The Portland Daily Sun, Thursday, December 23, 2010

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2010

Inaugural invitation spurs reflection See Bob Higgins’ column on page 4

Census data confirm exodus of the boring See Curtis Robinson’s column on page 5

Cheverus High choirs perform See story, page 7

VOL. 2 NO. 230

PORTLAND, ME

PORTLAND’S DAILY NEWSPAPER

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Train fans embrace trends Coming soon ... a train ride from Portland to Windham

BY DAVID CARKHUFF THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN

Want to jump on a train in the summer in Portland and ride out to Sebago Lake for a weekend camping excursion?

Or how about skipping the traffic on Route 302 and comExpansion muting by rail of Amtrak to from a suburb Brunswick to your job in the Port City? applauded These scenar— see story, ios and others page 6 make newly elected Rep. Ben Chipman (I-Portland) think there’s more to rail than Portlandto-Boston junkets on Amtrak.

Rolling north

see TRAINS page 3 RIGHT: Conductor Peter McHugh waits for the last passengers on a Monday afternoon Amtrak train from Portland to Boston Tuesday. (DAVID CARKHUFF PHOTO)

A special day at Shawnee Peak

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Kids learn to ski for free in honor of Cheverus High student

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On a day the new summit lift was officially opened at Shawnee Peak. some 100 children learned to ski for free in memory of a 15-year-old Cheverus High School student whose life was taken by a drunk driver in 2008.

LEFT: Gov. John Baldacci (left) and Shawnee Peak owner Chet Homer prepare to unveil the new Summit Triple Chair at the Bridgton ski area. (MARTY BASCH PHOTO)

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The new Summit Triple Chair is the state’s first loading conveyor system, and the second in New England, with the other at Okemo in Ludlow, Vt. We chose to stay with a fixed grip because it’s economical,” said Shawnee Peak owner Chet Homer Sunday. “We can’t afford a $3.5 million or $4 million investment. Our pass holders told me I would be nuts to do that. I stayed with a triple versus a quad because very rarely are there days when the line is that big.” see SHAWNEE page 8

Black Cat Ball rings in 2011 See Events Calendar on page 13

Page 2 — THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN, Thursday, December 23, 2010

Man behind ‘Lone Ranger’ intro dies BOSTON (AP) — Fred Foy, an announcer best known for his booming, passionate lead-ins to “The Lone Ranger” radio and television series, died Wednesday of natural causes at his Woburn, Mass., home, his daughter said. He was 89.

Nancy Foy said her father worked as an actor before landing the job as the announcer and narrator on “The Lone Ranger” radio show in 1948.

The show’s live lead-in introduced its masked cowboy hero and his trusted horse with the line: “A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty ‘Hi-Yo Silver!’ ...

The Lone Ranger!”

Foy’s dramatic introduction and narration, performed in a powerful baritone, were so good it “made many people forget there were others before him,” said radio historian Jim Harmon, who called him “perhaps the greatest announcernarrator in the history of radio drama.

“He pronounced words like no one else ever had — ‘SIL-ver,’ ‘hiss-TOR-ee.’

But hearing him, you realized everyone else had been wrong,” Harmon wrote in his book, “Radio Mystery and Adventure and Its Appearances in Film, Television and Other Media.”

Foy never tired of giving a spirited rendition of “The Lone Ranger” introduction to anyone, anywhere, who would ask, his daughter said.

“Dad would do the intro at the drop of a hat,” she said.

“He loved it. He loved for us to let people know so he would be asked to do it.”

Foy was born in Detroit in 1921, graduated from that city’s Eastern High School in 1938 and landed a job on the announcing staff of radio station WXYZ in Detroit in 1942.

He was drafted into the Army that year and served in an Armed Forces Radio unit in Cairo during World War II. Foy returned to WXYZ in 1945, then three years later won the job on “The Lone Ranger,” even stepping into the lead role for one radio broadcast when actor Brace Beemer had laryngitis.

Foy’s son, Fritz Foy, said the introduction’s signature opening line, “Hi-Yo, Silver!” was done by an actor on the radio show, though his father belted it out for the TV series.

Foy also performed on radio series including “The Green Hornet” and “Sgt. Preston of the Yukon.”

In 1960, Foy began working for the ABC network. He spent five years as an announcer on the “The Dick Cavett Show” and narrated documentaries.

He left ABC in the mid-1980s and later retired to Woburn, Nancy Foy said.

SAYWHAT...

“

‘Classic.’ A book which people praise and don’t read.”

—Mark Twain

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Tonight Low: 16 Record: -6 (1980) Sunset: 4:08 p.m.

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DOW JONES 0.22 to 11,533.38 NASDAQ 2.24 to 2,669.85 S&P 1.93 to 1,256.53

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Alaska high court throws out Miller claims JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Supreme Court delivered another stinging setback to Republican Joe Miller, refusing to overturn election results that favored his GOP rival, Lisa Murkowski, in the state’s U.S. Senate race.

The high court on Wednesday upheld a lower court’s ruling dismissing Miller’s claims of impropriety in the state’s handling of the election and ballots for Murkowski, who waged a longshot write-in campaign after losing her primary to Miller. It found “no remaining issues raised by Miller that prevent this election from being certified.”

It’s now up to Miller to decide if the election is finally over.

A federal judge, who had put a hold on certification to give the state courts time to rule on Miller’s claims, said he would give Miller 48 hours to plead any outstanding issues to him once the high court had ruled.

Miller initially filed a lawsuit in federal court, claiming the state violated the Elections and Equal Protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution in its handling of the race. But U.S. District Judge Ralph Beistline said Miller’s claims about the state’s handling of the election should first be addressed by the state.

Miller spokesman Randy DeSoto said Miller’s team is reviewing the high court’s decision, and is weighing its options and chances of prevailing in the federal courts.

“We are disappointed the Alaska Supreme Court has ignored the plain text of Alaska law and allowed the Division of

This Monday, Nov. 1 photo shows Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, at a rally in Anchorage, Alaska. On Wednesday, the Alaska Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision in the disputed U.S. Senate race, saying the state correctly counted write-in votes for Murkowski. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)

Elections to effectively amend the state election code, without even giving the public an opportunity for notice and comment,” he said.

Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, who oversees elections, said the state would be asking Beistline to lift his stay. The director of the state Division of Elections has said the race could be certified within hours

of the stay being lifted. The state and Murkowski are eager for a rapid resolution; senators are sworn in for the new Congress Jan. 5.

“We felt all along that this election should have been certified, and I’m glad the Supreme Court took the time to come to a reasoned decision,” Murkowski attorney Scott Kendall said.

Man who killed Angel pitcher gets 51 years to life SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A construction worker who killed a promising rookie pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels and two other people in a horrific drunken driving crash said Wednesday he had all but ended his own life that night by getting behind the wheel after drinking.

Andrew Gallo, 24, acknowledged his deadly mistake to the grieving relatives of his victims and said he expected to spend the rest of his life behind bars before a judge sentenced him to 51 years to life in prison.

“I know whatever I say will not change

anything or the way you think or feel about me,” said Gallo, who faced the judge because he was not permitted to look at the courtroom audience.

“You’re right. I am a horrible person, a drunk driver who took your beautiful kids away,” he said.

Gallo was convicted in September of three counts of second-degree murder and single counts of drunken driving, hit-andrun driving, and driving under the influence of alcohol and causing great bodily injury.

Judge Richard A. Toohey gave Gallo 15

years to life on each of the murder counts and six additional years for the other crimes.

Prosecutors said Gallo, who was on parole for a felony DUI conviction, had a bloodalcohol level nearly three times the legal limit when he blew through a red light at 65 mph on April 9, 2009, and T-boned the car carrying pitcher Nick Adenhart and three friends.

Also killed were 20-year-old Courtney Stewart and 25-year-old Henry Pearson. A fourth passenger, Jon Wilhite had his spine separated from his skull by the impact and survived.

Rust Belt states losing people, political clout in Census stats TRAVERSE CITY, Mich.

(AP) — After years of losing residents to more prosperous states, the nation’s Rust Belt now confronts another blow to its economic prospects: losing some of its votes in Congress.

The latest census figures show that states in much of the Midwest and Northeast have been overtaken in population growth by the South and West.

So starting in 2013, they will

have to make do with smaller delegations in Washington, which means less political clout to attract government money and jobs.

“These states in the industrial heartland and to some extent in the Northeast have seen their impact eroded,” said Norman Ornstein, a political scientist with the American Enterprise Institute. “It’s not totally devastating. . But num-

bers do matter.”

Analysts say the changes will ratchet up pressure on elected leaders to work together more closely and to redouble efforts to strengthen and diversify their state economies.

Michigan was the only state where the population declined over the past decade, but growth across the region was anemic — 3 percent in the Northeast and 4 percent in

the Midwest. Population in the South and West shot up nearly four times more. The trend largely reflects young people going elsewhere in search of work, causing the northern population to become older.

Of the 10 states that will lose House seats, all but Louisiana are in the Midwest or Northeast. The affected area includes Rust Belt manufacturing centers along the Great Lakes.

THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN, Thursday, December 23, 2010— Page 3

Mountain Division line will live again with renovation TRAINS from page one

Chipman on Thursday, Dec. 16 attended a legislative briefing in Standish that convinced him to introduce legislation to study the feasibility of commuter rail service in Greater Portland.

Chipman, who represents District 119, which includes Portland’s Parkside, Bayside and East Bayside neighborhoods, wants to see how passenger rail service would work in the suburbs west as far as Windham, north as far as Yarmouth or Brunswick and south as far as Saco and Biddeford.

Presumably through the Maine Department of Transportation using existing MaineDOT funds, the study could make the case for finishing a section of the old Mountain Division rail corridor, also called the Route 113 corridor, from Westbrook to Portland.

“That’s a top priority for me right now making sure we get that section of track done,” Chipman said.

Chipman was the only Portland legislator to attend a briefing given by the Route 113 Corridor Committee, Greater Portland Council of Governments, and the Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission about reclaiming the Mountain Division line.

In a message via Facebook, Chipman recalled: “I made a strong case for commuter rail service to ease traffic congestion and parking ... problems in Portland, reduce pollution and make transportation choice a reality for people in Portland and the surrounding communities. There are no tickets available yet, but by June there will be high speed track installed from Windham to Westbrook. The idea is to continue to Portland. We are probably at least two years away from commuter rail service from Portland out to Windham but things are moving in the right direction.”

Caroline Paras, community and business development specialist for the Greater Portland Council of Governments, applauded Chipman’s legislative proposal and said she’s ready to celebrate the opening next year of the upgrade section of track from Windham to Westbrook.

“I would like a marching band, because it would essentially be the first passenger train to Windham from Westbrook since 1959,” Paras said.

“We’ve been talking about it, there’s 15 years or more of involvement,” she said, but a statewide bond package passed by voters last June provided the $4 million to refurbish the his-

“I would like a marching band, because it would essentially be the first passenger train to Windham from Westbrook since 1959.” — Caroline Paras, Greater Portland Council of Governments toric track. On June 8, Maine voters approved Question 3, which dedicates $4 million for reconstruction of the rail line.

“That’s the first money that has actually gone into restoring track on the line,” Paras noted.

The goal is to restore track from Cumberland Mills to at least South Windham that will support passenger rail speeds of up to 60 miles per hour.

There’s excitement in the commuter-rail community.

“We all feel it. We all feel like, wow, something is finally happening,” Paras said.

MORE THAN A CENTURY OF HISTORY A couple years after the Civil War, the Mountain Division rail line first emerged as a regional feature.

