JANUARY 2012
"G'Day and G'Year Mate!"
Volume 11, Number 11 Portland, Maine
Volume 11, Number 11 Portland, Maine
Three Large Trees Taken Down
at High and Danforth Street
Three large pine trees were cut down on January 30th in the
lot at the corner of High and Danforth Street in the West End.
The property is being developed as an affordable housing
project. A 15-unit building will be constructed on the site,
next to an existing building which will be converted into a 20-
unit apartment building.
Matt Moonen Announces
Candidacy for West End
State House Seat
Matt Moonen, a resident of the West End, has announced that
he is running as a Democratic candidate for the Maine House
of Representatives in District 118, which includes the West
End, Libbytown and St. John Valley and Rosemont
neighborhoods. He joins West End residents Tom MacMillan
and Dillon Bates, who have announced that they will run for
the open seat. Moonen and Bates will face off in a primary in
June for the Democratic nomination.
The seat is currently held by state Representative Jon Hinck,
who has represented the district since 2006. Hinck is not
seeking re-election to the Legislature to focus on a run for U.
S. Senate.
Moonen has served as Political Director for EqualityMaine,
where he was one of the key strategists in the successful
passage of the 2009 marriage equality bill, and the historic No
on 1: Protect Maine Equality campaign. More recently, he
worked with Maine Citizens for Clean Elections to preserve
Maine’s strong campaign finance laws and reduce the
influence of big money in government. He also volunteered
on the successful campaign to preserve same-day voter
registration rights, and is currently the Vice Chair of the
Portland Democratic City Committee. For more information,
please visit the campaign’s Facebook page: facebook.
com/moonenformaine or email Matt at matt.moonen@gmail.
com
Sauschuck Named
City’s New Police
Chief
Portland City Manager Mark Rees has announced the
selection of Acting Police Chief Michael Sauschuck as the
city’s next Police Chief. Rees will formally present
Sauschuck for City Council confirmation at the February 6,
2012 meeting. Upon confirmation, Sauschuck will become the
nineteenth Police Chief to serve the city.
Sauschuck has been with the Portland Police Department for
fifteen years. After graduating from high school, Sauschuck
joined the Marines where he was sent to Camp Pendleton, San
Mateo, California. During his five year tenure, he served as a
Corporal then Sergeant within the Marine Security Guard in
San Salvador, El Salvador and Moscow, Russia. After four
years as a reserve police officer with the Old Orchard Beach
Police Department, Sauschuck joined the Portland Police
Department where he worked in a variety of specialties
including the crisis intervention team, special reaction team
and as a field training officer. In March 2011, Sauschuck was
selected as the department’s Assistant Chief, where he served
as Chief James Craig’s second in command and directly
oversaw criminal investigations, uniformed operations and
emergency communications.
Upon Chief Craig’s departure in August, Sauschuck led the
Police Department as Acting Police Chief during which he
oversaw a department of more than two hundred employees
and an annual budget of $13.4 million. Over the past five
months, Sauschuck has worked both internally to advance
progressive policies designed to help the department respond
to the needs of the city as well as externally to build open and
trusting relationships with various community groups and
leaders.
Over the past decade, Sauschuck has received a number of
awards for his commitment to the department and the
community including the Sgt. Michael J. Wallace Award, the
Enrique Camarena Memorial Award from the Maine Drug
Enforcement Agency, and the Heroes with a Heart Award.
Sauschuck earned his Bachelors of Arts in Criminology from
the University of Maine in 1998 and completed a Command
Training Series for police executives at Rogers Williams
University in 2010. He is married to fellow Portland Police
Detective, Mary Sauschuck.
The announcement marks the end of a five-month search for
a new Police Chief. A nationwide search effort was initiated
last fall. More than eighty candidates applied for the position
and after an initial vetting process, five candidates were
invited for a round of interviews with two panels comprised
of city staff, union representatives, Police Department staff,
members of community organizations and local business
leaders. Following the interviews, the candidates participated
in a day-long assessment organized by Massachusetts
company, Badgequest. The Assessment included a variety of
exercises designed to test and assess the candidates ability to
lead the city’s Police Department. Select candidates were then
invited back to the city for a final interview with City Manager
Rees, during which, Rees selected Sauschuck for the top post.
Last Day to Avoid $25 Late
Fee for Dog Licenses
January 31st was the last day that Portland dog owners can
obtain a 2012 dog license from the City without paying a $25
late fee. Dog Licenses for 2011 expired on December 31,
2011
All dogs six months of age or older must be licensed. Dog
licenses are issued for a calendar year and are due January 1st
of each year. If you have not yet licensed your dog(s) for
2012, you must do so.
You can obtain the dog license from the City Clerk’s office at
City Hall Monday - Friday from 9A.M. to 4:30 P.M. or call
to see how you can re-license your dog through the mail.
Please call 874-8610 if you have questions.
Renewals and new registrations are also available online at
https://www.informe.org/dog_license/begin.shtml
In order to license your dog, you must provide a current State
of Maine Rabies Certificate. If the dog has been spayed or
neutered, you must have proof of neutering, a previous
license or written verification of neutering from a veterinarian
the first time you license the dog.
Fees are as follows:
-Spayed or neutered - $6.00
-Not spayed or neutered - $11.00
-Late fee $25.00 (per dog) applies after 1/31/12
Downtown Showdown
Cancelled for Lack of Snow
Sunday River and Sugarloaf resorts has cancelled the 4th
annual Downtown Showdown rail jam event which was
scheduled to be held in Monument Square on Friday,
February 3rd. The reason given for the cancellation was a
lack of snow.
For the invitation-only event, thirty of the region’s best skiers
and snowboarders had been invited to compete and showcase
their skills. Last year’s free rail jam drew thousands of
spectators who gathered around the mountain to watch as
athletes competed for more than $4,000 in cash and prizes.
This year’s prize purse was to be valued the same. The event
will not be rescheduled this winter.
Schools Announce Schedule for
Kindergarten Registration
The Portland Public Schools will register kindergartners for
the 2012-2013 school year during the weeks of February 27 -
March 2 and March 5 - 9. Registration takes place by
appointment at the child’s neighborhood school. If you do not
know which school is in your neighborhood, please call 874-
8237.
To register children whose families speak a language other
than or in addition to English at home, please contact the
Multilingual Intake Center (874-8135). They will oversee
English language proficiency testing and health screening as
well as registration. The center is
located at Lyman Moore Middle School, 171 Auburn Street
(next to Lyseth Elementary School).
Children must be five years of age on or before October 15,
2012 in order to attend kindergarten. Please bring the
following documents to register a child: original birth
certificate, his/her immunization record and proof of
residency in the city of Portland.
Mayor, Community
Leaders Speak Out Against
DHHS Cuts
Mayor Michael Brennan was joined on January 30th by
representatives of the Portland Regional Chamber, Mercy
Health System of Maine, Catholic Charities, Preble Street, and
the United Way of Greater Portland, as well as other local
organizations at a press conference at Mercy Hospital (in
front of the Emergency Department) 144 State Street. The
group voiced concerns over Governor Paul LePage’s
proposed cuts to the state’s Department of Health and Human
Services budget, and how they present a significant cost shift
to the city, local health care providers, businesses and non
profit organizations. The budget proposal includes more than
$2 million in direct cuts to city programs, as well as impacts
of at least $20 million to local hospitals, social service
agencies and nonprofits, which are already grappling with
overwhelming demand for assistance.
“As Maine’s largest city and economic engine, it makes little
sense to pursue cuts that would be both punitive for the
community and harm our quality of life,” says Mayor
Brennan. “The cuts won’t eliminate the need for health care,
access to services or affordable housing. Instead, at a time
when we are barely able to respond to growing needs, they
will pass the buck and responsibility to local governments,
hospitals, and social service agencies.”
At the press conference, Mayor Brennan outlined the impacts
of the budget proposal, as well as presenting a letter for
Governor LePage and the Maine Legislature voicing the
community’s opposition to the cuts.
Western Cemetery Getting
New Fence
The first phase of replacement of the chain link fence at the
Western Cemetery Fence is in place. The plan is to install
Phase II in the late spring, from the left of the maintenance
opening, around the corner, onto the beginning of the Western
Prom. A black wooden sign, with gold lettering "Historic
Western Cemetery", will be installed in the spring. Phase III is
scheduled to be completed in the fall, from the end of Phase
II to the cemetery end on the Western Prom.
