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Wednesday, July 30, 2008
A ruling by a federal appeals court yesterday said that the Whole Foods-Wild Oats merger, which has already closed four Wild Oats stores (including the one in Portland) and "reflagged" 27 others as Whole Foods, may have taken place without adequate consideration of the effect on the marketplace for natural and organic foods. The Federal Trade Commission, which brought the request to block the merger, "argued that the Whole Foods' takeover would limit competition and increase prices" among people who buy natural products, according to today's New York Times. Problem is, the merger has, for all effective purposes, already happened (witness the shuttered store on Marginal Way). "The eggs are already scrambled," antitrust lawyer Richard E. Donovan is quoted as saying. "What are you going to do?"
First things first, a correction: My too-fast fingers misspelled Cyrus Hagge's name in my piece about reporting operations on the Hill. My apologies to Mr. Hagge. Secondly, some others have weighed in on their thoughts about the Observer, including former MHNO board member Heather Curtis. "In my personal opinion, the Observer exists to provide a public forum," she wrote in February (while she was still on the board). "Although a cherished right of the people, freedom of the press is different from
other liberties of the people in that it is both individual and institutional.
It applies not just to a single person's right to publish ideas, but also to the
right of print and broadcast media to express political views and to cover and
publish news. A free press is, therefore, one of the foundations of a democratic
society, and as Walter Lippmann, the 20th-century American columnist, wrote, 'A
free press is not a privilege, but an organic necessity in a great society.' Indeed, as society has grown increasingly complex, people rely more and more on
newspapers, radio, and television to keep abreast with world news, opinion, and
political ideas. One sign of the importance of a free press is that when
antidemocratic forces take over a country, their first act is often to muzzle
the press." "Obviously, we will resist attemps to turn the Observer into just a newsletter for the MHNO Board rather than a robust, vibrant community newspaper," she added in an email this week.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
It’s an article of faith among art
organizations that public art is unquestionably a good thing. The fact is, most
public art is far from a good thing; most of it is plain awful.
Making art good enough to hold its own in a pubic space is special skill, and most artists, even very good artists, can’t do it. Even if
they could, most committees, and Portland’s
is no exception, can’t make a decision for quality art, even if they were
offered it. Horses, camels.
For proof, one need look no farther than around the town. There is, as far as I know,
no good public art anywhere in the city, with the possible exception of some stones arranged on
the Waynefleet campus. The Mierle Ukeles piece at MECA is a obvious throw-together.
The recent additions are at best banal and at worst silly. There is some humor
value in the accidentally autoerotic (at least when viewed from the west)
statue of the fireman in front of the firehouse on Congress Street, but otherwise there is little to lift one's spirits.
The Portland
public art committee has good people on it, but it the whole idea of a committee selection process is flawed. Percent for
art has left bad piece after bad piece around the state, all chosen by committees, most of whom were unfamiliar with art at all. Go look, you’ll see
what I mean. With the exception of a couple of pieces by Roger Majorowicz, who
has a flair for making art that is both interesting and accessible, most are
prime examples of what James Wines called ‘plop art,’ or the ‘turd in the
plaza’ effect.
Good artists can’t always make art for public spaces.
There’s an Isamu Noguchi in lower Manhattan
that just shouldn't be where it is. For a while there was a David Smith, a great sculptor
by any measure, at Lincoln
Center and it looked
awful. Mark di Suvero, who depends on huge scale for much of his work, can’t
always get it right. Anyone who saw the Richard Serra ‘Tilted Arc’ before it
was removed from the plaza it occupied could see it was wrong for that spot.
During that same period there was another Serra in park-like area near the
Holland Tunnel that was great. His big piece outside the Carnegie
Museum in Pittsburgh is one of the best public
sculptures I’ve seen anywhere.
It’s best to get a good one that works where it is. Good art
isn’t always popular, but over time it
grows on the passers-by. The big Picasso horse in Chicago was like that. After a few years it
was embraced by the community. I’m no great fan of Picasso, but that is a great
sculpture.
Mediocre or poorly-sited work has the opposite effect. It
may generate a little early opposition, but over time it just looks like
nothing. It’s better to have nothing than to have something that looks like
nothing. These are the only art works some people will usually see in their
lives, and to have it be something pallid is a great shame.