“The Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad was chartered in 1867 to connect the Port of Portland with the Great Lakes via the St. Lawrence Seaway in Ogdensburg, New York, a distance of over 400 miles. The first train ran on August 16, 1875. A main line running some 200 miles was eventually completed as far as Lime Ridge in the Province of Quebec, which is near Sherbrooke, Canada,” notes a history printed by the Route 113 Corridor Committee in cooperation with the Greater Portland Council of Governments and Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission after their “If we build it, will they come? Route 113 Futures Forum Series” in Standish on Sept. 13, 2006.

“In addition to freight, everything from ice to apples to lumber [was shipped, and] passenger service was an important feature of the Mountain Division. ... In the early ‘80s, Guilford Rail divested itself of many of its marginal operations, including the Mountain Division. Passenger service had ceased in 1959. ... In the early ‘80s, Guilford Rail divested itself of many of its marginal operations, including the Mountain Division. Passenger service had ceased in 1959, but the last

rr y We Now&CaD ou g M el is sa Se ! ts t Ar

freight train ran in 1984. In the mid ‘90s, a coalition, now known as the Mountain Division Alliance, formed to preserve the rail corridor for future use. In 1997, the state was able to purchase the 40 mile section from South Windham to Fryeburg for the bargain price of $1 million.”

The track hasn’t been left entirely idle during the restoration push.

“Since its abandonment by Guilford, parts of the Mountain Division have been brought back to life,” noted a June 21, 2005 “Mountain Division Rail Freight Study” report produced for the MaineDOT by the Greater Portland Council of Governments.

“The State of New Hampshire bought the North Conway to Whitefield segment in 1994, and the State of Maine bought the Fryeburg to Windham portion three years later. The Conway Scenic Railroad has rehabilitated the line between North Conway and Fabyans Station to FRA Class II standards, a distance of approximately 28 miles. A multi-use trail has been constructed next to the tracks between Windham and Standish, Maine.

The State of Maine has been performing limited maintenance on its stretch of track since purchasing it, clearing much of the vegetation that had sprung up along the line.

The Portland Transportation Center, home to Amtrak’s Downeaster, Concord Trailways, and local bus service, is located on the Mountain Division in Portland.

With permission of Guilford and NNEPRA, a tourist rail company could operate special trains out of this terminal.”

This month’s legislative briefing brought the whole dream of restoring that track full circle.

“On the Mountain Division, the infrastructure is going in, the track will be restored by June of next year,” Paras said.

The Portland-to-Westbrook section is still owned by PanAm, and the state would need to buy that section to complete the line, Paras said. Next spring, supporters most likely would watch a demonstration train make the first run in over 50 years on the Windham-to-Westbrook segment, she said.

Keeping an actual commuter train on the track will require more work.

“That’s more of the long-term issue,” Paras said. “We can build it but for any passenger service to be offered it’s probably going to require an operat-

“What I’m envisioning is commuter rail service that has Internet service on it so people who live in Windham or Standish can jump on the train and check their email.” — State Rep. Ben Chipman, I-Portland ing subsidy.”

The Amtrak Downeaster relies on a $6 million operating subsidy, so it’s possible funding could be found.

Chipman said the investment would be well worth it.

“The Downeaster has been pretty successful, especially with the price of gas going up over $3 a gallon,” he pointed out. “What I’m envisioning is commuter rail service that has Internet service on it so people who live in Windham or Standish can jump on the train and check their email.”

“By 2025, York and Cumberland counties are expected to grow by 50,000 people, and routes 25, 302 and 113 contain 11 intersections that operate at a poor level of service,” Chipman pointed out. “Commuter rail service would allow people to ride to work without driving a car.”

Also, road maintenance is a drain on the state, he argued.

“As the population has grown in these suburban areas, people are driving up and down roads that weren’t built to handle that number of cars and the roads are collapsing,” he said.

In Portland, any commuter can tell you that streets often become overloaded with traffic.

“All the traffic congestion that we’ve had around here on Franklin Arterial and Forest Avenue and Congress Street. ... it would be great if they could jump on a train and check their emails and text messages and have someone else do the driving,” Chipman said.

Studies suggest the new commuter rail would relieve traffic congestion.

“If you can get 190 cars off the road an hour during the day, that’s a couple of thousand cars,” Chipman said.

The goal is to get the first section of tracks restored by June, “then we have to work on getting it in from Westbrook to Portland,” Chipman said.

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Page 4 — THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN, Thursday, December 23, 2010

––––––––––––– COLUMN –––––––––––––

Obama to the corporate powers: I feel your pain Guess who’s whining the loudest these days, wailing that they’re getting a raw deal from Barack Obama.

Not the unemployed and barely employed — even though the White House has blithely ignored their critical need for a national jobs program. Not the poor, even though their ranks are swelling as millions of Americans fall out of the middle class.

No, no, the most insistent demand for attention is coming from way above the poor and the middle class. Believe it or not, it’s the CEOs of Americas biggest corporations and the top bankers of Wall Street who’re stamping their little Gucci-clad feet, bawling that they should be getting more love and support from the president.

––––– It seems that the feelings of Creators these precious ones have been hurt by Obama’s occasional Syndicate condemnation of the stupefying greed that’s been shown by the likes of health insurance executives and Wall Street banksters. As one CEO put it, Obama’s attitude “felt too much like we were the bad guys.”

Yoo-hoo, Mr. Multimillionaire Executive, YOU

Jim Hightower

see HIGHTOWER page 5

We want your opinions All letters columns and editorial cartoons are the opinion of the writer or artists and do not reflect the opinions of the staff, editors or publisher of The Portland Daily Sun. We welcome your ideas and opinions on all topics and consider every signed letter for publication. Limit letters to 300 words and include your address and phone number.

Longer letters will only be published as space allows and may be edited. Anonymous letters, letters without full names and generic letters will not be published. Please send your letters to: THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN, news@portlanddailysun.me. You may FAX your letters to 899-4963, Attention: Editor.

Portland’s FREE DAILY Newspaper Curtis Robinson Editor David Carkhuff, Matt Dodge Reporters THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN is published Tuesday through Saturday by Portland News Club, LLC. Mark Guerringue, Adam Hirshan, Curtis Robinson Founders Offices: 181 State Street, Portland ME 04101 (207) 699-5801 Website: www.portlanddailysun.me E-mail: news@portlanddailysun.me For advertising contact: (207) 699-5801 or ads@portlanddailysun.me Classifieds: (207) 699-5807 or classifieds@portlanddailysun.me CIRCULATION: 15,100 daily distributed Tuesday through Saturday FREE throughout Portland by Spofford News Company jspofford@maine.rr.com

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– COLUMN ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Inaugural invitation ruminations Sometimes weird things arrive in the mail, particularly around the holidays. This week was another jaw dropper.

I’ve received an invitation to the inauguration of Paul LePage as governor.

Perhaps I should step back a few paces and review my invitations policy. I hate being invited anywhere, ever, for any reason.

I usually have plans involving heavy drinking or checking the insides of my eyelids for holes, and to accept an invitation to anything usually results in a re-scrambling of pre-arranged plans.

I was not a LePage supporter, or a part of the Tea Party movement, or anything of the sort.

I did send along a few snarky emails to the transition team, so apparently they just sent out a block invitation to everyone on the mailing list.

I can only think of a few reasons that I would be invited to the ceremony. Perhaps Gov-Elect LePage is a fan of the columns, as those late night long road trips over the length of the campaign can cause folks to make failures in judgment.

Possibly, it was my response to the A.J. Higgins (no relation, just ask him) episode during the campaign when LePage said he

Bob Higgins ––––– Daily Sun Columnist wanted to “punch him right in the mouth.” Either I’m being mistaken for A.J., or the comments I made at the time about A.J. cleaning his clock like a Swiss engineer have me on the potential witness list.

Quite possibly, Paul LePage is a fan of Maine horror writer Stephen King. I can only imagine those long nights on the campaign trail leading to fantasies of locking the entire Maine Press Corps in the Augusta Civic Center and re-creating that famous scene from King’s earliest work, “Carrie.”

A few years back, I worked for a linen company that had the contract at the Civic Center, and I had occasion to drive there quite a few times every week. I can easily remember the back room, near the kitchen, where all the linen was stored, along with the unused tables and assorted other bric-a-brack of a convention center.

Now, as a testament to the

uneasy relations between the press and Mr. LePage, I can easily imagine that room being turned into a chamber of horrors. Over on the far wall, I can see A.J. standing on a box, manacled to the wall, a bag over his head like the famous photo of Abu Ghraib prison. The walls will be lined up with pre-cut lengths of garden hose, suitable for use as a truncheon.

Perhaps this invitation gesture is a peaceful one, a getting off on the right foot kind of thing. The slick boys in Augusta in the shiny suits must be slathering at all available orifices for the chance to make Paul seem more even tempered. Just this week, the Waterville City Council approved a ban on “adult businesses” there.

Though Lepage was not there for the meeting, he had previously stated that he didn’t believe that government had “any business legislating morality.”

This is one of those quotes that can come back to haunt a politician. Mark it, and the date, as I’m sure we’ll all be referring back to it a few score times over the next four years. It ranks up there with White House spokesman Charlie Gibson and his famous WikiLeaks quote, over “having nothing to fear from one guy with a laptop.” see HIGGINS page 5

THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN, Thursday, December 23, 2010— Page 5

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– STAFF OPINION ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Census numbers confirm the exodus of the boring Trends reveal progressive states will pay for more bridges to nowhere Well, the U.S. Census figures are in and, as expected, boring people continue to relocate to boring states.

But, actually, the “boring exodus” is only Trend One of three huge patterns driving a national population shift.

The second pattern is that states sponging federal bucks off “donor states” continue to do well, especially those solid-red states in the South where you can still live in your car without freezing to death. (We’ll get the third trend, lying, soon enough.)

Certainly we can celebrate that Maine, which under state law is only moderately boring in certain designated areas, held its own with a growth rate of just over 4 percent.

That means we get to keep both our congressional seats, which is good.

Plus, we continue to opt-out of the Northeast population-loss trend caused by the “donor state” exodus.

The “donor state” label comes from the fact that, as virtually everyone knows now, our national progressive income tax means that states with residents earning higher incomes pay vastly higher federal taxes than those states largely populated by lower paid folks. Call it the rube index.

As one business-tax website noted, “Ironically, most of these high-paying states are the so-called blue states that have generally elected politicians who support a more steeply progressive tax system even though their own constituents bear a greater

Curtis Robinson ––––– Usually Reserved share of the burden as the code gets more progressive.”

Irony, of course, is slightly different from sarcasm or mockery in that it passes the “test of opposites.”

In this case, it’s a bunch of smart people being dumb enough to send tax money to people who desperately want scientific research limited to fully grasping the secret of fire.

States that typically receive more than they give to the federal coffers are those like Mississippi and New Mexico, and usually Nevada is the top state. The biggest population gains? The South and, well, Nevada.

The worst victims of the rube index? Well, that would be in the Northeast with New Jersey being the worst, meaning it pays way more than it gets – nearly two-to-one by some measures. Hey, somebody has to pay for those bridges to nowhere up in Alaska — which by the way is also always one of the big receiver states.

The new Census data clearly document these trends.

In all this, Texas has become a prototype for bogarting population and embracing the rube index.

It famously has no state income or business taxes, and combats its 10-gallon-hat sized boredom problem by establishing what amounts to an “intellectual oasis strategy” – plus, it has an abundance of Southern Politicians, who tend to become president.

Thus in the desert of strip malls and anti-intellectual wombat-crazy locals (with apologies to the entire bat family), the non-boring stumble – we assume with windows locked and Lyle Lovett blaring – into the cultural oasis of Austin. There are other non-boring sites in Lone Star land, but Austin really illustrates the oasis strategy.

