Northern New England News

The owner of Cadillac Mountain Sports is closing his three downtown Portland stores, citing declining sales and little prospect for a turnaround because of the city's ban on chain store expansion in the area.
Matthew Curtis said sales at his Portland stores ? Cadillac Mountain Sports, Cadillac's Patagonia and Cadillac's The North Face ? have been declining since he opened them in 2002. The city's "formula business" cap, Curtis said, represents "a slap in the face" that will prevent him and other retailers on Congress Street from creating the amount of foot traffic they need to increase sales.
Curtis' decision is likely to reignite debate over the formula business limits, which were adopted in November by a 5-4 vote of the Portland City Council in response to a proposal to open a Hooters restaurant downtown.
The ordinance restricts franchises and chains, which are stores or restaurants using unified formulas of names, designs, logos, products and marketing. For the Old Port and the Congress Street corridor, a group of stores or restaurants becomes a formula business when it has 10 or more locations, according to the Portland regulation.
The city limits formula businesses along Congress Street and in the Old Port to 23, the current number in that area, and says future formula stores must be at least 400 feet from an existing one. That provision further restricts the businesses even if an opening occurs.
Curtis said formula stores on Congress Street, such as L.L. Bean and Olympia Sports, draw people to his and other nearby stores as well as those destinations. By banning additional chains and franchises, he said, the prospects for increasing foot traffic are limited.
"We cannot continue to grow in Portland with this ban, and we cannot reverse our sales declines if Congress Street deteriorates," Curtis said in a statement. "This ban is the opposite of everything I've learned about downtown revitalization."
Curtis said shortly after the limit was adopted that there may be room for a restriction on formula stores in the Old Port, but he opposed the limits for Congress Street.
A City Council panel is scheduled to review a proposed sunset provision for the ordinance today . That amendment, if approved, would have the ordinance lapse after June 30 unless the council votes to extend it.
City Councilor Edward J. Sus-lovic, who opposed the formula business ordinance and is the sponsor of the sunset proposal, said the closing of the Cadillac Mountain stores illustrates the "unintended consequence" of a measure he called "ill-considered and hastily conceived."
He said Curtis hires local people, provides good employee benefits and gives to community charities. "He is the kind of guy and the kind of business that Portland should be courting, not slapping around," Suslovic said, noting that Cadillac Mountain would have met the city's definition of a chain if Curtis had opened two more locations.
Commercial real estate brokers also have opposed the ordinance, saying it will make it harder to fill vacant storefronts. Roxane Cole, a principal in Ram Harnden Commercial Real Estate Services, said there is 83,000 square feet of vacant, ground floor commercial space in the area covered by the ordinance.
"What we don't have is a problem of keeping businesses out, but (rather) attracting them to downtown," Cole said. "It sends a very unfortunate message about Portland not being friendly to business." Others beside Curtis have been affected by the limits, Cole said, including a woman whose plans to open a deli franchise were blocked by the ordinance.
Michele Tribou was within a couple of weeks of closing on a commercial loan and had already put a $5,600 deposit on a Fore Street space where she planned to open a Heidi's Brooklyn Deli, a franchise with 29 locations, most of them in Colorado.
"Everything came to a screeching halt at that November City Council meeting," she said. "It's really disheartening." She noted that the deli will represent a total investment of about $300,000, and she's now looking at spaces in Falmouth and Auburn or other "towns that will accept me."
"These are not big-box, ugly, powerful things that come in and destroy a community," Tribou said. "They can come in and actually enrich a community."
She said advisers from the volunteer organization SCORE had steered her away from opening an independent deli, saying it would be easier to go with a proven formula through a franchise.
City Councilor James F. Cloutier said he will still support the formula business ordinance and oppose the sunset provision despite Curtis' announcement Tuesday.
"I'm not surprised to hear that somebody in the winter retail business is suffering from sales problems," Cloutier said, suggesting that this year's warm weather is probably more to blame than formula business limits. "The suggestion that there's a cause and effect here is a little hard to swallow." The closing of Curtis' three stores, he said, "isn't something that throws the basic wisdom of that decision in doubt."
Portland, Cloutier said, has been pushing for more residential units along Congress Street and wants to stimulate the development of small businesses there to redevelop the corridor.
Curtis said the three Portland stores represent about 10 percent of the sales for his eight locations. He said nine people will lose their jobs as a result of the closings, which will be complete by the end of March.
Staff Writer Edward D. Murphy can be contacted at 791-6465 or at:
emurphy@pressherald.com


Reader comments

Dave of Portland, ME
Jan 10, 2007 10:29 AM
Happy New Year Thomas - here's to getting a clue this year for ya eh pal?

Thomas of Deering Center, ME
Jan 10, 2007 10:28 AM
Declining sales since 2002, that predates the ordinance, so how can Gary state that the businesses failed as a direct result of it? Cause and effect that isn't there. Besides, the ordinance is working as intended: Heidi's Faux Brooklyn Chain Deli From Away isn't coming to town, which is a good thing.

Face facts, Congress Street will never compete with the mall for recreational shopping, nor should it. Do we really want hordes of glazed mindless consumers buying up Chinese-made crap wandering around downtown? That business model is rapidly ending, as the cheap oil era draws to a close. What we need are useful and pragmatic shops, restaurants and serivce providers to cater to the locals, not chains From Away that are only frequented by tourists. Sustainability is the key. This ordinance is a wise tool to help in the transition from national retailing to the inevitable locally oriented future.

Keith of Portland, ME
Jan 10, 2007 10:26 AM
It was a great quote by Roxane Cole - "What we don't have is a problem of keeping businesses out, but (rather) attracting them to downtown..."

Its great to see that the Portland City Council is right on top of another non-crisis!

Gary of Portland, ME
Jan 10, 2007 10:03 AM
Glad to see Thomas chimed in with his socialist, anti-capitalistic, "the end is near" garbage. Convenient excuse? The man is out of business because of an overbearing zoning law and his business won't be replaced. Glad you're happy with your property taxes. Some of the rest of us would rather have more business to decrease the tax burdern. Now, I'm waiting for Thomas's out-of-touch "our taxes aren't that high, I want to live in a hippie commune with no business, it won't matter when society crumbles" rebuttal. Let's hear it.
 
