The Portland Daily Sun, Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Highlights of the year from the pages of The Sun — See page 3

2010: a look back TUESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2010

VOL. 2 NO. 232

PORTLAND, ME

PORTLAND’S DAILY NEWSPAPER

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Greens like their chances in 2011 mayoral race

BY MATT DODGE THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN

Bolstered by this year’s passage of rank choice voting (IRV) for an elected mayor, the Portland Independent Green Party likes its chances to win that office in 2011.

“I think we have a really strong shot — in 2011 we could end up with an elected Green mayor,” said Anna Trevorrow, who was elected the Independent Greens committee chair during the group’s annual meeting last weekend.

Trevorrow has served as Chair of the Maine Green

Trevorrow

Independent Party State Steering Committee and as an elected member of the Portland Charter Commission. Last fall Trevorrow ran for State Representative in Portland’s 120th District, earning 31 percent of the vote in a loss to Democratic incumbent Diane Russell.

“This is an important year for the PGIC,” said Trevorrow, “We plan to run a vigorous Green

Mayor campaign and to do public education surrounding the ranked choice system.”

While none of city’s three current Green Independents city councilors have ever held the position of mayor in Portland, Trevorrow said the party will be able to field a strong contender. The lack of a Green Independent mayor has been at least somewhat controversial, with some progressives claiming that Democrats on the city council have blocked Greens from the post.

As for candidates, it’s still a bit early. see GREENS page 2

Surf’s up Surfers brave blizzard, fight for beach access

BY MATT DODGE THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN

With blizzard conditions, including wind gusts up to 45 mph, few were venturing outside for anything but an emergency hot cocoa run on Monday.

But for some, the blustery weather means only one thing — surf’s up.

“You’ve got plenty of rubber on, it’s not that much colder than going snowboarding today,” said Chris Powers, who ventured out to Scarborough’s Higgins Beach Monday morning, where he snapped the attached photo before heading into waves.

“You have a hooded cold suit, it’s six millimeters thick, so the only thing, literally nothing is see SURF page 2

The waves roar at Scarborough’s Higgins Beach Monday. (Photo courtesy of Chris Powers)

Storm subsides, but look out for wind chills

BY DAVID CARKHUFF THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN

The blizzard is over, but don’t let the sunshine fool you. Wind chill values will dip as low as 4 below zero today with a northwest wind between 21 and 25 mph, according to the National Weather Service at Gray.

The Sunday night/Monday morning storm, which dropped more than 2 feet of snow on parts of the Northeast, accumulated 10.5 inches north of Raymond, 10 inches at Gray, 9.5 inches near Windham and 8.5 inches at Westbrook, based on Monday night readings from the weather service.

Due to the inclement weather, Portland city offices including City Hall were closed Monday for all non-essential employees.

Governor John Baldacci declared a State of Emergency in anticipation of the severe winter storm that brought blizzard conditions, including extreme whiteouts, periods of zero visibility and drifting snow. The governor directed that Maine see CHILL page 2 RIGHT: A Maine State Police trooper helps a driver whose vehicle slid off Interstate 295 southbound just past Yarmouth Monday.

(DAVID CARKHUFF PHOTO)

Ridin’ out the storm See Bob Higgins on page 4

Blue Man Group bringing their act to Merrill See the Events Calendar on page 15

Page 2 — THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN, Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Florida remains an odd state in 2010 TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — This year, Floridians learned that burials at sea don’t work if the body doesn’t sink, giant snail mucus can make you sick and that an underwire bra can stop a lawyer from visiting her client in prison.

Florida lived up to its reputation for being an odd state in 2010, with residents committing stupid crimes, making poor decisions and exhibiting general weirdness.

There was the man pulled over in Manatee County who claimed the crack in his crack wasn’t his. Officers found bags of marijuana and crack cocaine stuffed between the man’s butt cheeks. He said the pot was his but “the white stuff is not mine.”

A32-year-old Pasco County man called 911 to complain his mother took his beer, while police in Deland said a man walked out of a bar and headbutted a street preacher who called him a sinner. A Pasco County man was charged with slashing his father with a knife during an argument over who would walk the dog.

A man was walking his Jack Russell terrier in Tampa when an alligator snatched it. He pulled out his handgun and started shooting at the gator. It let go of the dog, but the pet wasn’t breathing until the man performed CPR and revived it.

Dogs weren’t always the victim. A Hernando County man was run over by his own pickup truck after his dog jumped into the running vehicle and put it in gear.

Threatening items that bomb squads had to handle this year included a box with two kittens in Cocoa and a stuffed pony in Orange County. Authorities blew up the stuffed pony, but spared the kittens. A Melbourne street was shut down for three hours, the time it took the bomb squad to figure out the flashing object in the middle of the street was a restaurant pager.

If that didn’t make you lose your appetite, this might: Several people in Miami complained got sick after consuming mucus from a giant snail in a religious ceremony.

2010 wasn’t the year to mess with the elderly.

An 84-year-old man was arrested in Bay County for allegedly hitting a deputy with his cane. Would-be robbers knocked an 83-year-old man to the ground in Clearwater only to turn and run when the victim pulled a gun on them.

A 69-year-old woman turned back a robber after picking up the gun he dropped in her car while smashing the windshield with it. He also dropped his cell phone and was caught.

SAYWHAT...

“

Everyone says I’m like the girl next door... Y’all must have really weird neighbors!”

—Kelly Clarkson

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3DAYFORECAST Today High: 27 Record: 57 (1949) Sunrise: 7:14 a.m.

WINDY

Tonight Low: 15 Record: -13 (1951) Sunset: 4:11 p.m.

MARKET

Tomorrow High: 33 Low: 11 Sunrise: 7:14 a.m.

Sunset: 4:12 p.m.

Thursday High: 33 Low: 14

DOW JONES 18.46 to 11,555.03 NASDAQ 1.7 to 2,667.27 S&P 0.8 to 1,257.54

LOTTERY#’S

THETIDES

DAILY NUMBERS

MORNING High: 4:10 a.m.

Low: 10:26 a.m.

Day 1-2-7 • 6-9-0-5

1,443 U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan.

EVENING High: 4:38 p.m.

Low: 10:47 p.m.

-courtesy of www.maineboats.com

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– WORLD/NATION–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Powerful winter storm claims life PORTLAND (AP) — A powerful blizzard that prompted Maine Gov. John Baldacci to declare a state of emergency caused whiteout conditions that contributed to a fatal crash in Wells and caused slippery roads that sent a tractor-trailer sliding into a house in Newport, police said Monday.

Heavy snow was accompanied Monday by hurricane-force winds offshore and gusts topping out at 65 mph at Cutler and 50 mph at Prospect Harbor, the National Weather Service said.

Strong winds toppled trees and tree limbs onto power lines, causing sporadic power outages for customers of Central Maine Power and Bangor Hydro Electric Co. The snowstorm also stranded airline passengers in Portland and Bangor, and briefly shut down Amtrak’s Downeaster service.

Snow-covered roads were blamed for a tractor-trailer loaded with bark crashing early Monday into a house in Newport, smashing a sun room but leaving the

driver and home’s occupants unhurt, said Police Lt. Randy Wing.

In Wells, low visibility caused by blowing snow contributed to the fatal crash in which a pickup drifted off the road and slammed head-on into a tree Sunday night, said Police Sgt. Kevin Chabot. Richard Folsom, 59, of Wells, died three hours later at a local hospital, Chabot said.

Even before the first snowflake fell, Baldacci declared a state of emergency and shut down state government on Monday.

Ranked-choice voting designed to eliminate spoilers GREENS from page one

“It’s probably too premature to name names, but it’s safe to say that from Greens that have held office in the past and from the experience and lot of them have gained in elected capacities we have the ability to run really strong candidates,” she said.

The PGIC was also one of the leading advocates for the ranked-choice voting system adopted by the city as part of a referendum question that will allow Portland to vote for a popularly elected mayor.

“The PGIC is well-known for its work to establish an elected mayoral position in Portland. That work has culminated, this year, in a mayor position to be popularly elected by a system of ranked choice voting next November,” she said. “[IRV] is really exciting to us because it allows our candidates to work with other

candidates to secure votes,” said Trevorrow.

The IRV system is designed to eliminate fringe candidates or “spoilers” in which votes are initially counted by tallying first preferences.

If no candidate has a majority of the votes, the candidate with the fewest number of votes is eliminated and that candidate’s votes are counted at full value for the remaining candidates according to the next preference on each ballot.

The process repeats until one candidate obtains a majority of votes among the remaining candidates.

Green Independent City Councilors David Marshall and Kevin Donoghue advocated for an elected mayor proposal during their first terms in office, and Marshall later became a proponent of forming the 2009 Portland Charter Commission to

examine the issue.

Trevorrow said the PGIC will also continue their efforts to secure voting right for legal resident non-citizens in Portland, after referendum Question 4 failed 57 to 42 percent in November.

“It [non-citizen voting] is something that our party has just been interested in over the years and continues to be interested in,” she explained.

The PGIC also elected Anthony Zeli as secretary and Seth Berner to the position of treasurer.