Here are a few good public art pieces in Maine, in no particular order:
Sculptures by Richard Serra and Sol Lewitt at Colby College
Museum of Art, Waterville
Two pieces by Roger Majorowicz, one in downtown Waterville and another at
a school in Gardiner.
I can’t think of any more.
I'm getting a feeling of deja vu. Jamilla El-Shafei, of the Kennebunks Peace Department, is helping to organize a weekend protest march to the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport. Bush will visit Kennebunkport on Saturday, August 2. The usual suspects will be present: Code Pink, Maine Peace Action, Veterans for Peace, and Carlos Arredondo, the father of a slain soldier who died in Iraq four years ago. My questions, asked in earnest, are: Are these protests drawing new attendees every time? What do they accomplish? Do observers start to tune them out after some time? I'm not sure. My call is in to Jamilla to get her take, which I'll post here.
Monday, July 28, 2008
An independent film, co-written by Kennebunk resident Steve Hrehovcik, filmed some scenes in Kittery over the weekend. 27 Down,
due out in 2009, tells the story of a Boston cop who gets involved in a
hit-and-run and then moves to the fictional town of Canada, Maine
(Hrehovcik is obviously fascinated by
the abudance of shared place-names in Maine; see below). The crew, led by director
John Depew, shot some bar and crowd scenes; one extra documented the experience on her personal blog. They also filmed a scene in the Kittery Police Station. Hrehovcik (pronounced Hero-check) and his son, Josh, also write and produce a humorous series called "Bruce McToose: Intrepid Traveler," which takes its somewhat hapless title character to places throughout Maine that aren't quite what (or where) he thinks they are. The first episode, "Norway," has Bruce McToose asking locals where he can find the fjords. New episodes will be online soon.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Um, excuse me. Yesterday I saw some dude walking around the Old Port with a large snake wrapped around his neck, but I didn't think things were getting this out of control. 
Via StrangeMaine, obvi.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
It’s in the nature of newspaper scheduling that you don’t always
get to write about those interesting events, so I haven’t had the time or
column inches to devote to a veteran painter of considerable interest, Charles
DuBack at Jameson Gallery in Portland.
His show ends this weekend, July 26, so here’s a somewhat belated appreciation.
 I never saw his work in New York, although he had been part of the
scene there for a long time when I first got there. If memory serves, I first
saw his work shown by the late Don Slagel in a little gallery in Waldoboro. I recognized
right away that here was an artist who had drunk at the fountain of modernist
art with real gusto. He was, and remains, at the age of 82, a believer in the
lessons of Matisse and the other pioneers.
His recent work skirts the edges of true abstraction, with references
that make his work both a picture of something it isn’t, while building
collection of colors and shapes that are their own content. The anchor of
everything he does is color. He uses brilliant hues and strokes, sometimes
creating an image and others creating a setting for a barely suggested
narrative. As with most good modernist art, there are layers of experience in
each of his paintings that only become apparent with time. This is a show to
visit slowly.
The Jameson Gallery is at 305 Commercial Street in Portland
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
More Avesta Housing news, strangely. They cut the ribbon today on the Pearl Place Apartments, "Maine’s first Leadership
in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified affordable housing development," according to a press release sent out today. The 60 (cat-friendly) units, located at Oxford and Pearl streets, are also endorsed by the U.S. Green Building
Council. They're listed for rent at between $639-1064/month, with income limits. If future tenants are properly educated about the green aspects of their digs, sustainable and affordable housing developements are the next step toward ensuring that "eco-friendly" doesn't mean "elitist."
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
This didn't quite fit in Sibilance this week, but we didn't want you to miss out:
F The
Portland music scene is getting all kinds of Web-friendly. On July 24, Spencer Albee
and Dave
Gutter of Rustic Overtones (and As Fast As and Paranoid Social Club) will join Bull Moose
co-owner Chris
Brown as part of a live chat hosted by the Bull Moose group on Facebook.
They’ll answer any questions you throw at them from 4:30 to 5 pm. Any Facebook
member can view the chat, though only Bull Moose group members can ask a
question, so join the group in advance if you want in. And don’t think this is
a totally naked marketing thing — Bull Moose didn’t even start the Facebook
group. Some high school kid named Steve Morse did. He just really likes Bull
Moose.