Toss in virtually unregulated oil production, all the federal grant money that flowed into President George W. Bush’s home state over eight years of war, government expansion and deficit spending and you get a nice economy ... really, Austin is sort of the Dubai of rube-index America.

The political results of the boredom/rube/whatever shift are dramatic: Like in 1960, New York had 45 seats in the House of Representatives. Now it’s down to 27 — the same number as Florida. Yet New York City holds its population because ... have you forgotten Trend One? Frankly, I don’t think that the Census really works anymore. It was created when horses were the usual means of travel, making it difficult to claim Florida as a residence while actually living in, say, Maine.

That brings us to the third big trend: lying.

Now that air travel is, for many, more like a high-end commuter bus without the security of surveillance cameras (yet), “residency” is more like “where your money lives.” In my years in Colorado, it was amazing how many Texas “residents” we had living there year-round. You don’t have to remember the Paul LePage “Florida taxes” flap to understand the situation.

Clearly, state tax burdens, the boredom exodus and, perhaps, an aging population simply looking for warmer climes are all helping drive these trends. Maine is certainly fortunate, if we seek a larger population, to have elected a state House, Senate and governor with some pretty serious Boredom Belt cred.

Now that we live in a red state, with taxes no doubt dropping any day now, and since we’re already among those states getting a good return on our federal dollars, our population future really looks good. Toss in the prospect of increased global warming, now that serious climate legislation seems doomed, and things really look up.

Read the trends: somebody better print 100,000 “Keep Portland Weird” stickers ASAP. (Curtis Robinson is editor of The Portland Daily Sun. Contact him at curtis@portlanddailysun.me.)

Obama is holding ongoing closed-door meetings with CEOs HIGHTOWER from page 4

ARE! Corporate chieftains are ruthlessly downsizing the middle class, carelessly polluting our air and water, gleefully destroying our democracy by using their corrupting corporate money to buy our government and generally feeling entitled to run roughshod over everyone — all while pocketing obscene levels of wealth for themselves. Yet they’re the ones crying?

Those guys are pathetic — they’re a bunch of narcissists with a sense of entitlement. Obama ought to send each of them a box of Kleenex and tell ‘em to go to hell. But unfortunately, he’s no Harry Truman. So instead, he’s giving in to them! “(I intend) to make clear to the business community,” he recently announced, “that the most important thing we can do is to boost and encourage our business sector.” Hello ... they’re doing fine. The most important thing you can do is boost America’s middle class.

Obama’s helping not only multimillionaire corporate CEOs. He’s also helping their friends at the U.S.

Chamber of Commerce. Of all the groups in America that need the president of the U.S. on its side, you’d think the last to win a pledge of support would be the Chamber.

After all, this outfit, which is largely funded and run by a handful of America’s biggest corporations, has become the most powerful lobbying force in Washington — and one of the richest front groups funneling secret corporate cash into our elections.

Indeed, it poured tens of millions of those dollars into campaign ads this fall to demonize the president and turn the U.S. House over to anti-Obama Republicans.

Yet, the day after the election, the Chamber found itself being wooed by the White House. The president even dispatched his treasury secretary to the Chamber’s opulent headquarters to eat crow and promise that, henceforth, Obama and Team would be more corporate friendly.

Good grief! Friendlier than Obama’s Wall Street reform that coddled the big banksters, or his health care reform that further entrenches profiteering insurance giants inside the system? Or the tax bill

cave-in that needlessly awards billions of dollars in special breaks for corporations and rich CEOs? Yes. So friendly that Obama is now holding an ongoing series of closed-door policy meetings with assorted CEOs. So friendly that he’s already delayed regulations to strengthen anti-pollution rules. So friendly that his deficit-reduction panel proposes cutting the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 26 percent.

So friendly that he’s planning to put a high-powered CEO right inside the White House with him, as demanded by the whining corporate powers who say they’re not getting enough love from the president.

Why do they get a special presidential slot? Why not one for labor, small farmers, consumers, the unemployed? Remind me again — is this guy a Democrat?

(To find out more about Jim Hightower, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.)

Imagine a scene from Stephen King with the press corps as victims HIGGINS from page 4

Since I’ve already got the tickets, that leaves a few other questions open. What to wear? Shall I pull the gorilla suit out of storage, smuggle it into the arena in my laptop bag, and excuse myself to the restroom to make a quick change once I’m already inside? The pure spectacle of seeing a man hauled out of an inauguration ceremony in

a gorilla suit might just make the national news.

Then again, the clown costume might be better.

Who to take is another dilemma. I have to bring along someone with the same warped sense of humor, and a big bag of money for bail. There is just no way on earth that I will ever go to a function like this without bail money. One reporter here suggested that this is perhaps similar to the kind of stings that you usually see the sheriff ’s

office doing, where you believe you’re going to get a big screen tv, but instead get confronted with old warrants.

I can already guess that security has my picture from the paper: That’s why I like this one, that doesn’t look anything like me. That’s called strategy.

(Bob Higgins is a regular contributor to The Portland Daily Sun.)

Page 6 — THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN, Thursday, December 23, 2010

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Passngers in Portland troop down to the platform to board a train for Boston. On Dec. 15, Amtrak’s Downeaster celebrated its ninth birthday. (DAVID CARKHUFF PHOTO)

Boston-to-Brunswick rail service a dream decades in the making

BY DAVID CARKHUFF THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN

When the Obama administration announced earlier this month it was taking $1.2 billion in high-speed rail money away from Ohio and Wisconsin and awarding it to 12 other states, including Maine, Wayne E. Davis had to smile.

Davis is chairman of TrainRiders Northeast, a group that promotes rail development in the

region. He’s also someone who has waited a long time to hear the news that Maine was getting the money it needed to expand Amtrak’s Downeaster train from Portland to Brunswick.

Currently, the Downeaster operates five daily round trips between Portland and Boston.

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cent of them were two adults in an automobile from south or west of Boston. Ideal for the train, that’s perfect. Tapping into that, even a small amount, will raise the ridership on the Downeaster by a third,” Davis said.

The Brunswick extension was long awaited, Davis said. TrainRiders has 1,300 members in 26 states, and “it took us so long to see AMTRAK page 9

THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN, Thursday, December 23, 2010— Page 7

Jamie Dulac, Maggie Shellene, Ariana Russo, Hillary Morin, Marina Phillipps, Christina Cilley, Elaine Cilley, Andrew Gilliam, Lethicia Tshamala, Rachel Simonds, Kelsey Dulac, Grandleigh Cameron, Samantha Pion, Danielle Kane and Lisette Labbe all performed with Cheverus High School. (COURTESY PHOTO)

Cape Elizabeth wins high school state mock trial championship DAILY SUN STAFF REPORT Cape Elizabeth High School’s mock trial team won the state championship on Dec. 9, defeating long-time champion Hampden Academy at the Cumberland County Courthouse.

Cape Elizabeth’s team is now eligible to participate in the national competition, to be held in Phoenix, Arizona in May 2011.

The mock trial competition consists of two trials: one team acts as the plaintiff and the other as defense in the first trial, and then they switch sides for the second trial.

Team members fill the roles of plaintiff attorneys, defense attorneys and witnesses; the trials are unscripted.

Several dozen volunteer lawyers and judges participate in the Mock Trial Competition, which is sponsored by the Maine State Bar Association with support from the Maine Bar Foundation.

The competition requires extensive preparation on the part of the students, who must advance through several rounds of preliminary competition to qualify for the championship.

“The teams did a phenomenal job this year with a very difficult case.

I’m impressed by both teams’ ability to handle the complexities of this case with such professionalism and creativity,” said competition coordi-

nator Julie Finn, a Maine attorney.

Chief Justice Leigh I. Saufley of the Maine Supreme Court presided over the championship trial along with Hilary Billings of the federal defender’s office, and David Cluchey, professor of law at University of Maine School of Law. The Cape Elizabeth High School team was led by teacher Mary Page and coached by attorney Richard O’Meara of the law firm Murray, Plumb & Murray and Jeff Shedd, principal of Cape Elizabeth High School principal.

The Hampden Academy team was led by teacher Kathryn King and coached by attorneys Jim McCarthy of the U.S. Attorney’s office in Bangor and Mark Beaumont of the law firm Eaton Peabody.

The Maine High School Mock Trial Competition educates students about the legal system, the judicial process, the attorneys’ roles and the rules of evidence, aiming to teach effective communication, critical thinking, principles of advocacy and team work.

In addition to the Maine State Bar Association and the Maine Bar Foundation, the program also receives support from the Friends of the Mock Trial; Berman & Simmons; Gross, Minsky & Mogul; the Narragansett Number One Foundation; and the family of Corrie Lazar.

Cheverus High choirs perform DAILY SUN STAFF REPORT Members of the award-winning Cheverus High School Concert and Jazz Choirs visited Mercy Hospital to sing and “spread some holiday cheer.”

The students and their director, Christopher Humphrey, sang Christmas carols for Mercy Hospital patients and staff on Thursday, Dec. 16. One of the staff members at mercy Hospital remarked that for “some of these patients, this will be the only holiday music they will hear this year.” The students were thrilled to bring some joy and Christmas spirit to the patients, “Our students have been looking forward to it for weeks,” said Humphrey.

For Cheverus students, giving back and sharing their time and talents is an important part of the Cheverus educational experience where they are

encouraged to be “people for others.”

Members of the group were: Gradeigh Cameron, sophomore, of Naples Christian Cilley, freshman, of Portland Elaine Cilley, senior, of Portland Jamie Dulac, sophomore, of Portland Kelsey Dulac, sophomore, of Portland Andrew Gilliam, sophomore, of Topsham Danielle Kane, sophomore, of Brunswick Lisette Labbe, freshman, of Limerick Hillary Morin, senior, of Brunswick Marina Phillipps, senior, of Cape Elizabeth Samantha Pion, senior, of Standish Ariana Russo, freshman, of Falmouth Rachael Simonds, freshman, of Falmouth Maggie Shellene, freshman, of Kennebunkport Lethicia Tshamala, sophomore, of Westbrook Christopher Humphrey, director and chairman of the Cheverus Music Department

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Page 8 — THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN, Thursday, December 23, 2010

Second annual Cooper Campbell Day honors teen’s memory SHAWNEE from page one killed by a drunk driver going the wrong way on the Maine The chair features a conveyor Turnpike. He and his father loader. Stand by a gate, wait Steve were returning from for it to open, slide forward on a Florida vacation and were the moving belt (think airport being transported in a Linmoving sidewalk on a smaller coln Town Car. The limo driver scale) and then sit in the chair as James McLaughlin, 65 , of it approaches.

Gorham was killed too. Steve, “We chose to invest in the connow 50, was seriously hurt. In veyor to take advantage of the 2009, Steve donated $10,000 speed of the lift,” said Homer. to Winter Kids in Cooper’s “The biggest complaint we had memory as a way to spread here was the ride to the top. We his son’s love of the outdoors in cut that down by a third and winter. that’s a huge difference.”

“I really wanted to find a The CTEC lift was purchased way to speak to Coop’s legacy, from Loon Mountain in Lincoln, “said Steve. “I was trying to N.H. and replaces the old Riblet find something that matched lift that was installed in 1984. Key who he was. When I got to know components of the CTEC have more about Winter Kids it just been refurbished or replaced. parallels who Cooper was.”

