We just got word that there will be another rally for immigrants' rights this weekend, organized by the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project in Portland. This rally will happen this Saturday, April 22. Meet behind the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Congress Street at 10 am for a march down to Monument Square. The rally should last until around noontime.

At the last immigration rally on April 10, some poor protestor protesting the protest got clocked. This was so not cool, although it did help get the event some front page press in the local daily. Maybe every cloud does have a silver lining.

4/20/2006 2:26:04 PM by Sara Donnelly | Comments [0] |  

The Portland City Council is gearing up to consider another limit on nightlife in the Old Port by preventing bars from staying open past 1 am. Gary Wood, attorney for the city, will propose a 180 day moratorium on after-hours licenses in the Old Port at the next council meeting tomorrow night -Wednesday, April 19, at 7 pm. If it passes, the city will likely use those 180 days to craft clearer, objective standards for the granting of after-hours licenses.

If you think this is a bad idea, don't rush down to city hall and risk missing Lost just yet. (Screw it, miss Lost. The show sucks. Seriously, we've had our fill of pregnant pauses and predictable twists and dudes running around underground. Solve some of the mysteries already. Throw me a bone.) 

This is just the first reading of a required two before the council votes and Wood will ask them to not even consider the item or take public comment until early June. This will give the Public Safety Committee, chaired by Munjoy Hill councilor Will Gorham, time to hash out the pros and cons of Wood's suggestions.

For those of you who want to pipe up, this Public Safety Committee meeting is where it's at since they're the ones who will endorse, nix, or tweek Wood's proposal. Their meeting will be held on May 11 at 5 pm in room 209. Wood says the committee will be taking public comment.

Wood hopes the moratorium will make it though committee and to the council by June, just in time for the summer rush. If passed as is, the 180 day moratorium will be retroactive to April 19 and will affect the only two after-hours license holders in the Old Port as well as anyone who plans to apply for a new late-night license. Brian Hanson, owner of the Industry, and Tom Manning, owner of the Lava Lounge, Liquid Blue, and Diggers, hold after-hours licenses. Wood says the Industry plans to close and become the restaurant Right Proper Charlie's any day now and Tom Manning is not currently using his after-hours license, so the moratorium won't affect them adversely.

The Industry's allegedly impending closing motivated Wood to suggest the 180-day freeze.

"Basically, there's in my mind at least going to be a considerable entertainment vacuum when the Industry closes [and other bar owners want its late-night crowd], leaving us right where we are now, which from the police department's perspective is not a good decision," says Wood.

Here's the agenda item for the April 19 meeting:

Article III (Music, Dancing and Special Entertainment)

Division 2 (Licenses) Section 4-51– Sponsored by Gary C. Wood, Corporation Counsel. 

Current city law allows late-night entertainment to go to 3:00 a.m.  This moratorium will establish 1:00 a.m. as the interim law for the next 180 days as 1:00 a.m. is the time that the bars have to stop serving. 

The ordinance is drafted to impose a moratorium from April 19, 2006, when it will be given a first reading, to October 17, 2006 on any license for entertainment between 1:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m.  During the 180 day moratorium staff will work with the Mayor’s Old Port Nightlife Task Force and the Public Safety Committee to craft standards for approving a late night entertainment license and conditions for operating under it. 

The ordinance applies to activities that currently require an entertainment license under Chapter 4, Article III (Music, Dance, Entertainment) notably dance halls and concerts both of which are broadly defined in Section 4-42 so that they apply to the normal entertainment in bars and late night establishments providing music or dancing. 

The ordinance allows existing late-night licenses for areas outside the Old Port overlay zone to be renewed during the moratorium if late night entertainment has actually been provided. 

Staff will ask the Council to postpone the item for public comment and action at the Council level to the June 5^th Council meeting.  That postponement will allow sufficient time for the item to be taken up by the Public Safety Committee at its May 11^th meeting. 

This item must be read on two separate days. This is its first reading.

4/18/2006 4:31:17 PM by Sara Donnelly | Comments [0] |  

IMPORTANT: THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS RATED "UNCLASSIFIED" BY THE US ARMY. Which means we can share with you a piece of lunacy, demonstrating how crazy our military is going while stationed overseas.

A group of Maine soldiers stationed in Iraq with Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment of the Maine Army National Guard ran the Boston Marathon as well - an officially sanctioned version of the race, complete with a BAA finisher's medal for each person who went the distance.

