December 16-31, 2011 No Portland power brokers on Pine Tree Politics list of 25 Most Influential People In Maine Politics...Karla Jurgelevich and brother Kirk at Forest Avenue Mr. Bagel...Rory Raven found a 1906 nickel in his pocket change- and he wasn't even wearing his time travel trousers ....Phil George putting up a new sign inside Leonardo's - Roasted Maine Potato specialty pizza...Melinda Titus and Kirk Goodhue at the Armory Lounge at the Portland Regency...Two old guys outside Colucci's arguing politics...Seth Koenig of the Bangor Daily News has the best name for his Portland news blog: Seth and the City...Linda Cohen Wrapping For A Cause for Make A Wish at JC Penney in Maine Mall...Festival of Creative Youth protege Christine Rousselle went viral with her WalMart rant... December 1-15, 2011 Downeaster giving $10 rides to Boston for its 10th anniversary... WEN's NY correspondent Ruth Riddick spending the holidays in Boston...You'll be hearing a lot from Seth Berner in the coming year after he was the high bidder for the WEN ad package in the Lucid Stage auction...Tom MacMillan thinks there should be a History of the West End...Delia Gorham carrying on a family tradition of political activism...Will King spending his 22nd Birthday at Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia...Dan Jenkins at this weekend's Pats- Redskins game in DC...Tracie Reed and Pete Faris at the White House for the Obamas' Holiday Party...West Ender Ann Smith never reads the WEN so she'll never see this...Former City Councilor Dory Waxman busy making and selling aprons with her new Maine Apron Company...The Baby Rocket -Oliver John Thomas Richard-arrived on December 7th... Christine and Ron Spinella picking up kitchen remodeling supplies at Maine Hardware...Danforth Inn to host Christmas party for Cumberland County Republicans... Neighborhood Liaison Mike Murray watching the mayor's office at City Hall on the first official day of business... Michelle Souliere and Tristan Gallagher taking a coffee break at CBD...Christmas lines at Station A...Mayor Mike Brennan on a Sunday morning jog around the Back Cove...West End has its first live Christmas tree stand in a long time on Pine Street, being run by the gang at Blackstone's... John Bryson's Cabaret at Lucid Stage could be the hot Christmas party this year... Aimsel Ponti's record album cover journals a big Christmas gift item this season...Munjoy Hiller Sue Yandell headed home to the UK for a holiday...Director Corey Norman's Maine-made horror film The Barn (featuring West Enders Jenny Anastasoff and Daniel Noel) premiered at Nickelodeon on December 5th... When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they were loading up the back of the WestEndNewsMobile with toys and goodies for all the good little boys and girls in the West...oh wait..those are just 5,000 more copies of that rag they drag around the city all year...! Let's get in the holiday spirit, boys...! MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL! November 16-30, 2011 Pistol Pete Faris broke his finger playing flag football...Portmanteau selling "Occupy ME." bags and donating profits to "Keep ME. Warm"... Bob Witkowski and family at Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade...The Snug celebrating its fifth birthday...Portland's fireboat is back in service...New WENA billboard installed outside Reiche Community Center...Mark Hider wheeling and dealing at Denny's...West End Policing's Sarah Colton distributing turkey baskets for Thanksgiving... Todd Ricker arrested on a bridge (with the 99% in Chicago)... Pat Buckley keeping feral felines on Brackett Street fed...Tony Taylor having afternoon tea at Fresh Approach...East Ender Sarah Braun doing a good Michael Moore impersonation at West End OccupyMaine rally... November 1-15, 2011 Orlando and Judy Delogu in London...Blackstone's/St. Luke's food/fundraiser filled a pickup with food and raised over $1000 for the food pantry...Ralph Davis headed to India...Abraham Alain Schechter at the Caffe Reggio in Greenwich Village...Caitlin Gilmet pumping gas at Cumby's in a floor-length gown...Will King has arrived in Australia...Liz McMahon celebrated birthday on 11-11-11...Some Portlanders wondering how to get to work on Veterans' Day with no METRO Bus service...One West End resident has a jewel-encrusted toilet seat cover...Who will replace Jon Hinck representing the West End in the Maine state legislature?!...Jack Woods learned the secret to tying a bowtie...Thanks to Suzanne Kahn for the great front page photo in our election issie...Portland Fire Department may be in for some big changes...Politically divided Kenwood Street family had BOTH Brennan and Rathband signs on its lawn...Parkside WEN reader wasn't home when PaperBoy and NewsHound delivered latest issue for her birthday...West Ender Tom MacMillan campaigning on Munjoy Hill for his favorite mayoral candidate...Favorite Halloween character: 'Little Dead Riding Hood'...West Ender David Zwickerhill discovered New York wasn't so bad after all... When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they