DaCapo Press sent over an advance copy of Toni Fiore's first cookbook, Totally Vegetarian, to be published in the fall. Fiore, a Portland resident, is the host of Delicious TV's Totally Vegetarian, which is broadcast on public access channels nationwide. Many of the recipes sound absolutely delicious -- Greek Stuffed Cabbage, Kasha Crunch Burgers, and Pumpkin-Bulgur Chili, for example. Here's my goal: Try at least one recipe per week, and report back to you readers, complete with food-porn photos and perhaps even the reviews of some outside taste-testers.

[Cross-posted at Word Up/About Town.]

The Maine Democratic Party still hasn't decided whether or not it will appeal the Secretary of State's decision to allow Independent US senate candidate Herb Hoffman's name to remain on the November ballot, according to spokeswoman Rebecca Pollard.

Reached by phone today, Hoffman -- who says he is "not a single-issue candidate, or even a two-issue candidate" -- expressed his doubt that an appeal would be successful. Hoffman claims that members of the Democratic state committee "do not want my name on the ballot. They percieve me to be a significant candidate with a potentially significant following...i’m very appreciative that they see me that way...My candidacy represents a positive candidacy in the sense that it offers an alternative to voting against one candidate for another." His friends, apparently, liken the Democratic Party's complaint -- which includes charges of forgery on Hoffman's petitions -- to the 2004 swift-boat smears.

Some Democratic party members and supporters of Tom Allen's campaign have been candid about their desire for Hoffman not to run. They cite the potentially close race between Allen and incumbent Republican senator Susan Collins; they're worried that Hoffman will siphon votes away from Allen's liberal base.  

Was food. So I stopped by the Local Sprouts open house suggested by Deirdre yesterday afternoon. Had some "bliss salad" - carrots, mesclun, beets, maple vinaigrette, and some other sliced/diced veggies - and some steamed kale with garlic, roasted chicken with a maple-herb glaze, and potatoes with arugula pesto. It was all very fresh, simple, and elegant.

If those are any indication of what they'll be cooking up when their Community-Supported Kitchen gets going July 16, sign me up! The open house is almost over, but if they've still got food, something tells me they'll stay open a bit later.

Also, the strawberries at Uncle's stand at the farmers' market are really sweet!

What isn't happening tomorrow?

-- From 11 a.m.-1 p.m., the Local Sprouts Community Kitchen will host an open house in its new Public Market House digs.  

-- At 2 p.m., outside of the Kennebunk Water District office, a coalition of water-rights activists will hold a rally and press conference to protest the proposed Nestle contract there.

-- Portland's new (and so-far, successful) White Bikes collective will hold a "next-steps" meeting from 5:30-6:45 at the Dwell Creative office on Fore Street.  

-- The Joint Use Planning Committee that's come under fire for its handling of the Sears Island issue will hold a public meeting at the Hutchinson Center Auditorium in Belfast at 7 p.m.

The truly industrius could conceivably attend all of these...But we'd recommend prioritizing.

Gosh, Kathleen Parker's op-ed in today's PPH [I can't find it on their website, so I'm linking to the syndicated column from another paper] really set me straight. I'm totally just going to chill out about all this gender-equality bullshit. Us women should stop trying to explore gender-equity issues and point out lingering lopsidedness -- it's so tiresome. 

"Sometimes things just are what they are," she reminds us. "And wishful theory is no match for nature's stubborn ambition."

Or for the conservative media machine that paints feminists as overly analytical harpies and would prefer us to just hush up and go burn our bras elsewhere.

PS -- If you think I'm overreacting, check out this anti-feminist vitriol and see if your feathers don't get ruffled too. 

PPS -- Please, no one buy her book.  

The local creative group Port Veritas will release its first poetry anthology (which it hopes will come out quarterly) on the Fourth of July at the North Star.  

From the press release:

"Safe Harbor is a quarterly collection of contemporary poetry, short stories and essays. This first installment is comprised of writers and artists who have appeared on the stage of the Port Veritas Spoken Word Series over the past five years. Poets included have read and been published from Maine to California.