The four Mainers, Captain Darryl Lyon, Private Norman Gilmore, Sergeant James Chappelow, and Sergeant Keith York, all from Brewer, ran the 26.2-mile marathon distance in the desert, carrying 35 pounds of combat gear each, including M-16 rifles. (See below.) We could call that cruel and ununsual punishment, except that they appear to have done it voluntarily. We could call it torture, but who lets prisoners just run and run and run?

They finished in under six hours, even more of an achievement when you factor in the temperature, which hit triple-digits. The race course, instead of meandering through Boston's suburbs and into the city, took a scenic detour, while outside American lines (but still within the Italians' security perimeter) past the Ziggurat of Ur, a monument built in the 21st century BC - that's as long before the birth of Jesus as we are after it now.

(photos by Engels Tejeda, 207th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment).

4/18/2006 2:30:17 PM by Jeff Inglis | Comments [1] |  

The Portland police officer most famous for being involved in an OUI crash after a night out in the Old Port has been promoted to captain of patrol, chosen over the Portland police officer most famous for trying to control drinkers in the Old Port.

Lieutenant Ted Ross is known for driving his city-issue unmarked cruiser into another car on York Street in December 2002, resulting in a taxpayer bill of $271,000 to the driver not only of the car he hit, but also of the one that was hit in the richochet. The real catch? Ross had been drinking at an open-bar police department party hosted by then-chief Michael Chitwood, and then went from there to another bar with other senior officers from the department. He was heading home to Cape Elizabeth when he crashed, and later pled guilty to OUI.

Ross was not booked for OUI, but later took it upon himself to revise the accident report to reflect the fact that he had been drinking. The responding officers swore up and down, including in court, that he had not appeared impaired to them, though his blood-alcohol level was reported to be 0.25 percent, or more than three times the legal limit.

He was also charged with a misdemeanor, meaning he would not lose his legal right to carry a firearm - as is true of convicted felons - and therefore his job, if he pleaded guilty.

Ross, who was for a time transferred to a less-desirable position supervising the officers working at the Portland International Jetport, now outranks Lieutenant Janine Roberts, the department's first woman lieutenant, who was also up for the post.

Roberts is in charge of the special unit of police officers charged with keeping order in the Old Port, and is closely involved in the city's efforts to crack down on the area, which is no worse off than most other New England cities. And, Portland's effort is being done without the help of national groups succeeding at balancing bars and economic development elsewhere, leading to frustration from bar owners and city officials alike.

4/17/2006 10:54:12 AM by Jeff Inglis | Comments [0] |  

Note: The Iraq War forum will be held on April 21, not April 14 as originally posted.

A forum on the Iraq War appears not to be on the to-do list for all of the elected officials invited, but it will go on as planned anyway.

A coalition of more than 40 Maine peace and social justice groups are hosting a two hour town meeting on the Iraq War on Friday, April 21 at 6:30 pm, at the University of Southern Maine. The meeting was organized by Brunswick's Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space , Peace Action Maine, and Maine Veterans for Peace. All of the state's Washington DC delegates and the governor were invited. According to organizer Bruce Gagnon, none have said they will attend. But the meeting will happen, with empty seats with placards where the senators, congressmen, and governor should be.

"It's unlikely any of them are going to show up, " says Gagnon. Gagnon says he invited all of the state's DC reps "two or three weeks" ago, although Governor Baldacci received his last minute invite on Monday of this week. In 2005, Allen and Michaud did participate in town hall meetings on the war which were sponsored by Maine Veterans for Peace, and Allen will participate in another meeting on domestic surveillance here in Portland on April 18 sponsored by the Maine Civil Liberties Union.

Gagnon's town hall meeting format will allow people from the audience to speak at a microphone about the war for up to three minutes. 

Here is a list of the organizations sponsoring the meeting, for those of you who enjoy lists: 

 

• Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
• NAACP Portland Branch
• Maine Veterans for Peace
• Peace Action Maine
• Forest Ecology Network
• Maine Women's International League for Peace & Freedom
• Greater Brunswick PeaceWorks
• Midcoast Peace & Justice Group
• People Organizing to Win Economic Rights - POWER
• Witness for Peace
• Portland Women in Black
• Pax Christi Maine
• Sociology Student Association-USM
• Asian American Association-USM
• Philosophy Symposium-USM
• Maine Council of Churches
• AFSC Maine Program on Youth & Militarism
• Resources for Organizing & Social Change
• Maine People's Alliance
• USM College Democrats
• Bridges for Peace
• Citizens Offering New Alternatives
• York County Progressives
• Biddeford City Democratic Committee
• Social Action Committee of the Allen Avenue Unitarian Universalist Church
• Maine Campaign for a U.S. Department of Peace & Nonviolence
• League of Pissed off Voters
• Kennebunkport Democratic Committee
• Kennebunk Democratic Committee
• York County Green Independent Party Committee
• Waldo County Peace & Justice Group
• Maine Coalition for Peace & Justice
• The Eleuthero Community
• Clean Maine Coalition
• Maine Progressive Caucus
• Radio Free Maine
• Let Cuba Live
• Green Horizon Foundation
• Southern Maine Labor Council
• Social Justice Committee First Parish UUC of Kennebunk
• Faith in Action Committee of the NE District Unitarian Universalist Association
• Cumberland County Democratic Committee
• Social Justice Committee of the UUC of Belfast