Funds for the fence and its installation were all raised privately
by the Friends of the Western Cemetery. According to a City
official, the amount raised for this first section of fencing was
approximately $20,000.
Bryan to Face Challenge
for West End School Board
Seat
West End School Committee member Ed Bryan will face a
challenge from a Green Independent candidate in the race in
District 2 in the November 2012 elections.
Holly Seeliger announced her candidacy on January 25th.
Seelinger grew up in the small Maine town of North Berwick,
where she attended Noble High School, and moved to
Portland to attend college. She is a recent graduate of the
University of Southern Maine, with a B.A. in Political Science.
While in college, Seelinger interned at the office of State
Representative Tom Allen, volunteered at nursing homes and
schools, and travelled to China. She is a certified Educational
Technician III, and is planning to pursue a Master’s degree in
Education. She is a member of the West End Neighborhood
Association, the League of Young Voters, Occupy Maine, and
Pine Tree Youth Organizing.
Bryan was elected to the Portland School Committee in 2009.
He is the founder of Crystal Reporting Solutions, and a
nationally-recognized expert in MUNIS and Crystal Reports
software and their use in the public and nonprofit sectors.
Federal Agents Wound Fugitive in
Shootout in Parkside
Arien L'Italien has long, violent history in Maine
Federal agents from the U.S. Marshals Service shot and
wounded a man on Mellen Street at about 5:30 on Friday
evening, January 27th, after the man reportedly pulled a
handgun and started shooting at them as they tried to arrest
him . The shooting took place on Mellen Street between
Cumberland Avenue and Sherman Street, on the sidewalk
outside the Sacred Heart/St.Dominic Church. Numerous
Portland Police Department personnel were also
on the scene.
The man, Arien L'Italien, 22, was hit in the leg and was taken
to Maine Medical Center with non-life-threatening wounds.
L'Italien was wanted on a felony arrest warrant in Biddeford,
on a charge of aggravated assault. He is now charged with
attempted murder of a federal officer and illegal possession of
a firearm by a felon. L’Italien made his first court appearance
Monday, January 30th.
The U.S. Marshals Service is the federal government’s
primary agency for fugitive investigations. U.S. Marshals task
forces combine the efforts of federal, state and local law
enforcement agencies to locate and arrest the most
dangerous fugitives.
L'Italen was arrested in 2009 and charged with burglary and
aggravated assault in connection with a stabbing in Biddeford,
according to the Portland Press Herald. He was already
wanted in connection with previous crimes, including a
stabbing in Portland.
L'Italien was also arrested in Portland in September , 2010
after he smashed a brick into the display case at the Swiss
Time watch shop on Exchange Street in the Old Port, and
stole several Rolex watches. He was charged with robbery,
felony theft, criminal mischief, and violation of bail conditions
from a previous arrest.
Armed Robber Hits
Quality Shop
The Quality Shop, a convenience store on Stevens Avenue
near Deering High School, became the latest target in a string
of armed robberies across the city in the past three weeks.
A gunman robbed the store at about 8PM this evening. It was
the fifth armed robbery in the city since January 11th.
Police say the suspect was wearing a long, dark trench coat,
dark hooded sweatshirt and a white scarf. He ordered people
in the store to get on the floor at gunpoint, then took cash
from the register and fled.
The other robbery targets have been the Cumberland Farms
store in the West End, which has been hit twice, including a
holdup last night. Two banks have also been robbed - the
University Credit Union on Forest Avenue on January 12th,
and the TruChoice Credit Union on Park Avenue on January
19th. No one has been hurt in any of the robberies.
Anyone with information about these robberies may call
Portland police at 874-8533.
Victim Head-Butts Alleged
Attacker
Portland police arrested Mohamud Abdullahi, 18, in
connection with an attack on three restaurant workers - a
man and two women - as they walked to a car in the Old Port
at about 10PM on January 24th. Police were able to identify
Abdulahi because the male victim had head-butted him,
leaving him with a busted lip. Police say he was in a car with
several other young men.
Police are also investigating several other incidents which
occurred in the same area at the same time, including an
assault on a 63-year-old man, and the vandalizing of several
cars. Abdullahi was charged with two counts of assault and
criminal mischief.
Cumby's Robbed
Again
The Cumberland Farms on Pine Street in the West End was
held up for the second time this month on Wednesday night,
January 25th, at about 9:10 PM.
Police say an armed man escaped with an undisclosed amount
of cash. Police say the suspect was a white man who was
wearing a black ski mask and a dark jacket with a dark hood.
Anyone with information about these robberies may call
Portland police at 874-8533.
Downtown to Host New
Winter Festival
Portland On Ice, the new winter festival sponsored by
Portland's Downtown District, will kick off with the Portland
Harbor Hotel Ice Bar on January 27th, continue through
February's First Friday Art Walk, and end on Saturday,
February 4th. The festival showcases all that downtown
Portland has to offer during the winter with live music
highlights every night, classic events like Sunday River's
Downtown Showdown CANCELLED-LACK OF SNOW
Rail Jam in Monument Square (Feb 3), and brand new family
activities like ice fishing demonstrations in Tommy's Park
(Feb 2 and 3).
Ice sculptures will be unveiled downtown on Saturday,
January 28th in Post Office Park and in front of the Portland
Museum of Art. The PMA will also host events throughout
Portland On Ice, including screenings of One For the Road,
an HD ski film, from Friday, January 27th through Sunday,
January 29th.
The full Portland on Ice schedule is available in downtown
locations and online at portlandmaine.com. When attending
any of the live music highlights, attendees can have their
Portland On Ice schedule stamped by the venue for a chance
to win raffle prizes, including free concert tickets or an
electric guitar. Contest details are available at portlandmaine.
com.
A Downtown Photo Scavenger Hunt will also be held from
Tuesday, January 31st through Thursday, February 2nd.
Each day, teams will compete to collect points by posting
pictures on Facebook of downtown landmarks, shops, sights,
and activities. A winning team will be selected for each day,
and will be awarded a $100 gift certificate from a downtown
business of their choice.
Williston West Church
Sold as Private Residence
The Williston West Church on Thomas Street in the West End
was sold for $657,900 in December to an Australian surgeon
and businessman, for use as a private residence. The church
and parish house were designed in 1897 by noted architect
John Calvin Stevens. The Williston West congregation, which
had been growing smaller, merged with the Immanuel Baptist
Church on High Street last summer. A nursery school and a
number of other groups that met at the church will have to
find new accommodations.
Hinck to Face Two More
Challengers in Senate
Primary
West End State Representative Jon Hinck will face two more
challengers in the June 12th Democratic primary that will
decide who will face Republican US Senator Olympia Snowe
in November.
State Senator Cynthia Dill of Cape Elizabeth and Portland
builder Ben Pollard have announced their candidacies, joining
Hinck and former Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap of Old
Town in the race.
Hinck has served three terms in the legislature from District
118, which covers most of the West End, as well as parts of
the Libbytown and Rosemont neighborhoods. He passed up a
run for a fourth term to make the senate bid.
Group Plans Protest at
Guv's State Address
The local coalition Maine Can Do Better plans to hold a vigil
to protest against Governor Paul LePage's proposed cuts to
the state's Health and Human Services budget, and to stand
for a better way to balance the budget.
The vigil is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, January 24, at 6:
00 pm, in the area between the State House and the Cross
Office Building in Augusta, just an hour before the Governor's
State of the State address.
"We will gather to remind those attending the State of the
State Address that irresponsible budget cuts have real - and
terrible -- consequences and that all of Maine suffers when
we turn our backs on the elderly, children, the sick and the
poor," said former Portland state representative Ben Dudley,
spokesperson for the group.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
City Council Backs Anti-
Corporate Personhood Resolution
The Portland City Council has adopted a resolution opposing
the US Supreme Court’s decision which recognizes corporate
personhood, which gives corporations a constitutional,
protected right to contribute unlimited funds for use in the
political process. The resolution was sponsored by Councilors
David Marshall, Mayor Michael Brennan, and Councilors John
Anton and Kevin Donoghue.