had been up for days, putting up political signs, hanging up posters, listening to speeches, shaking hands, kissing babies. They got so caught up in the race for mayor, it was almost like they were candidates themselves. Luckily for them, when whoever wins this thing has to start delivering on their promises, the boys will be holed up in an Executive Suite down at the Residence Inn drinking champagne and getting ready for the Christmas rush... October 16-31, 2011 1,000 Carlo Pittore originals up for bid at recent auction...West Ender Eva Melyantsev spotted at the Palazzo Ca' Zanardi in Venice... Community Television Network (public access TV) is 25 years old... Looks like S.N.O.W...Liz Trice digging holes for the Bayside Trail benches...Cumberland Club getting a facelift...City's Deputy Registrars revving up for Election Day voter registrants...Bill Honan looking forward to Florida this winter...Blue Lobster Troupe celebrating its third birthday this month...Jaye Kenney Gorham arrived safely in Florida towing her car behind a 14-foot truck...Erika LaFlamme's cell phone came to an unfortunate end...City Council candidate Zeke Callanan and new bride Chelsea noshing at Shay's in Monument Square...Portland photog Franklin McMahon hanging at Top of the East...Lisa Fourre Flaim planning a road trip back home to Northeast PA...Baysider Alex Landry at WENA mayoral forum... Retired Cunningham Books grande dame Nancy Grayson still keeping tabs on West End politics... October 1-15, 2011 Jane Stevens' midtown shopping trip interrupted by Occupy Wall Street demonstration in Times Square...Station A has the new Daniel Minter Kwanzaa stamp...Crew from CBS Early Show filming a segment on Hour Exchange at Lucid Stage...Karl Rawstron taking a bus to Occupy Wall Street...Former Danforth Inn owner Barbara Hathaway Ward at First Friday ArtWalk...Time to take in the plants from the back porch...City may set up a 'crafters' market' in Monument Square... Station A's John Nappi back from the Mediterranean...Not sure if that was Doug Emerson snapping photos at Occupy Wall Street rally (but it sure looked like him!)...Ellen Murphy returning to her 'hippie' days... Eileen Clancy wants everybody to get a flu shot...Couple of local seniors threatening to organize a League Of Voting Elders... September 16-30, 2011 WENA Fall Neighborhood Clean-up will be Saturday, October 15, from 8-noon...Tracing the Fore moving to a sculpture park in North Deering...Flash mob in Monument Square to draw attention to National Recovery Month...Maine Dems honored former Senator George Mitchell at annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner...Two distinguished Connolly brothers at an outside table at Shay's in Monument Square...Jenny Anastasoff is going to be a movie star again...Jamie Parker in his Portland Trails truck stopping for pedestrians in Back Cove...Arby's on Forest Avenue is closed...Liz Gotthelf may have found a new career as a stunt pilot...Some people think Samuel James is the King of Parallel Parking...Will King will be the first member of his clan to go to Australia...Carol McMahon in town for Lucid Stage's 1st Anniversary party...Lee Kemble 'riding' his bike on Congress Street...Big Baby a big hit in East Bayside...Red Sox fans getting just a little nervous... September 1-15, 2011 Jobani Cohen headed to Harrisburg, PA...Texting while driving ban to go into effect at the end of the month...Will Mitchell at Coors Field in Denver...City encouraging more chicken-raising in town...Christian MilNeil has published the new Portland Maine Bike Map...Look for Tom MacMillan to become a mover and shaker in the West End... Some West Enders talking about traffic calming to slow down speeders in the hood...Lucid Stage to celebrate 1st Anniversary with an open house party on September 17th...Michael Mckenzie in line at Fresh Approach...Station A's John Nappi packing a WEN for his Mediterranean cruise...West End wine expert Layne Witherell will be at Longfellow Books on September 23rd with his new book Wine Maniacs...Kevin Gardella searching for the perfect bacon martini... Dugan Murphy booked to call a contra dance at Mayo Street Arts in December... Security at Portland Jetport sent Portland City Councilor home to get his photo ID before letting him board recent flight...Look for Fiona Cagney in the latest Oakhurst milk commercial... Bicycle thieves hit apartment building on West Street...Janine Kaserman making first batch of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies of the season...David Bruenjes juggling fire in Congress Square during First Friday Artwalk...Jack Woods having coffee on Park Street with City Councilor Kevin Donoghue...WMPG's DJ Dale (Ronda Dale Wingfield) is the Queen of Peaks Island...Wendy Cherubini planning her Giants' football-watching schedule...Parkside Community Policing Coordinator Michelle Lauture keeping the peace on Hemlock Street... August 16-31,2011 Jenny Anastasoff celebrating two-year anniversary of "Cinema Hits & Misses" on WMPG... Joe Donatello going