 

 

 

4/12/2006 3:46:16 PM by Sara Donnelly | Comments [1] |  

In a press release today, the Maine Department of Education cleverly misspelled the active word in its own name: "Educaiton." About 90 minutes later a "corrected" release came out, spelling the word right, but with no less clarity on what it was announcing, except that it appears to have gotten nearly $720,000 for something.

The release seemed to be telling people to watch the Oprah Winfrey show tomorrow afternoon to catch an "exclusive" interview with Bill and Melinda Gates - you know, the software mogul whose company name may describe his personal equipment, and his wife, a former employee who led the project group for "Microsoft Bob," intending to create a "computer experience" where you could talk to "Bob" and just ask him things and he would do them.

Now, however, the Gateses have been giving "more than one billion dollars to support the creation of more than 1600 high-quality high schools," according to the state's press release. That's just over 5 percent of all the public high schools in the nation, of which there are 27,468 according to Newsweek. There's no mention of what happens to the rest of the schools.

And the release says "Maine has been recognized as a leader in high school reform," though its main success appears to be a grant from the National Governors Association (though the Department makes that middle word possessive, suggesting there is only one governor and he or she has an entire association). The purpose of the $720,000 NGA grant? "Develop and implement a statewide media / public relations campaign to support the the need to ensure that every student has the right to be college ready and prepared for the 21st century workplace.  Contract with the Maine Coalition for Excellence in partnership with the Compact for Higher Education."

So the "big get" for the Maine Department of Education is money to persuade Mainers that students need to learn in school. It sure doesn't bode well for the people in those schools that the state would rather spend money telling adults something they already know, than actually educating students.

This is in an era where Maine's high school graduation rate is termed "impressive" by Governor John Baldacci but never actually specified in the press release. (It's between 75 and 78 percent, around 13th in the nation.) And where Time magazine is projecting that one in three high school students will not graduate. (We are just squeaking past that, at one in four, you see.)

So when state budget dollars are being shaved every which way, and education funding is as at risk as everything else, we just got $720,000 and we're not going to use it on our schools. Or our universities, or our community colleges. We're going to use it on PR.

4/10/2006 4:59:31 PM by Jeff Inglis | Comments [0] |  

A report slated to be released Wednesday by the Students for Maine Public Interest Research Group (a group with no Web site!) is expected to show that student debt is a barrier to new college graduates who would otherwise become teachers or social workers - or employees of the Public Interest Research Group.

"The prospect of burdensome debt likely deters skilled and dedicated college graduates from taking or staying in these important jobs," according to the media advisory announcing the press conference releasing the report, slated for Wednesday at the Woodbury Campus Center on USM's Portland campus.

According to a related report issued by the national Public Interest Research Group, 39 percent of Maine's public university graduates will face "unmanageable debt," or an amount of debt that will require graduates to pay more than 20 percent of their income on student loan payments.

The premise of the report, limited to those two professions, ignores the fact that since the late 1970s, most incoming college freshmen have sought employment for financial gain, rather than a sense of fulfillment or meaning in their work. And it also points directly at two competing causes of the problem, which is hardly limited to teachers and social workers. What about police officers, firefighters, municipal clerical staff, even journalists, all of whom perform vital services in a democracy but get paid less than their social contribution might indicate? And then there are the PIRGs themselves, which criticize this practice, but pay less themselves than many agencies they are upset with.

The PIRGs, however, say that the real problem is student debt, not low pay, and have launched a national campaign to return federal spending to tuition subsidies. The feds, for their part, have launched a "listening tour" to find out what's wrong with their policies, but it's so miniscule in its reach that they may never find out.

But when we tell young people that we value teachers at about $27,000 and we value chemical engineers at about $54,000, we're telling every prospective teacher that their value is half that of a chemical engineer. Is that the message we want to send? And what message are the PIRGs sending, when their own Web site indicates that new hires are paid $23,750 in their first year?