Among those in attendance at “I really wanted to find a way to speak to Coop’s legacy, “ said Steve Winter Kids (winterkids.org) the Bridgton ski area were govCampbell about Cooper Campbell Day, a kick-off to the Winter Kids offers a variety of programs ernor John Baldacci, Rep. Paul season at Shawnee Peak. (MARTY BASCH PHOTO) including the WinterKids PassWaterhouse, State Sen. Dave port (an opportunity for winter ing in the mountain and will increase Hastings and Bridgton Chamber recreation for Maine’s fifth through sevskier capacity and the seats are more of Commerce executive director Jim enth graders), a WinterKids Fun Pass comfortable. People are going to notice Mains. (pre-schoolers to fourth graders can try the difference.”

The governor congratulated Homer cross-country skiing and snowshoeing The high noon ribbon-cutting cerand his family on the investment and free) and World Class Athlete Tour that emony was held in conjunction with the innovation of the triple lift while “helphas included Maine Olympians Julie second annual Cooper Campbell Day, a ing put Maine on the map” in terms of Parisien and Seth Wescott. kick-off to the Winter Kids season. The winter recreation.

“One of the best parts of my day was non-profit organization helps foster a Ski Maine executive director Greg watching the kids putting on their boots healthy and active outdoors lifestyle Sweetser says the lift’s technology will for the first time,” said Fran Mullin, for Maine children during the season of be watched closely.

Winter Kids executive director. “You snow.

“I think this created some buzz, some could see they were nervous, but so Cooper, a fun-loving winter kid who fun and gives Maine something to brag excited to try a fun new sport. I saw one skied and snowboarded in Maine and about a little bit,” he said. “This continlittle girl just beaming and bouncing up at resorts around the country, was ues Shawnee’s philosophy of reinvest-

and down with excitement when she got her skis.”

Steve, of Portland, described Cooper as a very spirited and confident teenager, a cool kid, who loved being outside.

He called the day “bittersweet.”

Ironically, Steve and his son bonded “at the hip” when the two lost Janet — Steve’s wife, Cooper’s mother— to breast cancer five years ago and took on a live life to the fullest mentality.

“Live a life with no regrets, travel a lot,” said Steve, who works for Delhaize Group, Hannaford’s parent company.

“We wanted to experience different things and skiing was one of those things.”

Said Steve, “In the short life that he had, he really lived a lot.”

••• Christmas week is coming with its storm of activties. Today’s the scheduled opening day at Black Mountain of Maine in Rumford. Sunday River’s vacation week offerings include nightly entertainment from rock to a Wii sports tournament at the Jordan Grand Resort Hotel Monday from 3 to 5 p.m. Seth Wescott is slated to sign autographs at Sugarloaf on Monday from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Sugarloaf Board Room. Today at Saddleback is the $29 State Employee Furlough Day. Fun and fireworks meet Tuesday at Shawnee Peak during the Ullr Fest with “The Beating of the Drums” at 7 p.m. Tomorrow is a $75 Carload Caravan Day at Mt. Abram.

(Marty Basch can be reached through www.onetankway.com.)

THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN, Thursday, December 23, 2010— Page 9

TrainRiders Northeast chairman Wayne E. Davis pauses on the platform at Portland’s Amtrak station.

“Working to bring passenger train service to the Northeast,” is the group’s motto. A former banker, Davis said the investment in rail pays the highest return of common modes of transportation.

(DAVID CARKHUFF PHOTO)

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get this basic service that their kids had kids.”

All of New England received less than 2 percent of the $8 billion in federal stimulus money for rail, but $35 million was awarded to extend the Downeaster 30 miles north from Portland to Brunswick. Now, with the rerouting of funds from the Midwest, the job can be completed.

The shift of funds to Maine was “a shock,” Davis said.

Other improvements can be made with the reallocated money, he said.

An engineering report is under way to study the improvements needed to up the speed of the Downeaster from its current top speed of 80 miles an hour to 110 miles per hour.

The goal is to increase the speed on the train between Portland and Boston so the trip can be made in less than 2 hours.

There was a day when Davis and other volunteers had to work just to bring passenger rail service to Maine.

“I discovered 23 years ago that we were not being given the whole story on transportation costs,” Davis said, explaining his motivation for climbing on board the TrainRiders effort.

“We forced it on the state,” he recalled. “They didn’t want it, everybody said, ‘It has never been funded before, what makes you think it will be?’ We said,

‘We don’t know, any more than you do, but if it ever did, we’ll be ready.’ So the paperwork was submitted and we pushed and prodded for the three months and the state finally submitted it 15 minutes before the deadline in Washington, this was before computers, it was done by fax. It was nuts. We got it.

Three months later we learned that we were one of 11 potential high-speed corridors that had been designated,” Davis said.

Finally, a year ago, the funding came through for the high-speed corridor.

Other goals are within reach as well. Ongoing discussion of the Mountain Division rail line as a conduit for passenger rail may not involve Amtrak, Davis said, but there are other ways to extend the Downeaster beyond its Boston-Brunswick corridor.

“We can see service to Montreal, I don’t think by the Mountain Division but when you branch off at the junction in Lowell you go to Bethel, LewistonAuburn and then Montreal. I want to live to see that,” Davis said. “But if we’re going in 23-year increments, I won’t.”

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by Paul Gilligan

By Holiday Mathis SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). There is nothing to figure out. Stop trying already. If you don’t “get it” now, then it’s because you’re not supposed to.

Things will occur to you when they are most useful to you.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21).

Lean back and let life come to you today. This slight pulling-away energy will be particularly useful in regards to a certain relationship. You’ve been doing all the work. If you simply stop, the healing begins.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19).

New resources open up to you. You won’t ask directly, but your welcoming energy is an invitation. Colleagues, family and peers will give you their best suggestions, tips and tools.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). You can pull off the most amazing feats when you feel like it, and today brings just the right mood. Like a Hollywood stunt pro, you plan out the daring act and rehearse each move carefully.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Discussing conflicts only makes things more complicated -- or worse, you could be angrier at the end of the conversation than you were going into it!

Instead, work things out within yourself.

Forgive and forget.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Dec. 23). A bold energy takes hold this year, and you are willing to move mountains to make your world the way you want it.

You’ll get a big break in January. Your public image gets a boost in March.

Your ideas, projects, creations and/or children will blossom in May. There’s a windfall in August. Sagittarius and Aquarius people adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 30, 1, 22, 31 and 35.

Pooch Café For Better or Worse LIO

ARIES (March 21-April 19). You are generous with your attention, and you’ll give it to the deserving and undeserving alike. You don’t see it that way, of course. You see everyone as deserving.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You love someone, but you don’t love what he or she is doing presently. Luckily, you’re able to separate the person from the action. You give your understanding and love but not your approval.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Be proud of your blisters and scars. They prove you got into the work of life and risked injury for what you wanted, and now you have the souvenirs to show for it.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). Don’t feel that you must figure something out with your downtime. You’ll be happier if you use that time to do nothing at all.

Today, there’s no decision so urgent that you can’t make it tomorrow.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You’re not in an overly competitive mood. Yet, you’ll get more accomplished when there’s someone as fast paced as you in your vicinity to keep up with. It’s human nature at work.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You’ll save a situation at work with your quick thinking and spirit of collaboration. The way you unite people is heartening.

You remind everyone that we are in this together.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). There is a part of your life that needs healing. You wish someone could wave a magic wand over it so it would be done already. It turns out, you have all the magic you need. You just need to concentrate it.

by Aaron Johnson

HOROSCOPE

by Chad Carpenter

Solution and tips at www.sudoku.com

TUNDRA WT Duck

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 thru 9.

by Mark Tatulli

Page 10 — THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN, Thursday, December 23, 2010

ACROSS 1 Sink stoppage 5 Narrow inlet 10 Realtor’s delight 14 Uncommon 15 “M*A*S*H” role 16 Appeal 17 __ a test; passes easily 18 Last Greek letter 19 Grows gray 20 Grants; gives 22 Campus building with the most books 24 “Ode on a Grecian __” 25 Elegant estate 26 Short note on a book jacket 29 Shallow piece of cookware 30 Gallant 34 Solitary 35 School transport 36 Lament

37 38 40 41 43 44 45 46 47 48 50 51 54 58 59 61 62 63 64 65 66 67

Perform Leaves behind Deadly snake Cleared water from a boat Assistance __ up; confined Shut-eye “Roses __ red, violets...”

Untrue Capital of Bulgaria Bro or sis Pad under a cocktail Ripened Bullets Written slander Theater box Harness strap Pack animal Perched atop Conclusions Meeting of bishops State of disorder

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 21 23 25 26 27 28 29 31 32 33 35

DOWN Grumpy person Fancy trimming Miner’s finds Hand motion Grin’s opposite Traffic snarls Lyrical work Loose overcoat Basin hole Small songbird Seaweed Malicious look Simple Sphere Skeletal parts Eyelash enhancer Spills the beans From the neighborhood Loosen __ out; irritated Biblical tower Roaring felines Make joyous eBay offer

36 38 39 42 44 46 47 49 50

Pallet or cot Train station Go quickly Teachings Baby food In a breezy way __ as a fiddle Hews Dinner course

51 52 53 54 55 56 57 60

Concern Foreboding sign In the center of Short note Lasso Personalities Lions’ lairs Prohibit

Yesterday’s Answer

THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN, Thursday, December 23, 2010— Page 11

––––––– ALMANAC ––––––– Today is Thursday, Dec. 23, the 357th day of 2010; with 8 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History: On Dec. 23, 1968, 82 crew members of the U.S. intelligence ship Pueblo were released by North Korea, 11 months after they had been captured.

On this date: In 1783, George Washington resigned as commander in chief of the Continental Army and retired to his home at Mount Vernon, Va. In 1788, Maryland passed an act to cede an area “not exceeding 10 miles square” for the seat of the national government; about 2/3 of the area became the District of Columbia.

In 1823, the poem “Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas” was published anonymously in the Troy (N.Y.) Sentinel; the verse, more popularly known as “’Twas the Night Before Christmas,” was later attributed to Clement C. Moore.

In 1893, the Engelbert Humperdinck opera “Haensel und Gretel” was first performed, in Weimar, Germany.

In 1928, the National Broadcasting Company set up a permanent, coast-to-coast network.

In 1941, during World War II, American forces on Wake Island surrendered to the Japanese.

In 1948, former Japanese premier Hideki Tojo and six other Japanese war leaders were executed in Tokyo.

In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson held an unprecedented meeting with Pope Paul VI at the Vatican.

In 1975, Richard S. Welch, the Central Intelligence Agency station chief in Athens, was shot and killed outside his home by the militant group November 17.

In 1980, a state funeral was held in Moscow for former Premier Alexei N. Kosygin, who had died Dec. 18 at age 76.

One year ago: Richard and Mayumi Heene (HEE’-nee), the parents who’d pulled the “balloon boy” hoax in hopes of landing a reality TV show, were sentenced by a judge in Fort Collins, Colo. to jail — 90 days for him, 20 days for her.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Gerald S. O’Loughlin is 89. Actor Ronnie Schell is 79.

Emperor Akihito of Japan is 77. Actor Frederic Forrest is 74. Actor James Stacy is 74.

Rock musician Jorma Kaukonen is 70. Rock musician Ron Bushy is 69. Actor-comedian Harry Shearer is 67. Actress Susan Lucci is 64. Singer-musician Adrian Belew is 61.

Rock musician Dave Murray (Iron Maiden) is 54. Actress Joan Severance is 52. Singer Terry Weeks is 47. Rock singer Eddie Vedder is 46. The first lady of France, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, is 43. Rock musician Jamie Murphy is 35. Jazz musician Irvin Mayfield is 33. Actress Estella Warren is 32. Actress Anna Maria Perez de Tagle is 20.