The writers include local poets Jay Davis, Marita O’Neil, Nathan Amadon, Wil Gibson, Gil Helmick, Dan Olney, Sean A.K.A Guala, Wil Antony. Also included are the series founder K Peddlar Bridges and local High School poets Jake Wartell and Lila Kole.

This book also features nationally renowned poets Patricia Smith and Jack McCarthy."      

I was remiss, when I wrote this week about today's Dyke March and after-party, in not mentioning all the great Southern Maine Pride 2008 events taking place on Saturday.

-- The parade starts at noon on Congress Street, and will make its way down to a festival in Deering Oaks Park

-- Said festival -- with music, food, etc. -- will go from 1-5 p.m.

-- Followed by the annual Pier Dance, at the Maine State Pier, from 8 p.m.-1 a.m. 

Happy Pride! 

It was with a smirk, and a bit of schadenfreude, that we read this email from Mike Hein today:

"Dear YES for Marriage Volunteers and Supporters,

It is with a heavy heart and reluctance that I inform you the YES for Marriage referendum effort has been canceled.  The reasons are as simple as this: neither enough funds nor enough volunteer support to continue the effort.

I can only ask for your understanding and forgiveness while we finalize the process of terminating this effort.

All outstanding partially completed petitions can be turned into the League office at 70 Sewall Street, Augusta, ME 04330 without notarization or verification.  Blank petitions can be destroyed at your location without incurring the expense of returning them to our office.

Thank you for helping the YES for Marriage effort.

Sincerely,

Mike Hein, Administrator
Christian Civic League of Maine"

With Portland's Dyke March scheduled for tomorrow, we don't think the timing could be more perfect.

In front of a youngish crowd dressed as lobsters, Environment Maine and several public officials (including city councilors Jim Cohen and Nick Mavodones, and David Littell, the state's environmental commissioner) touted a new report this morning, full of practical ways to curb global warming. The report, "Global Warming Solutions That Work: Cutting-Edge Efforts to Curb Global Warming Pollution and the Lessons They Hold for America," includes case studies of successful strategies worldwide, such as transit-oriented development in Arlington, Virginia; pro-bike programs in Portland, Oregon; development of the renewable-energy industry in Spain; and widespread implementation of solar water heaters in Israel. The report is more than a pro-environment screed -- it's a road map for states and municipalities who want to get greener. 

Find it here.  

Included in this round are:

Patrick Corrigan

Lauren Fensterstock (A 2008 Portland Best winner!) 

Colin Sullivan-Stevens and Friederike Hamann (of Field)

Joe Kievitt

Anna Hepler

Congrats, everyone! 

Today, the Maine Supreme Court handed down a split decision in a case I've written about before (see "Government Secrecy is Fine with Maine's Attorney General," October 10, 2007), handing a victory to Maine Attorney General Steven Rowe - who kept himself conspicuously absent from the case.

Apparently, according to the three justices who voted in the majority in the 3-2 decision (not sure where the other two justices were), when Rowe wrote a formal letter on state letterhead asking three prominent Maine legal scholars to review the conduct of his office's investigation into a crime and report back to him, "in order to ensure continued public confidence" in his office, he created a review body outside the law that is not subject to the state's Freedom of Access Act.

We know we can look for more government officials at the state, county, and municipal levels to outsource their governmental functions to secret tribunals in this manner. And, we hope we can look for legislators to fix this horrific abrogation of the public's right to know.

New site, created to call out "projects that obviously were not vetted by the Maine Sensible Transportation Act...[which was] created to keep MDOT from completely paving over Maine, after Mainers were worn down and relented to allow the widening of Rt 95 south of Portland," according to an email sent out by webmaster Tim Sullivan.  