Mix of franchises, local stores healthy for downtown
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Portland Press Herald Thursday, January 11, 2007

Portland's new "no formula stores downtown" ordinance may or may not be the reason Matthew Curtis is shutting down three local sporting goods stores, but he still makes a good point.
Curtis runs eight stores under the name of Cadillac Mountain Sports, but his three downtown stores have suffered declining sales since he opened them in 2002. Now, he's shutting their doors and letting nine workers go.
He claims that the city's newly imposed ban on chain stores with more than 10 outlets is a major obstacle to building the kind of consumer interest and traffic that would benefit him.
The ban was passed in November after a bar owner said he was interested in bringing a Hooters franchise to his downtown location. The vision of waitresses in tight T-shirts was too much for a council majority, who banned additional chain outlets by a 5-4 vote.
Councilor Jim Cloutier, who backs the ban, says Cadillac Mountain's woes are more likely due to the area's warm weather than a measure that's only been in effect for two months. However, the ban has already produced one casualty. An entrepreneur who wanted to bring a deli franchise downtown now says she's looking for sites in other cities.
Nevertheless, Councilor Ed Suslovic's proposal to let the ordinance expire on June 30 deserves support. As one local real estate agent noted, there are 83,000 square feet of vacant ground-floor commercial space in the part of the city affected by the ban.
Keeping franchises from making at least some of that space productive makes no sense. Providing a healthy mix of familiar names along with individual local stores can attract a variety of customers while offering new jobs and higher tax revenues.
Imposing a blanket ban instead of weighing applicants on their merits is a shortsighted policy that deserves to come to a quick end.
 
Language, skills hinder refugees
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By EDWARD D. MURPHY, Staff Writer Maine Sunday Telegram Sunday, January 14, 2007

Staff photo by John Ewing
Staff photo by John Ewing
Sead Dedovic, right, began working on Barber Foods' production line in 1995 and now is a manufacturing improvement team leader. When Dedovic arrived from Bosnia, he had a law degree but spoke no English.
Staff photo by John Ewing
Staff photo by John Ewing
Rodents Biacho was an accountant before he left Sudan in 2001. He has attended classes offered at Barber Foods, where he works, to improve his English. He has also taken math and computer classes. "To be educated is to learn more widely," Biacho said.
Justin Nsenga and his family escaped the horrors of Rwandan genocide.
But Nsenga is finding that it's impossible to pick up in the United States where he left off professionally in Africa.
Nsenga was a journalist for a government-owned newspaper in Rwanda when he sought and received asylum in the United States in 2004. He was able to get his wife and two children out of Africa the following year.
On the employment front, Nsenga is encountering problems that nearly all refugees have faced in Portland: poor command of English and skills that don't readily translate to the available jobs. That leads to inconsistent employment, lower pay and an often dramatic change in status.
"I had a nice job. I used to go anywhere -- to other countries," said Nsenga, who has a college degree in journalism. "When I came here, after getting my asylum, I was able to start looking for a job. For my first job, I went to cleaning" in a hospital.
Nsenga's story is typical, attests a report on recent refugees and their work experiences in Portland. The study found that 85 percent of the refugees were able to find some work after arriving in Portland, but their opportunities for consistent employment were fewer -- many took work with temp agencies -- and they earn much less than other Mainers.
A lack of education and poor language skills are the biggest obstacles to obtaining steady, better-paying jobs, said the report, released this month by the Maine Department of Labor. The report only looked at refugees -- such as those who fled a war-torn country -- as opposed to all immigrants who have come to Maine.
The importance of helping refugees land better jobs that demand higher skills goes beyond their individual well-being. The influx of refugees to Maine -- more than 15,000 in the last decade and a half, counting those who moved to the state after initially living elsewhere in the U.S. -- represents a huge labor pool that can help ease a chronically strained labor market.
Roughly 10,000 refugees live in the Portland area; many of the rest live in the Lewiston/Auburn area, according to Pierrot Rugaba, director of Refugee and Immigration Services for Catholic Charities Maine.
Ryan Allen, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology doctoral candidate who wrote the report, noted that refugees are generally younger than the average Mainer, many of whom are baby boomers who are closing in on retirement. The refugees also offer diversity to the whitest state in the country. Both factors make refugees attractive to most employers.
Advocates believe that employers could do more to help their refugee workers by offering on-site English classes, possibly supported in part by state and local governments and by private nonprofit groups.
Most refugees are driven by pressures that other Americans don't experience, Allen said.
"There's an intense amount of self-pressure to get into the labor market," he said. "They want to succeed here and they realize that, unlike a lot of immigrants, the chances of them ever going home are pretty slim. (And, they) not only support themselves and their families here, but there's pressure on them to send money back home to those who haven't been able to come here."
Allen tracked employment and pay records of more than 1,000 adult refugees who arrived in Portland from 1998 to 2004. He said 57 percent of this group came from Africa, 35 percent from Eastern Europe, 6 percent from the Middle East, and the rest from other regions. About three-quarters of the adults are in their prime working years, from 18 to 44 years old.
Most received some formal education before their arrival in the U.S., but only 16 percent had higher education. By contrast, the 2000 census found that about 62 percent of Portland's population has some higher education.
Education is directly reflected in earnings.
Those refugees with higher education had average quarterly earnings of $5,352 in 2005, or about $21,400 a year, while those with no education earned, on average, $4,078, or about $16,300 annually. And those with higher education averaged pay increases of 12 percent between their first year of working in Portland and 2005, while those with no education averaged pay increases of 4 percent.
Levels of English fluency among refugees varied, but slightly more than half said they spoke no English when they arrived in Portland.
However, the study turned up a surprise when it looked at levels of English fluency and income: Those with no English skills out-earned those with a good command of the language, although those with a fair amount of fluency out-earned both those groups.
Those with no English fluency earned an average of $19,252 during their first year in Portland, compared with $18,171 for those with good language skills and $20,073 for those with fair language skills, the study said.
Allen said a deeper look at the figures found that most of those refugees who did not speak English were from Eastern Europe, and that group of refugees was likely to have more education than those from Africa or the Middle East.
That, along with the fact that the Eastern Europeans would probably have work experience in an industrial or post-industrial society, probably accounts for the finding, Allen said.
"For the most part, they (Eastern Europeans) come with skills that they can easily market: anything to do with carpentry, or electricians and so forth," agreed Rugaba of Catholic Charities.
The report focused only on refugees in Greater Portland, but the Labor Department will soon study Lewiston, which has attracted a large number of Somali refugees, said John Dorrer, director of the department's Division of Labor Market Information Services.
There might be significant differences, Dorrer said, since most of the Somalis moved to Lewiston after initially settling elsewhere in the U.S.
Dorrer said the findings of the Portland study generally mirror the immigrant experience of several generations ago, when new arrivals in the U.S. had limited command of the language and little education. That led to initial jobs in low-skill manufacturing, the leisure and hospitality industry or backroom operations with little customer contact and less need for strong language skills.
"I suspect that was also true of immigrant populations that came 50 or 60 years ago," said Dorrer, who emigrated with his family from Germany when he was 10.
Rugaba said his program has been working to find ways to help refugees gain education and fluency.
He said Barber Foods in Portland, which hires scores of immigrants, including many refugees, provides English classes at its chicken products plant, but many smaller employers can't do the same. Rugaba said his program is working with the University of Southern Maine to create a mobile team of teachers who can provide instruction at work sites.
It's important to cooperate with employers on providing English instruction and other education, Rugaba said, because when work and English language classes conflict, work usually takes precedence. On-site classes offer a way around that, he said.
"The ability to speak the language in the place where you live is crucial to anyone's self-sufficiency," Rugaba said. Without language skills, "you end up being locked in a low-paying job over a long period of time."
When Sead Dedovic and his family left Bosnia-Herzegovina and came to Portland 11 years ago, he didn't speak any English. Dedovic has a law degree, and in his home country was general manager of Zepter International, a sales and marketing company.
Here, he took a job at Barber, working on the production line. He also took advantage of the English classes offered at the company. Two days a week he attended class from 8 a.m. to noon, and then from 1 to 3:15 p.m. Then he worked from 3:45 p.m. until 1 a.m. After seven months of the classes, he was able to help Catholic Charities as a translator.
"I respect education. I know without language you'd be nobody," Dedovic said. "I knew if you'd invest, there'd be a payback."
Today Dedovic is a manufacturing improvement team leader at Barber, working to increase the efficiency of processes throughout the plant. According to Peter Bickford, human resources program manager at Barber, Dedovic has roughly doubled his annual wages since starting for the company.
Barber offers five levels of English classes to its employees, as well as computer and personal finance classes. The company helps with transportation to the classes, and reimburses employees for child-care costs. Bickford said Barber spends about $300,000 a year on discretionary education for its employees, including the adult-ed classes, on-site college classes and college tuition reimbursement.
Rodents Biacho, a Sudanese refugee who works at Barber, was an accountant in his homeland before he left in 2001, first going to Egypt, then arriving in Portland in 2004. Though he's spoken English for more than 20 years, he's taken English classes at Barber to improve his skills, as well as math and computer lessons. Biacho said he would like someday to write books, including an autobiography.
"My main interest is to be educated -- not just to learn," Biacho said. "To be educated is to learn more widely."
Barber Foods is one of the most popular places for immigrants to work in Greater Portland; 44 percent of its approximately 750 employees is non-native to the United States. It employs people from 54 countries, and 58 languages are spoken there.
Bickford said Barber has offered classes for 14 years, and does so for three main reasons. The company wants to be a preferred employer in Portland "by offering the best benefits, the best education, the best training package." And, said Bickford, better-educated people do better work, communicate more easily and earn promotions faster.
Lastly, he said, the company wants to be a good community partner by offering transferable skills.
"If you speak English here, you speak English at the doctor's office, at the pharmacy and at your children's school," said Bickford.
Rugaba said he would like to see refugees be able to spend more time building English skills before helping them find work, and Allen's report pushes a stronger emphasis on English education as a way to help new arrivals.
Allen suggests that employers provide English classes at the workplace, but probably with state or local assistance or funding from nonprofits.
Other recommendations are for more help on English for refugees who are illiterate in their native languages and more programs to help refugees adapt their existing skills to the Maine labor market.
As for Nsenga, he now works for a day-care provider on weekends as an aide for developmentally disabled adults.
"It was really not the kind of job that I should do, but still, I didn't have any choice," he said. "Getting the job I want to do is difficult even now. I have all the things required to be a journalist except the English."
Staff Writer Edward D. Murphy can be contacted at 791-6465 or at:
emurphy@pressherald.com


