Good evening from the BDN Portland office on Congress Street, where we can almost see the towering Commercial Street median snow mountain.
Southern Maine is expected to get 6 to 10 inches of snow tonight. So there’s another citywide parking ban scheduled for 10 pm. Details here.
What we’re talking about
Two high-profile Portland shootings linked by same alleged gunman — Jake Bleiberg reports that a lawsuit points to a connection between two recent shootings. Namely, they both allegedly have the same gunman.
More than three years after the unsolved shooting outside Sangillo’s Tavern that led to the notorious bar’s forced closure, the victim has stepped forward to accuse a man now awaiting trial for a 2015 murder.
Police still have not made an arrest in the 2014 shooting, which they have called “complicated.”
But the victim says what happened that night was simple. …
A developer wants to build the city’s first waterfront hotel — Randy Billings of the Press Herald reports that the plan calls for a four-story hotel with restaurants, and a four-story office building.
The project also includes a parking garage and would be located on the harbor side of Commercial Street, next to a controversial condominium development that decades ago sparked a citywide referendum to prevent development from pushing out commercial fishing and other waterfront-dependent uses. While rules have changed since then to allow developments such as restaurants and offices, past efforts to build a waterfront hotel have never succeeded.
7 Portland chefs and eateries are James Beard semifinalists — Here’s the full list of places and people in Maine:
Best New Restaurant
Drifter’s Wife, Portland
Outstanding Baker
Alison Pray, Standard Baking Company, Portland
Outstanding Bar Program
Portland Hunt + Alpine Club, Portland
Outstanding Pastry Chef
Ilma Lopez, Piccolo, Portland
Outstanding Restaurant
Chase’s Daily, Belfast
Fore Street, Portland
Outstanding Wine, Spirits or Beer Professional
Rob Tod, Allagash Brewing Company, Portland
Rising Star Chef of the Year
Cara Stadler, Tao Yuan, Brunswick
Best Chef Northeast
Brian Hill, Francine Bistro, Camden
Ravin Nakjaroen, Long Grain, Camden
Keiko Suzuki Steinberger, Suzuki Sushi Bar, Rockland
Andrew Taylor and Mike Wiley, Eventide Oyster Company, Portland
Protest planned at USM for controversial GOP speaker — It’s a response to Republican state Rep. Larry Lockman’s plan to give a speech called “Alien Invasion: Fixing the Immigrant Crisis,” at USM. Here’s our story from last week on it.
A song for the mammoth icicles in your life — Portland singer and songwriter Jenny Van West wrote a song for these days of freezes, thaws, freezes and leak-inducing ice dams on the eaves of your roof. She calls it the, “God-d@#$-confounded-no-way-to-get-around-it … ice dam blues.” — Troy R. Bennett
Tweet of the day
The Big Idea
‘The Strange Case Of The Russian Diplomat Who Got His Head Smashed In On Election Day’ — Buzzfeed’s Ali Watkins reports on the mystery surrounding the death:
Police officers said the death of Sergei Krivov — his name revealed here publicly for the first time — looked natural, and listed the case as closed.
But who was Krivov? And how did he really die? Three months after he was found dead, as tensions between the U.S. and Russia reach a fever pitch, the New York City medical examiner isn’t sure he had a heart attack after all.
Got any interesting story ideas, suggestions or links to share? Email Dan MacLeod at dmacleod@bangordailynews.com, or tweet @dsmacleod.
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