back to Rockport...Is that smell coming from the Back Cove or the East End sewer treatment plant?!...Suzanne Gagnon the newest homeowner in East Bayside... Blue Angels seen flying over Eastern Prom...Meghan Conley held a pre-hurricane yard sale on Cushman Street...Portland Police Commander Vern Malloch strolling around the Back Cove on his day off...Dan Jenkins in town from D.C. for some lobstah'...At least a couple of West Enders will be at Burning Man in Nevada's Black Rock Desert...Men's room at Lucid Stage to be used for a scene in the upcoming Damnationland horror film festival...Joel Turgo behind the bar at Rack's in the Union Station Plaza... Maine Successful Thinkers starting weekly meetings at Peloton Labs in Bramhall Square...Lisa Fourre Flaim going back to grad school...A lot of West Enders at Back Cove neighborhood block party...Annie Sekonia celebrating big birthday with canine friends in Deering Oaks Park... Peter Hall painting his front steps on Carleton Street...Blue Lobsters planning to start singing again on Labor Day Weekend...WEN New York correspondent Ruth Riddick seen at Cindy's Lobster Rolls in Freeport...State Rep Ben Chipman ran around the Back Cove for his birthday...West Ender Michael Wingfield running Dance New England Summer Camp in Freedom, NH...Lucid Stage to celebrate first anniversary with big bash in mid-September...Kelly Lallo says he has made over 100,000 Blue Mango Veggie Burgers... Fox spotted on the Western Prom...Is Bob Witkowski still at Videoport trying to decide what movie to get?!...Delegation from Archangel, Russia in town to lay wreath on Eastern Prom... August 1-15, 2011 Original WENster Selena Craig working on the OOB website...City Councilor Ed Suslovic buying lunch for everybody at Miss Portland Diner...West End Plant Lady Deb McCoy driving a cute little sub- compact when she's off-duty...WEN correspondent Ruth Riddick visiting from New York City...Portland bike cop Dan Knight checking out Monument Square flash mob...Driver on cell phone going the wrong way down Preble Street...City Councilor Kevin Donoghue and daughter Rosaleen taking a road trip to Magog...Barbara McGivaren having coffee on the Western Prom...New City Manager Mark Rees dropped by WENA's annual block party (along with the mayor and several mayoral candidates...Steve and Rosanne Graef's niece Amelia visiting from Montana...Tim Hussey from the Frame Shop at Longfellow Square at Blue Lobster concert...Local comedian Erika Laflamme really wants somebody to punk her for her birthday (August 21st)... Maine Successful Thinkers meeting at The Danforth Inn... One-way signage still in place on Walnut Street on The Hill...Josh Waxman graduates from UMASS Boston...City Council's Public Safety Committee talking about Maine's new fireworks law...Debra Walton provided lots of champagne for Blue Lobsters' after-party at Lucid...Tony Zeli and Anna Trevorrow off to Green Party’s 2011 Annual National Meeting in Alfred, New York... Former Mayor Jim Cohen back from family vacation in Europe...Portland's street artists may start organizing to push back against increasing restrictions being placed on them...Leonardo's Pizza guru Phil George giving away free slices at Alive at Five concert in Monument Square...Isabelle Weyl is the new Children's Librarian in Martha's Vineyard...WMPG hoping to hold annual Alternative Media Softball Tournament in September... Crash Barry will be reading his new book Tough island at Longfellow Books on August 12th...Jobani Cohen loving her new pad in the West End...Guy juggling lemons in the produce department...Bayside neighborhood is going to be seeing a lot more of Steven Scharf... Johnny Lomba picking up some PBR and harassing Yankee fans on supermarket checkout line...Locally inspired 'Peel Over' could go viral... Fix-It Man Vinnie Veligor stopped at CBD before heading to the lake... Ethan Macomber-Boxer and Jamie Parker have jumped on board one of the mayoral campaigns... July 17-31, 2011 Four political junkies at the corner of Congress and Park Street dissecting the mayoral race...Jenny Anastasoff could have danced all night (and did) at the annual Zootz reunion...Jack Safarick's campaign for the Portland Water District getting lost in all the hubbub of the mayor campaign...Former City Manager Joe Gray strolling in the Old Port...Cora Brown approaching her 101st birthday...Mel Shapiro's moving from Orange Street is the end of an era...Dugan Murphy got his Bachelor of Urban Planning from the University of Cincinnati... Rebecca Minnick back for a visit to her old Kentucky home...Movie being shot in Longfellow Square...Oboist (and former school committee member) Ben Meiklejohn picking up lunch (and talking politics) at Fresh Approach...Pistol Pete and his trusty assistant Betsy are sewing as fast as they can...Richard Lawlor in the gluten-free aisle at Hannaford...State considering private ownership of landfills... Governor probably won't meet with all 19 Portland mayoral candidates just to keep them in the loop...John Nappi at Station A just waiting to see what happens...Karl