The resolution passed by a vote of 6-2, with Councilors
Coyne and Leeman voting against it. Councilor Ed Suslovic
was forced to leave the meeting before the vote was held
because he was suffering from a back injury. In explaining
her vote, Councilor Leeman expressed her support for the
ideas contained in the resolution, but said that the City Council
was not the proper forum in which to address the issue.
The resolution was initiated by the League of Young Voters,
which formed a working group that included members of
Occupy Maine and the Maine Independent Green Party to take
a public position against the Supreme Court’s Citizens United
case, which has allowed unlimited corporate spending in
elections. The working group and Councilor Marshall drafted
language for the resolution in early January at a meeting at the
League of Young Voters' office.
In December 2011, League members met to discuss the issue
after a Facebook post about a similar resolution passed in
California put out the call to address corporate personhood.
Throughout January and February League members are
meeting with local elected officials to discuss these concerns
and continue making their voices heard.
Third Armed Robbery
Targets Portland Bank
Surveillance photos from three armed robberies in Portland in
the last week appear to show the same suspect in all three
events. Police are investigating the possibility that all three
robberies were committed by the same man.
An armed robber held up the TruChoice Credit Union at 272
Park Avenue in Parkside at about 4:25 on January 19th,
getting away with an undisclosed amount of cash. The
incident is the third armed robbery in the city within a week,
and Portland police believe all three may have been committed
by the same gunman. Police describe the suspect as a white
man who wore a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt and a ski
mask.
The Cumberland Farms convenience store at the corner of
Pine and Brackett Street was robbed by an armed man
wearing a ski mask at about 10:30 PM on January 11th.
Police say the robber pulled a gun on the store clerk and took
an undetermined amount of cash. The clerk was ordered to lie
on the floor as the robber fled. No one was injured. Police
described the suspect as a white male, about 6 foot tall, 225
pounds, and wearing a dark jacket.
The University Credit Union at 691 Forest Avenue was robbed
for the second time in the past month on January 12th. Police
say that a single armed robber held up the bank at about 4PM
on January 12th.
According to police, the man wore a black mask, black
hooded sweatshirt, black wind pants and black sneakers,
Two local teenagers were arrested after a December 21st
holdup at the same branch. Anyone with information about
these robberies may call Portland police at 874-8533.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
West End Drug Bust Nets
998 Oxycodone Pills
Portland police arrested Briana Roberts, 23, on January 6th,
and charged her with aggravated trafficking of oxycodone.
Police and drug enforcement agents were serving a warrant at
36 Pine Street, near the corner of Pine and Brackett Street in
the West End, when they discovered 998 oxycodone pills,
along with 19 grams of cocaine.
Police had received complaints of possible illegal drug activity
in the area. The drugs have an estimated street value of about
$17,000. Roberts was arrested and taken to the Cumberland
County Jail, where her bail was set at $10,000.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Committee Votes
Against Private
Prisons in Maine
The Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Committee has voted unanimously against LD 1095, a bill
designed to facilitate the creation and use of private prisons in
Maine. The bill had been carried over from the legislature’s
2011 session. The ACLU of Maine testified against the bill,
calling it both unwise and unnecessary.
“The Criminal Justice committee did the right thing," said
Shenna Bellows, Executive Director of the ACLU of Maine.
At a time when Maine has more than enough prison space,
building private prisons is bad for business and bad for
Maine. We do not need to spend precious tax dollars so an
out of state company can profit by locking up more Mainers,”
said Bellows. “Private prisons make more money when more
people go to jail for longer, no matter what the cost to the rest
of us.”
The Maine Office of Program Evaluation and Government
Accountability (OPEGA) recently documented a pattern of
problems of oversight and accountability for prison
contractors. Those problems would only be magnified if
more prisons in the corrections system were put into the
hands of private companies, according to the ACLU of Maine.
Repairs Cause Bottleneck
at Longfellow Square
Traffic was backed up on State Street and on Congress Street
on January 18th as gas main repairs are currently underway
on State Street at the intersection with Pine Street at
Longfellow Square. State Street traffic was reduced to one
lane for the remainder of the day. Delays should be
expected. A follow-up workday is tentatively scheduled for
this Saturday, January 21st.
Council Approves Wind
Energy at City Sites
The Portland City Council has enacted new ordinance that
allows various types of wind energy generation systems in
most City zones, including residential, business, industrial and
the Recreation Open Space zones.
The ordinance responds to the increasing interest in installing
wind energy systems, such as from the Peaks Environmental
Action Group, which has installed an anemometer in Trott-
Littlejohn Park, and from DiMillo's which is installing a small
vertical axis system.
The ordinance is aimed at relatively small scale systems that
could be described as community or residential in scale and
suitable for an urban area.
The ordinance sets out height, setback and sound limits, along
with safety requirements for all wind systems. As with
temporary wind anemometers (for which regulations were put
in place last year as a first phase of this initiative), the Zoning
Board of Appeals is proposed as the reviewing authority in
relation to the new ordinance.
The ordinance is the first of several planned ordinances that
address alternative energy sources, and furthers the objectives
of the Report of the Mayor’s Sustainable Portland Task Force
and the City’s Comprehensive Plan.
Portland Republicans to
Hold Caucus
Portland Republicans will hold their biennial caucus on
Saturday, February 11 at 9:30 am. at the Riverton Elementary
School at 1600 Forest Avenue in Portland, to elect delegates
to the county committee and the state convention, and to
ratify the membership and bylaws of the group. It is also the
rank and file’s opportunity to provide feedback on the party’s
nominees for President and Congress. All registered Portland
Republicans are welcome to participate. Others wishing to
participate may register a half hour before the meeting as a
Republican, if they are not already enrolled in another party.
All Republican candidates for President have been invited to
send representatives to speak, along with any other legislative
candidates running in Portland .
The purpose of the caucus is to elect delegates and alternates
to the state convention, which will be held on Saturday, May
5th and Sunday, 6th at the Augusta Civic Center, to elect
members of the Cumberland County Republican Committee,
and to organize the municipal committee for the upcoming
elections.
The Portland Republican City Committee’s mission is to
recruit and promote candidates for municipal, county and
state offices. For more information contact Committee Chair,
Patrick Calder at 232-0944 / PatrickCalder@Hotmail.com or
Secretary, Steven Scharf at 400-9176 / SCSMedia@aol.com.
National Pie Day to be
Marked at Mayo Street Arts
January 23rd celebrates National Pie Day, and The Portland
Pie Council has invited participants to the Third Annual Pie
and Art Gala, to be held at the Mayo Street Center for the
Arts. Doors open at 5:30pm, and events run until everyone is
too sated to continue.
Once again, the headlining event will be a ranked-choice voted
competition for both sweet and savory pies, with guests
encouraged to bring a pie to submit for everyone to taste. The
Portland Pie Council has also expanded a variety of pie-centric
gala events to enjoy:
-Synchronized Interpretive Pie Dance
-Pie Eating Contest (to enter, please email
portlandpiecouncil@gmail.com)
-Charity Pie Art Auction
-Pietry (pie-esque poetry)
-Historic Pie Moments
-Pie Theatre
Created by the American Pie Council, National Pie Day is
dedicated to the celebration of pie. The American Pie
Council® is encouraging pie lovers across the nation to throw
a pie party in celebration of National Pie Day. Hosting a pie
baking - and pie tasting - party for friends or coworkers, or to
raise money for a favorite charity, are all delicious ways to
celebrate on Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Why is National Pie Day
celebrated on Jan. 23 or 1/23? Because celebrating the
wholesome goodness of pie is as easy as 1-2-3, says the Pie
Council.
Tom MacMillan Will Run
for West End House Seat
Seeks Post Being Vacated by Jon Hinck
West End resident and lifelong Portlander Tom MacMillan has
announced that he will run for District 118 in the Maine
House of Representatives, a district comprised mostly of the
West End. His campaign announcement will be marked by a
Community Meet-and-Greet at the Reiche Community Center
on January 28th from 530pm-730pm. Current representative
Jon Hinck announced last month that he will be a candidate
for the Democratic nomination for the US Senate, the winner
of which will oppose Senator Olympia Snowe in November.
MacMillan is the first announced candidate in the race.
