roll dominance
If there was ever a doubt about Maine’s place in the lobster industry, the annual Lobster Roll Rumble in New York City next month seals the deal. More than 1,000 seafood aficionados will flock to the city to choose America’s best lobster sandwich from 20 competitors. Since the rumble’s inception, ...
SETH AND THE CITY (blog)
Congress Square Plaza plans get another look
on May 22, 2013, at 3:09 p.m.
In a little more than two hours, the city’s Congress Square Redesign Study Group will meet for the latest discussion of how to use that particular section of currently public space moving forward. As most people know, the owners of the Westin Harborview Hotel — the newly renovated version of ...
Veterans from five wars to join panel at Portland screening of ‘Welcome to Lee, Maine’
PORTLAND, Maine — When a stranger thanks Sgt. Nathaniel Grace of the Maine Army National Guard for his service, he makes it a point to return the gratitude. “Whenever someone says, ‘Thank you for your service,’ I shake their hand and say, ‘Thank you for your support,’ because that’s something ...
Former York County charity director sentenced for embezzling $1 million from organization to fuel gambling habit
PORTLAND, Maine — The former head of a York County nonprofit organization was sentenced to two and a half years in prison Tuesday for embezzling approximately $1 million from the organization to spend on his gambling habit. Former longtime York County Community Action Corp. Executive Director Thomas Nelson, 56, of ...
Portland food trucks on a roll; city on board with mobile eateries
PORTLAND, Maine — The food truck movement is hitting high-profile speed bumps in some major U.S. cities. But in Portland, where the scene is emerging this spring, vendors and city officials say they have an opportunity to succeed where other cities are struggling. “It certainly doesn’t hurt to have seen ...
Bowdoin College professor waited out tornado that sounded like ‘a thousand freight trains’
Talk about bad timing. Bowdoin College music professor Robert Greenlee returned to his home state of Oklahoma for his summer break two days before Monday’s deadly tornado touched down, spending the storm in the fortified cellar of his parents’ house blocks from the worst devastation. “I don’t know how to ...
Police chiefs oppose bill to allow Mainers to carry concealed weapons without permit
PORTLAND, Maine — A group of southern Maine police chiefs gathered Tuesday morning to oppose a bill that would allow most Mainers to carry concealed weapons without filing for a permit. “We think this legislation is misguided and quite frankly a mistake,” said Portland Police Chief Michael Sauschuck, flanked in ...
SETH AND THE CITY (blog)
Is Portland a safe place to live?
on May 20, 2013, at 12:01 p.m.
The Portland Police Department has introduced an online survey to gauge public sentiment on crime, police responsiveness and safety in Maine’s largest city. If you want to weigh in, you can click through the survey here — it’s 40 questions long, but they’re mostly not essay questions, so it shouldn’t ...
SETH AND THE CITY (blog)
Meth lab maps by the years: Maine has as many as Mass., Conn. and N.J. combined
on May 19, 2013, at 2:32 p.m.
Today I filed a story about how some experts are worried that methamphetamine production, which is more convenient today than ever before, is on the rise in Maine. As a companion to that, here are some interesting maps depicting which states have the most methamphetamine labs, distributed by the U.S. ...
Production of meth, now easier and more portable, is growing in Maine
STANDISH, Maine — Already a dangerously accessible drug, experts say methamphetamines are easier to make than ever before, and because it can now be manufactured quickly and almost anywhere, specialized training to neutralize the toxic, explosive — and portable — chemicals is needed in Maine. “All the stuff you see ...
SETH AND THE CITY (blog)
Can’t find an apartment in Portland? More are on the way
on May 18, 2013, at 11:14 a.m.
Yesterday I had a piece published about how difficult it is to find an open apartment in Portland. One thing that’s worth mentioning is that, even though the market’s really tight, there’s a bunch of new apartments are on the way. The first phase of the high-profile proposed Midtown development ...
POLL QUESTION
Apartment squeeze in Portland: Single renters, immigrants, poor hardest hit
PORTLAND, Maine — Four years ago, when Jessica Fleming searched for an apartment in Portland, the process went by “instantly.” “All you had to do was call a landlord and that same day, you were looking at a place,” said Fleming, 25. “Now, I can’t even count the number of ...
SETH AND THE CITY (blog)
Art museum’s expansion building turns 30, architect provides historical perspective
on May 17, 2013, at 3:41 p.m.
Thirty years ago, after donor Charles Shipman Payson gave the institution $10 million and 17 Winslow Homer paintings, the Portland Museum of Art opened a building in the benefactor’s name. The Charles Shipman Payson Building at the corner of High Street and Congress Square increased the museum’s gallery space fivefold ...
SETH AND THE CITY (blog)
Portland a top U.S. city for “bikeability,” so bike to work on Friday
on May 16, 2013, at 3:47 p.m.
Friday’s National Bike To Work Day, because everyday is something, and the city of Portland is joining with the Bicycle Coalition of Maine to welcome workers/bicyclists taking part with snacks and refreshments in Monument Square. Here’s a couple of sentences from a city announcement explaining what worcyclists (made-up term) can ...
SETH AND THE CITY (blog)
Portland voters approve school budget, reserve the right to deny next year’s
on May 15, 2013, at 1:47 p.m.
Portland voters on Tuesday delivered some good news and some bad news to Mayor Michael Brennan, who on Monday joined Superintendent Emmanuel Caulk to urge passage of a $96.36 million school budget and denial of a question that would keep in place the annual public referendum on the subject. By similar ...
SETH AND THE CITY (blog)
Portland fourth-graders raise and release young Atlantic Salmon
on May 14, 2013, at 9:36 p.m.
Neat story here out of Longfellow Elementary School. Here are a few graphs from a Portland Public Schools announcement explaining: Fourth graders at Longfellow Elementary School in Portland raised salmon eggs in their classrooms and released the fish into a stream near Highland Lake in Westbrook as part of the Fish Friends ...
VIDEO
Portland leaders call out LePage, state government as local school budget vote looms
PORTLAND, Maine — Mayor Michael Brennan and Portland Public Schools Superintendent Emmanuel Caulk had strong words for Gov. Paul LePage on Monday morning as they called for city voters to back their proposed school budget at the polls Tuesday and rally the public behind the duo’s lobbying efforts in Augusta. ...
SETH AND THE CITY (blog)
How will your Portland school look differently in the coming years? Renovations and redistricting
on May 13, 2013, at 5:54 p.m.
On Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at Casco Bay High School (Room 250), Oak Point Associates will unveil some preliminary designs for renovations — or in the case of one facility, a replacement — of five of Portland’s schools. The night will also include a workshop on possible redistricting, something ...
Former Bangor YMCA building sold to new dental technology school
University of Maine hockey job has been offered to former assistant Red Gendron
Bangor man charged with murder, escape from psychiatric hospital found not competent to stand trial
Bangor police seeking suspect in assault that left man face-down in road
After 27 years, a father continues to search for his daughter, presumed dead
Why is DHHS always asking for more money?
Maine GOP disappoints on Medicaid
Meet Riley and help her get from cancer to Kilimanjaro