Rawstron checked the Bed Bath and Beyond dumpster in Bellingham, Washington: doormat, towel hook, bed sheets in package, pillows - all perfectly fine except they spray painted them to discourage dumpster diving...Empty lot next to Geno's getting major facelift...Alumni of Festival of Creative Youth hoping to have a reunion next summer...Barron Center residents boogeying to music of Bobby Reed & The Wild Horse Band... Patrick Banks collecting signatures for People's Veto at East End Beach (and hoping no bagpipes show up)...City Councilor Cheryl Leeman may not be mayor, but she now has a Facebook page...City bus clipped a Mercedes on Congress Street in front of the library...A lot of Portland performance artists at 40th Anniversary of Celebration Barn in South Paris... July 5-17, 2011 Former Mayor Peter O'Donnell is 50-and not running this time...West End TIGERS off to a slow start...Patrick Banks loved the bagpipes at the Yarmouth Clam Festival parade...Large-scale elephant census planned for Sri Lanka...At least one mayoral candidate at PMA's Contemporaries Midsummer Party...Parksider Michael Quint zipping down State Street on his red scooter...Guy sitting at the curb on Forest Avenue wearing a tee shirt saying 'Got Bail?'...Jenny Yasi swimming Peaks to Portland...Ken Wood stopped by his old Parkside neighborhood...Joe Lewis has a spectacular view of the city from his new Port City Legal offices on the 10th floor of the Time & Temperature Building...WMPG collecting old records and CDs for their annual fall sale... Libby Mitchell to be honored as Woman of the Year by Emerge Maine...Former Deering High School baseball star Ryan Flaherty promoted to Chicago Cubs Triple-A Iowa team...Opera singers at Victoria Mansion...Terry Weyl almost finished cleaning out the garage...City officials want to give Forest Avenue a major facelift... East End woman rescued a squirrel trapped between window and screen...Google Maps Car racing Leonardo's delivery vehicles around the peninsula...West End Rep Jon Hinck being mentioned as possible opponent for Senator Olympia Snowe...Term-limited former Parkside Rep Herb Adams may be starting his campaign to regain the seat from current Rep Ben Chipman...Governor's appearance at LearningWorks event may have something to do with the group acquiring future state funding for it's YouthBuild program... Mayoral candidate Erick Bennett's Facebook page mysteriously disappeared... June 23-July 5, 2011 West Ender William Nelligan at the White House to join President Obama in his first Twitter Town Hall...Karl Rawstron, two black bear, and a coyote spotted at Yellowstone National Park...Former Reiche librarian Michael Whittaker threw a 4th of July bash and croquet match at his new Back Cove estate...Some West Enders hanging out at DiMillo's free Tuesday buffet...West End publisher received first known proposal as a result of New York's new gay marriage law...West End Deli becoming hot Friday night jazz spot...Birdie and Finn are two beautiful West End Golden Retrievers...Al Cravinho and Susan Hopkins cooking Portugese in Westbrook...Mayoral candidate Ralph Carmona at Lucid Stage for My Gay Son's Wedding...John Hatcher spotting vanity license plates again...Munjoy Hiller Ben Dudley one of the leader's of the People's Veto campaign...Maine Outdoors' Bill Green had a coyote in his back yard...Guy from Buffalo, NY, asking directions on the Back Cove Trail...Baysider Gloria Mallet talking politics at Buy Local gathering at Lucid Stage...Taylor/May Street residents still battling neighborhood drug dealers...Retired Saco haberdasher (Saco Bay Classics) Michael Myrick livened up West End Summer Solstice party... June 9-23, 2011 Time to start training for the WMPG Alternative Media Softball Tournament...Is there a law against playing a guitar and riding a bicycle down Congress Street at the same time?!...Spectacular hors d'oeuvres at Down East Pride Alliance gathering at Caiola's...Sean Wilkinson enjoying the lighter side of the Elected Mayor race...Ellen Murphy and Jobani Cohen celebrating Bloomsday at Bull Feeney's... Gang at Fresh Approach are really hard on local Yankee fans...Mel Shapiro says it was a Green Heron that Will Everitt spotted in Fore River Preserve... Florence Young had a great time in Chicago...Tavia Gilbert trying to learn Portugese...Blue Lobster Tom Kovacevic headed to France for a gig...Kirk Goodhue lucked into a free parking space on Park Street...Rustic Overtone Dave Noyce and friends taking a break at Tony's Donuts...West Ender Judy Reny Witherell's flight from Washington, DC delayed by thunderstorms... Tim from The Frame Shop lunching at Bonobo with local power broker...Audience raving about Once in a Blue Moon premiere at Lucid...Parksiders hoping to get a new crosswalk at High & Grant...Whatever happened to the West End's Neighborhood Watch signs?!...John Eder and Angel at East End Beach...Peter Hall planning big West End summer solstice party...Officer Ray Ruby officiating a spelling bee at Reiche School... May 25-June 8, 2011 West Ender June Stevenson has a great