Zeli currently serves as Treasurer of the Maine Green Independent Party, and ran for Portland’s District 2 School Committee seat in 2009.

Berner is a longtime peace and justice activist who owns his own law practice and recently ran for State Representative in Portland’s 115th District.

Hardy Maine surfers face tough weather conditions SURF from page one

exposed but a little circle for your eyes and mouth,” he said.

Maine surfers seeking big waves often have to brave weather conditions that would keep most people indoors. “You get use to it, for me it’s my exercise for the winter, it’s how I have fun,” Powers said.

“You’ve just got to keep moving, if you sit around, it’s going to get cold,” he said.

Powers is part of a Facebook group called Save Higgins that aims to keep access to the Scarborough beach and surfing hotspot accessible year round.

The group was formed after the ad-hoc Higgins Beach Parking Advisory Committee presented a report drafted to inform the council and town manager and recommended limiting parking year round on any street access via Ocean Avenue except from Oct. 1 through April 1, when

30-minute parking would be allowed on Bayview Street between Pearl and Ashton.

Currently unrestricted parking along Higgins Beach is allowed from Oct. 1 through April 1, while at all other beaches in Scarborough beach-side parking is allowed Sept. 15 through May 1.

A neighborhood petition signed by 253 property owners vowed to provide yearround access to a parking lot purchased by the town last spring, but ban all on-street parking.

Some members of the Save Higgins group were concerned that the town of Scarborough would not make the plowing of the public parking lot a high priority, meaning surfers might miss out on some of the best waves of the winter.

“They’ve told us in the past they would plow the lot but it would be a lower priority than the roads,” he said. “Part of the reason we started the group was that we didn’t

want a to have a day like today come about and there was no where to park legally,” said Powers.

So far the neighborhood seems to have held up it’s promise — on Monday the parking lot was clear. “There didn’t seem to be any issue, I just parked on the street, there was plenty of room,” he said.

While Powers said he’s been busy with work and unable to attend meetings between access advocates, Higgins Beach residents and the town of Scarborough, he’s heard that the talks have been going well.

“They are starting to understand that people are passionate about needing to have access and want to make sure they can get to the beach whenever they want,” he said.

“It’s not the neighborhood’s beach, it’s the whole state of Maine’s beach,” said Powers.

Cold to persist early this week, then prepare for the warm-up CHILL from page one

state government be closed on Monday, so only emergency and essential personnel were on duty.

The forecast calls for mostly clear conditions tonight, with a low around 14 and a wind chill value as low as 1 below.

Wednesday, Portlanders should see sunshine, with a high near 28, and the

highs will climb to nearly 40 by New Year’s Day. Saturday night, look for a chance of rain.

For information on storm safety and preparedness, visit www.maineprepares.com.

THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN, Tuesday, December 28, 2010— Page 3

2010: a look back JANUARY Jan. 2, 2010: The decommissioned aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy is looking for a good home where it can be converted into a museum and memorial. Some locals think Portland Harbor would be a good fit.

Portlanders may remember when the JFK visited the local harbor amid much ado in 1989, when posters and ceremonies marked its arrival.

Historians will no doubt recall that Maine was one of thencandidate John Kennedy’s first campaign swings when he ran for the Oval Office.

Now, the ship named for the president is berthed in Philadelphia, awaiting its fate.

Locally, the non-profit USS John F. Kennedy Museum Committee, or “JFK for ME” has been set up for the purpose of luring the ship to Maine.

According to city documents, the group intends to “undertake this task at no expense to the city or its taxpayers.”

Jan. 5 A threatening note found on a mirror in a Lyman Moore Middle School bathroom, indicating the presence of a gun, prompted officials to seal off both the middle school and nearby Lyseth Elementary School Monday morning, placWhile anxious parents wait for news, Portland Police Officer Kevin ing the buildings in lockdown Haley holds an M16 rifle outside Lyman Moore Middle School in mode while police officers con- January after a threatening note inside prompted a school lockducted a search. down. (DAVID CARKHUFF PHOTO) After about two and a half hours, police announced that no weapon had been found. The schools were reopened and classes resumed, although parents had the option of taking their children home for the day.

Students were confined to rooms for two and a half hours.

Jan. 6 Portland is one of three Maine cities that would lose funding for state-mandated social service programs under Gov. John Baldacci’s proposed two-year budget.

State law requires each Maine municipality to provide general assistance aid to residents meeting stringent financial requirements for things like rent assistance, heat, hygiene items and food, among other things. Large cities like Portland also fund homeless shelters through general assistance budgets.

Jan. 7 A CVS construction site was picketed based on claims that CVS hired illegal aliens and does not hire local Mainers for the construction jobs — but both claims prompted the contractor to post a sign refuting the allegations.

Jan. 8 A progressive nonprofit group in Portland Thursday linked a rate-hike request by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maine, which seeks to increase insurance premiums by 22.9 percent on two individual health care coverage plans, with ongoing calls for congressional health care reform.

But a spokesman for Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maine said state regulation, not necessarily the national legal landscape, creates a difficult market in Maine, prompting the need for the rate increase.

••••••••••••• Portland Police detectives investigating the death of Than Yin outside a Read Street nightclub last month have interviewed numerous witnesses but still have no clear motive or suspects in the case, officials said Thursday.

“We are still interviewing those that we can locate [and] identifying who were present at the scene that night and re-interviewing others as additional information is gathered,”

said Capt. James Ross, head of detectives.

Yin, 33, of Portland, died at Maine Medical Center on Dec. 19 following an altercation in the parking lot outside Thanh Thanh Bida club, where he and about 60 other people had been attending a birthday party.

••••••••••••• An 8-year-old boy found walking on Interstate 295 across Tukey’s Bridge Wednesday afternoon apparently bolted from East End Community School when teachers weren’t looking, according to an internal review by the school department.

Portland Schools Superintendent James Morse said the child, who had recently moved to the Riverton neighborhood, was waiting for school buses with a group of students and teachers when he “left the line without being noticed.”

“This is an unfortunate and potentially very dangerous incident,” Morse said in a statement.

••••••••••••• NEW YORK (AP) — The future of “The Jay Leno Show” was in question Thursday, even as NBC defended its prime-time talk-show star amid Web site reports the program will soon be cancelled or shifted into late night.

Jan. 9 Two Deering-area residents are recovering from gunshot wounds suffered early Friday when intruders entered their home and opened fire as the couple slept, police said.

Portland Police Capt. Ted Ross said the victims, a 21-year-old male and a 25-year-old female, suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the incident, which happened shortly after 1:30 a.m. on Rackleef Street. Both victims are under observation at Maine Medical Center in stable condition, police said.

••••••••••••• Following the abrupt cancellation last month of ferry service between Portland and Nova Scotia, officials say the connection is unlikely to be restored until 2011 at the earliest, marking the first time in 40 years the city won’t have an international ferry.

In an interview this week, city manager Joe Gray said he’s had “informal discussions” with city officials about trying to restart ferry service but hasn’t yet spoken with Canadian officials about their plans for a ferry route. While he remains optimistic a new provider will be found, no time line has emerged for when that might happen.

“Certainly, we would be interested in seeing service restored or brought back,” he said.

“Every indication is, if it were to occur, it wouldn’t be in 2010, that it would have to be in 2011.”

••••••••••••• BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox now have Adrian Beltre at Fenway Park, and with him comes a new defensive mindset.

Beltre agreed to a one-year deal Friday worth a guaranteed $10 million.

Jan. 12 Bill Taylor, a water attorney with Pierce Atwood in Portland, has found something unique and ground breaking in the approach of landowners to cleaning up runoff pollution in the Long Creek watershed.

After initial misgivings, landowners, he said, are buying into an approach to collectively pay for cleanup, something that advocates say could be a model nationwide. The idea is to meet new stormwater regulatory requirements under a “general” permit instead of individually, sharing the cost but also realizing that money paid into the effort might benefit others.

••••••••••••• NEW YORK (AP) — Mark McGwire finally came clean, admitting he used steroids when he broke baseball’s home run record in 1998.

McGwire said in a statement sent to The Associated Press on Monday that he used steroids on and off for nearly a decade. see 2010 page 8

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Page 4 — THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN, Tuesday, December 28, 2010

––––––––––––– COLUMN –––––––––––––

Who owns the future?

“That speaks about who is going to be leading tomorrow.”

So said Angel Gurria, secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Every three years, the Paris-based OECD holds its Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests of the reading, math and science skills of 15-year-olds in developing and developed countries. Gurria was talking of the results of the 2009 tests.

Sixty-five nations competed.

The Chinese swept the board.

The schools of ShanghaiChina finished first in math, reading and science. Hong Kong-China was third in math and science. Singapore, a city––––– state dominated by overseas Creators Chinese, was second in math, Syndicate fourth in science.

Only Korea, Japan and Finland were in the hunt.

And the U.S.A.? America ranked 14th in reading, 17th in science and 25th in math, producing the familiar quack-quack.

“This is an absolute wake-up call for America,” said Education Secretary Arne Duncan. “We have to face the brutal truth. We have to get much more serious about investment in education.”