Reader comments

Chris,

It is "advice," not "advise." How Ironic is it that your post concerns learning English and you use the wrong word?

Dick,

if what you say is true for the majority of refugees, then yes, something is wrong with the situation. But I believe if you read the article you would see that the difference in pay rates for those who spoke no English as opposed to those who did is attributable their region of origin and the marketable skills (carpentry, electric skills, etc.) that coincide with that region. It is simply not as black and white as you make it seem.

Robert,

I agree. for once people are actually backing up why they want immigrants to learn English (instead of the welcome to USA now learn English bumper sticker) and it makes sense, it even highlights success stories. Unfortunately, whenever there is a story about immigrants it always tempts the uneducated Dicks to respond negatively.

PatrickHenry,

First, i like your first name. Second, after reading your first line, I could hardly believe I went on to read the rest of your post. You have things backwards, we are a great country precisely for our immigration, and we need not revamp our policies because last I checked, we are still the most powerful nation on earth, not Australia.

Leon Richard,

How can you say you welcome "them" when you live in Farmington and make poorly thought out and negative-toned comments like the one you have? Whats the immigrant population in good ol' farming-town these days, minus my Massachusetts native grandparents and students from out of state? ZERO. And lastly, this article was not about crying for the poor refugees, it was about a study from a prestigious institution with recommendations on how to help turn refugees from a burden into a resource. Now what is wrong with that, from an economic standpoint? here, I'll answer for you. nothing. So, am I left to assume you fail to understand logic or should I assume you are deep down racist?

PatrickHenry of Portland, ME
Jan 14, 2007 12:30 PM
Why is it that those who express an opinion which is at odds with the liberal agenda are labeled as "bigots"? I don't think that bigotry is defined by which side of the political spectrum you occupy.

In fact, the label "bigot" is really the left's term of what we used to call a "Patriot" in this country. Those who still hold traditional values - a respect for God and Country, deeply threaten the new left's agenda of perverting this country into socialist welfare.

Can't someone love, respect and honor his or her own cultural values without being calling a "bigot"?

I find it sadly ironic that those who preach "tolerance" and "diversity" are the most intolerant of all.


Jimmy of Windham, ME
Jan 14, 2007 11:43 AM
Socialism at its best.

Leon Richard of Farmington, ME
Jan 14, 2007 11:37 AM
Their chances of success in the world are no less than mine. I was born bare assed and spoke no language at all, just like they were. I had some help along the way. I had parents who taught me english, the differences in right and wrong, how to take care of myself, that the world owes me absolutely nothing, and without a plan and work, I will get nothing and nowhere.

If I wanted to go live in the jungle, I'd have to learn a new language and a set of new skills in order to get by. Until I learned those things, I'd be a burden to the kind people who took me in upon my arrival. I'd know that, and set about getting the knowledge of the skills and language that I needed as soon as I could.

I welcome them, if they're determined to learn and contribute. If they simply want to sign up for assistance, and sue anyone who doesn't speak their language to provide an interpreter, I don't welcome them. They're a burden and have no intention of being anything but a burden. We already have enough generations of them here, without adding any new ones.

I used to hear alot about the "Ugly American" tourist who travels to other countries and is mad because the people there didn't speak english. This "Ugly American" who was born, raised, and lives, in America, doesn't think that's right at all. I can speak Spanish, and when I went to Germany, I learned some basic German... surely I sounded like a fool, but they appreciated it and I enjoyed my vacation more fully as a result.

If I had wished to remain in Germany, I should have expected to need to be able to command the language, if I wanted to live fully and well. I don't know if this is wrong or right, it simply just is... until we become universally telepathic.

PatrickHenry of Portland, ME
Jan 14, 2007 10:59 AM
What is wrong is that our country allows low skilled workers entry in the first place. Why do we allow people in who are going to be a burden on the welfare system? Those with the lowest skills will of course create the largest burden, have the largest families, and most importantly, fail to assimilate to our culture.

