Former city attorney 

will be honored Aug. 20

A celebration of the life of former South Portland city attorney Mary Kahl will be held Aug. 20 at Hobbs Funeral Home, 230 Cottage Road.

Mary Perry, an administrative assistant at South Portland City Hall, said the tentative time for the memorial service is 11 a.m.

Kahl, 59, died July 9. She represented the city in legal matters from 1991 through 2008 before opening a private practice on Ocean Street.

The memorial service comes a week after the annual Art in the Park event at Millcreek Park. Kahl was chairman of the committee that organizes the exhibition and juried art show.

Robbery suspect arrested after standoff in city

The search for a suspected robber led to a standoff in South Portland Monday night before police arrested a Scarborough man.

South Portland Police Sgt. Steve Webster said a multi-town tactical response team was summoned to 191 Highland Ave. as police tried to arrest Joshua Nisbet, 34, in connection with the July 15 robbery of the Mobil station on Route 1.

Webster said Nisbet was tracked to the Highland Avenue apartment around 6 p.m., but refused police orders to leave the building.

Members of the Southern Maine Regional Swat Team were deployed before Nisbet surrendered without incident, Webster said. Members of Scarborough, Cape Elizabeth and Maine State Police departments and agents from Maine Drug Enforcement Agency helped in the search and arrest of Nisbet, Webster said.

Nisbet allegedly robbed the gas station at knifepoint around 10:50 p.m. last Friday. Police said he fled down the nearby Maine Turnpike spur with a small amount of cash. The clerk was unhurt in the robbery.

Nisbet is charged with Class A robbery and is being held at Cumberland County Jail in Portland on $100,000 cash bail, Webster said.

Shooting victim not cooperating with police

Police are still investigating events surrounding a Saturday shooting in South Portland.

South Portland Police Sgt. Steve Webster said Biniam Tsegai, 24, was shot once in the left shoulder around 2:50 a.m. He was taken to Maine Medical Center in a private vehicle and has not told police why he was shot.

The shooting occurred near the intersection of Broadway and Church Street. Officers responded after numerous calls about gunfire in the area. Webster said Tsegai’s wound was not believed to be life-threatening, but little information is available to investigators.

“No one is cooperating, not even the victim,” Webster said.

Tri for a Cure triathlon 

is next weekend

Streets in the Southern Maine Community College area will be closed the morning of July 31 for the fourth annual Maine Tri for a Cure triathlon.

Fort Road, Surfside Street and Benjamin W. Pickett Street will be closed 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. The race includes a swim in Casco Bay off Spring Point Ledge Light, a three-mile run on the SMCC campus and adjacent streets, and a 15-mile bicycle ride through the city and Cape Elizabeth.

South Portland City councilors approved the street closures at Monday’s meeting. City Manager James Gailey said the city is alerting residents about street closures and blockages along the course route.

To view complete course maps and learn more about the triathlon, visit mainetriforacure.org.

Borders could start liquidation sales today

Inventory liquidation at the Borders Books and Music store adjacent to Maine Mall could begin today. Company officials announced Monday the 399-store national chain will go out of business by September.

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Feb. 15 in the Southern New York District of U.S. Bankruptcy Court and closed about 200 stores nationwide after the filing. When a plan to sell the company fell through, officials announced the liquidation and closure of remaining stores.

A company statement said about 10,700 employees will lose jobs. The chain opened 40 years ago in Ann Arbor, Mich. The South Portland store opened next to Macy’s at the Maine Mall in 1996 and employs an estimated 50 to 100 people.

– Compiled by Staff Writer David Harry