show at the Three Fish Gallery in Bayside...Mind reader Rory Raven enjoyed the First Friday ArtWalk while he was in town from Providence, Rhode Island...Former Mayor Jim Cohen says he's not a candidate in the current race...Fix-It Man is back in the truck after a vacation in Italy...Maine Federation of Republican Women claimed in a recent press release that Governor LePage presented them with a 'plague'...Some misguided chef out there has a recipe for Lime Green Jello Lasagna...Doukas brothers holding estate/art sale in Longfellow Square during ArtWalk...Local theater patron had cell phone conversation during recent show... Munjoy Hill photog got pics of neighborhood flower thief...Newest mayoral candidate got over 200 Facebook friends a day after announcing his candidacy...Former City Councilor Will Gorham stopped to chat while waiting for a red light at Cumberland and Preble Street...How are they going to fit all those mayoral campaign signs in Deering Oaks Park?!...New sign going up at Lucid Stage...Joe at Fresh Approach's deli making sandwiches during West Fest...Ethan Macomber-Boxer had a full cart at Hannaford's...Andy Doukas has the grass cut and rugs shampooed and is ready for company...Hope Portland Public Services was paying attention to Wendy Cherubini and Jenny Anastasoff's cleanup techniques at WestFest... Some WestFest participants picked up a sunburn at the event...Giant yellow snake was a popular attraction, but some WestFesters were keeping their distance...WEN correspondent Lee Bellavance celebrating her birthday in Connecticut...Marie Galland held a going-away party for New York-bound Doug Emerson... May 12-24, 2011 Coin's Laundromat owner Steve Hilton looking forward to his first WestFest...Former West Ender John Navarra made 24-hour trip from San Francisco to NYC to see Stevie Wonder...Ralph Davis' 50th Birthday party kept the West End awake half the night...Local Yankee fan wagered and lost a lot of Schlitz on Yankee-Red Sox series...Only one new voter registered at Reiche polling place during May 10th school budget vote...Jay York running his still-unofficial mayor campaign from KatieMade Bakery...Former Mayor Jim Cloutier and daughter Susie at Hannaford's...Brenda Garrand, founder and CEO of Garrand ad agency, named to Maine Business Hall of Fame... Maine Greens pushing for Ranked Choice voting in next Governor's race...Bob Anastasoff a big fan of WMPG's Cinema Hits & Misses show...Piles of West End NEWSES mysteriously disappeared from newsstands at City Hall and Fresh Approach (Was it something we said?!)...Latest WENA meeting wrapped up early so everyone could go home and watch Survivor...Jim Barter of Reiche School ID'd as the guy with the pickup truck who helped shovel the WestEndNewsMobile out of a snowbank on Munjoy Hill this winter...Everett Perlman named Maine Jewish Film Festival's Volunteer of the Year...Guy riding a Segway at Brackett & Pine...West Ender Donovan Gray new Development Director at Lucid Stage...Otto Pizza to be featured on the Cooking Channel...Dink Mastercard hangin' out in Tommy's Park...City Clerk's office just about ready for November mayor's race... Jed Rathband and Isa Ferguson at India Street CBD...Oakie the Oakhurst mascot locked himself out of his car at Kennebunk May Day parade...Ellen Murphy can't believe it's been 50 years since she did the Twist...Lines around the block for May 8th Thirty Seconds to Mars concert at State Theater...Mary Herbert celebrating Cinco de Mayo at El Rayo... When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they were sitting in front of Tony's Donuts in the WestEndNewsMobile, waiting for something to kick in so they could continue on the next leg of their bi-weekly pilgrimage around the city. Mike and the boys at D&M Auto next door gave them the sad news that it was a faulty starter that was delaying their journey, which they deftly repaced while the boys chowed down on a few of Tony's specialties... May 1-12,2011 Marge Niblock had a hot date for First Friday ArtWalk...Jenny Anastasoff celebrating her first Municipal Clerks' Week...Marie Galland-Dodin one of many stars at opening of Nancy Davidson's 'Critters' show at UNE...Kentucky Derby Day is Rebecca Minnick's favorite day of the year...Cyrus and Patty Hagge hosted house party on Munjoy Hill with singer-songwriter Slaid Cleaves as fundraiser for St. Lawrence...Maggie Zall collecting PBR bottle caps...Harlan Baker and Herb Adams reading from Shakespeare at the Portland Public Library on the Bard's 447th birthday...Scott Scharf in training for the 180-mile Trek Across Maine in June...Mark Reilly can't figure out how a rabbit got on the endangered species list...Janet Paul has an official broken elbow...Jason Toothaker claims the first official sunburn of 2011...Maybe Andy Doukas will send us a photo from Sintra, Portugal...Local traveller claims he saw Rasputin's penis in a Russian museum...Patrick Quinlan somewhere in Florida working on his latest novel...Rep Hinck treated everyone to brunch at West End April Stools Day...Awen, Grace and Cherry found the