This is America, we can and should cherry pick for the skill sets we need. We don't need any more day laborers sitting around on the corner, we need more immigrants in the math and science fields. These are the people who are NOT a burden on our country, who give more than take, and assimilate into our culture.

Countries with booming economies, countries that are, like the United States, immigrant magnets?Australia and Ireland, for instance?have set their immigration priorities in precisely this way, creating much more rational systems than ours. Managed as part of our broader economic policy, immigration can provide America with badly needed skills, boost productivity, and raise our living standard.

The policy has led to a dramatic shift in the nature of Australian immigration. Whereas in 1993 70 percent of all immigration was based on family relations, today 70 percent of Australia?s permanent visas go to skilled workers. As a result, Australian immigrants do far better than American immigrants.

But today, the modern welfare state has turned the self-selection process upside down, offering immigrants from very poor countries incentives to come to America and sponge off the taxpayers, reaping where they did not sow. Today?s immigrants are more than twice as likely to use government programs as native-born Americans.

As Nobel laureate Milton Friedman has said: ?It?s just obvious that you can?t have free immigration and a welfare state.?

Robert52 of Portland, ME
Jan 14, 2007 10:26 AM
Amazing how an intolerant right-wing bigot like Dick can put such a spin on a story of achievement like this.

John Smith of Portland, ME
Jan 14, 2007 10:25 AM
Sorry, teaching you english is not part of Catholic Charities immigrant-are-our-cash-cows business model. They've made their money, the rest is (still) up to the taxpayer.

Dick of Freeport, ME
Jan 14, 2007 9:37 AM
I'm not surprised that a recent immigrant who speaks no english will make more money the first year than an immigrant with a good command of the language. There are many programs and boosts along the way for those in the workplace who speak no english. They get special treatment and placement, and sometimes are never required to learn the language. I've seen first-hand the way some will use their ignorance to pave their way through life. They shake their heads, sputter for a translator, and usually end up with a raise in pay and their work-load reduced. Something's wrong here.

Chris of Saco, ME
Jan 14, 2007 8:29 AM
Advise for Mr. Nsenga and others,
With all due respect Sir. Being a political refugee, the services and oportunities are there for you. Study English at a University in the area, once you have mastered the language, then get in line with the many other college graduates from the area that also cannot find employment in the field they desire.
If I wanted to be a Rwandan journalist than I would first have to master the spoken language Kinyarwanda....would I not?
 
PORTLAND: Council delays action on Y's request for housing waiver
The City Council postponed action Wednesday on a request for an ordinance exemption related to the pending sale of the YWCA of Greater Portland's former headquarters at 87 Spring St.
The YWCA closed the building in October and is trying to sell it to pay debts totaling $2.3 million.
YWCA officials have asked the council to designate the sale a "project of special merit," exempting it from the city's housing replacement ordinance. Otherwise, the buyer would have to maintain about 50 rooming-house units, replace them elsewhere in the city or pay $30,000 per unit to the city's housing fund.
The Maine State Housing Authority holds a deed covenant that requires the building to remain a residence for women in transition and crisis through 2029.
Councilor Jill Duson, Housing Committee chairwoman, said she expected city, state and Y officials to figure out what to do with the building by the council's Feb. 5 meeting.
 
Too funny - check out the sponsor's name...

Bill would make pot legal

CONCORD -- Using and selling marijuana would be legal under a bill debated by state legislators.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Charles Weed of Keene, told colleagues Wednesday that legalizing marijuana would give police more resources to tackle violent crime.

He also said that existing laws governing marijuana are too harsh and lead to users being jailed with people who use or sell much more dangerous drugs, such as cocaine and heroin.

"If people are convicted for soft-drug use, they're in a problem for the rest of their lives," Weed, a Democrat, told the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee.

The bill is co-sponsored by two Republicans: Rep. Steve Vaillancourt, of Manchester, and Rep. Paul Ingbretson, of Pike. Weed and Ingbretson are also sponsoring bills to legalize medical marijuana use and allow farmers to grow industrial hemp, which is not a drug.

Vaillancourt called marijuana possession a "victimless crime" and said the drug is less harmful than legal substances such as alcohol and tobacco.

However, even some advocates said the bill goes too far. Matt Simon, a spokesman for the Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy, said it should be amended, although the group is collecting signatures in support of the bill.

"The way it is now, you could grow a field of marijuana, drive it across into Massachusetts," he said. "This is a place to start the discussion of what the best way is to change the policies."

Similar proposals have failed before. The attorney general's office and state health officials oppose the bill, along with groups representing police chiefs and county sheriffs.

State police Maj. David Kelly said marijuana use often leads to people trying harder drugs. "Decriminalization will come at the expense of society, of public safety, of children and of you," he said.

Simon Brown, head of the attorney general's criminal justice bureau, said police resources would be further stretched by legalization, not decreased, as supporters argued. He also said marijuana use has been shown by researchers to impair driving and can even lead to violence.

But police Officer Bradley Jardis, speaking on behalf of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, a national group the supports legalization of marijuana, questioned the link to violence.

"In my experience, I've never gone to a fight call or domestic violence call where it's only because of marijuana," he said.

He also cited federal statistics showing that marijuana use has never been a primary cause of death.

State Health and Human Services offficials say about 10 percent of state residents use marijuana, with higher numbers among teenagers and young adults.
 
Not all that surprising:

Maine home sales fall in 2006

By The Associated Press wire report
January 26, 2007 02:04 PM


The association, which tracks sales of homes by licensed real estate agents, said 13,359 single-family homes were sold in Maine last year, down 7.2 percent from 2005. The median sales price was $192,519, up 0.8 percent from a year earlier.

Maine's numbers mirrored the national trend. Home sales nationwide fell 8.1 percent in 2006, while the median sales price rose 1.4 percent to $222,0000, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Alan Peoples, president of Home Sellers of Maine, said the downturn is good for the real estate industry in the long run after years of sharp upward sales. Sellers now need to base their asking prices on current competition rather than past sales, he said.

"It's all good for buyers, as they have a good number of homes from which to choose, the interest rates are low, and sellers are more motivated than they have been in the past," he said.

Home sales in Cumberland County fell 8.4 percent last year, while the median price stayed flat at $250,000, according to the association. Home sales also fell in other populous counties, including York, Penobscot, Kennebec and Androscoggin.

At the same time, home sales were up 36 percent in Piscataquis County, 31 percent in Aroostook County and 18 percent in Washington County.

The highest median sales price in 2006 was in Cumberland County. The lowest-priced homes were in Aroostook County, where the median price was $80,000.
 