But the “brutal truth” is that we invest more per pupil than any other country save Luxembourg, and we are broke. And a closer look at the PISA scores reveals some unacknowledged truths.

True, East Asians — Chinese, Koreans, Japanese — are turning in the top scores in all three categories, followed by the Europeans, Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders.

But, looking down the New York Times list of the top 30 nations, one finds not a single Latin American nation, not a single African nation, not a single Muslim nation, not a single South or Southeast Asian nation (save Singapore), not a single nation of the old Soviet Union except Latvia and Estonia.

And in Europe as in Asia, the northern countries (Finland, Norway, Belgium, Iceland, Austria, Germany) outscore the southern (Greece, Italy, Portugal). Slovenia and Croatia, formerly of the Habsburg Empire, outperformed Albania and

Pat Buchanan

see BUCHANAN page 5

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 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Ridin’ the storm out Like nearly everyone else in Portland, I get bit by the “winter storm bug.”

It starts with that haunting theme music on the local weather center. Slowly, over the weekend, this storm built up to what was purported to be a cataclysmic storm of Biblical proportions, second only in the “things falling from the sky” category to the giant meteor that doomed the dinosaurs.

Post holiday bliss became overrun with an uneasy feeling.

Perhaps, like all the other fools in Portland, I should wander to the store for the necessities and “storm supplies.” Everyone shows up at the major shopping centers with visions of being stuck in the house for days, with no running water.

In reality, all they can remember for sure is that they have a half-eaten jar of peanut butter, and those damned tins of oysters and sardines. Worst part is, the sardines aren’t even the ones in mustard, but swimming in more oil than a Gulf of Mexico shrimp catch.

Former PPH reporter-turnedblogger Justin Ellis summed up the pre-storm panic the best way in a Facebook posting. “oh god, OH GOD! It’s SNOWING! Do I

Bob Higgins ––––– Daily Sun Columnist need canned goods? And bottled water? Potted meat? Where’s my shotgun?”

This storm came at the worst possible time. Just when everyone thought they were free and clear of the weekend visitors over the holidays, here comes a big storm on a Monday after a threeday slacker weekend, where everything was left undone at work with a “I’ll do it Monday” attitude. I’m thinking Tuesday is going to truly suck for most people.

Like fish and cat-boxes, the holiday guest does begin to take on a bit of a reek after the third day. With sno-pocalypse on the way, and the airports closing at a speed that rivals high-risk bond funds, you were probably stuck with relatives for at least bit longer.

Another proof positive that this storm came at the worst time is a simple one. The average battery life per toy, assuming a fairly

normal use and nobody leaves it on too long, is something like 30 hours, I am told, depending of course on what you’re powering.

But it’s sure that all those new Christmas toys began to start dying sometime Monday morning.

But here you are, stuck in the house, with kids off from school, surrounded by dead batteries. If you get to the local store, will they be sold out? Have other providers taken care of their families while you ate leftovers and watched bad TV? As part of my personal and ongoing non-court-ordered series of community service columns, I’ve included a list of things to do around the house to chase away the first signs of cabin fever. Usually, CF doesn’t make an appearance until late in February, but with house guests who can’t leave because the airport is closed, you just have to find inventive things to do around the house.

Assuming your Internet still works, there are tons of opportunities for fun. Catch up on all your conspiracy theory reading. Check out all the text messages from 9/11 on WikiLeaks. Check in to local Bigfoot sightings, and make a note to visit the crypto-zoology museum and ask about them. see HIGGINS page 5

THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN, Tuesday, December 28, 2010— Page 5

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– OPINION ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Obama the genius Was it only a month ago that the chattering class was writing off the president as being almost as thoroughly defeated as the lame duck Congress, as the failed leader who had lost his way, popularity plummeting, accomplishments vulnerable? Insiders worried about who was up next.

How much worse could it get? Did he really want to be a one-term president? Any Republican could beat him, friend and foe asserted. (Well, maybe not any Republican, but almost any).

And then, like the weather in New England, everything changed.

In politics, the distance between idiot and genius, especially at the highest levels, can be measured in days.

In the past 30, this president has put in place a tax deal that also extends unemployment benefits - and made clear to House Democrats that they could like it or lump it. He pushed to a vote a new nuclear arms treaty with Russia, signed into law the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” and even got some judges confirmed. That’s just off the top of my head.

Even without Rahm, it turns out the president knows his way around tough negotiations and games of chicken, not

Susan Estrich ––––– Creators Syndicate only forging a compromise but landing himself squarely in the middle.

“Triangulation” minus Dick Morris.

He has been decisive, tough and confident. When House Democrats revolted, he stood up to them and told them what was what. The once unified Republican bloc splintered.

He found the votes he needed. The issue that threatened the early days of Bill Clinton’s presidency — gays in the military — was resolved with the stroke of a pen.

Who is this genius?

Who is this natural-born leader?

None other than last month’s beaten man.

The man we would wish were president if only he weren’t.

Hillary has probably never been more popular. (Sometimes I wonder how she ever lost the nomination what with all the folks who now claim they were for her and were right, to

When Republicans like Susan Collins are willing to be in the picture, when the aisle doesn’t bind, he gets points with people who are sick and tired of what mostly sounds, from a distance, like bickering bullies.

boot. But then, I can remember when public opinion polls during Watergate showed that McGovern must have beaten Nixon.)

It’s easy to read the daily polls and see the entire public as a fickle lot constantly racing in one direction or another, radiating anger as they do.

But the reality is that it’s mostly the middle that’s swinging, if and when they pay attention. And that middle — the group that either likes Obama no matter what he does or doesn’t like him, on the same terms — is mostly in the ideological middle, not to mention, by definition, nonpartisan.

So when the president acts in a nonpartisan way, when he forces a compromise that keeps the tax cuts for everyone and extends unemploy-

ment benefits for folks who really can’t find work (even if our grandkids will pay for it) and ends the bickering and backstabbing and intolerable paralysis, those folks are more likely to swing in his direction.

And when Republicans like Susan Collins are willing to be in the picture, when the aisle doesn’t bind, he gets points with people who are sick and tired of what mostly sounds, from a distance, like bickering bullies. And even if folks don’t see all of it themselves, all the chattering about the president being back on top shapes the coverage and ultimately tends to nudge them in that direction.

And so Barack Obama ends the year not vanquished but firmly at the head of the table, which isn’t bad for a guy who last month was taking heat from every direction.

He’s on his way up. Mark my words.

He’s a genius — until, that is, the weather changes.

(To find out more about Susan Estrich and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.)

American students rank near the bottom on latest assessment BUCHANAN from page 4

Serbia, which spent centuries under Turkish rule.

Among the OECD members, the most developed 34 nations on earth, Mexico, principal feeder nation for U.S. schools, came in dead last in reading.

Steve Sailer of VDARE.com got the full list of 65 nations, broke down U.S. reading scores by race, then measured Americans with the countries and continents whence their families originated. What he found was surprising.

Asian-Americans outperform all Asian students except for Shanghai-Chinese.

White Americans outperform students from all 37 predominantly white nations except Finns, and U.S. Hispanics outperformed the students of all eight Latin American countries that participated in the tests.

African-American kids would have outscored the students of any sub-Saharan African country that took the test (none did) and did outperform the only black country to participate, Trinidad and Tobago, by 25 points.

America’s public schools, then, are not abject failures.

They are educating immigrants and their

descendants to outperform the kinfolk their parents or ancestors left behind when they came to America. America’s schools are improving the academic performance of all Americans above what it would have been had they not come to America.

What American schools are failing at, despite the trillions poured into schools since the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act, is closing the racial divide.

We do not know how to close the gap in reading, science and math between Anglo and Asian students and black and Hispanic students.

And from the PISA tests, neither does any other country on earth.

The gap between the test scores of East Asian and European nations and those of Latin America and African nations mirrors the gap between Asian and white students in the U.S. and black and Hispanic students in the U.S. Which brings us to “Bad Students, Not Bad Schools,” a new book in which Dr. Robert Weissberg contends that U.S. educational experts deliberately “refuse to confront the obvious truth.”

“America’s educational woes reflect our demographic mix of students. Today’s schools are filled with millions of youngsters, many of whom are Hispanic immigrants struggling with English

plus millions of others of mediocre intellectual ability disdaining academic achievement.”

In the public and parochial schools of the 1940s and 1950s, kids were pushed to the limits of their ability, then pushed harder. And when they stopped learning, they were pushed out the door.

Writes Weissberg: “To be grossly politically incorrect, most of America’s educational woes vanish if these indifferent, troublesome students left when they had absorbed as much as they were going to learn and were replaced by learning-hungry students from Korea, Japan, India, Russia, Africa and the Caribbean.”

Weissberg contends that 80 percent of a school’s success depends on two factors: the cognitive ability of the child and the disposition he brings to class — not on texts, teachers or classroom size.

If the brains and the will to learn are absent, no amount of spending on schools, teacher salaries, educational consultants or new texts will matter.

A nation weary of wasting billions on unctuous educators who never deliver what they promise may be ready to hear some hard truths.

(To find out more about Patrick Buchanan, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators. com.)

