The West End News - May Garden Edition - Vol. 23 No. 05

The Green Bucket

Portland partners with Garbage to Garden for composting services to help meet One Climate Future goals

By Colin Monahan

The City of Por tland has partnered with local composting service, Garbage to Garden, effectively ending the city’s previous food waste collection service relationship with Agri-Cycle. As Portland’s offcial composting partner, Garbage to Garden will collect food scraps from a variety of municipal buildings, including Portland schools, City Hall, and the Barron Center. Additionally, the City of Portland will receive forty yards of compost for public use in parks, schools, and community gardens.

Currently, Garbage to Garden offers three tiers of service to the public: residents may drop off their compost at eight public collection sites free of cost, Garbage to Garden will pick up your compost curbside on collection day and deliver a bag of compost soil weekly for a standard fee, and lastly, food waste collection with no bag of compost for a subsidized rate.

Katie Tims, a sustainability associate with the City of Portland, is excited that Portland is beginning to address waste reduction. “[Garbage to Garden] will save you money. It will make your trash smell less bad. You will start to think about how much food you throw away and waste less food. Maine is one of the most food insecure states in the country, especially when it comes to child food insecurity. If you’re throwing away food, just think of hungry Mainers,” said Tims.

On average, 1 in 4 children in Maine is at risk of hunger, according to the Maine Department of Education, while 1 in 10

households in all of Maine are food insecure, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Of those food insecure Mainers, one-third reside within just two counties, Cumberland and Penobscot county.

The City’s public composting partnership is a step towards fulflling Portland and South Portland’s joint sustainability agenda, known as One Climate Future. The City’s joint climate action plan is already setting high expectations: reducing 70% of food waste in the trash stream by 2040, all municipal electricity use met by renewable energy by 2032, creating a bike network plan by 2026 with 5% of all travel completed by bike by 2040, amongst other goals.

Effor ts have been made on the state level to address food waste and hunger, too. In 2018, Sen. Craig Hickman (D-Kennebec) sponsored a bill that strengthens liability protections for food donors, provides tax credits to Maine farmers who donate food, and creates a commission that meets to develop strategies to reduce food waste. An alarming testimony in support of the bill to the Natural Resources Council of Maine found that “forty percent of the food produced for human consumption in the United States is wasted every year...The 133 billion pounds of food that’s wasted annually in the U.S. could fll Gillette Stadium more than 700 times. This wasted food is worth more than $160 billion, and 97% of it ends up in landflls, where it breaks down anaerobically and produces millions of pounds of methane gas, which is more damaging to the climate than even CO2…” Hickman’s bill has since been enacted.

Annika Schmidt, Garbage to Garden’s Marketing Director, is excited that this new partnership will incentivize Portland residents to learn about their personal food waste. “We estimate that one family composting for three years will divert one ton of food scraps from the landfll. That really speaks to the volume of that simple individual choice to sort our food scraps,” said Schmidt. Currently, about 23% of Portland residents compost, far short of the city’s goal of 50% composting participation.

Garbage to Garden is currently working with the Commercial Paving and Recycle Company in Auburn to process customer’s food scraps and produce compost for gardening. Garbage to Garden subscribers can request one 2.5-gallon bag of Maine Organic Farmers and Gardner’s Association approved organic com-

post per week.

Currently, Garbage to Garden is offering a free one-month trial to any Portland resident. Residents can continue to earn free service by referring their friends or volunteering with Garbage to Garden for two hours per month. Garbage to Garden’s composting services are available to residents from Cape Elizabeth to Bath.

Colin Monahan is a community organizer, server, and journalist. His previous work has focused on social movements in Chile, Cuba, Mexico, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Georgia. Colin believes in accessible, independent, local journalism.

Bright Ideas: The hidden cost of a digital life and what you can do

Annika Schmidt, Garbage to Garden’s Marketing Director says, “We estimate that one family composting for three years will divert one ton of food scraps from the landfll."

-Photo by Colin Monahan

Layne Witherell visits the buzzworthy Twelve

Nancy Dorrans dishes the dirt on Lady Slippers & the Three Sisters

Re-Foresting the Forest City with Rosanne Graef & Liz Parsons

SUBMISSIONS

WEN is a community newspaper and we need your voice! Share your submissions with thewestendnews@gmail.com or send to: The West End News, 795 Congress Street, Portland, Maine 04102.

• Letters to the editor should be no more than 200 words. Include your name and town or neighborhood.

• Op-eds should be no more than 750 words and include a brief biography of 1-2 sentences.

• WEN also accepts poetry, cartoons, and photo submissions.

Deadline for publication is the fourth Friday of every month. Publication is not guaranteed and submissions may be edited for length and content.