This didn't quite fit in Sibilance this week, but we didn't want you to miss out:
F The
Portland music scene is getting all kinds of Web-friendly. On July 24, Spencer Albee
and Dave
Gutter of Rustic Overtones (and As Fast As and Paranoid Social Club) will join Bull Moose
co-owner Chris
Brown as part of a live chat hosted by the Bull Moose group on Facebook.
They’ll answer any questions you throw at them from 4:30 to 5 pm. Any Facebook
member can view the chat, though only Bull Moose group members can ask a
question, so join the group in advance if you want in. And don’t think this is
a totally naked marketing thing — Bull Moose didn’t even start the Facebook
group. Some high school kid named Steve Morse did. He just really likes Bull
Moose.
Most 20th-anniversary celebrations are a little more involved than this:
The Gritty McDuff's folks knew 2008 was their 20th anniversary year. But the word on the street is that yesterday a Gritty's staffer (who shall remain nameless to protect the guilty) realized that July 21 was the actual, on-the-day, 20th anniversary of the founding of Gritty McDuff's. So something had to be done. Raise a pint? You bet! There in the photo are Gritty's founders Richard Pfeffer and Ed Stebbins with their buddy Mike Kilbride in the basement of the Fore Street Gritty's, celebrating. Look for more events (we hope, things you can actually attend!) to come as they continue to celebrate through the year. There's a slideshow of pics from the impromptu gathering here.
Monday, July 21, 2008
You will undoubtedly see a great deal of media coverage of the upcoming Beach to Beacon road race, slated for Saturday, August 2, in Cape Elizabeth. But the dirty little secret the newspapers and TV stations never tell you is that many of those stories, and even the story ideas, are not generated in the newsrooms of Maine. Instead, they are dreamed up in Arizona by the capable - and friendly - folks at Wolfe PR (they used to be based in Scarborough, but aren't anymore), and spoon-fed to Maine journalists. As a guide to the stories you'll see on TV, in the local daily, and in weekly newspapers, here's their official media pitch list, in full, as it arrived in the Phoenix's inbox just minutes ago. Note the cheery salutation (Hi Media). To be sure, some of these are legitimately interesting stories. The problem is that they're being prepped, researched, and fact-checked not by the decreasing number of journalists working in Maine, but by former journalists now in PR all the way across the country.
Hi Media -- below
is a list of Story Ideas re: this
year’s TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon 10K. The race
is just 12 days away. We want to assist you with your pre-race news stories
about the race, which attracts runners from across Maine , NE and the world’s best to scenic Cape Elizabeth , Maine . Also, one-on-one interviews with Joan Benoit Samuelson are being scheduled
for next Tuesday morning at Fort Williams , July 29 - if you haven't set up
a time, call me at 520 207-9551 this week, or my cell at 520 399-5770, or e-mail
me at beryl@wolfepr.com. And if you need
help reaching any of the people below, let us know. We also can help you locate
runners from your coverage area for any advance stories – contact Jason at Jason@wolfenews.com for assistance.
Thanks! -- Beryl Wolfe
-
Story Ideas re:
TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon 10K
Road Race - 2008
Race
Beneficiary
Susan L. Curtis
Foundation
This year’s beneficiary of the TD
Banknorth Beach to Beacon 10K is the Susan L. Curtis Foundation, formed in 1971
after the death of Susan, the 11-year-old daughter of Maine Governor Kenneth and
First Lady Pauline Curtis.
The mission of the Susan L. Curtis
Foundation is to lift Maine children out of the cycle of poverty
with a strengths-based experiential outdoor education and a culture designed to
discover and develop each child’s individual talents.
Camp Susan Curtis opened in 1974.
Since then, more than 13,000 children living in poverty from every county in
Maine have
attended. Each summer, more than 650 Maine kids ages 8 to 18 are provided this
remarkable experience of self-discovery, challenge and personal growth - tuition
free.
Also known as the “Trout Lake
Campus”, the camp’s primary location is on Trout Lake in
Stoneham. A
second campus recently opened on Kezar
Lake at Hewnoaks, after the Foundation
entered into a partnership with the University of Maine for an Arts Education Center.
The foundation also provides a
four-week Leadership Education curriculum for 13 and 14-year-olds, combining
this with Venture-Out expeditions and weekend leadership retreats. Nearly half
of “Camp
Sue” counselors are
graduates of the leadership program.
To arrange a
story on the camp or the foundation, contact Alan Cartwright, executive
director, in Portland at 207-774-1552. The
foundation offices are located on Washington Avenue in Portland, and the camp is located in Stoneham, Maine, about an
hour and a half northwest of Portland.
