Articles by Will Graff
State to pay $100,000 per year to keep access to Cape Elizabeth park
CAPE ELIZABETH, Maine — The state has signed a five-year, $100,000 per-year lease agreement with the corporation that owns most of Crescent Beach State Park, allowing the popular recreation area to remain open to the public. Sprague Corp. announced Friday it has signed a lease extension for 100 acres of ...
Sandy relief funds could help Yarmouth dredge its diminishing harbor
YARMOUTH, Maine — In the warmer months, low tides leave docks and boats sitting cockeyed in what looks like a giant mud pit, not a marina. The harbor’s mooring field is supposed to be 6 feet deep at low tide, according to federal navigation standards, while the navigation channel should ...
Freeport Town Council endorses $17M high school renovation, opposes state budget cuts
FREEPORT, Maine — Add the Town Council as another proponent of the $16.9 million Freeport High School renovation project headed to voters in Freeport, Pownal and Durham in June. The council decided unanimously Tuesday night to put their support behind the overhaul, which includes building a new entrance, adding nine ...
Freeport restaurant owner blames bad economy for closing Jameson Tavern
FREEPORT, Maine — The owner of the historic Jameson Tavern blames his decision to shut its doors last week on hard economic times. “The recession hit us hard. We’ve been struggling for a couple years now,” John “Jack” Stiles said Tuesday. “I thought by leasing out the front to [textile ...
More and more, Freeport residents falling into poverty — and getting pushed out by town’s high cost of living
FREEPORT, Maine — Behind Freeport’s image as an affluent coastal town, an increasing number of residents are turning to community social services for help with basic needs. And as the gulf between rich and poor grows, fewer people who work in town are able to afford living there. Freeport Community ...
Lawmakers team up in support of bringing ranked-choice voting to statewide races
YARMOUTH, Maine — Two legislators have joined forces to support a single bill to establish ranked-choice voting in Maine. The election-law bill submitted by Sen. Dick Woodbury, I-Yarmouth, is now co-sponsored by Rep. Janice Cooper, D-Yarmouth, who submitted similar draft legislation at the beginning of the year. Woodbury said the ...
Downeaster construction debris may remain scattered along rail corridor until summer
FREEPORT, Maine — Although the majority of the track upgrades for Amtrak’s expanded Downeaster passenger service were completed at the end of last summer, the 30-mile rail corridor is still littered with thousands of unused ties, twisted pieces of metal and chunks of broken concrete. And the mess likely won’t ...
Dilemma continues over high environmental costs of Freeport athletic fields
FREEPORT, Maine — New cost estimates from engineers put the environmental permitting process for the Hunter and Pownal roads fields as high as $120,000. Facing a dilemma to pay for improvements or divest the property to avoid paying, the Town Council pushed back the decision Tuesday night to solicit more ...
Freeport council turnover continues with Arno’s unexpected resignation
FREEPORT, Maine — Freshmen town councilors will outnumber veterans after Councilor Kate Arno announced her resignation last week. Arno will attend her final meeting Tuesday. She is taking a job at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in Washington, D.C. “This was an unexpected job opportunity; I didn’t see it on ...
Yarmouth-Chebeague Island ferry service eyes public transit district status
YARMOUTH, Maine — The private Chebeague Transportation Co. wants the state to give it the option to convert to a public transit district. Legislation drafted by state Rep. Steve Moriarty, D-Cumberland, would create a law specific to Chebeague Island that could lead to establishment of the district for the ferry ...
$17M Freeport High School expansion plan could be ‘hard sell’ in other district towns
FREEPORT, Maine — After planners presented a nearly $16.9 million expansion proposal for Freeport High School last week, officials in Regional School Unit 5 are hopeful about support for the project. But they could have their work cut out for them with voters in Pownal and Durham. The School Board ...
Cape Elizabeth walking path project runs $165,000 over budget, with flaggers costing most
CAPE ELIZABETH, Maine — The town spent about $165,000 more than expected for construction of the Shore Road path. The largest cost overrun was for traffic flaggers. Public Works Director Bob Malley said the project went over its $1 million budget in several areas. He said there was a need ...