4/8/2006 9:12:58 AM by Jeff Inglis | Comments [0] |  

Monday April 10 is the National Day of Action for Immigrant Justice. If you want to throw in your two cents about this controversial issue, head down to Monument Square in Portland on Monday at noon for a peaceful rally to support immigrant rights. The Portland protest is organized by the Maine Civil Liberties Union; the national day of protests (which includes 30 cities in the US) is sponsored by the National Capitol Immigration Coalition (NCIC). Portland organizers are asking immigrants and their supporters to wear white shirts and carry American flags. According to Rachel Myers, Field Organizer for MCLU, the rally is to oppose criminalizing illegal immigrants and to support "creating pathways to citzenship" for those who do not have US resident status.

An immigration reform bill in the US Senate has come under fire in part for proposing to make illegal immigrant status in this country a felony. The modified bill, without the felony clause, is in the midst of heated debate and tinkering on the Senate floor. 

If you're in favor of tougher laws against illegal immigrants, go and protest the protest. It's likely Shawn Loura will be there when you arrive, since it appears the former "Peace Guy" of Monument Square has now hung up his two fingers in favor of a sign demanding that "Illegals Go Home." Oh Peace Guy, what happened?

 

 

 

4/6/2006 2:43:38 PM by Sara Donnelly | Comments [1] |  

Colorado Governor Bill Owens will address the annual convention of the Maine College Republicans, to be held Saturday at the Portland Club in Portland.

Owens, who is considered by some to be a possible nominee for President or Vice President in 2008 or 2012, helped pass the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) as a constitutional amendment in Colorado. A version of that state's law has been proposed for the November ballot, though a Maine Superior Court justice ruled Monday that the petition signatures for the citizen initiative were not submitted in accordance with state law.

TABOR was recently suspended for five years by a slim majority of Colorado voters. TABOR opponents say it was because the law hurts citizens by cutting public services (November 7, 2005, entry) below acceptable levels, while TABOR supporters, like Owens (who advocated for the suspension, years after being a pioneering backer of the idea), say it's because the state needed some minor changes - you know, like avoiding a fiscal crisis due to a shortage of money, even with drastic cuts to higher education, roads, and social services. Even businesses, usually strong backers of tax reduction, objected to the steep cuts in education and infrastructure.

The connection with Owens that led to him speaking in Maine was from Maine College Republicans chairman Nate Walton, who spoke at "Restoration Weekend," activist David Horowitz's event about the Academic Bill of Rights in Phoenix, Arizona, in late February. Owens, also noted for his intolerant social policies, also attended, and the invitation was made, according to Oliver Wolf, the Maine College Republicans' communications director.

Also speaking at Saturday's conference will be US Senator Olympia Snowe, who is up for reelection this year, and is noted by constituents and members of the media alike for her inaccessibility.

(And the security at her Portland office is far heavier than at Senator Susan Collins's office a block away. Not only is Snowe's office in an office building and up several flights, but a Snowe staffer says it's because of "homeland security" that the office of Maine's senior senator is equipped with a camera and buzzer in the hallway, a plexiglas window like a bank teller's, a locked door to the inner sanctum, and a sign-in book before any of the staff will actually talk to a visitor. Collins's office, by contrast, is on the ground floor of a busy building, near a public eating and gathering space, and is open to anyone without any physical barriers. What does the Department of Homeland Security know that we don't? Or is Collins expendable?)

"We have a good relationship with Senator Snowe," says Wolf, who sees the meeting as "a great opportunity" to involve young people in politics.

Other speakers will be prominent adult Republicans from around the state, including those who are running for governor, US House, and state legislators.

4/5/2006 10:13:15 AM by Jeff Inglis | Comments [0] |  

Spring has sprung and area activists are kicking into gear. Here are some events coming up that may or may not change the world:

FEELING CHATTY: On Thursday, April 6 at 6:30 pm, CitizenSalon will host Democratic US Senate candidates Jean Hay Bright and Eric Mehnert, both of whom have designs on Olympia Snowe's spot in Washington. CitizenSalon takes its cue from the centuries-old tradition of erudite gatherings in which the greatest philosophers, writers, and artists of the day debated politics, science, and art while enjoying high-end tea and mini cakes in the home of a wealthy patron. Portland's version is located at the gallery Zero Station at 222 Anderson Street and we don't think they offer mini cakes, but they could offer sharp minds if you and all your smart-ass friends show up. This CitizenSalon will focus on getting Republican Snowe out of office and one of her two Democratic contenders in and will probably include lots of repetitive bitching about conservatives. For more on the salon, check out their website here.