Golden Turd at Harbor View Park...Jack Nicholson/Farrah Fawcett doppelgangers at Po' Boys and Pickles... Portland cop Jessica Googins picking up some whoopie pies at Cranberry Island Kitchens...Katie Brown running into Tanja Hollander at J's Oyster Bar... When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they were speeding past HarborView Park in the WestEndNewsMobile, furiously searching for the elusive GoldenTurd. Everybody in the park was busy with shovels and plastic bags, celebrating April Stools' Day while hunting for the coveted trophy of the day, and NewsHound was sitting sheepishly in the back seat, just wanting the whole thing to be over with... April 1-12, 2011 Jeffrey Caron and Michael Tobin have decided to close the Old Port Playhouse venue. The production company will continue...Is there still a Norm in Norms?!...Bath Savings Institution giving away Adrian Gonzalez bobble head dolls...Carol and Karen at Cranberrry Island Kitchen thrilled that the whoopie pie is now Maine's official treat...Liz Trice in training to become a Certified Laughter Yoga Leader...Jack Safarik has been to a lot of countries in the last forty years...Portland Monthly celebrating 25th Anniversary...Susan Doran will miss Cap'n Crunch cereal, which is no longer being marketed...Ron Gan hanging at KatieMade Bakery...Former City Council candidate Tina Smith ready to jump back into local political scene...Fashion model freezing her bare arms off at chilly photo shoot outside Victoria Mansion... Patron at local theater paid admission with $2 winning lotto ticket on 'Pay what you can Night'...Hope Bill Doukas brought some good recipes back from Boston Seafood Show...Couple of local political junkies discussing upcoming mayoral race at CBD on India Street... Former Mayor Pete O'Donnell called the WEN to congratulate us on our 10th Anniversary... When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they were happily marching down Tyng Street in the West End, celebrating their traditional St. Patrick's Day, when they suddenly realized that the guys in the kilts and playing the bagpipes had done an about face and were leading the parade down Tate Street instead, like they usually do on this annual historic occasion. Well, the boys are all for tradition and all that, but their busy schedule doesn't allow them time for a lot of back- tracking, and they were leisurely waiting at Harbor View Park when the rest of the parade finally caught up with them... March 11-23, 2011 Leonardo's won "Best Cheese" at the Portland Rotary's Third Annual Pizza Bowl...Local mayoral candidate being called an iconoclast...Local publisher being called cynical...Silly's won the WMPG Cajun Cooking Challenge for the third year in a row...Colucci's had to put a lock on it's overflowing trash dumpster...James Cagney at WMPG Mardi Gras Cookoff with daughter Fiona...Local pol in a huff-and-a- half at not being invited to Governor's appearance in Bayside... Receding snowbanks revealing a lot of buried...banana peels...West Enders Robert Witkowski and Dennis "Chip" Martin voted the first official King & Queen of Mardi Gras at the Annual Mardi Gras Ball... Portland High School girls’ hockey team received the Good Sportsmanship Award for Western Maine...Melissa Letourneau retiring from West End dog-sitting service Portland's Paws...Timothy 'Cheddar' Schneider has bowled the first 300 game at Bayside Bowl... PPD's 'Lieutenant Cupcake' spotted at JJ's Eatery in OOB...West End pet psychic says that what NewsHound really wants is a red, ruby- studded collar...Thanks to guy in pickup truck on Munjoy Hill who helped shovel the WestEndNewsMobile out of a snowbank during recent storm... When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they were painting the WestEndNewsMobile green in preparation for this year's St. Patrick's Day festivities, when it occurred to them that the WestEndNewsMobile was already green, but you couldn't tell because it was covered with a thick layer of this winter's dirt and grime. So they put away their paint brushes and took out their scrub brushes and hoped that the old warhorse would still hold together without all that gook stuck to it... February 24-March 10 West Ender Kimberly Curry has arrived safely in Mumbai...Eli Phant guru Sally Struever will be running Museum Store at Portland Museum of Art...Barn blew down on Brackett Street in 78-MPH winds a year ago...Former Portlander Jessica Hasslen headed home to Minnesota from extended stay in Kenya, Africa...Couple of transported Portlanders discovered they were both from the same area of northeast Pennsylvania... WENA awarded a Golden Mitten for its Celtic Snowman at WinterRush in Deering Oaks Park...Crows on Munjoy Hill still badgering red tailed hawks to find another neighborhood to hang out...WEN editors considering a swimsuit edition...Some local women taking their annual trek up Mt. Katahdin... Bill in state legislature would end same-day voter registration in Maine... It was too cold in Parkside for Hilda Taylor to get the turkey fryer going for the start of NASCAR