"Having grown up in Portland and lived in this district, I
recognize the unique and wonderful qualities of our city and
state. I am proud to announce that I will wage a positive,
grassroots campaign for State House District 118,” MacMillan
said. “The attacks on MaineCare and the rights of workers to
organize affected me personally; members of my family are
unionized workers and rely on public health care,”
For MacMillan, the issues facing Maine today are the lack of
good jobs and the need for a common sense health care
solution.
MacMillan, who works in education, is a board member of
the West End Neighborhood Association, and a longtime
member of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Southern Maine as well
as Seeds of Peace. He graduated fromPortland High School
and attended Clark University. His family has lived in Greater
Portland for generations.
State Department to Send
Suslovic to Russia as Envoy
Portland City Councilor Ed Suslovic been selected by the US
State Department as a Legislative Fellow, and will be sent to
Portland's Sister City of Arkhangelsk, Russia this spring.
Suslovic will work on environmental issues with state and
local elected officials, high schools and universities, and
citizen advocates. The goal is to develop the Arkhangelsk-
Portland Environmental Action Team so that the two cities
can more effectively work together to improve the
environment in both communities.
The Sister City program was started to promote exchanges
between the peoples of Greater Portland Maine and the City of
Archangel in Northwest Russia; to provide opportunities for
Russians and Americans to share time, ideas, and the best of
the two communities; to bring friendship and understanding to
our peoples; and to improve the chances for world peace
through citizen diplomacy.
GOP Bigwigs Invited to
Lincoln Day Dinner in
Portland
The Cumberland County Lincoln Club will hold its annual
Lincoln Dinner on Saturday, February 11, 2012. The dinners
are held every year around the country in honor of the 16th
President. The dinner will be held at the Italian Heritage Center
on Outer Congress Street.
Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, as well as
Governor Paul LePage, Secretary of State Charlie Summers,
Attorney General Bill Schneider and State Treasurer Bruce
Poliquin have been invited.
Local historian Lynda Sudlow will be the featured speaker.
Ms. Sudlow is a resident of North Yarmouth, and recently
retired from the Directorship of the Falmouth Memorial
Library. She is a Civil War historian, and the author of “A
Vast Army of Women”, about women from Maine who
volunteered in support of the Union Army. Ms.Sudlow’s topic
will be the changing role of women during the Civil War and
President Lincoln’s changing perception of that role.
Friday, January 6, 2011
No Injuries Reported in
Danforth Street Fire
No one was injured in a fire at 190 Danforth Street that was
called in to the Portland Fire Department at about 9:30 this
morning. The building is one of a row of brownstones at
Brackett and Danforth Streets in the West End. The fire was
put out by firefighters after producing heavy smoke in the
residence.
City Files Defense
Against OccupyMaine
Lawsuit
City cites state, federal and Supreme
Court decisions in defense of its Parks
Ordinance
The City of Portland has filed its responsive pleading to the
lawsuit filed in Superior Court by OccupyMaine December
19, 2011. The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of the
city’s Parks Ordinance as written and as applied by the City
Council when it voted 8-1 to deny OccupyMaine’s petition to
continue its twenty-four hour, seven day-a-week encampment
in Lincoln Park for at least 179 days, and to establish a
continuous free speech and assemblies zone in the park.
OccupyMaine’s complaint claims that the free speech
component of the First Amendment to the federal and state
constitutions makes the application of the Parks Ordinance,
which restricts use of parks by the public to the hours of 6:30
AM – 10:00 PM, and requires a permit granted by the City
Council for events lasting more than three days, illegal.
In its forty-two page response, the City cites numerous
federal, state and the leading US Supreme Court case, Clark v.
Community for Creative Non-Violence, in defense of its
notice to vacate issued to OccupyMaine December 15, 2011.
The cases held that even if certain types of occupancy are
considered activity protected by the First Amendment, state
laws or local ordinances, similar to Section 18-41 of the
Portland Ordinance that control the use of public parks,
comprise reasonable time, place and manner restrictions on
freedom of speech as protected by the Constitution. City
officials say that the decisions also support compliance with
health, welfare and safety codes like the City’s Building Code
and Fire Codes as well as park maintenance and protection
requirements.
The City also says that these cases note the important role
that municipal ordinances and rules play in limiting requests
for exclusive use of public parks or public space so that the
space may be used and enjoyed by a broad spectrum of
citizens for a variety of uses.
The City’s response was prepared by the City’s legal staff
and filed by Attorney Mark Dunlap of Norman, Hanson and
DeTroy who has been hired by Corporation Counsel Gary
Wood to be the leading attorney in the case going forward.
Unless the court requires OccupyMaine to file sooner, their
attorney will have seven days to respond to the city’s filing.
Crash Barry to Deliver Sex,
Drugs and Lobster Lecture at
Portland Library
At noon on January 25th, at the Portland Public Library,
bestselling Maine author Crash Barry will discuss the two
years he spent working aboard a lobster boat out of
Matinicus, the subject of his recently published memoir
Tough Island. His true stories from two decades ago provide
a unique look at life on Maine’s most remote inhabited island,
where tales of danger and drugs, sex and violence, death and
sorrow all unfold in a landscape of breathtaking beauty.
Crash Barry is the author of the rollicking novel Sex, Drugs
and Blueberries, set in Washington County amid the
Oxycontin-abuse epidemic, and Tough Island, a gritty memoir
detailing life on Matinicus, Maine’s most remote island. Crash
Barry spent a decade as a print and radio reporter in Portland
until receiving a writing fellowship from the Maine Arts
Commission, which convinced him to pursue book-writing.
His column One Maniac’s Meat appears monthly in The
Bollard, a Portland newsmagazine. He’s worked as a
sternman, sailor, bartender, demolitionist, janitor, alpaca
herdsman, cow milker and blueberry raker. He lives in the
hills of western Maine.
The Brown Bag Lecture with Crash Barry will be held
Wednesday, January 25th from noon to 1PM at the Portland
Public Library, 5 Monument Square, Portland. For more
information about the event please call (207)871-1700. Learn
more about Crash Barry and read selections from his books at
crashbarry.com.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
WMPG to Celebrate
Successful “Power Up!”
With Open House
The WMPG Management and Board has invited the public to
the Power Up! Open House – celebrating the successful
completion of the station’s biggest expansion ever. After
years of planning, fund-raising, and hard work, WMPG is
now broadcasting a new more powerful signal, reaching
radios from southern York County to the Augusta area, and
west to Central New Hampshire.
To celebrate, WMPG is holding a day-long Power Up! Open
House on Saturday, January 21st, 2012 from 10 AM to 5 PM.
Listeners can join the party by listening to 90.9 or 104.1 FM,
or by stopping by in person at 92 Bedford Street on the
Portland campus of the University of Southern Maine for the
transmitter-warming party!
There will be special celebratory programming on the air all
day long, with live music, voices from the past, and live and
recorded calls from the new expanded listening area. The
theme of the Power Up! Open House is “Same Community
Radio…. MUCH More Community!” There will be
refreshments, free lunch, giveaways, a raffle, station tours
and WMPG volunteer on-air personalities!
WMPG Southern Maine Community Radio is the broadcast
radio voice for the people of southern and central Maine,
operated by a corps of over 250 volunteers, aided by a small
management staff. It is supported in part by its listeners, as
well as organizations and businesses from all over the listening
area.
For more information about WMPG visit the station website
at WMPG.org or find WMPG on Facebook and Twitter.
Portland Opens Outdoor
Skating Rinks
Due to the cold temperatures today, City crews will be
flooding several of the city’s ponds for freezing, creating
excellent outdoor skating conditions. At 3:00 PM today,
crews will flood ponds on Ludlow Street (near Deering High
School) and Payson Park. The ponds should be open for
skating by tomorrow morning.
Where can the public skate in the City of Portland?
•Deering High on Ludlow Street - open to the public tomorrow
•Deering Oaks Park – currently open
•Nason’s Corner/Breakwater School Pond – not yet open to
the public
•Payson Park – open to the public tomorrow
•Riverside Golf Course (the city’s only lighted outdoor skating
rink) – crews are currently resurfacing the pond and it should
be open to the public this weekend
•Portland Ice Arena – Get your skates sharpened at the Ice
Arena. Classes and open skate times are available, call 774-
8553 or visit the city’s website at http://www.
portlandicearena.com/ for more information.
at High and Danforth Street
Three large pine trees were cut down on January 30th in the
lot at the corner of High and Danforth Street in the West End.