Maine advocates criticize quiet rollback of commercial fishing boat safety rules
PORTLAND, Maine — Advocates said they were baffled when one of the first serious attempts at improving fishing industry safety was stripped down in an annual act passed quietly last month. The U.S. Coast Guard Reauthorization Act of 2010 provision requiring all commercial fishing vessels operating more than three miles ...
Yarmouth lawmakers propose using controversial ranked-choice voting statewide
YARMOUTH, Maine — So long, spoilers. That’s the message two Yarmouth legislators hope to send with legislation aimed at eliminating the chances of electing statewide candidates with less than a majority vote. Freshman Rep. Janice Cooper, D-Yarmouth, and veteran legislator Sen. Dick Woodbury, U-Yarmouth, have submitted draft legislation for ranked-choice ...
POLL QUESTION
Under scrutiny, Maine school kitchens get passing grades; problems in Portland
PORTLAND, Maine — One in six Americans — about 48 million people — get sick from food-borne diseases every year. Worse, 128,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die. The most vulnerable population: children. Those statistics, the latest available from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s 2011 report on food-borne illness, underscore ...
Sought-after Yarmouth superintendent resigns for job in Massachusetts
YARMOUTH, Maine — After considering several job offers, Superintendent of Schools Judy Paolucci has accepted the school chief job in Leicester, Mass. Paolucci formally resigned at a special meeting of the School Committee on Friday morning, and is to be succeeded on an interim basis by former Yarmouth school administrator ...
Business leaders in Brunswick, Freeport say Downeaster brings more customers
FREEPORT, Maine — Although ridership on Amtrak’s new Downeaster service has been unexpectedly higher in Brunswick than in Freeport, business owners in both communities generally say the new service is meeting their expectations. “We love it,” said Chris Cummings, manager of Mexicali Blues on Bow Street. “It’s a great option ...
Freeport residents say Downeaster train horns ‘absolutely, positively horrible’
FREEPORT, Maine — As trains blew their horns in the background, nearly two dozen residents urged the Town Council to institute quiet zones at rail crossings in town to silence the Amtrak Downeaster train horns they said are disrupting their lives. In a discussion that pushed past 10 p.m. Tuesday, ...
Freeport facing nearly $300K in environmental permitting fees for sports fields, seeking other options
FREEPORT, Maine — After the initial shock of an almost $300,000 environmental permitting process for sports fields proposed on Hunter Road, the town is now seeking alternatives and hoping to reduce cost. Town Engineer Albert Presgraves met with state Department of Environmental Protection officials last week and discussed alternatives that ...
Yarmouth considers summer ban on dogs on Sandy Point Beach
YARMOUTH, Maine — The Town Council will vote Dec. 20 on a proposal to ban dogs from Sandy Point Beach during the summer. People would be prohibited from bringing their dogs to the beach from Memorial Day to Labor Day, Town Manager Nat Tupper said. The council scheduled the vote ...
LePage tells legislative leaders he’s moving out of State House because of ‘censorship’
Nichole Cable’s friends, family attend accused killer’s emotionally charged court appearance
Lincoln’s Coffee Pot Cafe shuts its doors
Maine Sports Hall of Fame member, DJ Dana Wilson convicted of child pornography possession
Community members rally in memory of Nichole Cable; events, fundraisers planned
Guest Post: “I’m about ready to name my daughter Revolution.”
Rep. Diane Russell’s fool’s errand
Help Maine charter schools succeed before adding more
Goodwin steps down as Brewer High School boys basketball coach
Tommy Lawrence pitches UMaine baseball to victory in first America East tournament game
Garcia sorry after ‘stupid’ Woods fried chicken jibe
Live updates: UMaine baseball vs. Stony Brook at America East Championship
Martin, Gardner pitch Hampden baseball team past Brewer
Maine School of Science and Mathematics alumni drawn to give back to magnet school
Federal agencies eye return to restored historic Custom House in Portland
It’s hard to keep secrets from a friend who is clairvoyant
New York City rumble showcases Maine’s lobster roll dominance