Business park not imminent, residents told


Reader Comments (below)
By DENNIS HOEY, Staff Writer

Friday, February 9, 2007



BRUNSWICK - A panel of town officials told residents on Thursday night that the community is a long way from allowing development of a business park on a large tract of land in rural west Brunswick.
Panelists said a feasibility study would have to be done to determine the cost-effectiveness of extending water and sewer lines to the so-called Route 1 South business park. Such an extension would cost the town at least $2.4 million.
Also, a zoning change to allow large-scale commercial development of the 124-acre site off Route 1 would need approval from the Town Council.
The idea of a business park became controversial last year, after the town's Comprehensive Plan Update Committee proposed several objectives for improving the local economy. One option was to pursue development of a business park, but only after the town had exhausted development options on properties within Brunswick's growth zone.
"Why include such a specific project within a visionary document?" asked Genie Wheelwright of Durham Road.
The council has yet to adopt the updated Comprehensive Plan, which was completed last summer, according to Theo Holtwijk, Brunswick's director of planning and development. Holtwijk attributed the delay to the fact that many residents in west Brunswick believe it would be unwise to extend municipal services to a rural neighborhood, saying it would contribute to sprawl.
Opponents of the development say it would be smarter for the town to wait and develop a business park at the Brunswick Naval Air Station when it closes in 2011.
With all of the doubt and concern about the need for a business park, town officials decided to host the informal discussion of the issue Thursday night to answer questions and calm people's fears.
The meeting's moderator, Pat Scully, urged people to be civil, and for the most part they were.
"We understand that there is a difference of opinion on this matter and that this is a very contentious issue," Scully said.
Some town officials say that such a development has the potential to create as many as 1,800 jobs and is needed to mitigate the loss of jobs that will occur when Brunswick Naval Air Station closes.
Members of Brunswick's Economic Development Corporation say there is demand now for commercial park space from companies that are eager to move to Brunswick.
The problem: The town's Church Road industrial park is fully occupied.
Many residents remain skeptical.
"In my opinion, this (park) would contribute to sprawl," said Janet Lynch of Belmont Street.
Town Manager Donald Gerrish said the town first needs a feasibility study to determine whether the park could be completed at a reasonable cost before the base closes.
"It's a critical question," Gerrish said.
Mathew Eddy, Brunswick's director of economic development, said the issue is urgent because one large company, Bisson Moving and Storage of West Bath, needs more space for its corporate offices and storage.
Eddy said Bisson has told him that it might move out of the region if Brunswick can not accommodate its needs.
Staff Writer Dennis Hoey can be reached at 725-8795 or at
dhoey@pressherald.com


Reader comments


1-6 of 6 comments:



OldSmoker of Brunswick, ME
Feb 9, 2007 1:09 PM
I had a great time at that meeting watching the Birdman of Bowdoin telling everybody how that business park would displace a lot of little birdies from their happy homes. If ya ask me, he just wants to make sure nobody ever builds anything near his own nest.



Jim of Gardiner, ME
Feb 9, 2007 12:13 PM
It occurs to me that not one of the commentators online here live in Brunswick, but it does seem that Brunswick is trying to respond openly to concerns.

I would also note that both Larry and Keith's oversimplified assessments of Brunswick are based on not knowing a darn thing about the situation. And I couch my own assessment by saying I have only read this newspaper and don't have first-hand knowledge of the people or situations involved. my earlier comment is based on this, and this observer can see a town struggling to balance sprawl versus good development in light of a major change in town employment in the wake of base closure. Let's hope they make the right choices.


Larry of Bath, ME
Feb 9, 2007 11:43 AM
It's got "NOT IN MY BACK YARD" written all over it. Do whats right for your town darnet!!!!


Keith of Portland, ME
Feb 9, 2007 11:26 AM
I think that the Press Herald should create a "Hypocrisy Counter" that would indentify individual contributers to the Reader Comment section any time they post comments in different articles with suggestions that are at odds with eachother. How many West Brunswick residents oppose this project but ALSO voted for TABOR? How many of these same people feel that Maine needs better quality jobs and lower property taxes?

Vote yes for MORE GOV'T SERVICES AND LOWER TAXES.
Vote yes for KEEPING MAINE KIDS IN MAINE JUST NOT IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Vote yes to CUT SCHOOL FUNDING JUST NOT LANGUAGES/ARTS or SERVICES FOR MY SPECIAL NEEDS CHILD.


Jim of Gardiner, ME
Feb 9, 2007 10:44 AM
From what I have read in this newspaper, Brunswick is doing pretty well in economic development. A 500-job project downtown, a lease with Southern Maine Community College for a new educational facility, and recently approved composites industry which will fill the current industrial park. Add to this lots of new job creation in Bath, Freeport, Topsham, and other parts of Brunswick and I'm not sure that they need to do much else prior to NASB closing.

Sprawling away from their town center wouldn't add much value to the tax base in the interim, and the way it is currently proposed would probably cost the town more than it gains. Might be better for them to continue what they're currently doing in preparation for NASB closing and locating industry on the base property which is already equipped for it, and not get distracted trying to build a park full of complications that won't even be finished before the base opens.


Larry of Bath, ME
Feb 9, 2007 9:08 AM
This looks like a NIMBY issue to me. Brunswick better start now creating jobs and tending to it's tax base or there wil be a world of troubles in the coming years.
 
Councilors want switch to elected mayor
By Kate Bucklin (published: March 01, 2007)
PORTLAND ? Freshmen City Councilors David Marshall and Kevin Donoghue will begin a formal campaign this week for the city to have an elected mayor.

Donoghue said he and Marshall believe a popularly elected mayor would be more accountable than the current arrangement at City Hall, where councilors annually select one of their council colleagues to be mayor.

A City Charter amendment is needed to enact the change. There are a few ways to pursue such an amendment, but all routes end with a citywide vote on the proposal.

Marshall and Donoghue said they plan to petition the city clerk Friday to begin a signature-gathering campaign. They would have to gather 5,000 signatures in 120 days to get the measure on the November ballot.

?That is our goal,? Donoghue said.

The two councilors said they have also considered lobbying fellow councilors to support a charter amendment by the council. That way they could avoid having to gather signatures, although a citywide vote would still be held if the council approved the measure.

Donoghue said some councilors have indicated they would support switching to an elected mayor if the council also moved to set up a Charter Commission to study the issue and then make recommendations on changes.

?That would probably lead to a ?strong mayor,?? Donoghue explained. ?Our proposal would keep the mayor?s power as it is now.?

Marshall and Donoghue said they also plan to push for redistricting if their elected-mayor campaign is successful. Donoghue said the initiative includes increasing the number of council districts from the current five to eight ? equal to the number of legislative districts in the city ? and decreasing the number of at-large seats from four to one.

?That at-large seat would be the mayor,? said Marshall, who represents District 2.

Having smaller districts allows voters more of a voice on the council, Donoghue said. If the islands had their own district, for example, they could have more of a presence on the council, as opposed to being lumped with mainland neighborhoods. Smaller districts also lower the barrier for potential candidates, he said.

What those districts would look like is a decision likely to be made by the whole council, Marshall said.

The mayor?s post is now largely ceremonial and has traditionally been held by a different councilor each year, depending on seniority. Mayor Nick Mavodones is serving his second term as mayor, having previously held the position in 1998. He lobbied for the seat this year, as did Councilor James Cohen, who served as mayor in 2006.