The property is being developed as an affordable housing
project. A 15-unit building will be constructed on the site,
next to an existing building which will be converted into a 20-
unit apartment building.
Matt Moonen Announces
Candidacy for West End
State House Seat
Matt Moonen, a resident of the West End, has announced that
he is running as a Democratic candidate for the Maine House
of Representatives in District 118, which includes the West
End, Libbytown and St. John Valley and Rosemont
neighborhoods. He joins West End residents Tom MacMillan
and Dillon Bates, who have announced that they will run for
the open seat. Moonen and Bates will face off in a primary in
June for the Democratic nomination.
The seat is currently held by state Representative Jon Hinck,
who has represented the district since 2006. Hinck is not
seeking re-election to the Legislature to focus on a run for U.
S. Senate.
Moonen has served as Political Director for EqualityMaine,
where he was one of the key strategists in the successful
passage of the 2009 marriage equality bill, and the historic No
on 1: Protect Maine Equality campaign. More recently, he
worked with Maine Citizens for Clean Elections to preserve
Maine’s strong campaign finance laws and reduce the
influence of big money in government. He also volunteered
on the successful campaign to preserve same-day voter
registration rights, and is currently the Vice Chair of the
Portland Democratic City Committee. For more information,
please visit the campaign’s Facebook page: facebook.
com/moonenformaine or email Matt at matt.moonen@gmail.
com
Sauschuck Named
City’s New Police
Chief
Portland City Manager Mark Rees has announced the
selection of Acting Police Chief Michael Sauschuck as the
city’s next Police Chief. Rees will formally present
Sauschuck for City Council confirmation at the February 6,
2012 meeting. Upon confirmation, Sauschuck will become the
nineteenth Police Chief to serve the city.
Sauschuck has been with the Portland Police Department for
fifteen years. After graduating from high school, Sauschuck
joined the Marines where he was sent to Camp Pendleton, San
Mateo, California. During his five year tenure, he served as a
Corporal then Sergeant within the Marine Security Guard in
San Salvador, El Salvador and Moscow, Russia. After four
years as a reserve police officer with the Old Orchard Beach
Police Department, Sauschuck joined the Portland Police
Department where he worked in a variety of specialties
including the crisis intervention team, special reaction team
and as a field training officer. In March 2011, Sauschuck was
selected as the department’s Assistant Chief, where he served
as Chief James Craig’s second in command and directly
oversaw criminal investigations, uniformed operations and
emergency communications.
Upon Chief Craig’s departure in August, Sauschuck led the
Police Department as Acting Police Chief during which he
oversaw a department of more than two hundred employees
and an annual budget of $13.4 million. Over the past five
months, Sauschuck has worked both internally to advance
progressive policies designed to help the department respond
to the needs of the city as well as externally to build open and
trusting relationships with various community groups and
leaders.
Over the past decade, Sauschuck has received a number of
awards for his commitment to the department and the
community including the Sgt. Michael J. Wallace Award, the
Enrique Camarena Memorial Award from the Maine Drug
Enforcement Agency, and the Heroes with a Heart Award.
Sauschuck earned his Bachelors of Arts in Criminology from
the University of Maine in 1998 and completed a Command
Training Series for police executives at Rogers Williams
University in 2010. He is married to fellow Portland Police
Detective, Mary Sauschuck.
The announcement marks the end of a five-month search for
a new Police Chief. A nationwide search effort was initiated
last fall. More than eighty candidates applied for the position
and after an initial vetting process, five candidates were
invited for a round of interviews with two panels comprised
of city staff, union representatives, Police Department staff,
members of community organizations and local business
leaders. Following the interviews, the candidates participated
in a day-long assessment organized by Massachusetts
company, Badgequest. The Assessment included a variety of
exercises designed to test and assess the candidates ability to
lead the city’s Police Department. Select candidates were then
invited back to the city for a final interview with City Manager
Rees, during which, Rees selected Sauschuck for the top post.
Last Day to Avoid $25 Late
Fee for Dog Licenses
January 31st was the last day that Portland dog owners can
obtain a 2012 dog license from the City without paying a $25
late fee. Dog Licenses for 2011 expired on December 31,
2011
All dogs six months of age or older must be licensed. Dog
licenses are issued for a calendar year and are due January 1st
of each year. If you have not yet licensed your dog(s) for
2012, you must do so.
You can obtain the dog license from the City Clerk’s office at
City Hall Monday - Friday from 9A.M. to 4:30 P.M. or call
to see how you can re-license your dog through the mail.
Please call 874-8610 if you have questions.
Renewals and new registrations are also available online at
https://www.informe.org/dog_license/begin.shtml
In order to license your dog, you must provide a current State
of Maine Rabies Certificate. If the dog has been spayed or
neutered, you must have proof of neutering, a previous
license or written verification of neutering from a veterinarian
the first time you license the dog.
Fees are as follows:
-Spayed or neutered - $6.00
-Not spayed or neutered - $11.00
-Late fee $25.00 (per dog) applies after 1/31/12
Downtown Showdown
Cancelled for Lack of Snow
Sunday River and Sugarloaf resorts has cancelled the 4th
annual Downtown Showdown rail jam event which was
scheduled to be held in Monument Square on Friday,
February 3rd. The reason given for the cancellation was a
lack of snow.
For the invitation-only event, thirty of the region’s best skiers
and snowboarders had been invited to compete and showcase
their skills. Last year’s free rail jam drew thousands of
spectators who gathered around the mountain to watch as
athletes competed for more than $4,000 in cash and prizes.
This year’s prize purse was to be valued the same. The event
will not be rescheduled this winter.
Schools Announce Schedule for
Kindergarten Registration
The Portland Public Schools will register kindergartners for
the 2012-2013 school year during the weeks of February 27 -
March 2 and March 5 - 9. Registration takes place by
appointment at the child’s neighborhood school. If you do not
know which school is in your neighborhood, please call 874-
8237.
To register children whose families speak a language other
than or in addition to English at home, please contact the
Multilingual Intake Center (874-8135). They will oversee
English language proficiency testing and health screening as
well as registration. The center is
located at Lyman Moore Middle School, 171 Auburn Street
(next to Lyseth Elementary School).
Children must be five years of age on or before October 15,
2012 in order to attend kindergarten. Please bring the
following documents to register a child: original birth
certificate, his/her immunization record and proof of
residency in the city of Portland.
Mayor, Community
Leaders Speak Out Against
DHHS Cuts
Mayor Michael Brennan was joined on January 30th by
representatives of the Portland Regional Chamber, Mercy
Health System of Maine, Catholic Charities, Preble Street, and
the United Way of Greater Portland, as well as other local
organizations at a press conference at Mercy Hospital (in
front of the Emergency Department) 144 State Street. The
group voiced concerns over Governor Paul LePage’s
proposed cuts to the state’s Department of Health and Human
Services budget, and how they present a significant cost shift
to the city, local health care providers, businesses and non
profit organizations. The budget proposal includes more than
$2 million in direct cuts to city programs, as well as impacts
of at least $20 million to local hospitals, social service
agencies and nonprofits, which are already grappling with
overwhelming demand for assistance.
“As Maine’s largest city and economic engine, it makes little
sense to pursue cuts that would be both punitive for the
community and harm our quality of life,” says Mayor
Brennan. “The cuts won’t eliminate the need for health care,
access to services or affordable housing. Instead, at a time
when we are barely able to respond to growing needs, they
will pass the buck and responsibility to local governments,
hospitals, and social service agencies.”
At the press conference, Mayor Brennan outlined the impacts
of the budget proposal, as well as presenting a letter for
Governor LePage and the Maine Legislature voicing the
community’s opposition to the cuts.
Western Cemetery Getting
New Fence
The first phase of replacement of the chain link fence at the
Western Cemetery Fence is in place. The plan is to install
Phase II in the late spring, from the left of the maintenance
opening, around the corner, onto the beginning of the Western
Prom. A black wooden sign, with gold lettering "Historic
Western Cemetery", will be installed in the spring. Phase III is
scheduled to be completed in the fall, from the end of Phase
II to the cemetery end on the Western Prom.
