Randy Billings

Portland Press Herald

Randy Billings is a government watchdog and political reporter who has been covering Portland City Hall for the Press Herald since 2012. His beat touches on a wide range of topics, including immigration, homelessness, education, tourism, real estate development and the economy in Maine’s largest city. He has been a Portland-based journalist since 2005. A life-long Mainer who loves the outdoors, Randy is also a bassist who brews his own beer at his North Yarmouth home, where he lives with his wife and two children.

Latest

Published
March 5, 2017

To Portland panhandlers, program may offer welcome change: Jobs

Using Albuquerque as a model, Portland would pay $10.68 per hour to those willing and able to work.
Published
February 23, 2017

Attorneys clash as landlord in deadly Portland fire seeks new trial

Testimony conflicts over whether the defense was given an item of evidence before the conviction of Gregory Nisbet, who has been sentenced to three months in jail for a code violation.
Published
February 22, 2017

Protesters disrupt ceremony honoring Portland police chief

Activists chanting ‘black lives matter’ disrupt the ceremony shortly after city councilors voice support for Chief Michael Sauschuck and his approach to equipping officers with body cameras.
Published
February 22, 2017

Would Portland, South Portland solar farms turn a profit? Maybe not, analysis says

But leaders from both communities downplay the likelihood that the worst-case scenario would play out and say that solar farms are likely to break even or be profitable.
Published
February 21, 2017

The homeless seem to feel more at home at new Portland clinic

Hospital and nonprofit open a facility to ‘fill the void’ in services created when a city clinic closed in 2014.
Published
February 16, 2017

Portland isn’t as progressive as you think, advocacy group says

Progressive Portland releases a scorecard ranking the liberalism of city councilors according to their votes on certain issues.
Published
February 15, 2017

Hotel complex proposed for Portland wharf would challenge city’s zoning rules

The project would be next to a condo development that decades ago sparked a referendum to prevent waterfront development from pushing out commercial fishing and other marine uses.
Published
February 12, 2017

USM student Hamdia Ahmed inspires others to rally behind American dream

In an era of disquiet, the 19-year-old Muslim emerges as a formidable voice for the community.
Published
February 9, 2017

Maine’s high hunger rate persists even as national rate falls

A new study shows that 16 percent of the state’s households experience food insecurity, the third-highest rate in the country.
Published
February 8, 2017

Portland council will consider regulating short-term rentals like Airbnb, VRBO

The council’s Housing Committee votes 3-0 to recommend regulations including a 300-unit limit on short-term rentals in homes that aren’t owner-occupied.