enlarge Doug Jones/Staff Photographer

Commercial Street in Portland has been named one of the 10 great streets in the country for 2008 by the American Planning Association, which cited its character, sense of place and mix of marine, tourism, retail, commercial and residential uses.

PORTLAND

Commercial Street named one of top 10 in United States

Built on top of old piers and fill, Commercial Street in Portland is one of 10 great streets in the country, according to the American Planning Association.

The designation reflects the street's character, sense of place and mix of uses, said the association, which offers the awards to promote good physical, economic and social planning.

Portland was praised by the association for how it has balanced the needs of the city's working waterfront on Commercial Street with other uses, including offices, hotels and tourist sites.

The 2008 top 10 list also includes Washington Street in Boston, South Broad Street in Philadelphia and Main Street in Annapolis, Md.

Ex-coach pleads not guilty to underage-drinking charge

One of the Deering High School coaches charged with allowing members of the baseball team to drink beer after they won the state championship last year has pleaded not guilty in Cumberland County Superior Court.

Christopher Grant, 35, was indicted by a Cumberland County grand jury last month on charges that he allowed several underage people to consume alcohol on a property he controlled on June 22.

Also charged with the misdemeanor are Francis "Frank" Watson, 48, and Watson's wife, Kimberly, 49, at whose house the party was allegedly held; and Mike D'Andrea Jr., 22.

Frank Watson, D'Andrea and Grant were assistant coaches.

Grant's lawyer, Peter Rodway, entered the not guilty plea on Grant's behalf Tuesday.

The prosecution and Grant have 21 days to file court motions related to the case.

Man sentenced to 12 years for selling crack cocaine

A New York man will spend more than 12 years in prison after his sentencing in U.S. District Court on Tuesday on cocaine trafficking charges.

Festus Babundo, 27, pleaded guilty in April to conspiring to distribute crack cocaine and possessing with the intent to distribute crack cocaine in November 2007.

The federal Drug Enforcement Administration arrested Babundo, a native of Nigeria who had been living in the Bronx, outside Motel 6 in Portland after an undercover investigation that led to the seizure of three ounces of crack cocaine and $21,000.

City: Bonding delay won't push back school's opening

School officials Wednesday vowed that a delay in state bonding for a $19.7 million elementary school on Ocean Avenue would not push back the as-of-yet unnamed building's opening date.

The Maine Department of Education announced this week that it would delay bonding for a dozen school projects as a way to shift funding to general educaional programming.

The decision means the Ocean Avenue project will receive its funding in October 2009, six months later than expected.

School officials originally planned to break ground in the spring of next year. They said in a written statement that the bonding delay would not push back the school opening, set for fall semester 2011.

Snowe plans local hearing on future of groundfishing

Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, will hold a Senate hearing in Portland on Tuesday on the future of the groundfish industry in Maine.

Snowe is the ranking Republican on the Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmospheres, Fisheries and Coast Guard. She has called for a review of the science behind the impending round of fishing restrictions. Emergency cutbacks are expected for the season that starts May 1, while regional fisheries managers are discussing broad new management measures for the 2010 season.

The field hearing will focus on the ramifications of further cutbacks for the fishery; the state of the science that informs fisheries managers, and the long-term viability of the industry in Maine. The public will have an opportunity to comment or pose...