Idle amusements abound during a blizzard in southern Maine HIGGINS from page 4

Possibly, even schedule a late winter trip to Cape Elizabeth, in search of the elusive cougar that had been spotted in the woods. I have an idea of where it might be, and have just to find a group of crafty minions to assist me.

Speaking of crafty minions, go back to your old yearbook or plans from long ago. You had an evil dastardly plan for global domination when you were much younger, so go back and check it out to see where you are on the plan. When you see how far behind you are, blame it on the lack of craftiness of your minions or the lack of minions altogether.

Pull up Google maps, and use the “real-time” air traffic plug in. Watch the planes circle around airports that are closed to any plane not running out of fuel. This is actually a cool gadget for watching for anyone coming in from far away.

Step outside your house, and make 10 absolutely perfect snowballs. These will not be snowballs for chucking at the plow guy, or the police car if it drives by. These are PERFECT snowballs, and your choice of targets should match the perfection of the orb. As an example, a neighbor who shows up late to shovel, and puts all the snow in your driveway.

On a further note, it is positively unacceptable to use any form of yellow snow for these orbs. They

must be pristine and perfect. Flinging yellow snowballs is a form of chemical warfare, and possession of more than 10 might violate international arms control treaties.

Sit near a busy intersection, and bet on the number of minor fender-benders in an hour. Double down and bet on the number of people you see “take a digger” in the snow.

Find some way to include the useless can of sardines in a meal. There has to be some way to make them edible, at least to the cat.

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

Page 6 — THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN, Tuesday, December 28, 2010

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– FOOD COLUMN –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

‘Biggest Loser’ idea inspires a $2,000 local challenge Locally grown, trucked in from California, prepared by a James Beard Award winning chef or bought in bulk from Sam’s Club — there is one food fact that is universal and undeniable: If you take in more calories than you burn, you will gain weight.

“From a clinical standpoint, more than 60 percent of Mainers are overweight or obese,” says Dr. Lou Jacobs, a Portland chiropractor and acupuncturist. “It’s an expensive problem and one that causes a lot of heartache for people. It’s connected to a lot of chronic disease like diabetes, cancer and heart disease. It’s not easy to deal with those things when you’re the one dealing with them. And it’s not easy for families to watch people deteriorate because of lifestyle choices they’ve made.”

This year is the fourth year of Jacobs’ attempt to address Maine’s reputation as one of the fatter states.

“Dr Lou’s Weight Loss Challenge” is loosely based on the hit TV weight-loss reality show “Biggest Loser” and last year attracted more than 80 hopeful losers competing for a cash prize of more than $2,000.

Participants pay a $25 entry fee, all of which goes into the kitty for the winners of two categories: the greatest percentage of body weight lost and the greatest overall transformation.

“So someone who only needs to lose 20 pounds and gets into phenomenal shape, they could also win half the money,” Jacobs explains.

Second-place winner Susie Maxwell, an occupational therapist from South Portland, loved the experience. “I had lost 30 pounds and had 30 more to go when I saw the flyer about Dr. Lou. He is so enthusiastic and his program gives a broad spectrum of support. From classes on nutrition and personal training to how to stay motivated and get through the plateaus. It’s a year later and I still have that ‘Oh my God, I did it’ feeling,” she laughs.

Jacobs’ primary focus is nutrition.

“I don’t prescribe any particular plan. I try to be reasonable and sensible when people are dieting.

The Food Rules book by Michael Pollen is really good because it makes it simple. A lot of people get bogged down in calorie this, calorie that and they overcomplicate it so that it almost immobilizes them. People say weight loss is 20 percent exercise, 80 percent diet, whether that’s completely accurate I don’t know. But I do know that exercise without eating well is not going to do it. For people who are really into food, I generally tell them not to eliminate anything

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— Lisa Prince

just eat smaller.

There’s no panacea for weight loss other than fewer calories in and more exercise.”

For those who eat in restaurants Jacobs says, “You can’t go too terribly wrong with vegetables unless you fry them. Not that meat is bad. I’m all about eating meat. I love Thanh Thanh on Forest Avenue and Sapporo; you can’t go wrong with Japanese.

Chia Sen in South Portland/Scarborough is amazing.

They have an extensive meatless soy based protein menu. Having lived in China for two years, I have a very pretty high bar for Asian food and their Kung Pao chicken is the closest to what I had in China. I once had this wild mushroom and truffle linguine dish at The Blue Spoon that was fantastic. It’s a little on the rich side but there are plenty of societies that eat rich foods and don’t have the problems we do. What I tell people is that it’s not a matter of what you’re eating but how much. If you take a high cal fettuccine alfredo and mix it with three beers and a buttery creamy dessert then it’s not a great combo.

If you take a fettuccine alfredo and one glass of wine and a couple of glasses of water and a strawberry for dessert it’s not bad at all.”

Lisa Prince, a weight loss coach from South Portland, also focuses on nutrition within her clients food traditions — vegetarian, kosher, halal, IBS, lactose intolerant, soy intolerant, vegan.

“I do calories and grams of protein, carbs and fat.

All food in moderation.” She partners with a dietitian to develop menus for clients with diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol. More importantly to Prince, she dives deeper, looking at how people use food.

As a teen and young woman, Prince recalls, she was overweight, the result of emotional eating.

“I had a love-hate relationship with food. I gained and lost 50 pounds four times. I was successful when I began to look at food as fuel for my body, not a way to stuff my emotions.”

After three decades of fitness, she enjoys working with people who’ve struggled for years with their weight. “It’s exciting for me to help them make the

Dr. Lou’s Weight Loss Challenge www.weightlosschallengeme.com Weigh-in Jan. 1 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Jacobs Chiropractic Acupuncture Center 138 St. John Street FMI: 774-6251 or drj@drloujacobs.com

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connection, to get that a-ha moment as to why they eat too much,” she says. “If your friends are overweight and a large part of your social life is involved with food and overeating with them you might run into sabotage when you try to change your behavior, because your changes can make them really uncomfortable.

She encourages her clients to make reasonable resolutions. “Most people don’t keep their resolutions because they set too lofty a goal. I’m going to join the gym and go 5 days a week. I’d rather they start with two days and if that works add a third,” she notes. She has her clients write out their overall wellness goals. “Because you’ve got to know where you’re going. Then each week, I have them set a specific nutrition and fitness goal that’s a SMART goal: Specific, Measurable, Action-oriented, Realistic and Timed.

“For example, I will go to the gym on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday and do 30 minutes of cardio and strength training. A nutrition goal would be I will eat joyfully at Christmas and have only one dessert that really means Christmas to me.”

Prince offers individual weight loss programs but finds that people are successful when they involve their significant others, “so that neither one is bringing home Oreos or other unhealthy foods,” she says.

When it comes to eating in restaurants, Prince suggests that people avoid things that are breaded or fried, get sauces on the side and ask for the to-go box when they bring the food, “so that if the portion size is too large you can cut it in half right then and put it away so that it doesn’t sit there on your plate, tempting you to pick at it.”

(Margo Mallar’s Locavore column appears each Tuesday in the Portland Daily Sun.)

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Page 8 — THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN, Tuesday, December 28, 2010

2010: a look back 2010 from page 3

All of us at Portland Eagles would like to wish you a Happy New Year!

Jan. 13 A $2.4 million renovation of the iconic 120-yearold Baxter Library building into a marketing firm’s headquarters will let the history of this landmark on Congress Street speak for itself, say developers.

But that begins with some creative destruction.

“We have to bring it back to its original structure; through the years different tenants or owners have changed the original intent of the building, and we’re bringing it back to that point, which is what we’re doing in the demolition phase right now,” Tim Meyer, superintendent of Benchmark construction management firm of Westbrook, said Tuesday

Jan. 14 Portland’s planning board recommended Tuesday that the city broaden zoning at the former Jordan’s Meat processing site on India Street, removing restrictive conditional zoning that had been aimed at a potential hotel-condo development.

The change would allow, among other uses, retail stores and restaurants. The zoning change is being described as a step toward selling the property and, city officials hope, eventual development of the high-profile vacant plant.

The site, at 38 India St., occupies nearly an entire city block and once was eyed for a Westin Hotel and residential condominiums, according to the planning board file.

••••••••••••• UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. chief said 16 U.N. personnel were confirmed dead late Wednesday in the earthquake that decimated Haiti’s capital, with 100 to 150 U.N. workers still unaccounted for, including the mission chief and his deputy.

••••••••••••• WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama and the Democratic leaders of the House of Representatives and the Senate say they have made “significant progress” toward reaching a final health care deal.

Jan. 15

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Today is the deadline for candidates applying to become the city’s new, stimulus-grant-funded sustainability coordinator, a position that city Councilor Dave Marshall foresees eventually being, as its name implies, selfsustaining.

••••••••••••• Although the city’s 2011 draft budget won’t be released for nearly two months, city manager Joe Gray says he’s already warned department heads not to expect any new hires or increased capital spending in the coming fiscal year.

••••••••••••• As relief efforts intensify in Haiti following this week’s devastating earthquake, Mayor Nick Mavodones called on Portlanders to “rise to the occasion” by supporting aid groups scrambling to help Haitians affected by the disaster.

