Bill Nemitz to be keynote speaker at Annual Summit
The news: Portland Press Herald columnist Bill Nemitz will be the keynote speaker at our Annual Summit on May 26 at St. Joseph's College in Standish.

Nemitz, who started writing his column 28 years ago, will talk about the critical role that local journalism plays in the function of local government and what the disruption of the newspaper industry's business model means for communities in our region.

Why this matters: As social media increasingly replaces journalism as a source of information, municipal leaders are struggling to find ways to engage citizens in the public process and to discuss policy with a set of agreed-upon facts.

Transit Agencies to cut fares in half, improve service as part of $7 million plan to boost ridership
The news: Southern Maine's transit agencies will be investing more than $7 million in the region’s public transportation network as part of a strategy to boost ridership by making transit faster, more reliable and more convenient to use. 

The money from the Greater Portland region’s allocation of the American Rescue Plan Act funding for public transit was approved on March 24 by the PACTS Policy Board.

Why this matters: This investment will cut fares in half for many riders and will add more and faster buses. These new improvements will attract new people to public transportation and help reverse the drop off in customers we’ve seen during the pandemic.

The Portland Press Herald outlined the new transit investments and published an editorial on Monday about the importance of improving the region's public transit.
Provide feedback on specific transit routes
The news: If you ride a bus, ferry, or train in the Greater Portland area, then we want your feedback! The Transit Together team has assessed every transit route in our region and identified strengths, weaknesses, and improvement opportunities.

Why this matters: The Transit Together study will identify opportunities for increased coordination and integration among the seven public transit providers in our region. Your feedback will help the team develop a plan that will improve the experience of current riders, attract new riders, and make the system more effective and efficient.

Webinar Thursday to focus on planned Gorham spur
The news: GrowSmart Maine will be hosting a webinar titled "The Gorham Spur: Spurring Growth without Spurring Sprawl" on Thursday, April 7 at 4:00 pm.

Panelists include: Director of Transportation for America Beth Osborne, Executive Director of the Maine Turnpike Authority Peter Mills, Director of Greater Portland Council of Governments Kristina Egan, Standish Town Planner Scott Hastings, and Planning Director at Town of Scarborough Jay Chace.

Vote before midnight tonight!
The news: StreetsBlog is hosting a competition to determine the best bus stop in America, and a Portland bus stop has made it to the semifinals. Local jewelry artist and Ghana native Ebenezer Akakpo designed the stop, which is located on Congress Street in front of Mechanics Hall.

Why this matters: This is an opportunity to put Portland on the map and celebrate the Akakpo's incredible work. Voting ends today April 5 at 11:59 pm ET.

Webinar will cover Bipartisan Infrastructure
Law and funding opportunities
The news: Our region is receiving once-in-a-lifetime funding opportunities through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (commonly called the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law). On April 21, Host Belinda Ray and guest speaker Erich Zimmerman will be discussing how communities can get the most out of this opportunity and how new trends will impact our future infrastructure needs.

Another opportunity for federal funding
Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) has opened up an online portal, with a deadline of 6 p.m., April 13 for municipal governments and nonprofits to apply for consideration to receive direct federal funding for eligible projects.

Maine governments and nonprofits now have until 5 p.m. April 15  through an online portal set up by the office of Sen. Angus King (I-Maine).

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) has opened up a separate online portal, with a deadline of 6 p.m., April 8. 

Congressional Directed Spending funding is included in annual federal appropriations legislation and provides a specific amount of discretionary funding to a state, locality, or nonprofit organization for projects with demonstrated civic and community value. 

In the last round, Maine was among the top beneficiaries as earmarks returned in Congress.
The Roux Institute offers courses for
non-profit and municipal employees
The news: The Roux Institute at Northeastern University is offering courses to municipal employees and employees of non-profits with 25 or fewer employees at an 80 percent discount.

The Explorations courses offered this spring are:
 

 
 

To register: To take advantage of the 80 percent discount, contact Caitlin Enz at c.enz@northeastern.edu with your organization name and course(s) of interest. She will share unique codes that can be used to register. 
SIGN UP FOR NOTIFICATIONS
Greater Portland Council of Governments (GPCOG)
970 Baxter Boulevard
Suite 201
Portland, ME 04103
Phone: 207-774-9891
Connect with us