The thoughts and opinions expressed in our pages belong solely to the authors and

Tony Zeli, Publisher & Editor Rick Ness, Sales Erin Zeli, Sales FREELANCE CONTRIBUTORS

Colin Monahan, Featured Writer VOLUNTEER CONTRIBUTORS

Tom Berry, We're in this Together

Nancy Dorrans, Travel & Adventure Rosanne Graef, La Vida Local Stephanie Miller, Book Short Jennifer Ruggiero, Bright Ideas Ben Taylor, Best Worst Trivia Liz Trice, PelotonPosts Layne V. Witherell, Layne's Wine Gig

The thoughts and opinions expressed in our pages belong solely to the authors and not necessarily to the publication.

PRINTED IN MAINE BY Lincoln County Publishing Co.

ALL

2023 Schedule for Unitil Pipeline Upgrades in Portland

Natural gas utility provider Unitil has resumed work on its multi-year pipeline improvement project in the Portland area.

Work in 2023 will be focused on three zones in particular, including Forest Avenue from Libby Street to just north of Hartley Street, including side streets; the Parkside area – bounded by Park Avenue to the north, High Street to the east, Congress Street to the south, and Saint John Street to the west; and the Brighton Corner area, including Dirigo Street, Stevens Avenue from just north of Woodford Street to Brighton Avenue, Belknap Street, the northern portions of Caleb Street and Craigie Street, Frances Street, and Massachusetts Avenue.

The 14-year SURE project, which began in 2011, is scheduled for completion during the 2024 construction season. The project is replacing older cast iron pipes and unprotected steel pipes with plastic piping to allow the system to operate at a higher pressure and improve reliability.

The improvement project will allow Unitil to offer natural gas service to new customers. Residents and businesses in the neighborhood who are interested in switching to natural gas should call Unitil at 1-888-4-UNITIL or fll out an online form. For the latest information about the SURE project, please call Unitil at 1-866821-4386. For an updated project map, please visit https://unitil.com/sure.

City Outlines Timeline for FY24 Budget Review

Interim City Manager Danielle West released an updated timeline for the municipal budget review process in April. West presented her recommended budget at the Monday, April 24th City Council meeting. Next, it gets referred to the Council’s Finance Committee before going for approval before the full Council.

The remaining FY24 municipal and school budget review calendar is:

• Thursday, May 4th - Finance Committee - 5PM (Departments TBD)

• Thursday, May 11th - Finance Committee - 5PM (Departments TBD)

• Monday, May 15th - First Read of FY24 Municipal Budget at City Council Meeting with Public Hearing (and Second Reading / Public Hearing on FY24 Portland Public Schools Board of Education Recommended Budget)

• Thursday, May 18th - Finance Committee - 5PM (Departments TBD)

• Tuesday, May 23rd - Finance Committee - 5PM - Public Hearing and scheduled vote on recommendation to full City Council.

• Monday, June 5th - Second Read and Vote of FY24 Municipal Budget at City Council Meeting

• Tuesday, June 13th - School Budget Public Referendum Date

To stay up to date on which departments will be reviewed at which Finance Committee meetings, please visit the Finance Committee page or the City’s Agenda Portal.

Fresh Approach

* Mondays - May 1 - Magazine Readers; May 8 - Classic Movie “The Apartment”; May 15 - Memento Mori Death Education Series; May 22

##Thursday- May 18 - Herb Adams, Liz Parsons & RosanneGraef - The Forest City: Portland’s Trees - Today, Yesterday, Tomorrow

All activities are free unlessindicated otherwise. Donations to WENA are gratefully accepted.

We assume participants arevaccinated and boosted in accordance with CDC guidelines. Masks are optional. Distancing is appreciated.

FMI check wenamaine.org under About>Programs>Reiche Community Center News and under Calendar

DIMENSIONS IN JAZZ

Animation Movie “Mary

Max” Movies begin promptly at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. - popcorn & Þzzy water available, bring a snack to share if you wish.

APR 14: The Josh Espinosa Trio FreeJazzWorkshop-4pm

APR 21: Stephen Crump, Solo Bass FreeJazzWorkshop-4pm

MAY 5: Neil Pearlman, Solo Piano AlbumReleaseShow

MAY 26: F.A.R. Trio

COMMUNITY EVENTS MAY 2023

Darcy Scott Award for Young Mystery Writers Fundraiser Featuring

Bruce Robert Coffn

Fri., May 5th / 5:30 p.m. / Longfellow Books

(One Monument Way, Portland) / $10

The Darcy Scott Award for Young Mystery Writers Fundraiser will be held on Friday, May 5th, at 5:30 p.m. at Longfellow Books in Portland and will feature a reading and signing by the award-winning Bruce Robert Coffn, author of the bestselling Detective Byron mystery series. A $10 donation is suggested, but it is open to the public and refreshments will be provided. For more information about the award or to apply, visit www.mainewriters.org/darcy-scott-scholarship. All applications must be received by May 7th.