 The Maine Marijuana Policy Initiative is currently collecting signatures to get a question on the ballot that would better define who can access medical marijuana, and where they can get it. It would also establish registry cards and broaden protections for physicians. On Primary Day, signature-collectors gathered approximately 4000 John Hancocks, according to an email sent out by the organization today. They have about half the sigs they need so far. 

Portland is the latest location to be featured on the Design*Sponge (a very popular blog for designers, craftsters, DIYers, etc.) regional round-up. Five artists (or pairs of artists) are highlighted in the first installment -- Karen Gelardi, Linda and John Meyers, Justin Richel, Lydia and Jeff Badger, and Jennifer Judd-Mcgee. Two more installments are in the works; rumor has it that local artist Joe Kievitt will be among those featured later. Earlier this year, the home of Diane Toepfer (of Ferdinand Home) and Ron Harrity (of Peapod Recordings) was chosen for a Design*Sponge "sneak peek" -- and it made us a) insanely jealous and b) inspired to get to work on better record storage. 

--Deirdre Fulton 

I spent a night in a replica of a Guantánamo Bay prison cell last week, time during which I reflected on the perilous status of the men held at the offshore prison even the president says he wants to close. They are held in legal limbo, not charged with anything, rarely, if ever, having seen a judge - and if so, then only a military judge whose chain of command starts at the president and works its way down (not an independent judge who is a member of the third branch of government).

But this morning, some good news. The US Supreme Court has granted Gitmo detainees the right to challenge their detention in civilian courts. Perhaps now we will get to see the evidence - if any exists - against these men, and start either prosecuting them or releasing them.

There's not much to say about yesterday's primary that hasn't been said already. Here are the city's numbers.

Some other odds and ends: 

-- I caught a thought-provoking (and perhaps prescient) quotation on the AsMaineGoes forum: "I hope Charlie can turn all those Cote votes into his votes." 

-- Also, I was entertained by this PPH Ethan Strimling quotation, given his rabid anti-Pingree rhetoric during the campaign: "She will be a great standard-bearer for us." But good for him for letting bygones be bygones.

-- The League, obvs, is trumpeting its spot-on endorsement picks. "The League of Young Voters PAC is proud to announce another successful endorsement process with a huge 5-for-5 win in the June Primary," communications director Katie Diamond wrote in an email. "This was the first time the organization endorsed in a Primary, with incredible results."

-Deirdre Fulton 

US Senator Susan Collins, who is running for re-election this fall, voted today to continue massive subsidies for oil corporations, and in opposition to taxing those companies' windfall profits. The vote was technically on a measure to end debate and proceed to a vote on the matter, but her vote to keep debate going ensured there would be no up-or-down vote on the proposal, which would have taken $17 billion in tax breaks over the next 10 years away from oil companies and given it to renewable-energy firms. (See the roll call tally and more info on the bill on the Senate's Web site, here.)

US Senator Olympia Snowe voted to end debate; that vote does not signify her stance on the bill itself. But because the bill may now never come to the floor, we won't know what she would have done.

In the US House, Representative Tom Allen (who is hoping he'll defeat Tom Ledue today and be able to challenge Collins for her seat) voted for the bill, as did Representative Mike Michaud.

Hey, all you Hillary supporters in Maine --- don't just toss that Clinton for President sign, recycle it! One Texas based company wants you to mail in your (now-useless) Hillary signs; they'll give you a free Barack Obama placard in return. (Via TMB.) 

There are plenty of interesting things to do here in Portland to observe National Trails Day tomorrow, including hiking 10 miles through the Forest City on a guided walk with Portland Trails.

But really the big thing you should do, if in any way you can, is to head up to near Greenville to walk among some of the oldest trees in Maine. We told you about these 200-plus-year-old trees -- and about Plum Creek Timber Company's plans to cut them down this summer -- last month, in an article by Bridget Huber. Now's your chance to go with the Native Forest Network and see them for yourself.

Meet at the Monson General Store in Monson (get directions here) at 11 am on Saturday, June 7. Bring water, a snack, and sturdy shoes that are OK getting wet.