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A building bought last year by Burt’s Bees co-founder Roxanne Quimby sustained “moderate damage” in a Thursday night fire police are calling “suspicious.”

Portland Police Capt. Ted Ross said Friday afternoon that the structure at 660 Congress was vacant and unoccupied when the fire broke out at about 9:30 p.m. After a preliminary investigation, he said the cause remained undetermined.

Jan. 19 Metro’s board of directors will meet Wednesday to discuss a proposed across-the-board fare increase in response to a $600,000 hole in the bus agency’s 2010 budget.

Tim Meyer, superintendent with Benchmark construction management firm of Westbrook, surveys the facade of the Baxter Library building, which was renovated into offices for Via marketing agency. (DAVID CARKHUFF PHOTO) ••••••••••••• A man was charged with seven counts of “simple assault” after spraying protesters and a Portland police officer with a bottle of animal urine outside the Front Room restaurant Sunday night, police said.

The arrest came as labor advocates joined restaurant employees in their fourth Front Room protest since Nov. 19 over allegations of harassment and pay issues.

Police said Jome Murphy, 36, was arrested by officers who were already at the scene after being called by a Front Room employee. Murphy reportedly resides in an apartment above the restaurant, but according to Harding Lee Smith, owner of the Front Room, he is not employed by the restaurant.

Police reported that the altercation took place shortly before 8 p.m. when Murphy exited the building at 73 Congress St., and approached the protesters on the sidewalk, spraying roughly 10 people including a Portland police officer before entering the busy restaurant through its front door.

Jan. 20 BOSTON (AP) — In an epic upset in liberal Massachusetts, Republican Scott Brown rode a wave of voter anger to defeat Democrat Martha Coakley in a U.S. Senate election Tuesday that left President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul in doubt and marred the end of his first year in office.

••••••••••••• Steve Miner, owner of Peanut Butter Jelly Time, reported logging his 500th customer in only three weeks of operating on the second floor of the Market House in Monument Square.

Jan. 21 Cumberland County Jail has adopted new procedures for verifying inmates’ identities following an incident last month when corrections officers mistakenly released the wrong man.

Meanwhile, an internal investigation determined two jail officers didn’t follow protocol when they released Ahmed Hussein Ismail after confusing him with another see next page

THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN, Tuesday, December 28, 2010— Page 9

The year’s top stories from preceding page man who had posted bail. The officers’ identities were withheld pending a personnel hearing next week.

Chief Deputy Kevin Joyce said Wednesday that inmates will now be required to wear and present photo identification cards at all times or face punishment, such as loss of good-behavior points.

Jan. 22 At the close of a daylong telethon at City Hall Thursday, more than 850 residents and local businesses had pledged $66,000 in support of Konbit Sante Cap-Haitien Health Partnership and its work in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, the city reported.

Jan. 23 PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haitians are fleeing their quake-ravaged capital by the hundreds of thousands, aid officials said Friday, as their government promised to help nearly a half-million more move from squalid camps on curbsides and vacant lots into safer, cleaner tent cities.

Jan. 26 This Wednesday, Greg Shinberg, developer of Portland’s newest urban apartments, hopes to pull down part of the streetside scaffolding and give the world a look at the city’s most recent residential upgrade: The six-story, 56-unit apartment complex at 645 Congress St., the latest incarnation of a location that began as a boarding house and is mostly remembered now as a dorm for University of Southern Maine students. The building has been covered in scaffolding most of the winter, but by Sunday Shinberg hopes to introduce tenants to their new lodgings, located just west of the State Theatre.

Jan. 27 While the effort remains in its “preliminary stages,” the North Deering Neighborhood Association is in the process of forming the city’s only off-peninsula crime watch program. Association president Tim St. Hilaire said many details are still being ironed out, but that residents attending an organizational meeting earlier this month

were “enthusiastic” about the idea.

••••••••••••• This week, the U.S. Postal Service is expected to release a new list of retail stations and branches that remain under review for possible closure and consolidation, a roster which so far has included Station A, Portland’s Congress Street post office located west of High Street.

Fewer than 170 offices remain under review for possible ‘consolidation’ under the U.S. Postal Service station and branch consolidation initiative, down from an initial list of about 3,300. Station A is one of them.

Jan. 28 Superintendent James Morse is calling for an immediate review of Portland Schools’ emergency response protocols following a rash of lockdowns spurred by the discovery of threatening notes at two city schools.

Morse has already held talks with top city officials including the city manager and police chief in hopes of creating “intermediate steps” that allow the school to respond to some situations without entering into “disruptive” lockdowns.

••••••••••••• A week after the state closed Veterans Memorial Bridge to repair a nearby ramp, officials opened bids on the job of replacing the aging bridge and identified a Woolwich firm as low bidder with a $63 million proposal.

On Jan. 13, Maine Department of Transportation reported a low bid of $63,122,000 from Reed & Reed, a company that has built several high-profile projects in Portland, including the Ocean Gateway marine terminal.

••••••••••••• WASHINGTON (AP) — Hoping to rescue his prized health care overhaul and revive his presidency as well, Barack Obama appealed in his State of the Union address for support for the plan that is in severe danger in Congress, urging dispirited Democrats not to abandon the effort.

Jan. 29 Boxes of toys and pallets of food lined the Portland Fish Pier Thursday, relief supplies for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. A Portland-based marine research company continued to stock its research vessel with donated food, water, medical supplies and children’s toys. see YEAR page 12

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By Holiday Mathis SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21).

Reaching a goal will not, in and of itself, make you happy. Anyway, why make up a bunch of rules about when you’re allowed to be happy? You can slip into a state of happiness any old time.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21).

Your energy has ebbed and flowed recently, though today you’ll hit a new high in terms of how you feel and what you can produce. You can really pump up the volume when you want to.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19).

You’re not alone in your improvement efforts. You’ll find a supportive community of people who are trying to better themselves, reduce their stress and progress into a new way of being.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18).

There is such a thing as too much togetherness, and you may have a togetherness overdose if you don’t get away from everyone for a while today.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). You will be around someone you knew when you were younger, and you might temporarily transform into the person you were back then just because you associate this person so strongly with your past.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Dec. 28).

Use your creative talents for the good of your group, and you’ll be personally rewarded. You will find money when you follow your remarkable intuition over the next six weeks. In March, you’ll take only the work that you enjoy. Friends reunite in May. There’s increased support for your personal endeavors in June. Aquarius and Scorpio people adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 10, 4, 33, 23 and 16.

Pooch Café For Better or Worse LIO

ARIES (March 21-April 19). You may feel like you don’t have the patience to wait for word from an authority figure about what your next move should be.

However, it would be both diplomatic and wise to get consent before you go ahead.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Your appetite is changing, and it’s not just about what food tastes good to you -- it’s what you want to see, hear, wear and experience, too. You’re venturing out in many areas at once.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You have a way of stating things that makes people understand the truth without hurting their feelings. You could be promoted for this skill, and it helps your personal life, too.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). When you find something good, you want the whole world to know about it. And when you like and appreciate someone, you want to share that person with your other friends.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). When you give your opinion, it’s only because you want to make people’s lives easier or inspire them to feel good about themselves. If it won’t help, you don’t want to say it.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Modesty will serve you well. You’ll be around people who are smart and who recognize other smart people. You won’t have to brag. They’ll ask you questions, and you’ll give answers that impress.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Sometimes you need to know the intricacies of a situation, but not always. If you don’t want to learn about problems, don’t go looking for them now, because you’ll find what you dig around for.

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TUNDRA WT Duck

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by Mark Tatulli

Page 10 — THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN, Tuesday, December 28, 2010

ACROSS 1 Desert animal 6 Keep __ on; watch carefully 10 Smudge 14 Entertain 15 Toe the line 16 Bring up 17 Pilgrimage destination 18 Abound 19 At __; relaxed 20 Improved; beautified 22 Atlanta team 24 “The __ Piper of Hamelin” 25 Millay or Angelou 26 Straighten 29 One worshipped in a mosque 30 Ocean 31 “Gone With the Wind” actor 33 Passes out cards 37 Snakelike fishes

39 Pass on, as a message 41 Let fall 42 Reverie 44 Fence entries 46 Actress Lupino 47 Sullen 49 House painter’s need 51 Ripple in the water 54 __ on; incite 55 Chairperson’s outline 56 Slaughter 60 Be concerned 61 Grumpy one 63 Shining 64 Smooch 65 House or hovel 66 Honking bird 67 Singles 68 12 months 69 Go into

1

DOWN Arrived

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 21 23 25 26 27 28 29 32 34 35 36 38

“So be it!” “__ Ado About Nothing” Get away Tilting Carried Under the covers Buzzing insect Emblem __ in; inhaled Depart Places of relief Lock of hair Fragrant wood Peruse Skirt fold Secondhand __-do-well; loser Bundle of hay Alleviate Have children, in biblical terms Dry Ore deposit Ship’s mast Uniformity

40 High-pitched cries 43 Shape 45 Bratwurst, e.g.

48 “Cool!” to a past generation 50 Komodo __; largest lizard 51 Crazy 52 Once more

53 Poem division 54 Heavy, one-edged sword 56 Child’s first word, often 57 Blood __; stroke causer 58 Ascended 59 Jug 62 Caviar source

Friday’s Answer

THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN, Tuesday, December 28, 2010— Page 11

––––––– ALMANAC ––––––– Today is Tuesday, Dec. 28, the 362nd day of 2010. There are three days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History: On Dec. 28, 1832, John C. Calhoun became the first vice president of the United States to resign, stepping down because of differences with President Andrew Jackson.

