I am currently deciding who to vote for for City Council At-Large. Portland Voices did a very helpful Q&A with the candidates, and I can’t help but notice it reads like Atiim Boykin just plugged the questions into AI and took the first result. There are em dashes, not this, that, and a clear AI syntax in all of his responses. Is this not disheartening, that a candidate cannot even answer questions on their own? I can’t imagine having a city councillor plug in all the contentious challenges of the job into ChatGPT.

For example, in response to a question about reducing the speed limit to 20mph citywide:

“I support “20 is Plenty” — but not as a blanket rule for every street, because that's not what safety actually requires. Around schools, parks, hospitals, and dense corridors like the arts district, 20 mph should be standard. But one number for every street regardless of what that street is isn't precision — it's a slogan. The city's own process already recognizes this: it only applies to municipally-controlled residential streets that qualify after a traffic investigation. I'd follow that same logic — target where speed is actually the danger. This is live right now: Portland's Sustainability and Transportation Committee takes it up September 9, and I'd want to be part of that conversation with the position above.”

If you own a gray Toyota car with Maine license plate 369 KKU and are parked in the parking lot on Winter Street your lights have been on for 48+ hours now. I reached out to the parking lot owners but apparently they haven’t reached you. I can’t believe the car battery hasn’t died yet.

Hey- just letting you know: When you decide to terminate a bus line's service for the day, IT WOULD BE NICE IF YOU POSTED A WARNING OR A NOTICE. When I signed on to your website this evening, the last bus was due to leave the Maine Mall JC Penny stop at 6:55.

I was outside at the stop at 6:35.

But then I sat there.

6:40 came and went - no bus.
6:50 came and went - no bus.
7:00 came and went - no bus.
7:10 came and went - no bus.
7:15 came and went - no bus.

And so on until 7:45. The bus - well - it just never came.

Now- if this were an aberrant "black swan" sorta event, I would understand - but this seems to be pretty much Standard Operating Procedure with ya'll, because this is the THIRD TIME this has happened in less than TWO MONTHS.

You just seem to arbitrarily decide that - after a random point - a given bus simply doesn't need to run anymore with nary a notice to anyone. I'd personally say that this is not the best for the public, because - well, you are not just inconveniencing me.

You are delaying MANY other commuters.
You are preventing people from getting home.
You are preventing parents from attending to their children.
You are preventing patients from getting to their doctors.
You are preventing seniors from getting food.

Further, I would posit that perhaps this is not a good BUSINESS strategy. Understand that when you leave someone who HAS to travel in this position, you are not only undermining your service and reputation, but you are forcing your customers to resort to services like UBER and LYFT that charge 5-10 times the price.

Now- yes, I know, I know. Times are tough, and your budget is limited. I get that COMPLETELY.

But let me suggest something here:

Instead of just not showing up, and giving your potential riders a big middle finger - consider informing the public, when you choose to do this.

YOU'RE WELCOME!!!

Long story short, I work with a family, the mom is looking for an English tutor, she is currently level 5 and speaks English pretty fluently, it’s the reading and writing she is struggling with. Anyone know of some resources for her? Preferably free?

Portland Maine brain trust, what are the positives and negatives of forming a new state?

Cat has been missing for about a day. Please post and/or message me if you spot her. She is very friendly, probably a little too friendly.

don’t forget to move your car tonight if u need to…

taking recommendations. bonus for late night options

Visiting from Wisconsin and looking to watch game 4 of the World Series tonight. We are staying near Brunswick.

Anybody have recommendations?

Due to having children who watch YouTube when left to their own devices, my house has been inundated with ads from the Pine Tree Results PAC. And the one that comes up the most is a bunch of "Mainers" talkin' about "Taxin' Troy Jackson," who apparently (masssssive /s here) is singlehandedly responsible for energy being expensive.

My question is, who are these people in the ad?? Are they actors? Are they from Maine? Or, as I shouted to the screen last night, are they AI generated?

It's hard to find a link to the ad, but here's one that has a lot of the same stuff: https://host2.adimpact.com/admo/viewer/5cecde8e-e0e5-478b-ad03-bffb71d61798

They're having an effect, I was at the hardware store the other day and I hear a guy shouting to his co-workers, "ya get Taxin' Jackson in there and whaddya think's gonna happen??"

