The Portland Daily Sun, Friday, January 14, 2011

Page 1

Funeral held for 9-year-old killed in Tucson shooting

LePage whiffs on first pitch

Portland Trails plans a big celebration

See the story on page 2

See Bob Higgins on page 4

See Events Calendar, page 13

FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2011

VOL. 2 NO. 245

PORTLAND, ME

PORTLAND’S DAILY NEWSPAPER

699-5801

FREE

Law would elect gov by ranked choice voting Russell introduces bill to apply Portland’s mayoral system to gubernatorial races BY CURTIS ROBINSON THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN

A state representative from Portland has introduced a bill that would require the state’s governor to be elected by a majority of state voters via a “ranked choice” system. Diane Russell, a Democrat who represents the

120th District that includes Munjoy Hill, said this week that “regardless of party, it is important that the leader of our state be able to fully execute their work knowing they have the support of a majority of Mainers.” Russell was a national program director with the ranked-choice advocacy group FairVote before get-

ting elected to the state legislature and has been working on ranked choice voting, or “instant runoff voting,” for Maine since 2007. The move comes as Maine’s new governor, Paul LePage, a Republican who won Blaine House with 38 percent of the vote, enters his first month of see RANKED CHOICE page 3

Snow daze Post-storm, life returns to normal BY DAVID CARKHUFF THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN

Florida, the only state in the country without snow in the wake of a midweek nor’easter, was also the place to fly at the height of the storm on Wednesday. “It was not quite Armageddon but it was pretty bad yesterday,” said Gregory Hughes, spokesman for the Portland Jetport, talking about the rampant cancellations on Wednesday. “Florida went. Nonstop to Orlando is pretty good, it flies over this stuff.” But flights to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and those by Air Canada had to be cancelled. The storm dumped 13 inches of snow on Portland, according to the Gray National Weather Service station. see STORM page 7

Bob Gordon, a resident on North Street, clears a sidewalk Thursday in the wake of the midweek nor’easter. (DAVID CARKHUFF PHOTO)

March for Justice, dinner, other events highlight MLK Day BY MATT DODGE THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN

The NAACP Portland branch will hold its 30th annual celebration dinner this Sunday in remembrance of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., one of several observances that range from children’s shows to community discussions. The dinner will take place the night

before the national King holiday, leaving Monday wide open for civil rights-oriented events, including a community conversation on poverty, a March for Justice and family activities. The Sunday night dinner includes a keynote address, recognition of community leadership and an interactive exercise to learn about specific ways

in which people can fight against poverty. Two high school senior students will serve as MC’s of the program in order to encourage youth participation and leadership in the human rights movement. Special guests for the dinner include Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil

and Human Rights and The Leadership Conference Education Fund. Henderson is known for his expertise on a wide range of civil rights, civil liberties, and human rights issues and is the author of numerous articles on civil rights and public policy issues, according to the NAACP. see EVENTS page 6


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