That is not the typical fashion in which councilors have appointed a mayor in the past, but the elections last November shook up the presumed line to the seat.

Kate Bucklin can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 106 or kbucklin@theforecaster.net.
 
From the Union Leader

On Baseball: Fisher-Sox tie still a long shot
By KEVIN GRAY
Staff Sports Writer
Sunday, Mar. 25, 2007


BLUE JAYS Nation we're not.

Ever since the New Hampshire Fisher Cats landed in Manchester, New Hampshire fans have wondered if the Red Sox would send their Double-A team to the Queen City.

It wouldn't happen any time soon since the Fishers and Jays have a player development contract through 2008, but now there are rumblings the Red Sox want improvements from their Double-A affiliate in Portland.

The Red Sox have asked for a new clubhouse in Portland, where city officials are talking about the need for a $1.7 million bond to cover the project. The city has already worked out a lease agreement that will keep minor league baseball in Portland for another 20 years, according to the Portland Press Herald, but the existing contract with the Red Sox expires at the end of this season.

If Portland city councilors reject the bond (which is unlikely), they risk eventually losing the Red Sox, who are fully aware the amenities are much better in Manchester. As much as the Fisher Cats would love to have the Red Sox on board, they're not holding their breath.

You get the feeling the Red Sox could ask for a gold-plated locker room, and the loyal Sea Dogs would deliver. Stay tuned.
 
You get the feeling the Red Sox could ask for a gold-plated locker room, and the loyal Sea Dogs would deliver. Stay tuned.
Click to expand...

I agree with this sentiment.
 
I think the seadoggs arena is larger (slightly) than manchester, so wouldnt that automatically mean they would saty (b/c of higher earning potential from ticket sales??). I would imagine so.
 
Manchester will offer up free sex and food to the team if they move there. Portland cannot fuck around with this at all.
 
design picture in today's paper

Voters will offer their opinions next week on plans for a new elementary school in Buxton that would consist of three largely separate schools under a single roof.
The proposed 128,000-square-foot school would contain three two-story wings, each of which would function as its own K-5 school, said SAD 6 Superintendent Suzanne Lukas. Teachers and students would remain in the same wing year after year, while some facilities, such as the library and cafeteria, would serve the entire school.
Lukas said the design is meant to provide the intimacy of a small-school experience, which most Buxton students are accustomed to, with the efficiency of educating up to 850 students in a single building.
"For young students to be in a group that large could be a little intimidating," Lukas said.
Residents will have a chance to see plans for the new school and speak with architect Jeff Larimer of Harriman Associates at a meeting at 7 p.m. Monday at Bonny Eagle Middle School in Buxton.
School officials will conduct a straw vote at the meeting to gauge public opinion on the plans. The State Board of Education's vote on the project is scheduled for April 11.
If the state approves the project, it will go to a districtwide referendum on May 22.
SAD 6 includes the towns of Buxton, Limington, Hollis, Standish and Frye Island.
Lukas said the state has pledged to fund 95 percent of the cost of the $30 million school. The referendum in May also would include a question asking residents whether they want to contribute $1.4 million of that cost, to build a 10,000-square-foot gymnasium with a fitness center that would serve as a community recreation center.
If residents reject the contribution, the school will be built with only the state's funding for a 4,000-square-foot gym facility.
Larimer, the architect, said the concept of "a school within a school" has become a popular design nationwide. Biddeford Middle School and the new Kennebunk Elementary School, both of which Larimer designed, also employ this concept.
The design might be especially fitting in Buxton, where students attend four elementary schools: Frank Jewett, Hanson, Jack Memorial and Eliza Libby.
The age of these buildings, as well as the cost advantages of consolidation and projected enrollment increases, helped place Buxton second on the Department of Education's priority list for new construction last year.
If plans for the school win approval, the project would be finished in 2010.
The school would have a red brick exterior, and many classrooms would face south to take advantage of natural light. Larimer said the building would include automatic dimmers, which reduce energy costs by adjusting the intensity of lighting according to the amount of daylight.
Staff Writer Seth Harkness can be contacted at 282-8225 or at:
sharkness@pressherald.com


Reader comments




Bill of Buxton, ME
Mar 28, 2007 8:18 AM
I am in favor of the new school for the kids and the expanded gym/fitness center. My problem is the fact SAD 6 has plans to reuse 3 of the 4 bluildings being replaced. I don't see us saving money by consolidating like consolidation should. We will still have to maintain the other buildings plus this large new one.


Jim Austin of Portland, ME
Mar 28, 2007 8:17 AM
I find it very surprising that the reporter missed out on the fact that right here in Portland our newest elementary school--the East End Community School--is designed precisely this way, with natural lighting, environmental design, and 3 two-level "wings" that operate essentially as separate schools.
 
Have you officially moved out to Buxton yet Patrick or am I confusing you with someone else? Or maybe you were just looking at places out there.

I guess it would be a good use of resources to get rid of the two school that are only for grades K and 1. Frank Jewett and Hanson are already kinda separate, although Hanson is smaller and both schools share a cafeteria since they are right next to each other they felt like different schools because we didn't see kids from the other school except at recess and lunch. I wonder where they would built this new mega school? Oh, and I'm impressed by a total of "up to 850 kids" in grades K-5 in Buxton alone. We could almost have our own high school :p

I wonder where they would built this beast/beauty...
 
My guess, corey, is that it could be built just about anywhere, given the abundance of woodlands in Buxton.

And yeah, I moved out to Buxton, as of january. But I live right along the commuter route, and Im headed out of there as soon as possible.
 
Old Orchard to add police station by pier

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Reader Comments (below)
By SETH HARKNESS, Staff Writer

Wednesday, April 4, 2007



OLD ORCHARD BEACH - The Town Council voted Tuesday night to open a police substation this summer in the heart of the town's tourist district.
Councilors voted 3-2 to spend up to $45,000 to put a year-round satellite police station in the Grand Victorian, a high-end retail and condominium project nearing completion at the foot of Old Orchard Street, near the town's famous pier.
The move is intended to improve the Police Department's service and efficiency by creating a substation in the middle of the town's seasonal population center. It is also meant to relieve crowding at the town's public safety building on E. Emerson Cummings Boulevard.
Council Chairman Joe Kline said the town has discussed a downtown police station for many years, but the idea never became a reality because of the lack of an affordable location. That changed, he said, when Grand Victorian developer Tim Swenson offered a two-year lease, at $15,000 per year, for space in his project.
The location was a source of concern for Councilor Jim Long, who voted against funding along with Councilor Shawn O'Neill. Long, who called for more public discussion, said he thought housing a police facility with expensive condominiums could be problematic. "That's just not a compatible use," he said.
O'Neill said he objected to the council's funding a specific project without first opening it up to a competitive bid. Councilors Kline, Roxanne Frenette and Robin Dayton voted for the substation.
In response to O'Neill's concern about the bidding process, Town Manager Jim Thomas said the town was moving forward with Swenson's offer because town officials had shopped around and the deal at the Grand Victorian was by far the best available. "The price cannot be touched anywhere else in Old Orchard Beach," he said.
Police Chief Dana Kelley dismissed Long's concerns about the station's compatibility with condominiums. He said the substation would be staffed by clerical workers who currently work at the main station.
Police officers will use the substation for roll calls, training and filling out reports, the chief said, but it would not be a place for the messier aspects of police work.
"We don't plan on bringing drunken people over there who are going to be screaming, hollering and kicking," he said.
Also on the council's agenda Tuesday night was an item to seek proposals from architects to design a new public safety complex. Several councilors and some members of the public said they thought the measure was premature because there is no plan to replace the building.
Kline called preliminary plans a starting point that would help guide discussions, but Long disagreed.
"This isn't an invitation for dialogue, this is charging ahead," Long said.
The council voted unanimously to take no action on the item.
Staff Writer Seth Harkness can be contacted at 282-8225 or at:
sharkness@pressherald.com