Funds for the fence and its installation were all raised privately
by the Friends of the Western Cemetery. According to a City
official, the amount raised for this first section of fencing was
approximately $20,000.
Bryan to Face Challenge
for West End School Board
Seat
West End School Committee member Ed Bryan will face a
challenge from a Green Independent candidate in the race in
District 2 in the November 2012 elections.
Holly Seeliger announced her candidacy on January 25th.
Seelinger grew up in the small Maine town of North Berwick,
where she attended Noble High School, and moved to
Portland to attend college. She is a recent graduate of the
University of Southern Maine, with a B.A. in Political Science.
While in college, Seelinger interned at the office of State
Representative Tom Allen, volunteered at nursing homes and
schools, and travelled to China. She is a certified Educational
Technician III, and is planning to pursue a Master’s degree in
Education. She is a member of the West End Neighborhood
Association, the League of Young Voters, Occupy Maine, and
Pine Tree Youth Organizing.
Bryan was elected to the Portland School Committee in 2009.
He is the founder of Crystal Reporting Solutions, and a
nationally-recognized expert in MUNIS and Crystal Reports
software and their use in the public and nonprofit sectors.
Federal Agents Wound Fugitive in
Shootout in Parkside
Arien L'Italien has long, violent history in Maine
Federal agents from the U.S. Marshals Service shot and
wounded a man on Mellen Street at about 5:30 on Friday
evening, January 27th, after the man reportedly pulled a
handgun and started shooting at them as they tried to arrest
him . The shooting took place on Mellen Street between
Cumberland Avenue and Sherman Street, on the sidewalk
outside the Sacred Heart/St.Dominic Church. Numerous
Portland Police Department personnel were also
on the scene.
The man, Arien L'Italien, 22, was hit in the leg and was taken
to Maine Medical Center with non-life-threatening wounds.
L'Italien was wanted on a felony arrest warrant in Biddeford,
on a charge of aggravated assault. He is now charged with
attempted murder of a federal officer and illegal possession of
a firearm by a felon. L’Italien made his first court appearance
Monday, January 30th.
The U.S. Marshals Service is the federal government’s
primary agency for fugitive investigations. U.S. Marshals task
forces combine the efforts of federal, state and local law
enforcement agencies to locate and arrest the most
dangerous fugitives.
L'Italen was arrested in 2009 and charged with burglary and
aggravated assault in connection with a stabbing in Biddeford,
according to the Portland Press Herald. He was already
wanted in connection with previous crimes, including a
stabbing in Portland.
L'Italien was also arrested in Portland in September , 2010
after he smashed a brick into the display case at the Swiss
Time watch shop on Exchange Street in the Old Port, and
stole several Rolex watches. He was charged with robbery,
felony theft, criminal mischief, and violation of bail conditions
from a previous arrest.
Armed Robber Hits
Quality Shop
The Quality Shop, a convenience store on Stevens Avenue
near Deering High School, became the latest target in a string
of armed robberies across the city in the past three weeks.
A gunman robbed the store at about 8PM this evening. It was
the fifth armed robbery in the city since January 11th.
Police say the suspect was wearing a long, dark trench coat,
dark hooded sweatshirt and a white scarf. He ordered people
in the store to get on the floor at gunpoint, then took cash
from the register and fled.
The other robbery targets have been the Cumberland Farms
store in the West End, which has been hit twice, including a
holdup last night. Two banks have also been robbed - the
University Credit Union on Forest Avenue on January 12th,
and the TruChoice Credit Union on Park Avenue on January
19th. No one has been hurt in any of the robberies.
Anyone with information about these robberies may call
Portland police at 874-8533.
Victim Head-Butts Alleged
Attacker
Portland police arrested Mohamud Abdullahi, 18, in
connection with an attack on three restaurant workers - a
man and two women - as they walked to a car in the Old Port
at about 10PM on January 24th. Police were able to identify
Abdulahi because the male victim had head-butted him,
leaving him with a busted lip. Police say he was in a car with
several other young men.
Police are also investigating several other incidents which
occurred in the same area at the same time, including an
assault on a 63-year-old man, and the vandalizing of several
cars. Abdullahi was charged with two counts of assault and
criminal mischief.
Cumby's Robbed
Again
The Cumberland Farms on Pine Street in the West End was
held up for the second time this month on Wednesday night,
January 25th, at about 9:10 PM.
Police say an armed man escaped with an undisclosed amount
of cash. Police say the suspect was a white man who was
wearing a black ski mask and a dark jacket with a dark hood.
Anyone with information about these robberies may call
Portland police at 874-8533.
Downtown to Host New
Winter Festival
Portland On Ice, the new winter festival sponsored by
Portland's Downtown District, will kick off with the Portland
Harbor Hotel Ice Bar on January 27th, continue through
February's First Friday Art Walk, and end on Saturday,
February 4th. The festival showcases all that downtown
Portland has to offer during the winter with live music
highlights every night, classic events like Sunday River's
Downtown Showdown CANCELLED-LACK OF SNOW
Rail Jam in Monument Square (Feb 3), and brand new family
activities like ice fishing demonstrations in Tommy's Park
(Feb 2 and 3).
Ice sculptures will be unveiled downtown on Saturday,
January 28th in Post Office Park and in front of the Portland
Museum of Art. The PMA will also host events throughout
Portland On Ice, including screenings of One For the Road,
an HD ski film, from Friday, January 27th through Sunday,
January 29th.
The full Portland on Ice schedule is available in downtown
locations and online at portlandmaine.com. When attending
any of the live music highlights, attendees can have their
Portland On Ice schedule stamped by the venue for a chance
to win raffle prizes, including free concert tickets or an
electric guitar. Contest details are available at portlandmaine.
com.
A Downtown Photo Scavenger Hunt will also be held from
Tuesday, January 31st through Thursday, February 2nd.
Each day, teams will compete to collect points by posting
pictures on Facebook of downtown landmarks, shops, sights,
and activities. A winning team will be selected for each day,
and will be awarded a $100 gift certificate from a downtown
business of their choice.
Williston West Church
Sold as Private Residence
The Williston West Church on Thomas Street in the West End
was sold for $657,900 in December to an Australian surgeon
and businessman, for use as a private residence. The church
and parish house were designed in 1897 by noted architect
John Calvin Stevens. The Williston West congregation, which
had been growing smaller, merged with the Immanuel Baptist
Church on High Street last summer. A nursery school and a
number of other groups that met at the church will have to
find new accommodations.
Hinck to Face Two More
Challengers in Senate
Primary
West End State Representative Jon Hinck will face two more
challengers in the June 12th Democratic primary that will
decide who will face Republican US Senator Olympia Snowe
in November.
State Senator Cynthia Dill of Cape Elizabeth and Portland
builder Ben Pollard have announced their candidacies, joining
Hinck and former Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap of Old
Town in the race.
Hinck has served three terms in the legislature from District
118, which covers most of the West End, as well as parts of
the Libbytown and Rosemont neighborhoods. He passed up a
run for a fourth term to make the senate bid.
Group Plans Protest at
Guv's State Address
The local coalition Maine Can Do Better plans to hold a vigil
to protest against Governor Paul LePage's proposed cuts to
the state's Health and Human Services budget, and to stand
for a better way to balance the budget.
The vigil is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, January 24, at 6:
00 pm, in the area between the State House and the Cross
Office Building in Augusta, just an hour before the Governor's
State of the State address.
"We will gather to remind those attending the State of the
State Address that irresponsible budget cuts have real - and
terrible -- consequences and that all of Maine suffers when
we turn our backs on the elderly, children, the sick and the
poor," said former Portland state representative Ben Dudley,
spokesperson for the group.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
City Council Backs Anti-
Corporate Personhood Resolution
The Portland City Council has adopted a resolution opposing
the US Supreme Court’s decision which recognizes corporate
personhood, which gives corporations a constitutional,
protected right to contribute unlimited funds for use in the
political process. The resolution was sponsored by Councilors
David Marshall, Mayor Michael Brennan, and Councilors John
Anton and Kevin Donoghue.