season.. Sergeant Bob Doherty and Commander Vern Malloch served as judges at Chili & Chowder Challenge... Mayor Nick Mavodones and Sheriff Kevin Joyce were also there in that capacity...Gourmet whoopie pies the latest craze in the West End...Fresh Approach butcher playing indoor softball getting ready for the real season to start...Will King wants that guitar that Mike's is raffling off on First Friday...Jobani Cohen looking for a new set of wheels to get her around Back Cove...Councilor Donoghue may be expecting a comprehensive recap of Portland's last decade in our next issue... Some old, familiar political faces starting to show up as mayor race starts to warm up...Harlan Baker thinks Casablanca should get another Oscar this year... When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they were busy pulling together plans for the fabulous WEN 10th Anniversary Birthday Bash. They were trying to find a location in the West End to hold the event, since neither one of them actually lives in the West End anymore, but all their friends were balking at opening up their luxurious homes to the boys, because they know too well what rowdy parties the boys always throw, and this one could involve hundreds, if not thousands of rowdy guests. The boys might have to resort to taking over some spot like Harbor View Park, although NewsHound thinks the Valley Street Park would be a better choice.. February 12-24, 2011 New West End Neighborhood Watch signs now scheduled to go up in April (as soon as Public Works finishes clearing the snow)...Planning for second annual WestFest on May 21st has begun...WENA Prez Chip Martin will lead West End's snowman-building effort at Winter Rush at Deering Oaks..Onetime Portlander Susan Doran thinking of having her next birthday bash at a San Francisco trampoline park... Former school committee member Stephen Spring proud that his baby - Casco Bay High School - is growing up...New Moon Ceremony at Museum of African Culture rescheduled due to the weather. It will be held in conjunction with the Mask of the Month on Friday, February 25...Meghan Conley won a Cuddledown comforter after entering her 'Snow Monster' in a snowman contest (See WEN front page, previous issue)..New WENA secretary Steven Scharf the first Republican elected in the West End in recent memory...Melissa Gates makes a mean teriyaki tempeh...Sean Wilkinson positioning himself for lucrative contract to redesign West End NEWS website...Michael Trautman invited to perform at the Milano Clown Festival in March...West Enders Alex and Samantha Witkowski, Kiara Alexander, and Elias Grimm appearing in James and the Giant Peach at Children's Museum... Local Community Policing coordinator shares a birthday with the late President Reagan (but she's a lot younger)...Centenarian Cora Brown still has the best-shovelled sidewalks in the West End... What was Bangor photographer Robert Diamante doing on Munjoy Hill?!...Parksider Jenny Anastasoff the new afternoon Business License Administrator at City Hall...East End winter construction crew scraping ice off their 2x8s... When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they figured that it would be easier to deliver the latest batch of WENs during the parking ban because they wouldn't have to compete with everybody else for parking spaces. It didn't occur to them until they pulled up to Fresh Approach at 10 PM sharp, that the place closes at 7. They're still working on perfecting their system... February 1-12, 2011 Joe Donatello thought he'd never see his name in print again...Red Sox manager Terry Francona hanging out in front of the Four Seasons in Boston with Steve Hirshon and King Weinstein...Steelers got some measure of revenge for local Patriot fans...Former Popeye's owner Jane Orne picking up a few groceries at Fresh Approach...Liz Gotthelf taking up cross-country skiing...West Ender Ellen Murphy and East Ender Suzanne Gagnon seen in Brunswick with James Joyce...Chris Newcomb in town to star in Mad Horse's Dark Night series at Lucid Stage...Sarah Colton loved her first trip to the Big Apple...Would-be mayor candidate made bizarre 'kiss my butt' speech at MLK Day event... January 10-24, 2011 .Former Reiche librarian Michael Whittaker promoting teen movies at the main branch...Munjoy Hill Observer staff taking the month off... Portland Paws' Liz McMahon spotted on Baxter Boulevard with her new best friend Ruby...Katie Brown's new Achilles tendon getting ready for Spring Training...New owner Steve Hilton busy rejuvenating (and renaming) Coin's Laundromat...Jane Stevens performing in RENT, opening February 18th at Lyric Music Theater in South Portland ...Guys at Andrews American Legion Post wonder when Nellie is coming back from vacation...What were you doing at 1:11 on 1/11/11?! ...Fresh Approach now has a Facebook page...West Coast musician Dan Cole jamming at Lucid Stage on New Year's Eve along with Sally Trice, Liz Trice, and Alec Wall... Pulitizer Prize-winning author Richard Ford at local screening of The King's Speech...Officer Amie Lynn Rapa resigned from the