Reader comments


1-10 of 13 comments:
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Andrew of South Portland, ME
Apr 4, 2007 11:40 AM
Why do I have a feeling this is to aid the condo owners in what eventually will become a much publicized pissing match between those condo owners and the summer tourists?

But nobody dares mention the fact that if OOB really felt the need to build a substation, they could press eminent domain (using public safety as the key phrase) and take any spot their hearts desired...

No, it's better to protect the money than do anything remotely useful like provide another station to those on the other side of OOB...


NN ML of OOB, ME
Apr 4, 2007 11:33 AM
Hey Sarge, your comments make me think you're one of them. If so, you dickwads owe me 18 bucks-and I will collect it...


NN ML of OOB, ME
Apr 4, 2007 11:30 AM
Better yet, Jeff, let them build a brothel. You can get the same thing there that this town goves ya now lol....


Fishme of saco, ME
Apr 4, 2007 10:22 AM
THANK GOD THEY ARE NOT WASTING THAT MONEY FIXING THE ROADS AND CRUMBLING INFRASTRUCTURE


Jeff of Vonore, TN
Apr 4, 2007 10:13 AM
Tear down Palace Playland and build a casino. That would invigorate the town.


SaloonKeeper of OOB, ME
Apr 4, 2007 10:11 AM
At the expense of taxpayers, we now have a new home for the rent-a-cops during the 90 days that they are in town. It is totally "unleashing the untrained." What a joke. There are so many of them they have to trump up trouble just to justify their existence. Maybe I can watch them gang tackle another retarded and confused juvenile in front of his parents again this year. Outrageous!! Just another ploy to prop up the financially failing white elephant that is the Grand Victorian.


Roadwarrior of Limington, ME
Apr 4, 2007 9:58 AM

You're witnessing the gradual transformation from an old Honky Tonk tourist trap, to one of hi rise beachfront condos, where the Yupsters can strut their stuff in front of each other, free from the bloodshot eyes of the reprobate class.

The old guard Canucks, in their grape smuggler beachwear, will eventually have to find another vacation destination.


sarge of old orchard beach, ME
Apr 4, 2007 9:45 AM
How can we waste YOUR money and degrade a great building at the same time,dooooooh


Jake007 of Portland, ME
Apr 4, 2007 8:54 AM
"drunken people over there who are going to be screaming, hollering and kicking," in OOB????
How can that be?? Say it ain't so.
Somewhere Jerry Plante is smiling from ear to ear.


timmiev of OOB, ME
Apr 4, 2007 8:46 AM
Oh brother what a waste of money! This is another example of OOBs finest getting what they want from the tax payers. Now they can issue thousands of tickets a day for jay walking instead of 100's. Good for the rent a cops on a power trip. Maybe we will get our very own baywatch series to make up for the money we are throwing away! OOB should instead be fixing the infrastructure which is pathetic!
 
JetBlue 'very successful' in Maine

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Reader Comments (below)
By TUX TURKEL, Staff Writer

Wednesday, April 4, 2007



Michael Lazarus had a problem a couple of years ago, after his son was accepted at Bowdoin College in Brunswick.
Lazarus, the founding chairman of JetBlue Airways, lives in San Francisco.
"I'm never going to see this kid again," he joked with fellow board members. "I need the Polar Bear Express."
The reference to Bowdoin College's mascot meant little or nothing to the JetBlue board. But Lazarus had planted a seed. Management studied routes and fares, and that contributed to the low-cost carrier's decision to start service last year at Portland International Jetport.
Lazarus told this little-known story Tuesday in an interview following a breakfast presentation at the college titled, "Why Would Anyone Be Crazy Enough to Start an Airline?"
Lazarus is managing partner at the Weston Presidio investment firm in San Francisco. He also was an early believer and investor in the vision of David Neeleman, JetBlue's founder and chief executive.
Lazarus spoke to college alumni and local business leaders about the challenges of getting a successful discount airline off the ground, in a highly structured industry known for its steep cost structure and poor customer service. He also talked briefly of JetBlue's future challenges in the aftermath of February's snowstorm, which canceled hundreds of flights and stranded passengers for days.
JetBlue began Portland service last May. It has four round trips a day to JFK International Airport in New York, typically aboard 100-seat regional jets.
JetBlue has helped lower Jetport fares, so the competition that it poses is important to both business and pleasure travelers. Lazarus said he couldn't cite the latest statistics, but said planes are largely full.
"Portland has been a very successful market for us," he said.
JetBlue launched its first flight from JFK in 2000. Today, it offers 550 daily flights to 51 destinations. Growth has come by assembling a top management team, Lazarus said, and training employees to treat fliers like valued customers, not passengers. People will fly once for a low price, he said; they return for good service.
Those ambitions took a hit in mid-February, when JetBlue's operations virtually collapsed under the weight of ice and snow.
Neeleman apologized in the media, and the airline created a so-called customer bill of rights, which gives refunds and vouchers for cancellations and prolonged delays. The Valentine's Day storm was a lesson for an airline that had outgrown its communications and reservation systems.
"High-growth companies have to build infastructure faster than sales," Lazarus said.
JetBlue has had the discount market to itself in Portland over the past year. That will change in June, when low-fare carrier AirTran starts service to Baltimore-Washington International, a move that could further cut the cost of air travel in Maine. Lazarus is critical of the management and labor cultures at many airlines. He said, however, that AirTran is a well-managed company and strong competitor.
Lazarus, who stepped down from the JetBlue board in December, said he can't take all the credit for bringing the airline to Portland. Management had been looking to expand, and small airports are always courting low-fare carriers. But Lazarus said he initiated the idea of taking a hard look at Portland.
Lazarus will continue to take a special interest in Portland, flying into the Jetport perhaps four times a year to visit his son, who's set to graduate in 2009.
Maybe he'll be making the trip more often. His daughter just won early acceptance at Bowdoin and will start her freshman year in the fall.
 