If looking for an event to cover in
Portland, the
first “Kids to Campus” event will be held on Monday, Aug. 4 at the
USM campus. Kids to Campus will bring Susan Curtis Foundation (SCF) campers to
the USM campus for a tour to familiarize them with the higher education
environment and encourage them to continue their education. Larry Wold,
president of TD Banknorth in Maine and Joan Benoit Samuelson will join the
staff and campers for lunch and to accept SCF’s campers appreciation for the TD
Banknorth Beach to Beacon.
Media
Contact: Call Julie
McQuillan, public affairs director at TD Banknorth, at 207-828-7558 for
details.
Top Master’s 50 Runners Coming to
Maine
For the first time, the TD Banknorth
Beach to Beacon will feature some of the top Masters 50 (M50) runners in the
United
States – and has added prize money for the
winner.
52-year-old Tom Ryan of
Cape Elizabeth – the second-ranked Masters 50 (M50) runner
in the U.S. last year – will be joined this
year by four other top M50 runners, who compete in the 50-54 age group. Ryan met
the other runners at national races and invited them to Maine to run this year’s
TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon.
Race organizers added $500 in prize
money for the winner of the M50 category. Here is a brief description of each of
the top M50 runners coming to Maine to join Tom Ryan. Each will be
designated as an elite athlete.
- Dave
Cannon, 50, of Seattle, M50 winner of the
2007 10,000 meter U.S. Track and Field outdoor nationals, M50 winner of the 2007
USATF 5K national cross country championships and
M50 winner of the 2008 USATF 10k national road race championships.
- Stephen
Chantry, 53, of Williamsburg, Vir., a
six-time U.S. Track & Field national champ who helped set an M50 world
record in the 4X800 (he ran the anchor).
- Norm
Larson, 52, of Burlington Vt., who was the M50 winner of the 2008 Boston
Marathon with a time of 2:39:13
- Kevin
McMahon, 54, of Essex Jct., Vt.,
3rd in the USATF indoor masters miles in 2007, holder of the Clarence
DeMarr 5K road race master’s record.
- Tom
Ryan, 52, of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, the
second ranked M50 road runner nationally in 2007, M50 winner of the 2005 USATF
10k national cross country championships, M50 winner of the 2006 USATF 5k
national cross country championships and second-place finisher in the 2007 USATF
5K national cross country championships.
Media
Contact: Tom Ryan -
during the day at (207) 688-4339 or Dave Weatherbie, race president, at (207)
773-3533 ext 4016.
Race First in
Nation to Offer Personal Health Record Service to
Runners
This year the race has launched a
pilot program to collect the medical history of runners and enhance care on race
day. Race officials are urging runners to participate in the groundbreaking,
voluntary program. The TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon is the first road race
nationwide to implement an online personal health record service as part of the
medical care provided to runners.
Race officials are partnering with a
company called MedicalSummary.com to offer the 2008 race field an opportunity to
submit vital medical information safely and securely online. In the past, race
officials relied solely on a rapid medical team response from a well-educated
staff to help an ailing runner, as doctors had no way of determining medical
history along the course. With the new program, the medical team will use
secure codes to access potentially lifesaving information, such as whether
someone has diabetes or is prone to anaphylactic shock.
Participation is
voluntary and free for runners from the point of registration through a two-week
period following the race. Race volunteers also are eligible to
participate.
Media
Contacts: Christopher
Troyanos, ATC, the medical coordinator for the race Christopher.Troyanos@chtrust.org,
and Margie Kelly, the owner of Athens, Georgia-based MedicalSummary.com and a part-time
Cape
Elizabeth resident, (706)
207-9223 mkelly@medicalsummary.com.
Going
Green
This year, race
organizers are expected to unveil an all electric motorcycle for use at the
races. Shawn McKenna, the coordinator of the motorcycles that are primarily used
by media along the course, rode this type of bike during this year’s Boston Marathon and U.S. Olympic Women’s Marathon trials.
The potential story
line here is a beginning of an ‘all green’ environmental friendly lead vehicle
program that will someday include hybrid press trucks. Another step toward this
goal is the race has replaced a large, diesel flatbed press truck with two
smaller trucks – reducing the exhaust factor for the runners and spectators.