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Dr. Seuss’ Movie: ›› “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (2000) News 8 Nightline Jim Carrey, Jeffrey Tambor. A curmudgeon hates the Christmas- WMTW at (N) Å loving Whos of Whoville. (In Stereo) Å 11PM (N) Maine Maine Ex- Christmas European Soundstage “Faith Hill: Charlie Rose (N) (In Watch perience Greetings Christmas Joy to the World” Faith Stereo) Å Markets Hill performs.

Roadside Windows to Nature Wildlife adapts The Adirondacks Seasonal landscapes and current Stories Å the Wild Å to cold conditions. (In state of the Adirondack Mountains of northern New Stereo) Å (DVS) York. (In Stereo) Å The Vampire Diaries Nikita “The Recruit” A Entourage TMZ (N) (In Extra (N) Punk’d Damon is suspicious of recruit takes on a suicide “An Offer Stereo) Å (In Stereo) Pink; Tom Tyler’s uncle. Å mission. Å Refused” Arnold. Å The Big $..! My Dad CSI: Crime Scene In- The Mentalist Member WGME Late Show Bang Says Å vestigation “Long Ball” of Cho’s former gang is News 13 at With David murdered. Å Theory (In Stereo) Å (DVS) 11:00 Letterman Without a Trace Å Without a Trace Å Curb Earl Late Night Star Trek

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USA “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” Å

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Anderson Cooper 360 (N) Å American Greed

Mad Money

Greta Van Susteren

The O’Reilly Factor

41

FNC

The O’Reilly Factor (N) Hannity (N)

43

TNT

NBA Basketball San Antonio Spurs at Orlando Magic. Å

44

LIFE Pawn

Police- Dallas

SportsCtr

College Basketball

Rachel Maddow Show The Last Word

Pawn

Christmas Unwrapped

NBA Basketball: Heat at Suns

Movie: ›› “The Break-Up” (2006) Å

How I Met How I Met

Police- Dallas

Police- Dallas

Cellblock 6

46

TLC

47

AMC Movie: ››› “The Princess Bride” (1987) Å

Movie: ››‡ “Nanny McPhee” (2005) Å

48

HGTV First Place First Place Property

House

49

TRAV David Blaine

Carnivore Carnivore No Reservation

Ribs Paradise Å

50

A&E The First 48 Å

The First 48 Å

Peace

Peace

Peace

52

BRAVO Real Housewives

Real Housewives

Real Housewives

Shep

Real

Property

Hunters Peace

Hunters

House

55

HALL Movie: “Three Wise Women” (2010) Å

56

SYFY Movie: ››› “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” (2008) Å

57

ANIM Fatal Attractions Å

Fatal Attractions Å

Fatal Attractions Å

Fatal Attractions Å

58

HIST Ancient Aliens Å

Ancient Aliens (N)

Brad Meltzer’s Dec.

Declassified Å

60

BET

61 62 67 68 76

“The Night Before the Night Before Christmas” “Golden Compass”

Movie: ››› “Soul Food” (1997) Nia Long Å

The Game The Game The Mo’Nique Show

COM Jeff Dunham Christmas Jeff Dunham: Arguing

Jeff Dunham Christmas Daily Show Colbert

FX

Movie: ››‡ “Night at the Museum” (2006) Ben Stiller.

TVLND Sanford TBS

Sanford

Raymond

Raymond

“Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby”

SPIKE Movie: ›› “Rambo”

Raymond

Fam. Guy

Fam. Guy

Roseanne Roseanne Conan (N)

TNA Wrestling (N) (In Stereo) Å

TNA ReACTION (N)

Law Order: CI

Law Order: CI

78

OXY Law Order: CI

146

TCM Movie: ››› “The Human Comedy” (1943) Å

DAILY CROSSWORD

BY WAYNE ROBERT WILLIAMS

Movie: “Night at the Museum” Raymond

1 5 9 14 15 16 17 19 20 21 22 23 25 29 31 32 33 36 38 39

Law Order: CI

Movie: “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”

ACROSS Acts the shrew Roman Catholic church calendar Spiritual leaders Slender instrument Stray off course Battery part Denim pants Sub finder Was first __ Stanley Gardner A/C figures Eliminated Semiformal NBA players Tax-deferred letters Cytoplasm letters Spaniard’s other Oyster’s possession Collective possessive Gregory Peck’s attire in a 1956 film

43 Cup rim 44 Heart line 45 Book between Neh. and Job 46 Cure or center starter 47 Recipe abbr.

48 Vendor’s success 51 Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, with “The” 54 Regained consciousness 58 Service charges 59 Nickel or dime 61 Hebrew letter 62 Make cloth gathers 64 Rawlings baseball award 66 Abrupt increase 67 Hydroxyl compound 68 Submachine gun 69 Swiftness 70 Fly in the face of 71 Vietnamese holidays

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 18 22 24 26 27 28 30 33 34 35

DOWN Majestic More capable Cheese like Edam Match a raise Go to extremes Tangible Supergiant star in Cygnus Hosp. areas Time for a final round Aimee of “A Man and a Woman” Hideous Vladimir Nabokov novel Sun. homily Catcall Wilkes-__, PA Sterilize an animal Tropical vines Native Greenlander Third planet Widely dispersed Lustful looker Nonsense In quick

37 40 41 42 49 50 52 53 55 56

succession Tolkien creature Sired Gray wolves Be suggestive of With venom Singer k.d.

Twilled fabric Teatime treat Ham it up Fourth Jewish

month 57 Signs 60 Palme of Sweden 62 Sound of a slow leak 63 Marching cadence start 64 Dropout’s cert.

65 D-Day transporation

Yesterday’s Answer

THE

Page 12 — THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN, Thursday, December 23, 2010

CLASSIFIEDS

CLASSIFIEDS • CALL 699-5807

For Rent-Commercial

Roommate Wanted

DOLLAR-A-DAY CLASSIFIEDS: Ads must be 15 words or less and run a minimum of 5 consecutive days. Ads that run less than 5 days or nonconsecutive days are $2 per day. Ads over 15 words add 10¢ per word per day. PREMIUMS: First word caps no charge. Additional caps 10¢ per word per day.

Centered bold heading: 9 pt. caps 40¢ per line, per day (2 lines maximum) TYPOS: Check your ad the first day of publication. Sorry, we will not issue credit after an ad has run once. DEADLINES: noon, one business day prior to the day of publication. PAYMENT: All private party ads must be pre-paid. We accept checks, Visa and Mastercard credit cards and, of course, cash. There is a $10 minimum order for credit cards. CORRESPONDENCE: To place your ad call our offices 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 699-5807; or send a check or money order with ad copy to The Conway Daily Sun, P.O. Box 1940, North Conway, NH 03860. OTHER RATES: For information about classified display ads please call 699-5807.

PORTLAND Art District- 2 adjacent artist studios with utilities.

First floor. $325-$350 (207)773-1814.

SCARBOROUGH- Room for rent in luxury home. Private bath, cable, shared kitchen, parking. $450/mo. (207)883-1087.

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HAVE you noticed meat prices rising? Buy bulk and save!

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Call Kay (207)773-1814.

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For Sale CHICKEN, grass fed beef, and pork! Available Fridays from 11-4pm at Emma’s Family Farm Stand, 28 Monument Square.

This advertising space available.

Printed in 15,000 newspapers daily. $5 a day/obo* Call 699-5807 to place an ad.

Help Wanted SALEBAAN Motors, 235 St John St, Portland, (207)541-9088. Mechanic wanted, 10 years experience needed, well paying job $14-20/hr.

Looking To Rent PORTLAND- Munjoy Hill- 3 bedrooms, newly renovated.

Heated, $1275/mo. Call Kay (207)773-1814.

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Services ASTROLOGICAL readings/counseling, deeply personal, for you only, 40yrs exp. John McLaughlin (207)522-4465 Leapin Lizards (207)221-2363.

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Repairs- whole house, rewiring, trouble shooting, fire damage, code violations, electric, water heater repairs commercial refrigeration. Fuses to breakers, generators.

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Real Estate

Wanted To Buy

PEAKS Island- 71 Luther St. 1880’s Greek Revival, 4 bedroom, 2 bath, $389,000. Owner broker. (207)766-2293.

I buy broken or unwanted laptops. Cash today. Up to $100 for newer units. (207)233-5381.

ANNIE’S MAILBOX Dear Annie: Our two children are married with families of their own. The siblings used to get along quite well, but over the past few years, they hardly speak to each other. I don’t know what happened.

We threw ourselves an anniversary party, and our son refused to speak to anyone because we had missed his youngest son’s birthday celebration. The reason we didn’t attend was because our daughter had left her three little kids with us when she took a vacation. The kids were specifically not invited to the birthday party, so none of us could go. We explained this, but our son still feels we were in the wrong. Yet he rarely attends the birthday parties of his sister’s children.

I am dreading the holidays. Our son usually spends Christmas Eve with us and the following day with his in-laws. Our daughter has invited us to spend Christmas Day with her. I’d love to have them together, but my son tends to say “no” to any family celebration. Do we ask these two couples point blank what is happening or just ignore it? -- Trying Not To Step on Toes Dear Trying: These are your children. Talk to them individually. Ask what is going on and how you can help resolve the issues. Don’t accuse either of them of behaving poorly.

Focus only on what would make things better. Frankly, your son sounds as if he is looking for reasons to be angry with his sister. That means he is likely to become defensive and, consequently, resistant to any of your suggestions. If that is the case, there’s not much you can do. But you won’t get anywhere if you don’t try. We hope they will listen to their mother.

Dear Annie: A few months ago, we invited newlyweds to visit us for a long weekend at our vacation home in Arizona.

These are young friends in their early 30s. As a gift, we paid for their airline tickets and wined and dined them during their visit. We also gave them a wedding card with a signifi-

cant check.

Three weeks after the visit, we received a two-line e-mail thanking us for the plane tickets and the wedding gift. That was it. No handwritten note. Not even a personal call.

I’m appalled to think this is how young adults thank others for their generosity. Have they forgotten good manners?

Can’t they be bothered to write a gracious note, put a stamp on the envelope and mail it? Or do they have no clue? -- Perplexed in Chicago Dear Perplexed: We’re going to go with door number three.

They have no clue. Either they were never properly taught, or they don’t believe a handwritten note is necessary these days.

At least you received a two-line e-mail. Some folks don’t get even that much.

You were exceedingly generous to this young couple, and if you don’t feel it was sufficiently appreciated, you are under no obligation to be so magnanimous in the future. But it also wouldn’t hurt to casually mention that, based on their brief response, you weren’t sure they enjoyed the visit.

Dear Annie: I read the letter from “Crowded by the Ex” and agree that it seems many exes are not letting go, passiveaggressively attempting to crowd out the most recent wife.

My husband was divorced 46 years ago, and we’ve been married for 18 years. Early in our marriage, his ex could not wait to become part of our family, frequently showing up at our house unexpectedly to “see how we were doing,” bringing gifts, etc. Mind you, their now 50-year-old son lived in a distant city.

But we got even. On one occasion when all of us were present, we were approached by a woman who knew the ex, but not us. My husband introduced me as his wife, whereupon the woman turned to the ex and said, “Oh, Judy, so THIS is your son!” -- Shook Her Loose

Annie’s Mailbox is written by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar, longtime editors of the Ann Landers column. Please e-mail your questions to: anniesmailbox@comcast.net, or write to: Annie’s Mailbox, c/o Creators Syndicate, 5777 W. Century Blvd., Ste. 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045.

Prickly City

by Scott Stantis

–––––––––––––––– SPORTS ––––––––––––––––

Patriots take Bills seriously FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — For the New England Patriots, facing a team that lost its first eight games of the season shouldn’t be much of a challenge.

