Time for torches and pitchforks?
Fantasy gaffe league for our new governor?
See Bob Higgins on page 4
See Curtis Robinson’s column on page 5
TUESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2011 VOL. 2 NO. 247
PORTLAND, ME
Dance troupe to perform in Merrill Auditorium Wednesday See the Events Calendar, page 13
PORTLAND’S DAILY NEWSPAPER
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City eyes get-tough measures on abandoned items BY CURTIS ROBINSON THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN
During an unusual and issue-packed Wednesday night session, the Portland City Council will talk trash, discuss student housing, debate the proposed JFK aircraft carrier museum and, once again, consider if the Cactus Club bar in Old Port should be
licensed. The council usually meets on the fi rst and third Monday of the month. This week’s meeting was pushed back from Monday to Wednesday due to the Martin Luther King Jr. Day. While the agenda lists several high-profi le issues, the council may decide to table or reschedule decisions.
• TRASH The city is poised to create steep fi nes and designate a “discarded goods czar” to combat the problem of abandoned personal property and impromptu dumps, which municipal workers say have become “acute” problems on the peninsula, especially in see CITY page 3
LePage remarks fuel backlash at MLK events BY DAVID CARKHUFF THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN
“Equality isn’t a ‘special interest,’” read one placard. “Enraged by LePage: Shame, shame, shame,” offered another. Marchers on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Portland fl ourished pointed rebukes on the way to City Hall, as resentment toward Gov. Paul LePage and his rebuff of the Maine NAACP resonated throughout the weekend. LePage set off a political fi restorm Friday when he declined invitations from the Maine NAACP to attend Martin Luther King Jr. Staley-Mays Day events, calling the civil rights organization a “special interest” group and stating to a TV reporter, “Tell ‘em to kiss my butt.” Reaction was swift. Fueled by sudden interest, a Martin Luther King Day Dinner in Portland Sunday sold out, according to organizers. “We had not sold out for the dinner until his remarks, then we were over the top,” said Wells Staley-Mays, who works closely with the Portland Branch of the NAACP and is a community organizer with Peace Action Maine. “I know they turned people away, they had to, they were out of food.” A March for Justice embarks from Preble Street Resource Center on the way to City Hall Monday afternoon. (DAVID CARKHUFF PHOTO)
see BACKLASH page 9
Local boxer is a rising star for Los Angeles team BY MATT DODGE
THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN
Last Thursday, as Evander Holyfield sat ringside, local boxer Russell Lamour Jr. defeated a Olympic bronze
medalist to become the third-ranked amateur middleweight boxer in the world. Lamour’s coach Bob Russo has no problem applying Holyfi eld’s famous
Jets’ confidence grows with win over Patriots See the story in sports, page 15
moniker to the 29 year-old Lamour. “He’s the real deal,” said Russo. “I’ve worked with many many fighters — a few kids have made it to the Olympic trails — but talent-wise, Russell is
one of the most talented athletes I’ve worked with,” he said of the boxer, who also played basketball and football at Deering High School before stepping see BOXER page 14
George Hamn and Friends – A Night of Comedy Saturday, January 22, 2011 • $15.00 for members, $18.00 for guests • Doors open at 7:00 PM, show starts at 8:00 PM Snacks available • For Tickets call Kim at 207-775-2500 • The Italian Heritage Center, 40 Westland Ave., Portland