The resolution passed by a vote of 6-2, with Councilors
Coyne and Leeman voting against it. Councilor Ed Suslovic
was forced to leave the meeting before the vote was held
because he was suffering from a back injury. In explaining
her vote, Councilor Leeman expressed her support for the
ideas contained in the resolution, but said that the City Council
was not the proper forum in which to address the issue.
The resolution was initiated by the League of Young Voters,
which formed a working group that included members of
Occupy Maine and the Maine Independent Green Party to take
a public position against the Supreme Court’s Citizens United
case, which has allowed unlimited corporate spending in
elections. The working group and Councilor Marshall drafted
language for the resolution in early January at a meeting at the
League of Young Voters' office.
In December 2011, League members met to discuss the issue
after a Facebook post about a similar resolution passed in
California put out the call to address corporate personhood.
Throughout January and February League members are
meeting with local elected officials to discuss these concerns
and continue making their voices heard.
Third Armed Robbery
Targets Portland Bank
Surveillance photos from three armed robberies in Portland in
the last week appear to show the same suspect in all three
events. Police are investigating the possibility that all three
robberies were committed by the same man.
An armed robber held up the TruChoice Credit Union at 272
Park Avenue in Parkside at about 4:25 on January 19th,
getting away with an undisclosed amount of cash. The
incident is the third armed robbery in the city within a week,
and Portland police believe all three may have been committed
by the same gunman. Police describe the suspect as a white
man who wore a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt and a ski
mask.
The Cumberland Farms convenience store at the corner of
Pine and Brackett Street was robbed by an armed man
wearing a ski mask at about 10:30 PM on January 11th.
Police say the robber pulled a gun on the store clerk and took
an undetermined amount of cash. The clerk was ordered to lie
on the floor as the robber fled. No one was injured. Police
described the suspect as a white male, about 6 foot tall, 225
pounds, and wearing a dark jacket.
The University Credit Union at 691 Forest Avenue was robbed
for the second time in the past month on January 12th. Police
say that a single armed robber held up the bank at about 4PM
on January 12th.
According to police, the man wore a black mask, black
hooded sweatshirt, black wind pants and black sneakers,
Two local teenagers were arrested after a December 21st
holdup at the same branch. Anyone with information about
these robberies may call Portland police at 874-8533.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
West End Drug Bust Nets
998 Oxycodone Pills
Portland police arrested Briana Roberts, 23, on January 6th,
and charged her with aggravated trafficking of oxycodone.
Police and drug enforcement agents were serving a warrant at
36 Pine Street, near the corner of Pine and Brackett Street in
the West End, when they discovered 998 oxycodone pills,
along with 19 grams of cocaine.
Police had received complaints of possible illegal drug activity
in the area. The drugs have an estimated street value of about
$17,000. Roberts was arrested and taken to the Cumberland
County Jail, where her bail was set at $10,000.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Committee Votes
Against Private
Prisons in Maine
The Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Committee has voted unanimously against LD 1095, a bill
designed to facilitate the creation and use of private prisons in
Maine. The bill had been carried over from the legislature’s
2011 session. The ACLU of Maine testified against the bill,
calling it both unwise and unnecessary.
“The Criminal Justice committee did the right thing," said
Shenna Bellows, Executive Director of the ACLU of Maine.
At a time when Maine has more than enough prison space,
building private prisons is bad for business and bad for
Maine. We do not need to spend precious tax dollars so an
out of state company can profit by locking up more Mainers,”
said Bellows. “Private prisons make more money when more
people go to jail for longer, no matter what the cost to the rest
of us.”
The Maine Office of Program Evaluation and Government
Accountability (OPEGA) recently documented a pattern of
problems of oversight and accountability for prison
contractors. Those problems would only be magnified if
more prisons in the corrections system were put into the
hands of private companies, according to the ACLU of Maine.
Repairs Cause Bottleneck
at Longfellow Square
Traffic was backed up on State Street and on Congress Street
on January 18th as gas main repairs are currently underway
on State Street at the intersection with Pine Street at
Longfellow Square. State Street traffic was reduced to one
lane for the remainder of the day. Delays should be
expected. A follow-up workday is tentatively scheduled for
this Saturday, January 21st.
Council Approves Wind
Energy at City Sites
The Portland City Council has enacted new ordinance that
allows various types of wind energy generation systems in
most City zones, including residential, business, industrial and
the Recreation Open Space zones.
The ordinance responds to the increasing interest in installing
wind energy systems, such as from the Peaks Environmental
Action Group, which has installed an anemometer in Trott-
Littlejohn Park, and from DiMillo's which is installing a small
vertical axis system.
The ordinance is aimed at relatively small scale systems that
could be described as community or residential in scale and
suitable for an urban area.
The ordinance sets out height, setback and sound limits, along
with safety requirements for all wind systems. As with
temporary wind anemometers (for which regulations were put
in place last year as a first phase of this initiative), the Zoning
Board of Appeals is proposed as the reviewing authority in
relation to the new ordinance.
The ordinance is the first of several planned ordinances that
address alternative energy sources, and furthers the objectives
of the Report of the Mayor’s Sustainable Portland Task Force
and the City’s Comprehensive Plan.
Portland Republicans to
Hold Caucus
Portland Republicans will hold their biennial caucus on
Saturday, February 11 at 9:30 am. at the Riverton Elementary
School at 1600 Forest Avenue in Portland, to elect delegates
to the county committee and the state convention, and to
ratify the membership and bylaws of the group. It is also the
rank and file’s opportunity to provide feedback on the party’s
nominees for President and Congress. All registered Portland
Republicans are welcome to participate. Others wishing to
participate may register a half hour before the meeting as a
Republican, if they are not already enrolled in another party.
All Republican candidates for President have been invited to
send representatives to speak, along with any other legislative
candidates running in Portland .
The purpose of the caucus is to elect delegates and alternates
to the state convention, which will be held on Saturday, May
5th and Sunday, 6th at the Augusta Civic Center, to elect
members of the Cumberland County Republican Committee,
and to organize the municipal committee for the upcoming
elections.
The Portland Republican City Committee’s mission is to
recruit and promote candidates for municipal, county and
state offices. For more information contact Committee Chair,
Patrick Calder at 232-0944 / PatrickCalder@Hotmail.com or
Secretary, Steven Scharf at 400-9176 / SCSMedia@aol.com.
National Pie Day to be
Marked at Mayo Street Arts
January 23rd celebrates National Pie Day, and The Portland
Pie Council has invited participants to the Third Annual Pie
and Art Gala, to be held at the Mayo Street Center for the
Arts. Doors open at 5:30pm, and events run until everyone is
too sated to continue.
Once again, the headlining event will be a ranked-choice voted
competition for both sweet and savory pies, with guests
encouraged to bring a pie to submit for everyone to taste. The
Portland Pie Council has also expanded a variety of pie-centric
gala events to enjoy:
-Synchronized Interpretive Pie Dance
-Pie Eating Contest (to enter, please email
portlandpiecouncil@gmail.com)
-Charity Pie Art Auction
-Pietry (pie-esque poetry)
-Historic Pie Moments
-Pie Theatre
Created by the American Pie Council, National Pie Day is
dedicated to the celebration of pie. The American Pie
Council® is encouraging pie lovers across the nation to throw
a pie party in celebration of National Pie Day. Hosting a pie
baking - and pie tasting - party for friends or coworkers, or to
raise money for a favorite charity, are all delicious ways to
celebrate on Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Why is National Pie Day
celebrated on Jan. 23 or 1/23? Because celebrating the
wholesome goodness of pie is as easy as 1-2-3, says the Pie
Council.
Tom MacMillan Will Run
for West End House Seat
Seeks Post Being Vacated by Jon Hinck
West End resident and lifelong Portlander Tom MacMillan has
announced that he will run for District 118 in the Maine
House of Representatives, a district comprised mostly of the
West End. His campaign announcement will be marked by a
Community Meet-and-Greet at the Reiche Community Center
on January 28th from 530pm-730pm. Current representative
Jon Hinck announced last month that he will be a candidate
for the Democratic nomination for the US Senate, the winner
of which will oppose Senator Olympia Snowe in November.
MacMillan is the first announced candidate in the race.