If you have interest in
this story and want background, go to the Vectrix web site and scroll down to
“Vectrix in the Boston Marathon” - http://www.vectrix.com/corporate/US/news.php.
Media
Contact: Ron Kramer,
DMSE, at (561) 252 5159.
Let’s Go – Story
Walk
TD Banknorth is a
founding partner in the United
Way’s “Let’s Go” program to fight childhood obesity, and one of the ideas they have been
testing is to take a children’s book and put one page at a time on a poster, and
then place the pages along a trail and have the kids run/walk from page to
page. It gets them outside and active, and at the same time promotes reading.
They are setting one of these up at Fort Williams to keep kids active and to
promote the Let’s Go program.
This year, Let's Go has developed a
Story Walk with the children's book “Scoot!” written and illustrated by
Maine author
Cathryn Falwell (jpeg available).
The Story Walk was featured at the
Morse Street School
in Freeport on
June 10, and the Windham Summerfest on June 21.
Media
Contact: Call Julie
McQuillan, public affairs director at TD Banknorth, at 207-828-7558 for
details.
New Portland Symphony Orchestra Conductor to Run Beach to
Beacon
Robert
Moody, the new Musical Director for the Portland Symphony
Orchestra (PSO), will properly introduce himself to life in
Maine and his new community by making his first
road race in Maine in this year’s TD Banknorth Beach to
Beacon 10K. Moody was impressed with the outpouring of community involvement and
the outstanding reputation of previous years’ races, and is thrilled to be
involved. Executive Director of the PSO, Ari
Solotoff, will join Moody in the TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon, his
first competitive race. The duo can be found training together around Portland’s Back Cove.
PSO Board Member Harper Lee
Collins, inspired by the motivation of Moody and Solotoff, will also
complete the PSO trio of TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon
runners.
Media
Contact: Gillian Britt,
gBritt PR, gillian@gbritt.com,
207-775-2126
Returning World-class
Runners
The TD Banknorth Beach
to Beach 10K Road Race attracts some of the world’s best road racers from around
the globe. Another stellar elite field is expected for the 2008 race, including
returning men’s champ Duncan Kibet and
Gilbert Okari, a fellow Kenyan who recently won the race three times in a row
and is looking to regain his crown. They will be pushed by Terefe Maregu of
Ethiopia, who recently won the
prestigious Peachtree 10K.
The women’s field is also deep. A
new champ is guaranteed as defending champ Luminita Talpos will compete in
China on the Romanian Olympic team.
That leaves the door open for a pair of strong Kenyans, Millicent Gathoni and
Lineth Chepkurui, as well as Wude Yimer of Ethiopia, another top-flight road
racer. Elite runner bios will be
posted at www.wolfenews.com as the race
approaches.
MEDIA
CONTACT: FMI on the elite
field, contact Larry Barthlow, the elite athlete director, at (617) 438-8098 or
larry@worldeventsnetwork.com.
TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon Showcase Event for Maine
Runners
The elite distance
runners from around the world who converge on Cape Elizabeth for the TD Banknorth Beacon 10K
Road Race each year get most of the attention. But the growing and intriguing
competitiveness of the race among Maine's top runners is also a worthwhile
story. Maine
runners consider the race the jewel of the racing season. The winner of this
showcase event wears the unofficial title as the state road race champion.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Race President David
Weatherbie, dweatherbie@seafax.com
or (207) 781-5970, himself an avid, top-flight runner, could provide valuable
insights into the stature of the race among Maine runners. Also available as sources about
what makes the race special are Byrne Decker of Yarmouth (207-846-4461) and
Michael Payson of Falmouth (207-781-4617), both top Maine runners; and Julia
Kirtland of South Harpswell (207-781-4617), winner of the first three races, and
Christine Snow-Reaser of Dayton (207-499-2198), a two-time champ.
Race Beneficiary
– A Gift that Keeps On Giving
Getting named the
beneficiary of the TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon 10K is a huge deal in Maine’s non-profit
community. And the $30,000 donation is only part of it. Another story idea might
include talking with some past beneficiaries and how the race did and continues
to benefit their non-profit organizations. Many of the past beneficiaries have
continued their involvement with the race. A list of past beneficiaries can be
found at www.wolfenews.com in the press
kit under the race logo.