There are plenty of interesting things to do here in Portland to observe National Trails Day tomorrow, including hiking 10 miles through the Forest City on a guided walk with Portland Trails.

But really the big thing you should do, if in any way you can, is to head up to near Greenville to walk among some of the oldest trees in Maine. We told you about these 200-plus-year-old trees -- and about Plum Creek Timber Company's plans to cut them down this summer -- last month, in an article by Bridget Huber. Now's your chance to go with the Native Forest Network and see them for yourself.

Meet at the Monson General Store in Monson (get directions here) at 11 am on Saturday, June 7. Bring water, a snack, and sturdy shoes that are OK getting wet.

Portland's own air-guitar superstar, McNallica, has successfully defended her New England title, winning the competition at the Middle East in Cambridge, Massachusetts, last night - including getting perfect 6s in the second round (she modestly reports...).

She'll be competing at the US national championships on August 8 in San Francisco. Check the next issue of the Portland Phoenix for more on the Middle East show! 

UPDATE, with info from Phx freelancer Barry Thompson:

The top five were:

1 - McNallica - 5.9, 6.0, 5.9, 6.0, 6.0, 6.0 = 35.8

2 - The Dude who..... - 5.6, 5.8, 5.7, 5.7, 5.8, 5.8 = 34.4

3 - Jeff "Lightning" Lyons - 5.6, 5.5, 5.7, 5.7, 5.6, 5.7 = 33.8

4 The Rock 'n Roll Professional - 33.7

5 - The Kid - 32.9

Truly, life gets more amazing every day.

Cecily von Ziegesar, author of the Gossip Girl YA book series that was then adapted into the BSE, is working on her first adult series, according to Hyperion. Due out in 2009, the series (first book is called "Cum Laude" -- really??????) will be about a group of young adults who meet during their freshman year at a small college in MAINE. (Via.)

[Cross-posted on About Town/Word Up.] 

--- Deirdre Fulton 

Today is a big day in the nation's human-rights history. Five "detainees" captured and held for their alleged roles in terrorism and other acts against the United States who are being imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay are facing a US military judge today in open court. What happens to them will provide powerful evidence of how far down the human-rights-abuse spectrum we have slid.

This weekend, Amnesty International, the NAACP, the Maine Civil Liberties Union, Maine Veterans for Peace (and I think a few other groups) have gotten together not only to put a replica of a Guantánamo Bay prison cell in Monument Square for people to check out (read next week's Portland Phoenix to find out more about what it's like inside), but also to host a giant pile of related events around the city. (Here's a photo from this morning's rally kicking everything off, too.)

Chris Gray told you about some of them in "8 Days A Week" in the paper this week, but here's the full schedule:

Tonight's big event is a forum with Pardiss Kebriaei of the Guantánamo Global Justice Initiative at the Center for Constitutional Rights (which has spearheaded organizing hundreds of attorneys to volunteer their time to defend detainees); Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International; and Ben Wizner, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney working on Guantánamo cases. That will be at the Portland Public Library, 5 Monument Square, in Portland, at 6:30 pm. Admission is free.

Through Thursday, June 5, "Torture Preserved," sculptures of torture victims, by Lin Linsberger of Gorham, will be on display at the Meg Perry Center, 644 Congress Street, in Portland.

Tomorrow, Friday, June 6, will see a noon reading of poems from Guantánamo prisoners by Mad Horse Theatre Company, in Monument Square.

There will also be a showing of Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, Rory Kennedy's documentary of the abuse and torture of inmates in a US-run prison in Iraq, at 7 pm at the Williston West Church, 32 Thomas Street, Portland.

On Saturday, June 7, There will be a conference about post-traumatic stress disorder sponsored by Maine Veterans for Peace, at the University of Southern Maine's Abromson Center, 88 Bedford Street, Portland, from 9 am to 4 pm.

And at 4 pm on Saturday, the Senior Players troupe of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at USM will read from the Ed Schwartz book Faithful Voices: Exploring Beliefs in Action (Quaker Press, 2005).