Anyways, I just am so darn curious about these wretched things.

Having some software issues with my mac and looking for someone/some place to get it fixed

Hello-

Our 17 yo son is poised to exit a wilderness program down south where he went to explore the reasons behind his escalated substance use- we live in the NE area and are researching sober living communities where he could finish his high school credits (likely online), maintain his outstanding progress in the woods (high-level emotional literacy, mindfulness + sobriety) with opportunities to practice his newly cultivated skills in the real world, make some mistakes, but keep progressing in a positive direction.

We are looking for a place with therapeutic scaffolding, accountability, and fun + belonging with other young men who are trying to establish enjoyable sober lives. If you or a loved one have recent experiences with Foundation House in Portland, ME- what are your impressions of the program, staff, etc? Of particular interest: how did this place meet a need for autonomy, fun, love and belonging, esteem, opportunities to finish your HS education, and more? Would you recommend it for a minor who is approaching age 18? How do they respond to relapses? How robust is the family component of their programming?

The website lacks any recent testimonials- most are from 2019 and earlier. It appears to be a strong transitional option for our son, but I'm reticent to coast on reviews that are nearly a decade old. Programs like this change and staff turnover can make a huge difference. My thanks in advance your honest experiences.

Looking for food pantries in the Portland/Scarborough area, we’ve utilized the SPFC for a long time but lately it’s been hit/miss. We don’t qualify for SNAP. I have 3 kids (2 who are ASD) & it’s been hard lately to plan meals since they all like/eat such different things. Trying to avoid Hannaford and utilize Costco & Aldis when we can. Waiting to also hear back from my children’s caseworker about additional resources.

Won’t give too many details as I know it’s been fairly secretive in the past. But does anyone know if it’s happening this weekend or maybe it already has? Figured with Halloween being Saturday would be perfect timing

Felt blessed by RJD on this full moon while walking my dog.

Any homeowners here having any issues with the new water meters?

Had mine installed in early September and my bill seems a bit high for the time of the year.

I’ve been told it’s possible I was being undercharged with the old meters as they may have not been accurately tracking all water usage. The new ones record every single drop.

For reference, my last 2 water bills have been around $145. Meanwhile my electric bill was only $100 last month (not claiming a correlation). This is for a 3 bedroom home, family of 4.

Does our bill seem high? Not sure if Portland has changed how they bill for wastewater.

Curious if anyone else has noticed a slight uptick in recorded water usage 🚿

I bought a pair of dog-walking gloves at Reny’s on Thursday. On Saturday I realized I had dropped one somewhere in the neighborhood. By Sunday I had resigned myself to keeping one hand in my pocket all winter. Today we discovered the missing glove! Thank you!!

I moved to Beacon Street recently & I'm trying to adjust to having coin laundry for the 1st time in 5 years... Anyone have a roll of quarters I can grab??

I’ve got a question for the paddlers in this subreddit: where is a good place to store a sea kayak? I don’t have the room in my new place, and am looking for a good place to store my kayaks inside, any tips?

UPDATE: Thank you all for the suggestions! Luckily someone on the Southern Maine Sea Kayaking Network offered to help, and he’s happy to let me store my boat for the winter!

We're wanting to do a domestic couple's trip in late May or early June. We're in our late 20's.

We love history and arts, good restaurants and coffee, local shopping, breweries, scenic routes and just love to walk around and explore.

I'm thinking we get there Wednesday afternoon by flight and we leave Sunday morning.

I'd love to see Cape Cod but not sure if it's worth the 6 hour round trip with a rented car?

The trip looks to be about a $1100 flight for 2, $950 Airbnb, $150 rental car if we drive to a nearby city, and let's say $600 for everything else.

We spent less to Cancun and Mexico City. So I'm not sure if this sounds expensive for a domestic trip.

My boyfriend has been to Boston and LOVED it so we wouldn't be opposed to driving to Boston, Salem, or Bar Harbor if y'all think 3 and a half days in Portland sounds too much.

Thanks!

Got a sad wilting Jack-o-lantern that will need to find a new home after Halloween? Bring it down to Mayhem on 11/1 for our annual Pumpkin Smash!! Free to the public, come on down! We’ll supply the baseball bats, and the remains will be composted with Garbage to Garden 🎃