Media Contacts:
Sam Beal, Big Brothers Big
Sisters (207) 773-5437; Peg Libby, Kids First Center (207) 761-2709; Tory
Dietel-Hopps, Riding to the Top (207) 892-2813; are ready and willing to talk
about the race and its impact.
International
Flavor
Each year, families
from Cape Elizabeth and surrounding areas invite elite athletes
from Kenya,
Ethiopia, Japan
and elsewhere around the globe into their homes. The home stays serve as a sort
of cultural exchange for the athletes and the host families as they swap recipes
and stories. Each year, more and more families from around the area are getting
involved.
Media contact:
Janet McLaughlin, Host Family
Coordinator, 799-6190 JMcL1147@aol.com.
Joan Benoit
Samuelson
Founder of the race
with lead sponsor TD Banknorth, Joan Benoit Samuelson remains Maine’s most admired
athlete. She is an inspiration and a role model for girls and women around the
globe. Her quiet determination, on display for all the world to see at the 1984
Olympics, played a key role in making her dream of staging a major road race in
Cape
Elizabeth a reality. Humble
and deferential, Joan rarely takes credit, but this year presents a nice
opportunity to take a closer look at some of her most recent accomplishments,
including her induction into the Olympic Hall of Fame and her age-group (50-54)
record setting performance in the 2008 Olympic marathon trials in Boston.
MEDIA INFO:
If you would like to interview Joan prior to the press conference on Aug. 1,
one-on-one interviews are being scheduled with Joan on Tuesday, July 29 from 10
a.m. to noon that day. Contact Beryl Wolfe at beryl@wolfenews.com or 520-399-5770 to
schedule an interview with Joan that
morning.
Volunteer
Effort
The volunteer effort
necessary to make TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon 10K a premier event is often
taken for granted. It shouldn’t be. Coordinating more than 800 volunteers is a
monumental task that requires patience, perseverance and a certain amount of
guile. Volunteer Director Maya Cohen of Cape Elizabeth brings a personal touch to her
management of the volunteers. Her program is structured to include a host of
coordinators who oversee volunteers in different areas, including water
stations, parking, security, course set up and breakdown, and directing traffic.
Media Contact:
FMI, contact Maya Cohen at
(207) 838-8816 or mmcohen@maine.rr.com.
David
McGillivray, Race Director Extraordinaire
Joan Benoit Samuelson
will tell anyone who will listen that the key to the success of the TD Banknorth
Beach to Beacon was getting Dave McGillivray on board to direct the event.
McGillivray, who was recently named a “Hero of Running” by Runner’s World
magazine, is considered one of the most talented race directors in the world.
And the proof, as they say, is in the pudding. Participants marvel at how well
run and organized the race is in comparison to other events.
McGillivray
and his ‘Team DMSE’ make it look easy, but there are endless steps, countless
details and innumerous obstacles in making the TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon
happen. He also directs the Boston Marathon and other events around the
country.
McGillivray’s athletic exploits also are interesting, as well as
his work as a motivational speaker, author, and commitment to children’s fitness
and charitable organizations. In fact, McGillivray and his DMSE events have
raised more than $50 million for charities over the years.
CONTACT INFO:
Contact McGillivray directly
at (978) 258-8226 or dmse@dmsesports.com.
TD Banknorth and
other sponsors
Without the help of
primary sponsor TD Banknorth and other major corporate partners, including Nike,
Hannaford, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Maine, Poland Spring, WCSH TV-6,
Maine Health and Northeast Delta Dental, the race would not be the first-class
event it is today. TD Banknorth’s Bill Ryan met with Olympic Gold Medallist Joan
Benoit Samuelson 12 years ago to create this premier running event in her home
state.
This year, Larry Wold, President and Senior Loan Officer of TD
Banknorth in Maine, will run the race for the 11th time.
Wold, a resident of Freeport, is an active member of the community
and is often involved in fundraising events and causes. He joined the company in
1991. If interested in an 11-year runner, Wold would make a great feature story.
FMI, contact
Julie McQuillan of TD Banknorth at 207-828-7558, or visit the race web site at
www.beach2beacon.org or the bank’s
site at www.tdbanknorth.com
Technology
Aspects
The use of advanced
technology is yet another aspect of the TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon that makes
it a premier event. Computer chips made by ChampionChip attached to each
runner's shoes determine each finisher's exact time for the race. The chips are
processed by Granite State Race Services to compile a list of finishers and
their times. In addition, because of a history of razor-thin finishes,
organizers will again use a finish line camera – unusual for a road race of its
size. Lynx System Developers, Inc., based in Woburn, Mass.,
is providing a FinishLynx, the world's most popular and versatile digital
photofinish and timing system. A FinishLynx line-scan camera only sees a very
narrow piece of the world: the finish line. It looks at the finish line many
times a second and stores each of these images. In case of a close finish, the
images become a vital tool for the race judge to use in determining the
winner.