After all, New England has only lost twice all season.

But the Patriots’ praise of the Buffalo Bills is more than just the lip service they usually pay to opponents whose record is much worse than their own.

That’s because the Bills are 4-2 in their past six games and would be 5-1 if Steve Johnson hadn’t dropped what would have been a winning touchdown pass in overtime against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Coach Bill Belichick said not a lot of NFL teams have won more than four of their past six games.

There have been only two: The Patriots have won their past six games and the San Diego Chargers are 5-1.

Brady, Connolly sit out Pats practice BOSTON (AP) — Tom Brady is suffering from the flu and skipped Wednesday’s practice with the New England Patriots.

The NFL’s top-rated quarterback also was listed on the practice report with right shoulder and foot injuries, as he had been the last six games, all Patriots victories in which he played.

Dan Connolly missed the practice with a concussion three days after his 71-yard kickoff return against Green Bay, believed to be the longest by an NFL offensive lineman.

According to STATS LLC, it was the longest since 1976, when the league began keeping complete records. Earlier Wednesday, Connolly became the second offensive lineman ever to be honored as the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week by the NFL. Defensive linemen Mike Wright also missed practice with a concussion.

Yankees hit with $18M luxury tax NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Yankees lowered spending on players by $12 million this year, cutting payroll by $5 million and slashing their major league-leading luxury tax by more than $7 million.

New York was hit with an $18 million luxury tax Tuesday by Major League Baseball. The tax was New York’s lowest since 2003 and down from $25.7 million last year, when the Yankees won the World Series.

“Atta baby. And right now we’re in the $170s,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said, looking ahead to his 2011 payroll.

Season-ending payroll information and the tax was sent to teams Tuesday and obtained by The Associated Press.

Boston is the only other team that will have to pay. The Red Sox, who missed the playoffs this year, exceeded the payroll threshold for the first time since 2007 and owe $1.49 million.

According to the collective bargaining agreement, the Yankees and Red Sox must send checks to the commissioner’s office by Jan. 31.

Red Sox president Larry Lucchino declined comment.

Since the current tax began in 2003, the Yankees have run up a bill of $192.2 million. The only other teams to pay are Boston ($15.34 million), Detroit ($1.3 million) and the Los Angeles Angels ($927,000).

New York’s payroll was $215.1 million for the purpose of the luxury tax, down from $226.2 million, and the Yankees pay at a 40 percent rate for the amount over the threshold, which rose from $162 million to $170 million. Boston’s luxury-tax payroll was $176.6 million, and the Red Sox pay at a 22.5 percent rate.

“We’re doing a better job of managing our payroll and managing our decision-making as we enter the free-agent market,” Cashman said.

THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN, Thursday, December 23, 2010— Page 13

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– EVENTS CALENDAR––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Day. http://www.newlightportland.org/#/worship

Thursday, Dec. 23

Christmas Eve Candle Lighting

Longfellow House Holiday Tours

7 p.m. Christmas Eve Candle Lighting by Unity Church of Greater Portland, 54 River Road, Windham. “This ceremony focuses on the wonder of our lives and the promise of our future. The candle lighting event is a spiritual acknowledgement of the light within each of us and within ourselves. It faces the future with hope and optimism for the spirit that flows though us all. This journey of our light unfolding will be told through many of the traditions of Christmas; the Christmas Story and our Christmas Carols.” For more information about Unity or its events, please contact the church office at 893-1233 or visit www.unitygreaterportland.org.

10 a.m. “Bring your family and friends and step back in time to the 1800s! See the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s childhood home — decorated for the holidays!”

Through Dec. 31, tours run every hour.

Last tour leaves at 4 p.m. when the Longfellow House closes at 5 p.m., and at 1 p.m. when it closes at 2 p.m. Visit www. mainehistory.org.

‘The Gift Of The Magi’ 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. “The Gift Of The Magi” an original musical. Dec 7-23, Tues. and Wed. at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. Added shows, Thursday, Dec. 23 at 2 and 7 p.m. $15-$22.

Old Port Playhouse, 19 Temple St. 773-0333. oldportplayhouse.com

Nutcracker Burlesque at the St. Lawrence Arts Center

The Victorian Nutcracker

7:30 p.m. It’s time again for Nutcracker 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Christmas comes Burlesque at the St. Lawrence Arts Center, with its own set of family traditions and 76 Congress St. “Come see the show that for many, the season isn’t considered started it all! This year’s show brings new complete without seeing the only Nutchoreography, a new story, and sexy new cracker set in Maine. Portland Ballet dances to the stage at St. Lawrence. Don’t Company brings its own local version miss your chance to see the show that was of the Nutcracker to life in celebration of selected by The Portland Phoenix as ‘Portthe holiday season again this year with land’s Best Annual (hopefully) Event.’” Tickits beloved The Victorian Nutcracker. ets are $12, on sale at Longfellow Books or The show, which takes the classic Nutonline at www.vividmotion.org. They go fast, cracker story and sets it in historical so get yours early! Shows are Friday through Portland with sets, costumes, and charSunday, Dec. 17-19 and Tuesday through acters inspired by the Victoria Mansion, Thursday, Dec. 21-23. This year’s show is Hermann Kotzschmar and others, will sponsored by Warren Memorial Foundation, be performed twice at Merrill Auditorium Shipyard Brewing Company, Gorham Selfon Dec. 23 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The Storage, Longfellow Books, and The Portcast of professional dancers from the land Phoenix. “Director Rachel Stults Veinot, Portland Ballet Company, accompanied weaves together a story of love and lust to by students from the Company’s highly create a world where true love finds a way regarded school, and a professional live to bring two people together. This year, our orchestra, is known for a lively, entertainmain character Clara, played by none other ing and beautiful Nutcracker with breaththan local favorite Amy Gieseke (rhymes with taking scenery and vivid costumes. The whisky), finds herself throwing yet another story unfolds as young Olivia follows her festive holiday party for friends; including her Nutcracker Prince to the enchanted Kingnew boyfriend, Big Guns Antonowicz as the dom of the Sweets, where she is dazzled Rat King, and his wandering eyes.” www. by dancers from around the world - from stlawrencearts.org the Russian Trepak to the Sugarplum The Black Cat Ball with Sid Tripp comes to the Mariner Church at 368 Fore St. in Portland for New Year’s The Polar Express Fairy. Tickets are available through Port- Eve celebrations. (COURTESY IMAGE) 7:45 p.m. The Polar Express will come to life TIX at www.porttix.com or 842-0800 or in again in a whole new way when the Maine person, 20 Myrtle Ave., Monday through N.H. They also operate a nonprofit coffeehouse in Dover, Narrow Gauge train departs its Portland depot for a journey Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. Ticket prices range from $17N.H. called Kaleo Coffee which donates its proceeds to to the “North Pole.” Holiday decorations along the train’s $47 (plus $5 handling fee for online sales). For more inforcommunity causes. Learn more about Next Level Church route will light up the night as guests on board meet the mation about Portland Ballet, its school and programs, visit by visiting www.nlc.tv or about this event at www.nlc.tv/ conductor, have hot chocolate and cookies (may not be www.portlandballet.org or call 772-9671. christmas. suitable for patrons with food allergies), listen to a read-

‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’

2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine welcomes kids for a special performance. “Act out the poem ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’ in this special theatre workshop where we put on a play in just one day! We will learn the story, rehearse it and perform it for our families! $5 for members, $6 plus admission for non-members.

Pre-registration is required, and space is limited. To register call 828-1234, x247.

Next Level Church Christmas celebration 5 p.m. Using hundreds of volunteers, Next Level Church is hosting a “life-changing Christmas celebration” at the Abromson Center on the campus of the University of Southern Maine in Portland. The event is completely free, although Next Level Church is asking attendees to bring non-perishable food items to donate to the Wayside Food Rescue Program. The church hopes to make the largest single donation by a church in Wayside’s history as a result of this event. At the event, Next Level Church is also offering free family photos with Santa, live, professional Christmas music, a special kids experience, and a variety of Christmas gifts and surprises for those in attendance. Those who want to attend can get their free tickets by visiting www.nlc.tv/christmas. The photos, kids activities, and Christmas treats will be available beginning at 5 p.m., with doors to the auditorium opening at 5:45 p.m. The Christmas celebration will begin at 6 p.m. Due to an overwhelming demand for the free tickets, organizers have been forced to add a second experience time and make more seats for everyone wanting to attend the Christmas celebration. There will now be a celebration at 6 p.m. and another at 7:45 p.m., the church announced. www.nlc.tv or www.nlc.tv/christmas. Next Level Church was started in April 2008 as part of the Association of Related Churches. They currently meet every weekend in three locations: Portland; Newington, N.H.; and Dover,

Mad Horse’s take on ‘A Christmas Carol’

7 p.m. Mad Horse Theatre Company offers a production of “A Christmas Carol” that will not be soon forgotten. Founding company members, current members, and some very special guests will join forces for a revival of the Mad Horse Christmas Radio Show — a madcap depiction of the effort to produce a radio play of “A Christmas Carol.” “Featuring hilarious performances and the merriest of holiday songs, this show brings you behind the scenes of an old-fashioned radio program, where nothing ever goes quite as planned.

Mad Horse performed this show many years ago, and is bringing it back for a whole new audience to enjoy. This event is a benefit to support Mad Horse’s 25th Anniversary Season.” Performances run Dec. 20 through 23, 7 p.m., at the theater’s new home in the Hutchins School, 24 Mosher St., South Portland. “So whether you’ve been waxing nostalgic for the old Christmas Show, or you want to start a new holiday tradition, please join us for an evening full of fun, holiday spirit, and tasty seasonal treats served before and after the show.” For more information, call 730-2389, or visit www.madhorse.com.

Friday, Dec. 24 Christmas Eve Services at Hope.Gate.Way 4 p.m. United Methodist communities of Hope.Gate.Way (on the ground floor of the Gateway parking garage, just beyond the Eastland Park Hotel at 185 High St.) announced the church is offering three distinct Christmas Eve worship celebrations: 4 p.m. — Family Flashlight Celebration: designed for families with young children. Bring a flashlight (or we’ll have glowsticks) to use instead of candles. 6 p.m.

— Candlelight Celebration: candles, carols, and Communion, designed for all ages. 11 p.m. — Silent Night, Holy Night: a quiet, meditative celebration, with candles, carols, and Communion, ending just in time to usher in Christmas

ing of the magical story over our sound system, and sing carols. Santa will ride back with everyone to the train station from a special outpost of the North Pole and every child will receive the special bell on board the train. This event is the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad’s biggest annual fund raiser. https://tickets.porttix.com/public/default.asp

Sunday, Dec. 26 Phyzkidz! at SPACE Gallery 2 p.m. Phyzkidz! Norman Ng, Drew Richardson, Yo-Yo People come to SPACE Gallery. “In the grand tradition of vaudeville, Acorn Productions has assembled a line-up of world-class performers from all over the country to entertain kids of all ages with a unique blend of expert juggling, incredible illusions, mystifying magic, unbelievable feats of dexterity, and side-splitting physical comedy.” $12 adults; $10 students/seniors; $8 kids 12 and under, all ages. www. acorn-productions.org/pages/Phyzgig2009.html

‘My Dog Tulip’ screening at Movies at the Museum 2 p.m. “My Dog Tulip” at Portland Museum of Art as part of the Movies at the Museum series. Saturday, Dec. 18, at 2 p.m.; and Sunday, Dec. 19, at 2 p.m.; also Sunday, Dec. 26, 2 p.m.; and Sunday, Jan. 2, 2 p.m. “Beautifully animated and featuring the voices of Christopher Plummer, the late Lynn Redgrave, and Isabella Rossellini, My Dog Tulip is a bittersweet retrospective account of author J. R. Ackerley’s 16-year relationship with his adopted Alsatian, Tulip. A profound and subtle meditation on the strangeness that lies at the heart of all relationships, My Dog Tulip was written, directed, and animated by award-winning filmmakers Paul and Sandra Fierlinger and is the first animated feature ever to be entirely hand drawn and painted utilizing paperless computer technology. see next page

Page 14 — THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN, Thursday, December 23, 2010

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– EVENTS CALENDAR––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– from preceding page

music, dancing and lots of Auld Lang Syne. http://newyeargorham.org

Monday, Dec. 27

New Year’s Eve Celebration 2011 at 51 Wharf 7:30 p.m. Two DJs on two dance floors spinning two genres of music at 51 Wharf St. in Portland. A $2 coat check; fivehour countdown. Red Bull VIP Party: RedBull@NewYearsPortlandMaine.com. Watch the Ladies of Go-Go Maine live all evening; Evan Smith will be taking photos; 20 percent off pre-ordered bottles). For tickets, visit www.newyearsportlandmaine.com/tickets.htm.