In April, I suggested that Portland look into starting a bike-share program like the one recently launched in Washington, DC. And like magic, it's happening! (To be fair, I think the idea was on the radar long before I stuck my nose into the matter.)

Starting on Monday, June 9, Portlanders will be able to unlock white bikes around the city (using the White Bike code, which you can find at the group's website), ride them -- for free -- and then relock them for the next user.

"If you see a white bike, pick it up and ride it," organizer John Rooks, president of Dwell Creative, wrote in a press release. "The purpose of the White Bike initiative is to provide an alternate means of transportation and create an opportunity for the community to learn more about the facts and talk about the issues. People will be able to use the bikes as frequently as they need. When they reach their destination, they’ll leave the bike locked, waiting for its next occupant to unlock it with the universal code. One bike could have as many as 10-15 riders a day."

(Full disclosure: Apparently [I learned this from the press release] the Phoenix is a media sponsor of this initiative.) 

-- Deirdre Fulton 

He'll start the day with a rally at Walkers Point in Kennebunkport, calling for President Bush to resign, and for Congress to impeach him.

Then there will be a fund-raiser at the nearby farm of Laurie Dobson (tickets start at $100). How much support he'll get is anyone's guess — Dobson was trying to run as an independent candidate for the US Senate, but couldn't get the 4000 signatures required to be approved for a spot on the November ballot by the Maine Secretary of State, according to this list (PDF), which her name is not on. (Independent Herb Hoffman did qualify.)

Nader will swing up to Portland next, for a news conference at 7 pm at the First Parish Church, 425 Congress Street., followed by a rally for his campaign — tickets will be $10 for that.

On Friday, he'll be in Cambridge, Massachusetts, followed by appearances in Rhode Island and Connecticut on Saturday.

Nader and his running mate, San Francisco activist Matt Gonzalez, say they are addressing issues the "corporate" candidates — including George Bush III (er, that's John McCain) and PAC-money-refusing Barack Obama — won't take on:

-Total military and corporate withdrawal from Iraq;

-A single-payer "Canadian-style" health care system with private companies providing care paid for out of the public purse;

-Requiring employers to pay a "living wage;"

-Repeal of the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, which restricts political and publicity-seeking actions by labor unions;

-Rejection of nuclear power, instead basing our energy policy on solar energy;

-Instituting a carbon tax;

-Repealing the USA PATRIOT Act;

-The vague but sweeping demand for "an end to the corporate welfare and corporate crime that has resulted in millions losing pensions, savings and jobs and squandered tax dollars;" and

-The even more vague and even more sweeping insistence on a "more direct democracy."

Should be an interesting trip. 

Lots of goings-on on the Hill these days... 

-- State legislative candidates will entertain questions at the St. Lawrence Arts Center this evening, at a debate hosted by the Munjoy Hill Neighborhood Organization. Ed Democracy and Diane Russell, who are facing off to represent the East End and the Old Port, will start the evening at 7 p.m.; Senate District 8 candidates Justin Alfond, Cliff Ginn, and Anne Rand will go on around 7:45.

 
-- Since the Rosemont Market & Bakery folks took over Fat Baxter’s East End Market, the selection of both produce and dry goods has improved. We’ve heard that some people shop there exclusively these days. And seriously, holy crap, that Torta (layered goat cheese, pesto, and roasted red peppers) is addictive, and delicious with warm bread.

 
-- Munjoy Hill resident (and brand-new Colucci’s cashier) Randee Bucknell is organizing “signing parties” to collect the 500 signatures she needs to launch her effort to recall City Councilor Kevin Donoghue. Since she sent out a press release last week announcing her intent to circulate a recall petition, Bucknell says she’s received several calls and emails from other disgruntled citizens. “Many times, Councilor Donoghue would say one thing at [neighborhood] meetings ...and do far from that in city council meetings,”she says, referring primarily to Donoghue’s actions around the Adams School re-use issue. Bucknell, who’s lived on the Hill for 11 and a half years, supported Donoghue’s campaign in 2006.