Media
Contact: FMI about
ChampionChip or FinishLynx, visit online at www.championchip.com or www.finishlynx.com. Also, at FinishLynx,
contact Giles Norton, Director of Corporate Communications, at (800) 989-5969 or
nortong@finishlynx.com.
A Peek at the
Race’s Future Participants
A children’s 1K race –
touted as the Kids Fun Run – will again complement the TD Banknorth Beach to
Beacon. The race, which has received little media attention in the past,
continues to grow. Open to kids ages 12 and under, the event will be held in
Fort Williams Park following the 10K at 9:30 a.m. The kid’s race boasts a field
size of more than 500 youngsters.
Start Line
Painting
The painting of the
Start Line will take place the Sunday before the race, July 27, beginning at
8:30 a.m. until 10 a.m. on Route 77 near the entrance to Crescent Beach State
Park on Route 77 in Cape Elizabeth. Media welcome to film or
photograph the event, which signals the final countdown to race
day.
MEDIA
CONTACT: Beryl Wolfe, Wolfe
PR, beryl@wolfenews.com or (520) 399
5770
Town of
Cape
Elizabeth
The Town of Cape
Elizabeth really comes through for this event. Town officials serve on the
50-plus-member Organizing Committee and are involved from the time they begin
meeting in January to the day in early August when 5,500 runners and more than
10,000 spectators line the streets of this coastal town.
For more information about the
town’s involvement, call Town Manager Mike McGovern at Cape Elizabeth Town
Hall at 207-767-3323.
NOTE TO REPORTERS/EDITORS: For more information or
assistance with any of the above items that do not contain contact info, please
contact Beryl or Jason Wolfe at Wolfe PR – (520) 399-5770 or 5097, or by e-mail,
beryl@wolfenews.com, jason@wolfenews.com – or Julie McQuillan
at TD Banknorth – (207) 828-7558, julie.mcquillan@tdbanknorth.com.
Also, bios, a Fact Sheet, statistics, news releases and other race materials are
available at www.wolfenews.com for your
use. Thanks!
Friday, July 18, 2008
For the past couple of decades or so quite a number of
artists have been trying to push the limits of decency in art. It’s good
business. Remember the piss Christ, the elephant-dung virgin, Mapplethorp’s
special nasties? Feces and bodily functions have been a staple of
reputation-building.
All that derives from the artistic career model that grew
out of the avant-garde offending the sensibilities of the bourgeoisie, as
happened in Paris
in the late 19the century when Impressionism and its antecedents descendants
outraged the art public. They took those things seriously in those days;
columns were written and fights broke out in the galleries. Later on the
Dadaists and Surrealists self-consciously set out to offend. The bodily
orifices, organs and dead animals of recent years are born of the same idea: if
you offend them, it must be good, and should make money.
Now comes Portland
artist with an action that represents a new low in moral depravity. He is
actually (can you believe this?) going to make an art piece from telemarketing.
Is there no end to how low an artist will go? Christopher Michael Sullivan is
going to make an art event out of cold-calling to sell art. This could get
ugly, folks.
Full disclosure: I’ve been marginal participant in one of
Sullivan’s art pieces. The pieces usually consist of a number of artifacts, a
related event or two and extensive documentation on the actions and their
results. I’m also one of a number of persons on an advisory board that is part
of his firm, which is in itself a conceptual art artifact.
Sullivan’s satire has a queasy, stretched-wire sharpness to
it, not quite laugh-out-loud funny and not quite comfortable, and difficult to apprehend
at a casual glance. One doesn’t know whether to chuckle or avert one’s gaze. The performance, part of Project 00013: Insider Trading,
will take place at the University of Maine Lord Hall Art Gallery on Friday, September
5 from 9 to 5. A caller will be making
outgoing calls from a makeshift boiler to make some sales of Christopher
Michael Sullivan artifacts. I wonder if there’s a call-per-hour quota?