‘Celebrate Kids’ vacation camp 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. “Celebrate Kids” vacation camp, Dec. 27-31 for kids ages 8-14. Register today. Arts and crafts, movies, activities and more. Space is limited. Old Port Playhouse, 19 Temple St. Portland. (207) 773-0333. For more info go to oldportplayhouse.com

Sid Tripp’s Black Cat Ball at the Mariner’s Church

Acorn Productions’ annual Phyzgig festival 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Acorn Productions announces its annual Phyzgig festival, a celebration of physical comedy and variety entertainment for the family, will take place in downtown Portland between Christmas and New Year’s Eve 2010. The week includes six Main Stage Vaudeville Shows at the Portland Stage Company (including two shows on New Year’s Eve), eight Phyzkidz shows at SPACE Gallery and a rare appearance by Phyzgig’s Artistic Director and Peaks Island resident Avner the Eccentric, who will be performing his full-length show for the first time in four years in Portland. Tuesday the Phyzkidz shows are at SPACE Gallery. www.phyzgig.org or www.acorn-productions.org/ pages/Phyzgig2009.html

Tuesday, Dec. 28 Holiday Vacation Day Camp 10 a.m. A Holiday Vacation Day Camp for kids from Dec. 27-31 at the Old Port Playhouse. The day camp will run Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Kids ages 8-14 will do a variety of activities each day including arts & crafts, jewelry making, fairie houses, games, movies, cooking and other special activities that put the “F-U-N” back into vacation! The cost is $225 per kid with discounts for more than one kid per family. Camp is held in a safe, secure and healthy environment with a professional staff. For more information, call 773-0333. Space is limited so sign up today. Old Port Playhouse is located at 19 Temple St. in Portland. oldportplayhouse.com

Acorn Productions’ annual Phyzgig festival 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Acorn Productions announces its annual Phyzgig festival, a celebration of physical comedy and variety entertainment for the family, will take place in downtown Portland between Christmas and New Year’s Eve 2010. The week includes six Main Stage Vaudeville Shows at the Portland Stage Company (including two shows on New Year’s Eve), eight Phyzkidz shows at SPACE Gallery and a rare appearance by Phyzgig’s Artistic Director and Peaks Island resident Avner the Eccentric, who will be performing his full-length show for the first time in four years in Portland. Tuesday the Phyzkidz shows are at SPACE Gallery. www.phyzgig.org

Avner the Eccentric 7 p.m. Avner the Eccentric fundraiser, Portland Stage Company. Phyzgig’s own Master of Mirth presents his full-length show as a special Phyzgig fundraiser. http://www.phyzgig. org/

Wednesday, Dec. 29 Phykidz at SPACE; vaudeville at Portland Stage 11 a.m. Phykidz (SPACE Gallery); 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Vaudeville shows at Portland Stage Company.

Comedian Bob Marley at Merrill 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 29 through Friday, Dec. 31, Comedian Bob Marley returns to Merrill for his annual holiday show with this year’s special guest, Kelly MacFarland. Presented by Cogee Entertainment. Tickets $45; $48 on New Year’s eve (includes service fee). Wednesday and Thursday at 7 p.m.; Merrill Auditorium; Friday at 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. https://tickets.porttix.com/public

Thursday, Dec. 30 Phykidz at SPACE; vaudeville at Portland Stage 11 a.m. Phykidz (SPACE Gallery); 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Vaudeville shows at Portland Stage Company. http://www. phyzgig.org or www.acorn-productions.org/pages/Phyzgig2009.html

Holiday blood drive 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. FairPoint recently teamed up with WCSH-TV and WLBZ-TV, the American Red Cross and other community partners for a first-ever holiday blood drive, scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 30 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The drive will be held in two different locations around the state in hopes of attracting a large number of donors during this challenging time of year. Eligible donors may

Avner the Eccentric will make a rare appearance in Portland in late December as a fundraiser for Phyzgig. Avner is probably best known for his endearing portrayal of The Jewel, the scene-stealing holy man, in “The Jewel of the Nile,” co-starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. He was also featured in the film Brenda Starr and the television series Webster and Mathnet. Avner’s one-man show, Avner the Eccentric, was a hit of the 1984–1985 Broadway season. Avner is the artistic director of Phyzgig, and annual festival of physical comedy, (COURTESY PHOTO)

8:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. New Year’s Eve Bash, Mariner’s Church, 368 Fore St. $50 tickets per person; festive holiday attire.

Sid Tripp & Proactive Resources Design are pleased to announce the revival of the Black Cat Ball. The Black Cat Ball originally began at the Eastland Ball Room in the mid’80s. On hiatus for 17 years, Tripp has a big night planned as he weaves his magic into a night of singing, dancing, laughing and celebrating as revelers enjoy a cocktail or two.

Join us to relive the magic of the Black Cat Ball, and ring in 2011 in Red Carpet style in glamorous festive holiday attire with 350 of your best friends. The rockin’ sounds of local band Wavelength will be jamming all night long. The celebrations will include heavy hors d’oeuvres, Italian wine tasting, three cash bars, party favors, photo booth, roving photographer, countdown, champagne toast and balloon drop, psychics and surprise guest performances. Tickets are $50 per person; advanced tickets may be purchased by calling 772-3599. Cash, check and credit cards accepted in advance, at the door during the event, or anytime online at brownpapertickets.com. Visit Sid Tripp’s Black Cat Ball on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Sid-Tripps-BlackCat-Ball/154751921233348?ref=mf for up-to-the-minute details.

Saturday, Jan. 1 visit the Holiday Inn by the Bay, located at 88 Spring Street in Portland, or the Bangor Elks Lodge at 108 Odlin Road in Bangor to give blood. To make an appointment, or for more information about giving blood, call 1-800 RED CROSS or visit online at redcrossblood.org or fairpointbundleupblooddrive.org.

Friday, Dec. 31 Plunge at East End Beach to support the Natural Resources Council of Maine noon. “Be bold in the cold with a plunge into the Atlantic to support the Natural Resources Council of Maine’s work to reduce global warming pollution. The bone-chilling fun will take place at East End Beach in Portland, Maine on Friday, Dec. 31st at noon (the ‘warmest’ part of the day!)

Your friends and family can pledge your plunge, to raise money and awareness about global warming and what NRCM is doing right here in Maine to curb it. And, it will be fun, with folks in polar bear costumes and hot coffee from Coffee by Design and pastries from Whole Foods. The two top fundraisers will receive $50 gift certificates to LL Bean, while additional top fundraisers will receive commemorative NRCM tote bags or caps. To participate, email or call stacie@nrcm.org, 430-0127, with your name and contact information and we will send you an information packet.

We request that you raise a minimum of $50 in pledges.

Your pledgers may use the online pledge forms at http:// supporters.nrcm.org/polar_plunge.”

Harlem Globetrotters at the Civic Center 7 p.m. The Harlem Globetrotters, who have contributed more innovations to the game of basketball than any other team in history, have implemented the first-ever 4-point shot as part of all of its games on the team’s 2011 “4 Times the Fun” North American tour, the team’s record 85th season of touring. This game-changing innovation will be on display when the Globetrotters take on the Washington Generals at Cumberland County Civic Center. Tickets, starting at $13.50, are on sale at www.harlemglobetrotters. com, the Cumberland County Civic Center box office, or by phone at 207-775-3331 or 603-868-7300. Information on group and scout tickets can also be found at www.harlemglobetrotters.com.

Tuesday, Jan. 4 Portland School Board meeting 7 p.m. Business meeting of Portland School Board, Room 250, Casco Bay High School. Beginning in January, the Portland School Board will hold its regular business meetings and workshops on Tuesdays rather than Wednesdays.

Most School Board committees also will meet on Tuesdays.

The board decided to change the meeting day earlier in the fall to accommodate members who have to travel for work. School Board meetings and committee meetings are announced on the Portland Public Schools Web site: www. portlandschools.org.

Vaudeville at Portland Stage 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Vaudeville shows at Portland Stage Company. http://www.phyzgig.org or www.acorn-productions.org/pages/Phyzgig2009.html

New Year’s Burning Bowl Service 7 p.m. New Year’s Burning Bowl Service at Unity Church of Greater Portland, 54 River Road, Windham. “The burning bowl service is a favorite within Unity. It encourages each of us to identify the doubts and fears which stand between us an true spiritual enlightenment. It is an opportunity to release those limitations into a ritual fire, letting go of them and opening ourselves to new possibilities to come.” For more information about Unity or its events, please contact the church office at 893-1233 or visit www.unitygreaterportland.org.

New Year’s Eve Gorham 7 p.m. Volunteers, with the cooperation of the Town of Gorham’s public safety, fire, public works and recreation department, coordinate a community-wide New Year’s Eve event. Churches and other public buildings serve as various venues where performances are scheduled throughout the evening. They offer a variety of entertainment, which is presented for families and people of all ages to enjoy.

The New Year rings in with an exciting celebration at midnight culminating with a fireworks display accompanied by

Thursday, Jan. 6 Film: ‘Budrus’ 7:30 p.m. Film: “Budrus,” film screening at SPACE Gallery, 538 Congress St., Portland. 828-5600. Doors open at 7 p.m.; film begins at 7:30 p.m. Admission $7, $5 for SPACE members. “Ayed Morrar, an unlikely community organizer, unites Palestinians from all political factions and Israelis to save his village from destruction by Israel’s Separation Barrier. Victory seems improbable until his 15-year-old daughter, Iltezam, launches a women’s contingent that quickly moves to the front lines. Struggling side by side, father and daughter unleash an inspiring, yet little-known movement in the Occupied Palestinian Territories that is still gaining ground today. In an action-filled documentary chronicling this movement from its infancy, Budrus shines a light on people who choose nonviolence to confront a threat yet remain virtually unknown to the world. The movie is directed by award-winning filmmaker Julia Bacha (co-writer and editor Control Room, co-director Encounter Point), and produced by Bacha, Palestinian journalist Rula Salameh, and filmmaker and human rights advocate Ronit Avni (formerly of Witness, director of Encounter Point).” www.justvision.org/budrus

THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN, Thursday, December 23, 2010— Page 15

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– MUSIC CALENDAR –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Friday, Dec. 31 ICING New Year’s Bash at SPACE Gallery 8 p.m. SPACE Gallery and The VIA Group ring in 2011 with our 2nd annual ICING New Year’s Bash. Dress to impress and live it up for a wild evening with good food, friends, dancing, and a cavalcade of performances and installations by SPACE’s talented family of artists. Performances include a soulful set by the inimitable Lady Zen, live drumming by Dylan Blanchard and friends and West African inspired dancing by Blue Moon Tribe, led by Marita KennedyCastro. There’ll be some timewarping trouble provided by Tin Pan Alley alums Over A Cardboard Sea. Portland’s Dirty Dishes Burlesque Review plan to live up to their name and Kate Cox and Matt Rock have something up their sleeve for when the ball drops and we lift a glass to another year at SPACE! Dj King Alberto keeps the soul and funk grooves spinning all night.