 
-- Matti Gurney organized two public meetings last week -- one on the Hill, and one in the West End -- where interested parties discussed the possibility of bringing some type of car-sharing program to Portland. According to the update Gurney sent out this morning, the meetings were well-attended (especially the one on the Hill) by enthusiastic people. Topics discussed were: bringing ZipCar to Portland; launching some type of partnership with ITNAmerica, which has its IT department in Maine; involving Peaks Island residents, who could particularly benefit from car-sharing; continuing market research to see what costs Portland residents would be willing to consider/tolerate.

-- Deirdre Fulton 

First, Congressman Tom Allen refused to debate his opponent in the Democratic primary, Tom Ledue, in public. That strategy has been called "arrogant," "reeking of vulnerability," and "condescending" to the voters of Maine, who might well prefer a man who was proud to stand up for his political record. (Well, maybe not - since Allen doesn't want to hold President Bush accountable, nor does he seem to like populism: He regularly has anti-war protestors arrested at his office, rather than meeting with them - see "US Rep. Allen to Protestors: Go Directly To Jail," by Jeff Inglis, October 3, 2007.)

Then, Allen's campaign staff told us he was "too busy" to meet with the Portland Phoenix editorial board in person until "late June," well after the June 10 primary in which he's being challenged by Tom Ledue. When we pointed out that we were quite flexible in terms of dates and times, we were thanked "for our understanding" of his situation, which meant we had no opportunity to question Allen about his arresting tendencies, his vote for the USA PATRIOT Act, or even his health-care proposal (which is not a single-payer system, like many progressives in Maine and around the country are calling for this election season).

Now, Tom Allen is outright flipping Maine Democrats the bird. Regardless of the fact that he could lose the primary, his campaign just announced - on Friday, May 30, a full 11 days before the primary, that a benefit for his Senate campaign will be held on August 11 at Merrill Auditorium, featuring Bonnie Raitt, with openers the Refugees (Portlander Cindy Bullens, and Deborah Holland and Wendy Waldman). UPDATED: I forgot to add that the tickets for the concert - which cost $60 and up - will go on sale June 6 - five days before the primary.

We've got nothing against Cindy & Co., nor against Bonnie. But man, Tom Allen's a cocky fellow, ain't he?

Word comes that a Marsden Hartley painting, Lighthouse, has been sold at auction at Christie’s for $6.31 million, a record for an American Modernist, as the pioneers of modernist art in this country are known. The previous record was set for a Georgia O’Keeffe painting for slightly less in 2001.

Here in Maine we count Hartley (1877 - 1943) as one of our own. He was born in Lewiston and at one time worked in a mill there. He went to New York in his twenties and fell in with Stieglitz and the group of artists around Gallery 291, and then went to Europe where met Gertrude and Leo Stein and the artists in their circle. He went to Germany and there fell in love with a German officer who later died in World War I. During those years he made the great nearly-abstract paintings filled with German military symbols that made his reputation. Lighthouse was one of those, recently discovered in a museum in east Germany.

He traveled a lot but spent most of the last years of his life in Maine, painting the blocky, deeply personal works we are  so familiar with. The reputation he gained for the early works evaporated during the anti-German sentiment during World War I and he never really recovered from that. There are plenty of stories of his living the stereotypical life of the impecunious painter, trading paintings for lodging and groceries. Unlike most of the works of most artists, though, his paintings finally did become worth something. I remember the collective intake of breath at an auction in Portland in the early ‘80’s when a painting of his went for $60,000. After the recent Christie’s auction, insurance premiums will be going up all over the country.

 He was a great painter whose work was underappreciated. You can tell how good he was by looking at a few of his many imitators in the current generation who look at his style but not his substance. He worked hard, cared deeply, and found ways to put his whole world into his pictures. I’m glade he’s getting his due, however belatedly.

By Ken Greenleaf