On this date: In 1694, Queen Mary II of England died after more than five years of joint rule with her husband, King William III. In 1846, Iowa became the 29th state to be admitted to the Union.

In 1856, the 28th president of the United States, Thomas Woodrow Wilson, was born in Staunton, Va. In 1897, the play “Cyrano de Bergerac,”

by Edmond Rostand, premiered in Paris.

In 1908, a major earthquake followed by a tsunami devastated the Italian city of Messina, killing at least 70,000 people.

In 1917, the New York Evening Mail published “A Neglected Anniversary,” a facetious, as well as fictitious, essay by H.L. Mencken recounting the history of bathtubs in America.

In 1944, the musical “On the Town,” with music by Leonard Bernstein and book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, opened on Broadway.

In 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance.

In 1973, Alexander Solzhenitsyn published “Gulag Archipelago,” an expose (ekspoh-SAY’) of the Soviet prison system.

In 1989, Alexander Dubcek (DOOB’chek), the former Czechoslovak Communist leader who was deposed in a Soviet-led Warsaw Pact invasion in 1968, was named president of the country’s parliament.

One year ago: Al-Qaida in Yemen claimed responsibility for an attempt to blow up a U.S.-bound airliner. A bomb blast killed at least 44 people in a Shiite procession in the southern Pakistan city of Karachi.

Today’s Birthdays: Comic book creator Stan Lee is 88. Former United Auto Workers union president Owen Bieber is 81. Actor Martin Milner is 79. Actress Nichelle Nichols is 78. Actress Dame Maggie Smith is 76.

Rock singer-musician Charles Neville is 72.

Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., is 66. Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., is 64. Rock singer-musician Edgar Winter is 64. Actor Denzel Washington is 56. Country singer Joe Diffie is 52.

Country musician Mike McGuire (Shenandoah) is 52. Actor Chad McQueen is 50.

Country singer-musician Marty Roe (Diamond Rio) is 50. Actor Malcolm Gets is 46.

Actor Mauricio Mendoza is 41. Comedian Seth Meyers is 37. Actor Brendan Hines is 34. Rhythm-and-blues singer John Legend is 32. Actress Sienna Miller is 29. Actor Thomas Dekker is 23. Actress Mackenzie Rosman is 21. Pop singer David Archuleta (TV: “American Idol”) is 20.

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Friday’s Answer

Page 12 — THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN, Tuesday, December 28, 2010

FEBRUARY

YEAR from page 9

2010: a look back

••••••••••••• Citing concerns about turnout and “wantng to make it better,” Cumberland County officials have delayed a 250th anniversary celebration that was set to begin today.

••••••••••••• (AP) The death this week of J.D. Salinger ends one of literature’s most mysterious lives and intensifies one of its greatest mysteries: Was the author of “The Catcher in the Rye” keeping a stack of finished, unpublished manuscripts in a safe in his house in Cornish, N.H? Are they masterpieces, curiosities or random scribbles? And if there are publishable works, will the author’s estate release them? The Salinger camp isn’t talking.

Jan. 30 Portland’s Station A will remain open for business, the U.S. Postal Service reported on Friday. The agency filed an update with the Postal Regulatory Commission indicating that 162 offices remain under review for possible consolidation under the station and branch consolidation initiative, six fewer from the last update in December.

Station A was taken off the list of branches considered for closure.

Feb. 2 If you were among those who bet that Portland’s new daily paper “will never make it a year,” get ready to pay up.

The Daily Sun turns one year old tomorrow.

To commemorate the anniversary, we’re turning this column over to a week of discussion about the future of newspapers. As I’ve noted before, it’s an uneasy topic for those of us trained to think that everybody wants to see the baby, but nobody wants to discuss the labor.

(Curtis Robinson column, Feb. 2) ••••••••••••• The city attorney’s office is recommending revisions to a “controversial” housing policy even though it contends current rules would probably withstand legal challenges.

In a memo to the city’s Housing Committee, which is currently reviewing the eight-year-old housing replacement ordinance, assistant city attorney Ann Freeman recommends replacing the one-size-fits-all fee structure with a sliding scale. see next page

THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN CLASSIFIEDS Animals

Animals

Autos

For Rent

For Rent

Looking To Rent

CHIHUAHUA pups and 18 month old tiny female. FMI call (603)723-9973.

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

We’re selling half or whole pigs raised on quality grain and pasture until 1/2/11. (207)445-2141 or see Emma’s Family FarmQuality Meats and talk about an order Friday from 11am-4pm at 28 Monument Square.

BUYING all unwanted metals. $800 for large loads. Cars, trucks, heavy equipment. Free removal. (207)776-3051.

PORTLAND- Danforth Street, 2 bedrooms, heated, newly painted, hardwood floors. $850/mo.

Call Kay (207)773-1814.

PORTLAND- Maine MedicalStudio, 1/ 2 bedroom. Heated, off street parking, newly renovated. $475-$850.

(207)773-1814.

MONTH to month- Conservative retired Teacher seeks first floor rental. Freeport to Scarborough.

Call (207)523-0495.

MARK’S Towing- Free junk car removal. No keys, no tires, no problems. Late models.

(207)892-1707.

PORTLAND- Munjoy Hill- 3 bedrooms, newly renovated.

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

ANNIE’S MAILBOX Dear Annie: Recently, my dear friend “Jill” learned that a long-lost high school friend has been incarcerated for nine years. Jill insists on contacting “Alan” and has encouraged our friends to do the same, even though we have not spoken to Alan in more than 13 years.

I am scared of what might happen to Jill. The circumstances surrounding Alan’s incarceration are nothing short of horrifying. My husband and I feel there is no need to get in touch with him.

I love Jill with all my heart and soul, but I am unsure of how to break the news to her that this is a Pandora’s box that should never be opened. Jill is a trusting soul who feels the need to help everyone. We don’t want to hurt her feelings, so how can we explain that we don’t want to write Alan? We need to protect our families. -- Wish To Tactfully Decline Dear Tactfully: Tell Jill plainly that you are not interested in contacting Alan. You also should inform her that although she obviously feels sorry for a former classmate, it would be irresponsible to correspond with him without checking out the situation more thoroughly. Prisoners have been known to take advantage of sympathetic friends and family members.

She should contact the warden at the prison and ask for information and suggestions.

Dear Annie: We have wonderful young neighbors we like very much. However, they continue to ask us to babysit their young children. We have raised our kids and enjoy our empty nest. We do not enjoy babysitting, although we are willing to do so for our own grandchildren on rare occasion.

You would think they would get the hint since we have politely refused them more than 20 times. How do we graciously decline without hurting their feelings? -- The Older

Neighbors Dear Older: You graciously decline by saying, “Sorry, we can’t manage that.” And say it as many times as necessary.

Either your neighbors are extraordinarily dense, or they are hoping to wear you down. Explaining that you don’t like to babysit will likely result in a harangue about how easy their children would be to care for. Still, you do not need to be frank if you are worried it would be rude. Simply continue to say no, politely and respectfully.

Dear Annie: After reading so many letters about the family problems that ensue when splitting up belongings after a death, I thought I’d tell you what my siblings did.

The nine of us met at our parents’ house. We picked the largest room in the house, put up nine pieces of paper on the walls and numbered them 1 through 9. We then went through each room of my parents’ home looking for items we wished to keep. We brought these things into the large room and placed them under each sheet of paper so that there were nine piles. If one pile looked skimpy, we would add to it on our next trip. Appliances and furniture too large to move were numbered where they stood.

We then wrote the numbers 1 through 9 on pieces of paper and put them into a hat. Each person pulled a number that corresponded to a pile, and the things in that pile belonged to them. No one “rigged” a pile, because no one knew which number they would pick from the hat.

When we were finished, if anyone wanted to swap, that was up to them. This system worked perfectly, and there was no fighting. Of course, it also helped that we are a close and loving family. -- Did it Right

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

PORTLAND- Woodford’s area. 1 bedroom heated. Newly installed oak floor, just painted. $675/mo. (207)773-1814.

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

For Rent-Commercial PORTLAND Art District- 2 adjacent artist studios with utilities.

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

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.

Furniture

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

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

HELPING Hands House Cleaning, 10 plus years experience.

Dependability with a smile. Call Becky (207)252-9679.

$110 twin or full mattress set never used 396-5661.

3PC king Mattress set must sell all new $200 call 899-8853 A new queen mattress set $125 factory sealed 899-8853 BLACK leather sofa brand new worth $1100 take $475 call 3965661

MASTER Electrician since 1972.

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

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

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

CLASSIFIEDS • CALL 699-5807 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.

THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN, Tuesday, December 28, 2010— Page 13

2010: a look back

A baby humpback whale nuzzles against its mother in this closeup of a massive snow sculpture at Lincoln Park during the 2009 WinteRush. In 2010, WinteRush suffered from warm temperatures and sparse snow, leading to cancellation of most of the events during the second annual annual Portland WinteRush. Portland WinteRush was designed to offer a number of fun activities for people of all ages to enjoy outdoors in Portland’s Deering Oaks Park, but the weather didn’t cooperate. (FILE PHOTO)

Volunteers load the Sea Hunter with supplies for Haiti, in Portland in late January. A Portland marine research company, Sub Sea Research, launched its relief mission to help earthquake-ravaged Haiti, gathering donations at the Portland Fish Pier, but later found itself stalled in Miami, possibly with no way to reach its destination. Ultimately, after numerous hurdles, the ship arrived at its destination. (DAVID CARKHUFF PHOTO) Bowl was watched by more than 106 million people, surpassing the 1983 finale of “M-A-S-H” to become the mostwatched program in U.S. television history, the Nielsen Co. said Monday.

from preceding page

Feb. 4 About one year after someone painted a black swastika on the glass case of a synagogue’s announcement board along Noyes Street, the Nazi symbols have been found again, this time painted on four tombstones and a marker at the Jewish Mt. Carmel Cemetery near Warren Avenue. “One frightening thing is that it was discovered almost exactly a year from when a swastika was discovered on my synagogue,” said Rabbi Akiva Herzfeld of Congregation Shaarey Tphiloh.

Feb. 5 Transportation officials Thursday unveiled the design for a new Veterans Memorial Bridge in Portland. On Jan. 13, Maine Department of Transportation revealed who the low bidder was — Reed & Reed Inc. of Woolwich, a company that has built several high-profile projects in Portland, including the Ocean Gateway marine terminal. Reed & Reed Inc. submitted a low bid of $63,122,000.

Feb. 10 After 16 years of providing meals at the city’s central social service facility, and with less than a month to go before it turns that mission over to others, the Wayside Soup Kitchen & Food Rescue fieldtested its future last night.

The experiment happened at People’s Regional Opportunity Program’s Parkside Neighborhood Center. With a pending agreement to use a Portland Public Schools commercial kitchen to furnish meals, Wayside is prepared to shift from serving the Preble Street popuOne of 2010’s feel-good stories was the restoration of Portland’s Abyssinian Meeting House, one of only three existing Afri- lation to an expanded commucan meeting houses in the country. The site has been linked through the National Trust for Historic Preservation to approx- nity, Wayside officials explained. imately 30 other historic sites in the Northeast, from Delaware to Pittsburgh, part of a regional database. The Committee to Restore the Abyssinian Meeting House neared completion of the restoration. (DAVID CARKHUFF PHOTO) Feb. 11

••••••••••••• Portland Public Library’s Monument Square branch will close later this month as staff and construction crews conduct a five-week wind-down for a year-long, $7.3 million renovation.

Feb. 6 TOKYO (AP) — Toyota’s president emerged from seclusion Friday to apologize and address criticism that the automaker mishandled a crisis over sticking gas pedals. Yet he stopped short of ordering a recall for the company’s iconic Prius hybrid for braking problems.

Feb. 9 For weeks, officials in charge of the Vancouver Olympics have fretted about the lack of snow ahead of the winter games, which begin Friday. Organizers for the 16-day event have resorted to flying in fresh powder by helicopter to ensure the slopes have enough snow. But with less than a week before WinteRush, it’s Portland’s turn to worry, as a lack of snow threatens to derail Saturday’s outdoor festival laden with snow-dependent events like cross-country skiing, sledding and snow sculpture.

••••••••••••• NEW YORK (AP) — The New Orleans Saints’ victory over Indianapolis in the Super

Weeks after tentatively agreeing on a new system for electing mayors, the charter commission today will discuss extending voting rights to legal non-citizen residents living permanently in Portland. Advocates of the change, which would apply only to municipal elections, say immigrants pay taxes and send their students to local schools and therefore should have a voice on local issues. Opponents of the proposal say Portland’s immigrants, like those living elsewhere in the U.S., can and should vote as soon as they’ve completed the citizenship process.

Feb. 12 Portland Police are investigating a shooting late Wednesday night on Park Avenue that left a 24-year-old Portland man dead. Capt. Ted Ross said Serge Mulongo was found dead outside an apartment building at 218 Park shortly after 11:15 p.m. Wednesday.

Police said the victim did not live in the building but was attending a “social gathering” there prior to the shooting. Witnesses told police two black males wearing dark clothes fled the area immediately after the shooting.

Feb. 13 A relief boat that left Portland last month with humanitarian supplies bound for Haiti remained stalled in Miami Friday afternoon, with new challenges piling up. see next page

Page 14 — THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN, Tuesday, December 28, 2010

2010: a look back from preceding page “It’s getting worse,” said Greg Brooks, owner of the Portland-based salvage company Sub Sea Research. “Now we have the U.S. Customs saying we have to pay duty on all the donations we collected in Maine and Boston,”

Feb. 16 Neighborhood and conservation groups in Portland are trying to convince Maine’s transportation agency to build a new gateway to the Back Cove. The connection would link the Back Cove to the Bayside Trail at the intersection of Franklin Arterial and Marginal Way. Advocates say it would be heavily used by pedestrians and commuters and would provide Bayside residents easier access to recreation and shopping centers.

U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, tried to save the public option in health care reform and survived a tough re-election year for Democrats. (FILE MUG)

Feb. 18

Portland’s shipping terminal was one of three Maine ports awarded Greg Smith with the city’s parks department rakes debris after he and other city workers cut down a red maple tree at Deering Oaks in stimulus money through Members of a new task late February. The tree, roughly 50 feet tall, had become rotten and posed a hazard, Smith said. Two maple trees had to be removed at a competitive grant proDeering Oaks; they were planted in the 1940s, according to Jeff Tarling, city arborist. They were damaged in an ice storm in 2009. Frozen cess, city and state officials force devoted to downground allowed the city workers to get in and do tree work, he said. Later in February, crews would be back out repairing the damage announced Wednesday, but town noise issues say from a massive wind storm. (DAVID CARKHUFF PHOTO) a separate proposal to add a they’re optimistic they can new cruise ship berth to the strike a balance between Ocean Gateway wasn’t funded. The International Marine Terminal, the city-owned, statecompeting interests, even as recent attempts to change the city’s noise policies have run cargo port on West Commercial Street, was awarded $5 million in federal TIGER gone nowhere. “I think all of us would like to have a vibrant nightlife area and meet transportation grants for infrastructure improvements. Port officials said the money will the needs of residents and other commercial constituents in the area,” said Doug Fuss, be used to expand on-site cargo storage areas and make efficiency improvements. the owner of Bull Feeney’s, and one of seven people expected to be named to the task ••••••••••••• force at tonight’s city council meeting. Simultaneously “meeting the needs” of busiMARANA, Ariz. (AP) — Tiger Woods will end nearly three months of silence nesses, residents and nightclubs has proven difficult in the past. The Portland Harbor Friday when he speaks publicly for the first time since his middle-of-the-night car acciHotel and some Old Port residents last summer complained about noise from several dent sparked stunning revelations of infidelity. However, his agent said Woods will not Wharf Street bars. take any questions from a small group of media.

•••••••••••••

Feb. 17

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Comebacks make for great Olympics stories, and they come in many forms. Just look at what Seth Wescott, Bode Miller and Lindsey Vonn pulled off Monday. Wescott came to the Winter Olympics as the reigning champion in snowboardcross, yet also as damaged goods. He hurt his leg and pelvis two months ago and it showed in the races since. The American opened Monday’s event by finishing 17th of the 32 riders in qualifying, but found his stride to reach the finals.

Feb. 19 Art thieves struck one of Portland’s best-known galleries earlier this month, stealing two original drawings and a woodcut print valued at more than $7,500.

The incident took place during the afternoon of Feb. 4 at Edward Pollack Fine Arts on Forest Avenue, which specializes in rare books and art prints. Gallery owner Edward Pollack said a pair of ink drawings by French artist Jacques Onfroy de Breville, “Going to Market” and “At the Market” worth $1,875 were among those taken.

Feb. 20

Maine Governor Baldacci joined a record crowd to welcome two-time Olympic gold medal winner Seth Wescott back to Maine and back to his home mountain at Sugarloaf.

(Photo courtesy of Karen Cummings)

Portland Police have charged a second man with murder in connection with last week’s fatal shooting in Parkside. Detectives arrested 21-year-old Moses Okot Thursday afternoon at police headquarters and charged him with murder for his role in the shooting death of Serge Mulongo on Feb. 10. Capt. Ted Ross said in a statement that Okot agreed to be interviewed by police Thursday afternoon and was “subsequently arrested” at around 4 p.m. Okot’s arrest comes a week after another man, Daudoit Butsitsi, 24, was charged with murder.

••••••••••••• Let’s give into one of nature’s less attractive temptations: Told ya so! Told ya so! Last month, we duly reported that Maine congresswoman Chellie Pingree had helped revive the public option in our national health care debate.