The dynamic, virtuosic, fiery and peripatetic quartet that comprises Fishtank Ensemble It’s the last dance party of the take their roots both from their own varied musical and national backgrounds, as well as year — let’s make it count! $50, from their adventures and travels. They will perform at One Longfellow Square Thursday, 21 plus.

Jan. 6. (COURTESY PHOTO)

8 p.m. New Year’s Eve with Mallett Brothers and Marion Grace and special guests Holy Boys Danger Club. Ticket price includes (We Don’t Need No stinking Champagne) Whiskey Toast at Midnight. $10 advance, $12 at the door. 21 plus.

Rustic Overtones / Gypsy Tailwind 8 p.m. Hometown heros Rustic Overtones join with Gypsy Tailwind for the Port City Music Hall New Year’s Eve Bash. $25 adv./$28 day of sale/$50 VIP, 21 plus.

Listo / Brown Bird / Wesley Hartley and the Traveling Trees 8 p.m. Dave Noyes & Kelly Nesbitt perform once again as Listo. Singing Brazilian tunes by the likes of Chico Buarque, Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa, Zelia Barbosa, Ze Ramalho, Nara Leao, Gilbert Gil, and more. Other performances by Brown Bird, a reunion of Dave, Morgan Eve, Jeremy and Jerusha! AND Wesley Allen Hartley and the Traveling Trees. Hogfarm Studios, Biddeford.

Zach Zaitlin at The Oak & The Axe State Theatre hosts New Year’s Eve Clash of the Titans by decades 9 p.m. It’s a battle of the bands on New Year’s Eve at the State Theatre as Clash of the Titans, a Portland institution since 2004, pits three super groups comprising some of the best local musicians in headto-hand combat. It’s a duel of the decades, if you will, as Zach Jones & friends take on hits of the 1960s versus The Lucid & friends as they tackle the ‘70s versus Grand Hotel & friends as they rip through the classics of the ‘80s. Since 2004, the Clash of the Titans has been creeping up Congress Street playing to capacity crowds at Empire Dine ‘n’ Dance on Tuesday nights throughout the year. During this special New Years Eve edition of the series, expect to hear hits of each the decade in clashes like the Beatles v. Cyndi Lauper, Pink Floyd v. Phil Collins and Bowie v. the Police as each band faces the other in classic Clash of the Titans style.

State Theatre, Portland, 609 Congress St. http://www.statetheatreportland.com. $15 advance /$20 day of show.

Saturday, Jan. 1 Ellis Paul at One Longfellow.

8 p.m. Ellis Paul is one of the leading voices in American songwriting. He was a principle leader in the wave of singer/songwriters that emerged from the Boston folk scene, creating a movement that revitalized the national acoustic circuit with an urban, literate, folk pop style that helped renew interest in the genre in the 1990’s. His charismatic, personally authentic performance style has influenced a generation of artists away from the artifice of pop, and closer towards the realness of folk. Though he remains among the most pop-friendly of today’s singer-songwriters - his songs regularly appear in hit movie and TV soundtracks - he has bridged the gulf between the modern folk sound and the populist traditions of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger more successfully than perhaps any of his songwriting peers. $18.

Thursday, Jan 6 The Fishtank Ensemble 8 p.m. The LA Weekly calls them “cross pollinated gypsy music….one of the most thrilling young acts on the planet.” Formed in 2005 and playing everywhere from the hippest LA clubs to festivals, cultural centers, museums, parades, and even on the street, the band includes two explosive violins, the world’s best slap bass player, musical saw, flamenco and gypsy jazz guitar, trombone, opera, jazz and gypsy vocals, accordion and one little banjolele.

Tackling everything from French hot jazz to wild Serbian and Transylvanian gypsy anthems, Flamenco, and oddball originals, the band is a not to be missed event for world music lovers...and everyone will love this intoxicating mix of music!! One Longfellow Square, $12.

Friday, Jan. 7 Mike Duffy at Andy’s Old Port 8:30 p.m. Mike Duffy at Andy’s Old Port

Saturday, Jan. 8 Epiphany Celebration 7:30 p.m. The Choral Art Society’s annual Epiphany Celebration will be performed at Immanuel Baptist Church, 156 High St. in Portland. “This performance is one of The Choral Art Society’s most spiritual annual concerts and a wonderful way to welcome the New Year and reflect after the busy holiday season. The 2011 Epiphany Celebration will feature the Camerata chorus, a select group of The Choral Art Society, and the Meliora String Quartet, oboists Neil Boyer and Stefani Burk, and organist Dan Moore. The program opens with the beautiful Bach Cantata BWV 62 and concludes with a cappella music by a 12-voice ensemble.” Tickets are available at www. choralart.org or by calling 828-0043. They are priced at $15 for advance sales and

$20 at the door at time of the performance.

Tickets are also available at the stores that support The Choral Art Society, including: Longfellow Books and Starbird Music in Portland, Books Etc. in Falmouth, and Nonesuch Books in South Portland.

The THE BAND Band at One Longfellow Square 8 p.m. The mission of The THE BAND Band is to present the music of The Band in a manner true to its original style and form, evoking the sound and the spirit of their live performances; to perform their songs for longtime fans as well as a new generation of listeners; and to have fun doing it.

The members of The THE BAND Band are veteran professional musicians who have played on the national stage for over 25 years. They share a love for the music of The Band, and formed this tribute band for the sheer enjoyment of playing their songs.

By covering all the well-loved favorites, as well as a broad selection of lesser-known songs, they showcase the astounding breadth and depth of The Band’s distinctively original “roots rock” music. $18, One Longfellow Square.

Sunday, Jan. 9 The Lovin’ Spoonful 7 p.m. The Lovin’ Spoonful, that American pop rock band of the 1960s, named to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 will appear live at The Landing at Pine Point.

Combining the best of folk music and rock and roll, with a touch of country thrown in, they gave us such hits as “Do You Believe in Magic,” “Daydream,” “You Didn’t Have to be So Nice,” “Nashville Cats” and the anthem for a hot July evening, “Summer in the City.” All this in the span of four years and five albums. They will perform at The Landing at Pine Point in Scarborough. www.thelandingatpinepoint.com

Friday, Jan. 14 Hot Club of Detroit 7 p.m. More than seven decades after the innovations of the Quintette du Hot Club de France, featuring guitar virtuoso Django Reinhardt, combos called Hot Clubs carry on the gypsy jazz sound around the globe— in Tokyo, San Francisco, Seattle, Sweden, Norway, Austria, and many other locales.

None, however, offers a fresher take on the tradition than does the Hot Club of Detroit.

Come witness this combo right here at The Landing at Pine Point at 353 Pine Point Road in Scarborough. Visit www.thelandingatpinepoint.com

Single Lobster Dinner $ 12.95 Served with Garden Salad

Triple Lobster Dinner $ 22.95 Served with Garden Salad

New York Sirloin Steak $15.95 Served with Salad & French Fries or Pasta

Join us for Wed. Night Trivia 6:30 to 8:30 Christmas gift certificates available

G R DiMillo’s BA Y SID E

Restaurant & Sports Bar 118 Preble St., Portland, ME At the entrance to Downtown Portland

207-699-5959 • www.grdimillos.com

Espresso - Cannoli - Steak

8 p.m. Zack Zatlin rings in the New Year on the cheap with a free show at The Oak & The Axe in Biddeford.

Tuesday, Dec. 28 9 p.m. Alexis Pastuhov and Billy Libby at Slainte Wine Bar.

Le Vent Du Nord at One Longfellow

8 p.m. Le Vent du Nord has crowds dancing to the sound of fiddle and hurdy-gurdy, using an original repertoire.

Their music is both fresh and bound to tradition. One of the group’s strength’s is their stage presence: energetic, dynamic, generous and in touch with the audience.

Le Vent du Nord consists of four singers/ multi-instrumentalists: Nicolas Boulerice, Simon Beaudry, Olivier Demers and Réjean Brunet, who joined the group in 2007.

They sing originals and songs taken from the traditional repertoire, in their native French, to the delight of their audience- for whom it is more often than not a foreign language. Le Vent du Nord’s energy amazes their audiences, and whether they perform at a festival or a concert, people keep asking for more. $25.

Pizza - Pasta - Parmagiana

Mallett Brothers / Marion Grace / Holy Boys Danger Club at Empire Dine and Dance

Pub. “Thanks to all who braved the rainy blustery weather last Sunday — it was actually a respectable and fun turnout. We’re looking forward to this next event at Andy’s.”

Page 16 — THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN, Thursday, December 23, 2010

Minn. Metrodome roof nearly clear of snow, ice MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Workers were close Wednesday to clearing the remaining snow and ice from the roof of the Metrodome, which would allow more substantial repair work to begin nearly two weeks after a blizzard caused extensive damage to the home of the Minnesota Vikings.

But Bill Lester, executive director of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, said it’s still not clear how long total repairs would take, including whether it would involve replacing damaged pieces of the roof or replacing it entirely, and how much the repairs would cost.

With the Vikings finished with their home schedule this year, repairs now likely to stretch well into the new year are less urgent.

It still means cancellations or postponements for a number of major events scheduled for the stadium.

Among them are a popular New Year celebration by the state’s Hmong community, a home and landscape expo, and potentially a monster truck rally and a popular annual Minnesota Twins expo.

Lester said members of the

events staff at the Metrodome are already working with Dome users scheduled through the end of January on setting alternate plans and that could extend even further.

The long-running and wellattended “TwinsFest” event is scheduled for the last weekend in January, creating the potential that the Dome’s collapse could affect another of Minnesota’s pro sports teams.

The Twins moved from playing in the Dome to outdoor Target Field at the beginning of the 2010 season.

It took so long to get all the snow and ice off the Dome’s roof, Lester said, because of cold weather conditions and safety hazards from the risk of more failures by roof panels in the stadium.

Three panels failed Dec. 12 under the load of about 17 inches of snow that fell in a major winter storm, and a fourth ripped a few days later.

On Monday, engineers used a shotgun to blow out a fifth panel that was under stress from a load of ice.

Eight or nine panels may be candidates for replacement, Lester said.

New Portland zoning could alter waterfront

Snow duty

Dan Raymond runs a snowblower near the State Street Church Tuesday following Monday’s snowstorm. The National Weather Service calls for a 40 percent chance of precipitation today and a sunny Christmas weekend. (DAVID CARKHUFF PHOTO)

PORTLAND (AP) — Changes could be coming to the waterfront in Portland.

The city council has adopted new zoning regulations that would allow for more nonmarine uses of the city’s major piers and wharves.

Some commercial fishermen say they worry the new rules could eventually displace them from the waterfront.

Mayor Nicholas Mavodones says the zoning change means that as much as 45 percent of the space on the first floor of a building between the Maine State Pier and the International Marine Terminal can be rented for non-marine uses.

Steve DiMillo, whose family owns Long Wharf, tells the Portland Press Herald the changes will give pier owners more income to pay for expensive maintenance and dredging because non-marine tenants pay higher rents.

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