A center for homeless women in Portland will be built despite neighbors' complaints, Avesta Housing and Preble Street announced today. When the project was first proposed, developers hoped it would be finished by the end of this year. Now that a judge has approved the conditional rezoning that would allow the project to move forward, developers say it will be ready to house residents in the fall of 2009.
The Florence House will provide 25 furnished apartments, 15 safe-haven units, and 10 emergency beds, according to a press release sent out this morning. Preble Street will staff the center; Avesta will own and manage it. Last year, West Enders whose homes would be near the Florence House sued Avesta and the City of Portland to stop the construction, citing problems at a similar center -- Logan Place, on Frederic Street. Two particularly outspoken opponents were quoted in a July 2007 Portland Press Herald as claiming that "the four-story building would dwarf nearby homes, hurt
property values and destroy what's left of one of the city's oldest
neighborhoods, which has a high proportion of rental properties," the article reads. The ruling is a victory for homeless advocates in the city. “For women who
are homeless sleeping on mats on the floor at night and wandering the streets
every day has been the norm for far too long,” according to Mark Swann, Preble
Street Executive Director. Florence House was conceived in response to the
overflow at the Portland city shelter and the shortage of housing
options. The need became an acute crisis when the YWCA closed and 60 additional
housing units for women were lost. Here's where the shelter will be:
View Larger Map
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Next to a stack of five boxes of petitions, anti-Real ID activists held a press conference this morning to announce that they fell short of their goal to collect 55,087 signatures in order to get a Repeal Real ID referendum on the Maine ballot. They had 90 days to do so; but by the time the petitions are approved and printed, there are only about 60 useable days, they said. Ultimately, as of today's deadline, more than 500 volunteers had collected 24,125 signatures. "We are heartened and awed and incredibly impressed by all of the grassroots effort," said Kathleen McGee, the Bowdoinham citizen who submitted one of two petitions to repeal the Real ID law. The other petitioner, Donna Bendicksen of Portland, was less composed. "I know that if we had had more time, we would have been able to collect enough signatures. This battle is far from over," she said, before breaking off -- "I'm really upset about this, okay?" Maine Civil Liberties Union legal director Zachary Heiden, along with other speakers, vowed to continue the fight, claiming that there were other strategies for getting in the way of Real ID. "Real ID implementation is a multi-year process," he said. When asked what other options the activists have, McGee suggested "approaching the legislature," but declined to elaborate, telling the Federal Street gathering of reporters to "stay tuned."
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Both the League of Young Voters (via email blast) and the Family Planning Association of Maine (via Facebook) are reaching out on behalf of Health Coverage for Maine to people who might have signed the Fed Up With Taxes petition without realizing what they were signing. Here's the pitch from FPAM's grassroots organizer: "Healthcare for Maine needs 5 people who are willing to talk about how
they signed the Fed Up with Taxes petition, but were misinformed and
want their names off the list. This Thursday, July 17th is the
deadline for Fed Up with Taxes to turn their signatures in. Our intent
is to hold a press event this Thurs., but we need these stories and the
deadline for them is Tuesday, July 15th, 5:00."
Health Coverage for Maine, a coalition of various social-service and activist organizations around the state, claims that paid signature collectors are spreading false information about the beverage petition in order to gather names. Addendum, courtesy of Jeff Inglis: "One thing to note - they are trying to kill the petition at this stage rather than fight it at the ballot box, by getting people to take their names off the list. But they have a huge hill to climb: the PPH is reporting that the petitioners have more than 90,000 signatures, and only need just shy of 56,000."
Friday, July 11, 2008
Tens of thousands of
FairPoint customers in Maine now have the option to become official
second-class citizens on the Internet, and the company is very proud, touting
the accomplishment in a press release (in PDF form here) and following it up with a cheery call
from a marketing person who couldn't answer any questions.
(To be fair, she
promised another person could answer my question about how many of the 31,000
FairPoint customers already had high-speed Internet through another provider,
or at least already had the option of getting it through, say, Time Warner
Cable. But that person, FairPoint spokesman Jeff Nevins, said he couldn't
actually answer it. He was helpful in other ways, though, which we're exploring
and will report more on shortly.)
But it's true — now
31,000 FairPoint customers can purchase DSL-speed Internet, which is not only
slower than Time Warner Cable's RoadRunner service, but is far slower than the
technology that is really the basis for all future high-speed Internet: | |