Not everyone agreed, and the famous national Actor Christian Luening helps paint the set for “Yours, Anne” at Old Port Playhouse. Luening was playing the part media pack collectively yawned and pronounced of Otto Frank, Anne Frank’s father, in the production, which is making its Maine debut. Some critics say the musi- health care removed “to the back burner.” Now, cal isn’t an appropriate vehicle for telling the story of the famous diarist who died in a Nazi concentration camp.

(DAVID CARKHUFF PHOTO) see LOOK BACK page 16

THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN, Tuesday, December 28, 2010— Page 15

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– EVENTS CALENDAR––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– night culminating with a fireworks display accompanied by music, dancing and lots of Auld Lang Syne. http://newyeargorham.org

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 7730333. Space is limited so sign up today.

Old Port Playhouse is located at 19 Temple St. in Portland. oldportplayhouse.com

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; five-hour 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.

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

Acorn Productions’ annual Phyzgig festival

8:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. New Year’s Eve Bash, Mariner’s Church, 368 Fore St. $50 tickets per person; 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Acorn Productions festive holiday attire. Sid Tripp & announces its annual Phyzgig festival, a Proactive Resources Design are celebration of physical comedy and variety pleased to announce the revival entertainment for the family, will take place of the Black Cat Ball. The Black in downtown Portland between ChristCat Ball originally began at the mas and New Year’s Eve 2010. The week Eastland Ball Room in the midincludes six Main Stage Vaudeville Shows at the Portland Stage Company (including The Blue Man Group is coming to Portland in the first weekend of February. Friday, Feb. 4, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 5, at ’80s. On hiatus for 17 years, two shows on New Year’s Eve), eight Phyz- 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sunday, Feb. 6, at 1 p.m. Portland Ovations presents the popular troupe at Merrill Auditorium. . Tripp has a big night planned as he weaves his magic into a kidz shows at SPACE Gallery and a rare (COURTESY PHOTO) night of singing, dancing, laughappearance by Phyzgig’s Artistic Direcing and celebrating as revelers to reduce global warming pollution. The bone-chilling fun tor and Peaks Island resident Avner the enjoy a cocktail or two.

Join us to relive the magic of will take place at East End Beach in Portland, Maine on Eccentric, who will be performing his full-length show for the Black Cat Ball, and ring in 2011 in Red Carpet style Friday, Dec. 31st at noon (the “warmest” part of the day!) the first time in four years in Portland. Tuesday the Phyzkidz in glamorous festive holiday attire with 350 of your best Your friends and family can pledge your plunge, to raise shows are at SPACE Gallery. www.phyzgig.org friends. The rockin’ sounds of local band Wavelength will money and awareness about global warming and what Avner the Eccentric be jamming all night long. The celebrations will include NRCM is doing right here in Maine to curb it. And, it will be 7 p.m. Avner the Eccentric fundraiser, Portland Stage Comheavy hors d’oeuvres, Italian wine tasting, three cash fun, with folks in polar bear costumes and hot coffee from pany. Phyzgig’s own Master of Mirth presents his full-length bars, party favors, photo booth, roving photographer, Coffee by Design and pastries from Whole Foods. The two show as a special Phyzgig fundraiser. www.phyzgig.org countdown, champagne toast and balloon drop, psytop fundraisers will receive $50 gift certificates to LL Bean, chics and surprise guest performances. Tickets are $50 January Foreside Garden Club while additional top fundraisers will receive commemoraper person; advanced tickets may be purchased by call7 p.m. The January Foreside Garden Club meeting will be tive NRCM tote bags or caps. To participate, email or call ing 772-3599. Cash, check and credit cards accepted in at the Falmouth Library. The speaker is Anne Murphy, a prostacie@nrcm.org, 430-0127, with your name and contact advance, at the door during the event, or anytime online fessional landscaper from Gnome Landscaping who will be information and we will send you an information packet. at brownpapertickets.com. Visit Sid Tripp’s Black Cat speaking on Ornamental Grasses. Anyone is welcome and We request that you raise a minimum of $50 in pledges.

Ball on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Sidencouraged to attend. Call Mimi Hinkel for more informaYour pledgers may use the online pledge forms at http:// Tripps-Black-Cat-Ball/154751921233348?ref=mf for uption at 829-3578. supporters.nrcm.org/polar_plunge.” to-the-minute details.

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 WCSHTV 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 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 noon. “Be bold in the cold with a plunge into the Atlantic to support the Natural Resources Council of Maine’s work

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

Pirates Kid’s New Year’s Celebration 5:30 p.m. Portland Pirates vs. Connecticut Whale, Kid’s New Year’s Celebration at the Cumberland County Civic Center. WGME 13 and WJBQ present the annual Kid’s New Year’s Game. The game, an expected sellout, will mark the 16th season the Pirates have celebrated New Year’s featuring New England’s largest indoor fireworks display at the conclusion of the game. www.portlandpirates.com

A Lucid New Year’s Eve 6 p.m. Ring in the New Year with Portland’s newest performing arts venue, Lucid Stage, at 29 Baxter Boulevard, Portland. “A Lucid New Year’s Eve” runs from 6 p.m. to midnight; $5. Live music by The Modest Proposal, and afterwards, a community jam. Bring your instruments and play solo or jam with others! There will be door prizes, and a raffle with a variety of items to choose from — gift certificates, memberships, artwork, and a surprise big-ticket item! 899-3993. www.lucidstage.com

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 mid-

Saturday, Jan. 1 Dog licensing at City Hall 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Starting with the New Year, Portland resident dog owners are required, pursuant to Maine law, to have all dogs six months of age or older licensed. Dog licenses are issued for a calendar year and will expire Jan. 31, 2011. A dog license can be obtained from the City Clerk’s office at City Hall, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Renewals and new registrations are also available online at https://www.informe.org/dog_license/begin.shtml or through the mail, call 874-8610 for more details.

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.

Page 16 — THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN, Tuesday, December 28, 2010

2010: a look back LOOK BACK from page 13 you might ask how that can be true, given that the President of the United States himself has scheduled a televised cage match with the GOP over health care policy, is reported to be writing his own health care bill and has consistently kept it all front-burner.

Go figure. But we predicted the Pingree-andpals public option effort, aside from having a nice ring to it, could gain momentum. And now the influential Huffington Post blog mob has discovered the story. It’s like a nice juicy pork chop being dragged before the national news pack. (Curtis Robinson column, Feb. 20)

Feb. 23

munity, protesting the show, Tobin said. The playhouse had received nine calls in total, and roughly half were from members of the Jewish community voicing concerns that a topic as sensitive as the Holocaust and the poignant, personal story of its victims should not be rendered in musical form.

Feb. 25 Come April, it’s going to cost a little more to ride the Metro bus. Greater Portland Transit District board of directors on Wednesday approved a $6.18 million 2010 operating budget that includes fare increases and higher assessments from member cities but no layoffs or service cuts.

Feb. 26 Portland Police say its still not clear what prompted a shooting Sunday afternoon Construction is expected to begin next month involving at least two vehicles in a resion a $600,000 face lift for Dougherty Field. dential neighborhood near Portland Museum of Art. Capt. Ted Ross said passengers in a car Walter’s bartender Steve Lovenguth was poised to participate in the Bartenders Bash, kickoff to Maine Restaurant Week in 2010. (DAVID CARKHUFF PHOTO) stopped at the corner of Pleasant Street and Feb. 27 High Street were uninjured when a second car pulled up and fired several shots “in the direction of the first vehicle” at about 4:35 p.m.

Maine Restaurant Week, the March 1-10 foodie promotion that returns for its second Sunday. He said both cars sped off in separate directions immediately after the shooting. year, puts ice in a glass and adds vodka for its opening event — the Maine Bartenders ••••••••••••• Bash. This year it benefits one of the community’s largest social service agencies and FRANCONIA, N.H. (AP) — People across New Hampshire are celebrating the Olymwalks hand-in-hand with a state restaurant trade group, so participants in Maine pic gold medal for Franconia native son Bode Miller. The gold medal came Sunday Restaurant Week can be forgiven if they think of the 10-day event as a nonprofit in the super combined during the Vancouver Olympic games in Canada. affair. Instead, the event is owned and operated by a private public relations company with deep connections into the high-profile eateries that made the promotion almost instantly credible when it launched last year. The gBritt Public Relations firm, led by Feb. 24 Gillian Britt and Jim Britt, launched the event last year to support “... our restaurant and lodging clients and at the same time celebrate wonderful restaurants and properA musical adaptation of the story of Anne Frank is on its way to selling out at ties throughout Maine.” This year, the Preble Street Resource Center, a major facility Old Port Playhouse, but it’s also sparking controversy as opening night approaches. for feeding Maine’s homeless population, has been named a major beneficiary of the “Yours, Anne” opens March 5 and runs through March 28. Michael J. Tobin said Week. (Curtis Robinson column, Feb. 27) he and his partner and co-artistic director, Jeffrey Caron, have already decided to extend the show’s run a week due to public demand. But with the public interest (Tomorrow, we will continue our look back at the year 2010.) has come a spate of angry telephone calls, some from members of the Jewish com-