Portland Police Department and is moving to New Zealand... Mayoral hopeful nearly run over in town while strategizing on his cell phone...City Councilor dancing in the aisle at Trader Joe's...Debra Walton got the first copy of the WEN's first issue of the year... When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they were trying to figure out how to make room in the back of the WestEndNewsMobile for the NewsHound, who insisted on accompanying them on their latest WEN delivery run around the city. They're trying to teach her how to hold a newspaper in her mouth without getting teeth marks on it, but she thinks it's more fun chewing up papers spitting them out at unsuspecting passers-by... January 1-10, 2011 thewestendnews.com slowly being put back together...Football Giants playing like they're worn out from celebrating Wendy Cherubini's birthday...Lost hand-knitted mitten caused temporary panic in the West End until it showed up...Portland mayoral race has its own Wikipedia page...No surfers spotted at East End Beach during recent blizzard... Retiring City Manager Joe Gray won't miss declaring parking bans in the city...Public Works hasn't lost any heavy equipment in Deering Oaks Pond during recent operation...Parkside Community Policing Coordinator Michelle Lauture somehow avoided 17-car pile-up in Deering Oaks on December 20th...Big sendoff at City Hall for departing City Clerk Linda Cohen...East Ender Marilyn Blinkhorn becoming a regular at Fresh Approach...No, those weren't spike heels on mascot Oakie at recent Pirates game... Ugly Sweater Contest and Red Hot Ladies raised over $550 at Pearl Lounge for Bruce Roberts Santa Fund..Is new City Councilor Ed Suslovic sending a message to his colleagues, hosting a party on Boxing Day?!...Community Policing coordinators wrapped a lot of Christmas presents at Reiche with help from a few Portland cops...Former League head Will Everitt to cover mayoral race for the WEN...Portland Magazine art director Bob Witkowski dining at the new District restaurant in the West End...Guitar Grave's Mike Fink feeding a lot of starving musicians at his restaurant next door....Is new City Councilor Ed Suslovic sending a message to his colleagues, hosting a party on Boxing Day?!...Community Policing coordinators wrapped a lot of Christmas presents at Reiche with help from a few Portland cops...Former League head Will Everitt to cover mayoral race for the WEN...Portland Magazine art director Bob Witkowski dining at the new District restaurant in the West End...Guitar Grave's Mike Fink feeding a lot of starving musicians at his restaurant next door... When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they were trying to decide whether to park the WestEndNewsMobile in the West End or in the East End during the Parking Ban. They didn't have this problem when they were making their rounds on the WestEndNewsCycle. They would just leave it in a big snowbank and come back and pick it up when it stopped snowing, unless somebody stole it, which somebody always did, Some people think their job is easy.. December 17-29, 2010 Jane Stevens informs us that, just in case it ever comes to this, the post office on Forest Avenue is an official fallout shelter...Ann Smith sold a lot of Snookies at Lucid Art's and Crafts Show...Crash Barry reading from Sex, Drugs and Blueberries at Longfellow Books... Pamela Cragin still dipping in the ocean at Higgins Beach...Parksider Jenny Anastasoff joining West End City Councilor Dave Marshall in becoming car-free...Night clerk at Residence Inn got a 3AM call wishing him a happy 21st birthday...Marty King insisted on being reinstated to WEN's subscription list after recent visit to Portland...City staff removed framed caricature of Councilor Donoghue hanging with former Portland mayors on the wall of City Hall's council chamber...Lewiston mayor Larry Gilbert at Portland mayoral inauguration (as was a delegation from our sister city Archangel, Russia)...PPD detectives think it's a crime that Marge Niblock looks so young...Carlo Pittore's posthumous debut December 14th at the Leslie Lohman Gallery in the Village (direct from the Constellation Gallery on Congress Street)... Happy Belated Birthdays to our own Harlan (Still Not Ready to Retire) Baker and Duane (Man on the Street) Pierson...Parksider pondering pachyderm purchase...Steven Scharf pondering spicing up WENA board meetings...Guys at AIR Graphics on Washington Avenue think it's going to be the Patriots and the Falcons in the Super Bowl...Local upholsterer recently bowled a 111 at Bayside Bowl...It is high, it is far, it is on Christmas vacation... When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they were loading up the WestEndNewsMobile with toys and gifts for all the good little boys and girls. PaperBoy was wondering why all the bad little boys and girls don't get anything. He thinks it's only because they have bad press agents, but DeliveryMan thinks it's because there's no more room in the back of the WestEndNewsMobile... Merry Christmas to them anyway... |
2011 DAILY DUMPSTER