Girl’s Night Out Shopping Spree

Thu., May 11th / 430 – 830 p.m. / Portland Elks Lodge (1945 Congress St.) / Free Admin.

Shopping just in time for Mother’s Day! Over twenty vendors and crafters from southern Maine will have their wares for sale. Featuring DJ Stacie Bollard, cash bar, and complimentary snacks while you shop. Free admission and plenty of parking.

BELLOWS: A Supported Screaming Group

2nd & 4th Fridays / 7 p.m. / East End Beach (2nd Fri.) & Kettle Cove (4th Fri.)

/ Donations Accepted

FEELING frustrated and stressed? Need an outlet? Let’s create a positive start to your weekend! EVERYONE is invited to shout and roar out to the sea. Every 2nd & 4th Friday of the month. Started April 2023 and is ongoing. Arrive 7 p.m. No sign up needed, just show up. Second Fridays at East End Beach, Portland. Fourth Fridays at Kettle Cove, Cape Elizabeth. This is a community-based group through Renew Counseling Center. Donations accepted but not required. FMI: Contact Lisa DiGiovanni at renewcounselingme@ gmail.com or call 207-318-8899.

Public Meetings on Proposed Bus Route & Schedule Changes

Wed., May 17 / 3:30 – 5:30p / Portland Public Library (See below for meetings in Westbrook and via Zoom)

Join METRO staff for public meetings in Portland, Westbrook, or virtually, via Zoom, for presentations on proposed bus route and schedule changes that could begin August 27th, 2023. Some recommendations include serving the Jetport with Route 1 instead of Route 5 (Route 5 would go directly to the mall); extend Route 7 to Fore Avenue Parkway and

MUSIC + EVENTS

ED O.G. + TERMANOLOGY + AKROBATIK W/S/G STAY ON MARS (50TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIP HOP SHOW)

MAY 20, 2023 - 8:00 PM – 11:30 PM

ROOFTOP : PRIMO CUBANO (6PM - FREE)

JUN 11, 2023 - 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Thompson’s Point; Route 8 would start bi-directional service and operate on Commercial Street; and several routes would extend to Ocean Gateway.

The frst meeting is at the Westbrook Community Center, Room (Spruce Room, on Tuesday, May 9th, from 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. Next is the Portland Public Library, 5 Monument Square, Meeting Room 5 (downstairs), on Wednesday, May 17th, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Finally the Virtual Meeting via Zoom is on Thursday, May 18th, beginning at 6 p.m. For more information, visit: gpmetro.org/ transittogether.

Communities Across Maine Host Jane’s Walk Events

Sat., May 6 / Various times & locations

On Saturday, May 6th, communities around Maine will hold free, volunteer-led walking conversations emphasizing the power of individuals to infuence the places they live, and the participatory planning approaches that have helped people connect, support each other, and improve a sense of shared identity. More than 35 walks are planned in 24 cities and towns across the state, from Wells to Van Buren, representing all of Maine’s tourism regions. Jane’s Walk is inspired by community activist Jane Jacobs, who spent her life (1916-2006) using grassroots advocacy to protect neighborhoods from urban renewal.

Walks are typically 60-90 minutes and open to the public. Some of the walks in Portland include:

Forest Bathing Walk; Haunted Streets: Portland’s Ghost Signs; My Queer Portland: A Walk Back in Time to the 1980s & ‘90s; Gorham’s Corner Reimagined; Stroudwater, the Other Port in Portland; Theaters of Portland’s Past and more.

The full list of walks is available at, mainepreservation.org.

THE SWEET LILLIES

SÉAMUS EGAN PROJECT

STATE THEATRE PRESENTS: CAITLYN SMITH

THE GREAT PRETENDER TOUR: SOLO W/ ALEX HALL

WILL DAILEY’S $10 SONG TOUR W/ SARAH BORGES

ANTJE DUVEKOT

GARNET ROGERS

SARA HALLIE RICHARDSON & AMARANTOS QUARTET

W/ KENYA HALL

STATE THEATRE PRESENTS: JOE HENRY

MAINE BEER COMPANY TAP TAKEOVER CELEBRATION

W/ LIVE MUSIC BY LYLE DIVINSKY

THE PORTLAND JAZZ ORCHESTRA

STATE THEATRE PRESENTS: GOLDENOAK - NIGHT 1

W/ DEAD GOWNS (SOLO)