NASHUA, N.H.: Personal day requests mean holiday for city students
Nashua school kids are getting an unexpected day off today because so many teachers and staff put in for personal days for Good Friday.
Some 240 school employees were expected to be out, and Acting Superintendent Christopher Hottel said he had no choice but to cancel school. The employees requested the day off as a religious holiday.
Teachers have been working with no contract since last summer and have picketed outside schools and worn union T-shirts in school. Hottel said he did not know if teachers coordinated their personal day requests to disrupt school.
 
Biddeford-Saco has a lot going for it

Unfortunately, if a comment is made often enough, it transforms into a generally accepted fact.
For many years, this has been an issue with serious consequences for Maine communities that are struggling to balance their cultural identities in a rapidly changing world.
When the Biddeford-Saco Chamber of Commerce & Industry began its campaign for a slogan to brand the Biddeford/Saco community, we were once again subjected to negative comments about our communities, Biddeford in particular.
Our aim here is to provide a more comprehensive view.
We are bound by the Saco River and by generations of families who have lived and worked on both sides of the river.
GrowSmart Maine recently unveiled its Brookings Institution report, "Charting Maine's Future" which encourages regionalization and urges Maine communities to invest in several areas, all of which are the focus of our communities' current efforts.
n?Revitalize our cities to absorb future growth and reduce pressure on rural areas.
Saco led by being one of the first Maine cities accepted in the Maine Downtown program when it established "Saco Spirit." Biddeford soon followed with "Heart of Biddeford" and the two are now working toward "one" Main Street.
Our municipal leaders have worked on revising and streamlining regulations to allow for denser development in the downtowns.
We are focusing on our historic mill buildings and have nurtured the efforts of private developers to renovate and reinvigorate these massive architectural icons.
Nearly dormant 10 years ago, they now teem with artisans and other small businesses searching for much needed business incubator space.
Both communities have established industrial parks and shopping districts to support business expansion and provide the amenities desired by our population. Is the job done?
No, but we challenge you to remember our community of 30 years ago. We've come a long way, baby.
Protect and preserve forests, farms and working waterfronts while improving public access to traditional fishing, hunting and boating areas.
Beyond our industrial heritage, the landscape of both communities encompasses the shoreline of the Atlantic Ocean to the rolling farmlands on our western borders.
We have worked diligently to provide public access (boat ramps, beaches, trails, posted hunting areas) while protecting our fishermen, property owners and the environment. Controversy abounds, but our efforts continue.
Increase tourism promotion, particularly on a regional basis.
Three years ago the two cities combined forces and received a Discovery Research grant to conduct a cultural assessment. Documentation of our heritage resulted in a Web site that provides contact with the numerous local artists and events that we have to share.
The diversity of our ethnic backgrounds, documented there, includes the Franco, Irish, Greek, and Jewish communities. All are vibrant, proud and active.
Education has been a collective focus, with Biddeford also home to Maine's only medical school, the University of New England, nationally known for its innovative marine biology department.
Southern Maine Medical Center in Biddeford provides award-winning health care to our citizens, while several facilities are available to provide quality care for our senior citizens as well.
Are we perfect? Have we achieved all of our goals? No, but we proudly continue to navigate our challenges, constantly looking for and exploring new methods to help us.
Perhaps a slogan or brand seems trite, but since all that we are gets lost in the constant self-deprecation, maybe a slogan would help us become prouder of "us."
At the very least, this exercise provides an opportunity to begin a dialogue -- a true discussion of our assets and our liabilities. We can only hope that this time we'll focus on our assets.
 
SEA DOGGS STATUE NOW IN PLACE

After months of anticipation and lingering controversy, the Portland Sea Dogs on Monday unveiled Rhoda Sherbell's sculpture of a family of four bound for a baseball game.
Under a stiff breeze and a gray sky that made it feel more like winter than spring, the minor league baseball team presented the 2,500-pound bronze sculpture, "American Baseball Family Group," to the city of Portland.
As Sea Dogs employees unhitched the ties on a brown plastic tarp that covered the statue, people in the crowd clapped and cheered.
"Oh, that's cool," said Mark Finks, a Portland resident and Sea Dogs fan. "I love this ballpark and everything it represents. The sheer joy of families coming here is a beautiful thing, and that is what this sculpture represents."
"I think it's a beautiful statue. How lucky are we?" asked season-ticket holder Laurie Pietroski of Falmouth. "It's a wonderful gift that Mr. Burke is giving to us as a community."
The statue is a gift from Sea Dogs owner Daniel Burke to the city of Portland. Burke commissioned Sherbell to make the sculpture a decade ago. She has been working on it for several years -- apparently at great risk to her health.
Once, while visiting Hadlock for research, she got hit by a foul ball. Later, when she was working on the sculpture in her studio, a 300-pound piece broke off and cracked one of her ribs.
The sculpture, which is 9 feet tall at its highest point, created controversy last year. The city's Public Art Committee, a citizen advisory board, recommended against accepting it into the city's art collection, citing the lack of diversity of the family depicted and also because Burke and the Sea Dogs failed to follow protocol for the commissioning of public art.
After much debate, the City Council rejected the art committee's recommendation and accepted Burke's gift.
On Monday, City Councilor James Cohen accepted the statue on behalf of the city. "The baseball gods are now shining on Portland," Cohen said, addressing about three dozen people assembled on the brick concourse in front of Hadlock Field.
Nobody spoke against the sculpture at Monday's brief ceremony, which preceded the opening of the Dogs' season.
Sherbell, who lives on Long Island in New York, dismissed the controversy as "nonsense." She said she was confident that people who objected to the sculpture will feel differently after they see it in person.
"I just hope it has the dignity and warmth that's appropriate for honoring families coming to the games," she said.
"American Baseball Family Group" shows a family of four -- a mother, father and their son and daughter -- en route to the game. The dad holds tickets aloft, and the son carries a mitt and ball. The mother carries the daughter on her hip.
Sherbell incorporated a Sea Dogs hat into the sculpture, and outfitted the dad with a shirt with an American flag on the chest.
Sherbell is a member of the National Academy of Design in New York and studied sculpture with the late William Zorach, a beloved sculptor with ties to Maine, at the Art Students League of New York.
Her work is included in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., among other places.
The Colby College Museum of Art in Waterville also owns a bronze piece of hers, called "The Acrobats."
A baseball fan, Sherbell has created several baseball sculptures, including likenesses of Casey Stengell and Yogi Berra, both of which reside at the National Art Museum of Sport in Indianapolis.
In an interview after Monday's unveiling, Sherbell said she was pleased to have her work displayed publicly in Maine. "Being here in Maine and being a part of this state's long, long art tradition is a real honor," she said.
A model of the sculpture recently won an award from the National Academy of Design, and traveled to the Czech Republic as part of the U.S. government's Art in Embassies program.
Bill Burke, the team owner's son and a minority owner himself, said his parents commissioned the sculpture because of their appreciation of how well people in Portland have treated them over the years.
"It has meant so much to my parents. You have no idea," Burke told the fans outside Hadlock. "The thank-yous really go the other way."
 
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