"Having grown up in Portland and lived in this district, I
recognize the unique and wonderful qualities of our city and
state. I am proud to announce that I will wage a positive,
grassroots campaign for State House District 118,” MacMillan
said. “The attacks on MaineCare and the rights of workers to
organize affected me personally; members of my family are
unionized workers and rely on public health care,”
For MacMillan, the issues facing Maine today are the lack of
good jobs and the need for a common sense health care
solution.
MacMillan, who works in education, is a board member of
the West End Neighborhood Association, and a longtime
member of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Southern Maine as well
as Seeds of Peace. He graduated fromPortland High School
and attended Clark University. His family has lived in Greater
Portland for generations.
State Department to Send
Suslovic to Russia as Envoy
Portland City Councilor Ed Suslovic been selected by the US
State Department as a Legislative Fellow, and will be sent to
Portland's Sister City of Arkhangelsk, Russia this spring.
Suslovic will work on environmental issues with state and
local elected officials, high schools and universities, and
citizen advocates. The goal is to develop the Arkhangelsk-
Portland Environmental Action Team so that the two cities
can more effectively work together to improve the
environment in both communities.
The Sister City program was started to promote exchanges
between the peoples of Greater Portland Maine and the City of
Archangel in Northwest Russia; to provide opportunities for
Russians and Americans to share time, ideas, and the best of
the two communities; to bring friendship and understanding to
our peoples; and to improve the chances for world peace
through citizen diplomacy.
GOP Bigwigs Invited to
Lincoln Day Dinner in
Portland
The Cumberland County Lincoln Club will hold its annual
Lincoln Dinner on Saturday, February 11, 2012. The dinners
are held every year around the country in honor of the 16th
President. The dinner will be held at the Italian Heritage Center
on Outer Congress Street.
Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, as well as
Governor Paul LePage, Secretary of State Charlie Summers,
Attorney General Bill Schneider and State Treasurer Bruce
Poliquin have been invited.
Local historian Lynda Sudlow will be the featured speaker.
Ms. Sudlow is a resident of North Yarmouth, and recently
retired from the Directorship of the Falmouth Memorial
Library. She is a Civil War historian, and the author of “A
Vast Army of Women”, about women from Maine who
volunteered in support of the Union Army. Ms.Sudlow’s topic
will be the changing role of women during the Civil War and
President Lincoln’s changing perception of that role.
Friday, January 6, 2011
No Injuries Reported in
Danforth Street Fire
No one was injured in a fire at 190 Danforth Street that was
called in to the Portland Fire Department at about 9:30 this
morning. The building is one of a row of brownstones at
Brackett and Danforth Streets in the West End. The fire was
put out by firefighters after producing heavy smoke in the
residence.
City Files Defense
Against OccupyMaine
Lawsuit
City cites state, federal and Supreme
Court decisions in defense of its Parks
Ordinance
The City of Portland has filed its responsive pleading to the
lawsuit filed in Superior Court by OccupyMaine December
19, 2011. The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of the
city’s Parks Ordinance as written and as applied by the City
Council when it voted 8-1 to deny OccupyMaine’s petition to
continue its twenty-four hour, seven day-a-week encampment
in Lincoln Park for at least 179 days, and to establish a
continuous free speech and assemblies zone in the park.
OccupyMaine’s complaint claims that the free speech
component of the First Amendment to the federal and state
constitutions makes the application of the Parks Ordinance,
which restricts use of parks by the public to the hours of 6:30
AM – 10:00 PM, and requires a permit granted by the City
Council for events lasting more than three days, illegal.
In its forty-two page response, the City cites numerous
federal, state and the leading US Supreme Court case, Clark v.
Community for Creative Non-Violence, in defense of its
notice to vacate issued to OccupyMaine December 15, 2011.
The cases held that even if certain types of occupancy are
considered activity protected by the First Amendment, state
laws or local ordinances, similar to Section 18-41 of the
Portland Ordinance that control the use of public parks,
comprise reasonable time, place and manner restrictions on
freedom of speech as protected by the Constitution. City
officials say that the decisions also support compliance with
health, welfare and safety codes like the City’s Building Code
and Fire Codes as well as park maintenance and protection
requirements.
The City also says that these cases note the important role
that municipal ordinances and rules play in limiting requests
for exclusive use of public parks or public space so that the
space may be used and enjoyed by a broad spectrum of
citizens for a variety of uses.
The City’s response was prepared by the City’s legal staff
and filed by Attorney Mark Dunlap of Norman, Hanson and
DeTroy who has been hired by Corporation Counsel Gary
Wood to be the leading attorney in the case going forward.
Unless the court requires OccupyMaine to file sooner, their
attorney will have seven days to respond to the city’s filing.
Crash Barry to Deliver Sex,
Drugs and Lobster Lecture at
Portland Library
At noon on January 25th, at the Portland Public Library,
bestselling Maine author Crash Barry will discuss the two
years he spent working aboard a lobster boat out of
Matinicus, the subject of his recently published memoir
Tough Island. His true stories from two decades ago provide
a unique look at life on Maine’s most remote inhabited island,
where tales of danger and drugs, sex and violence, death and
sorrow all unfold in a landscape of breathtaking beauty.
Crash Barry is the author of the rollicking novel Sex, Drugs
and Blueberries, set in Washington County amid the
Oxycontin-abuse epidemic, and Tough Island, a gritty memoir
detailing life on Matinicus, Maine’s most remote island. Crash
Barry spent a decade as a print and radio reporter in Portland
until receiving a writing fellowship from the Maine Arts
Commission, which convinced him to pursue book-writing.
His column One Maniac’s Meat appears monthly in The
Bollard, a Portland newsmagazine. He’s worked as a
sternman, sailor, bartender, demolitionist, janitor, alpaca
herdsman, cow milker and blueberry raker. He lives in the
hills of western Maine.
The Brown Bag Lecture with Crash Barry will be held
Wednesday, January 25th from noon to 1PM at the Portland
Public Library, 5 Monument Square, Portland. For more
information about the event please call (207)871-1700. Learn
more about Crash Barry and read selections from his books at
crashbarry.com.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
WMPG to Celebrate
Successful “Power Up!”
With Open House
The WMPG Management and Board has invited the public to
the Power Up! Open House – celebrating the successful
completion of the station’s biggest expansion ever. After
years of planning, fund-raising, and hard work, WMPG is
now broadcasting a new more powerful signal, reaching
radios from southern York County to the Augusta area, and
west to Central New Hampshire.
To celebrate, WMPG is holding a day-long Power Up! Open
House on Saturday, January 21st, 2012 from 10 AM to 5 PM.
Listeners can join the party by listening to 90.9 or 104.1 FM,
or by stopping by in person at 92 Bedford Street on the
Portland campus of the University of Southern Maine for the
transmitter-warming party!
There will be special celebratory programming on the air all
day long, with live music, voices from the past, and live and
recorded calls from the new expanded listening area. The
theme of the Power Up! Open House is “Same Community
Radio…. MUCH More Community!” There will be
refreshments, free lunch, giveaways, a raffle, station tours
and WMPG volunteer on-air personalities!
WMPG Southern Maine Community Radio is the broadcast
radio voice for the people of southern and central Maine,
operated by a corps of over 250 volunteers, aided by a small
management staff. It is supported in part by its listeners, as
well as organizations and businesses from all over the listening
area.
For more information about WMPG visit the station website
at WMPG.org or find WMPG on Facebook and Twitter.
Portland Opens Outdoor
Skating Rinks
Due to the cold temperatures today, City crews will be
flooding several of the city’s ponds for freezing, creating
excellent outdoor skating conditions. At 3:00 PM today,
crews will flood ponds on Ludlow Street (near Deering High
School) and Payson Park. The ponds should be open for
skating by tomorrow morning.
Where can the public skate in the City of Portland?
•Deering High on Ludlow Street - open to the public tomorrow
•Deering Oaks Park – currently open
•Nason’s Corner/Breakwater School Pond – not yet open to
the public
•Payson Park – open to the public tomorrow
•Riverside Golf Course (the city’s only lighted outdoor skating
rink) – crews are currently resurfacing the pond and it should
be open to the public this weekend
•Portland Ice Arena – Get your skates sharpened at the Ice
Arena. Classes and open skate times are available, call 774-
8553 or visit the city’s website at http://www.
portlandicearena.com/ for more information.