LESS TALK, MORE ROCK: After getting drunk on thoughts, roll on down to a protest the next day in front of Maine Medical Center. On World Health Day, Friday, April 7, meet at the corner of Brackett and Bramhall Streets and show your disgust that "millions of Americans are LOCKED OUT of the healthcare system, with NO ACCESS to healthcare!" (or so says the caps-loving press release). Organized by Portland Organizing to Win Economic Rights (POWER), the protest will begin at noon. "HEALTHCARE FOR ALL! NOW!" All right, all right. There's no need to yell... For more, email power@riseup.net.

CHEERS OR JEERS: On Tuesday, April 18 at 7 pm, US congressional rep Tom Allen will once again throw himself at the mercy of his constituents during a town hall forum which is free and open to the public. Allen will discuss the Bush administration's domestic spying program. The forum will happen in the State of Maine room at Portland's City Hall, which is located at 389 Congress Street. According to the release, Allen plans to "debunk the myths that the administration uses to defend illegal spying and send a clear message that Mainers won't stand for it!" We suggest you go and stand for it, just to see the look on Allen's face. For more information contact the Maine Civil Liberties Union.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: On Saturday, April 29, two busloads of protestors will head from Maine to New York City to take part in a massive demonstration organized by the United for Peace and Justice Coalition to end the war in Iraq . Over 900 organizations from around the country will participate. If you want to join, gather together $48 for your seat and email stevbee@midcoast.com to reserve your spot. The buses will leave from Bangor, Portland, Augusta, Rockland, Nobleboro, and Brunswick in the wee hours of the morning on Saturday.

 

 

4/4/2006 10:39:22 AM by Sara Donnelly | Comments [0] |  

Portland Greens announced today which two members will run for city council in their bid to weaken the Dems' control over the city's primary governing body (see last edition's "Portland's Greens Go for the Council" by yours truly). Kevin Donoghue, the 27-year-old co-chair of the Portland Green Independent Committee and a student at USM's Muskie School of Public Service, will challenge incumbent Will Gorham, who has lately generated a lot of free press by advocating for fewer bars in the Old Port. A bit about Donoghue: He's super-excited to be here and spent his free time last year drafting alternate routes for all of the city's buses and trying in vain to get Portland METRO to check them out. 

Dave Marshall, 28, is an artist and activist who owns Pine Street Studios in the West End and works as a Time Dollar Coordinator and Service Works Supervisor at Portland West. A bit about Marshall: He has a tiny brown dog and the paintings inside his gallery are so bright you can see them from the sidewalk.

In an e-mail sent out today to "Editors and Reporters of the Local Press," Donoghue and party co-chair Rebecca Minnick write that Donoghue and Marshall are running to fight a "lack of vision and respect for citizen review" on the council. Since the city council is technically non-partisan, the Greens will not run as party affiliates but will seek the party's endorsement.

In an interesting twist, Greens Donoghue and Marshall are calling for a limit on the green. They vow to only accept pledges donated from Portland residents and businesses and only those in amounts of $100 or less. And they want Gorham and Geraghty to promise to do the same. No word yet on whether they will.

4/3/2006 11:05:07 AM by Sara Donnelly | Comments [0] |  

The Children's Theatre of Maine has started over - again - in its search for a place to call home permanently. "We were hoping that the armory would work out," said Pamela DiPasquale, the group's artistic director. The city of South Portland outbid the theater to buy the armory at the foot of the Casco Bay Bridge.

The theater would have made it a permanent home that might have had room for other artists or arts organizations, an idea similar to one proposed in the Phoenix. (See "Armory Arts Center," by Jeff Inglis, January 6.) The city has not yet decided what to do with the building, which it plans to buy for $650,000, in part as a result of public support. Some possible uses include a public works garage or an expanded police and fire station, because the property adjoins the existing central police and fire stations.

The theater rents three different spaces for its various programs, but rent on its theater-performance space on Marginal Way is getting more expensive. "We can no longer afford to stay there," DiPasquale said.

The search is also costly - the theater spent "several thousand dollars" with lawyers, inspectors, architects, and other consultants who helped the group decide whether to bid on the building and how much to offer.

The theater has been looking for a home for the past seven years. This is the second building on which the group had a serious offer that was shot down by a city government. In 2005, an offer on a building in Westbrook was stymied by city government there, because the city wanted a for-profit business in that space.

DiPasquale said she does not think the theater group has done anything to cause governments to dislike the group. "We want to be part of somebody's community," she said.

4/3/2006 10:24:13 AM by Jeff Inglis | Comments [0] |