STATE THEATRE PRESENTS: GOLDENOAK - NIGHT 2

W/ LOUISA STANCIOFF

GINA & THE RED EYE FLIGHT CREW (CINCO DE MAY THROW DOWN / ALL-AGES) MAY 5, 2023 - 8:30

“Freedom,” a novel by Jonathan Franzen

Review by Stephanie Miller

Neighbors play a big role in “Freedom,” a novel by best-selling author Jonathan Franzen. Some are kind and friendly, others are competitive and vindictive. This excerpt from the frst page of the frst chapter sets the tone for the full novel:

“According to a long and very unfattering story in the Times, Walter had made quite a mess of his professional life out there in the nation’s capital. His old neighbors had some diffculty reconciling the quotes about him in the Times, (“arrogant,” high-handed,” “ethically compromised”) with the generous, smiling, redfaced 3M employee they remembered pedaling his commuter bicycle up Summit Avenue in February snow; it seemed strange that Walter, who was greener than Greenpeace and whose own roots were rural, should be in trouble now for conniving with the coal industry and mistreating country people. Then again, there had always been something not quite right about the Berglunds.”

I understand if after reading that, you now abandon reading the rest of this article and head for the nearest bookstore. Franzen is a very good storyteller, especially with character development and dialogue.

While the novel jumps around in narrator voice and timeframe, and is

sometimes unnecessarily winding, he weaves a story about Walter and Patty Berglund and their struggle to be happy in a very changeable world. Fundamentally, they don’t quite understand what attracts them to each other, what repels them about each other, and how they possibly could have ever thought they could understand each other. Endangered birds, young, pretty associates, sexy rock star best friends, selfsh children, and yes, quite a few neighbors, all try to separate them. Surprisingly, no one succeeds in breaking their bond.

Since this is Garden Month at The West End News, you can safely count this book among those supportive of the environment. It includes a fantastic, and possibly even realistic, collaboration between industry, government, and nature. That’s how Walter gets into the trouble that his old neighbors’ gossip about, but it’s completely believable how he thought he was one of the good guys all along.

LA VIDA LOCAL: IRREGULAR NOTES ON WEST END LIFE

POSITIVES & PONDERABLES

By Rosanne Graef POSITIVES

On April 20th, members of the Portland Fire Department (PFD) conducted a presentation on performing cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and using an automated external defbrillator (AED) at the Reiche Community Room.

After a brief review of the human circulatory and respiratory system, attendees had the opportunity to practice chest compressions on a rubber torso. They quickly realized how physically demanding performing CPR is. It is exhausting to do even for two minutes at the required speed and pressure. They also got a chance to examine one of the PFD’s automatic chest compression systems. A person can be placed into one of these and receive CPR from a machine that doesn’t get tired. Currently the PFD has three of these systems, one on Peaks Island and two on the mainland.

The West End Neighborhood Association (WENA) sponsored the session and is grateful to the PFD team as well as Emergency Medical Services and Training Division Chief Sean Donoghue, who organized and scheduled the training.WENA is making plans to offer a PFD CPR certifcation class. If you’re interested in taking it, please e-mail hello@wenamaine .org with your contact information.

Saturday, April 22nd, was WENA’s Spring Clean-Up Day. It also happened to be Earth Day. From the Stewards of the Western Cemetery to the Reiche Community School Green Team, West Enders were out in force. Over ffty people, including a seven-person contingent from Strive U, picked up trash from streets, sidewalks, esplanades, and parks. Marc Spiller and his team from Public Works and West End Community Police Coordinator Carole Dunphe provided support with supplies and fnal hauling of flled trash bags. Delicious coffee from Tommy Yordprom perked folks up as they picked up supplies

and got their assignments from Bryan Van Dussen and Christine McHale.

Having participated in numerous clean-ups over the years - including April Stools Day, when the search was on for the Golden Turd! - I can say that the exposed dog poop situation has really improved. Now if every dog walker could just take their flled plastic poop bag to a proper receptacle!

PONDERABLES

Is Portland heading toward a clash between two stated goals: increasing housing density and expanding the tree canopy? With the drive to cover almost the entirety of lots with dwelling space and ADA requirements for sidewalk widths, where’s an urban tree to go?

How did we get to the point where there are chains and no entry signs at the Reiche Community School playground? This didn’t happen overnight and there are lots of reasons things have played out this way. Fifty years ago, this facility was built to bring people together. Between the school and community center sections of the building, one could walk on the ramps and deck connecting Clark Street to Brackett Street - where Varnum Street once was. Do we want Fortress Reiche? If not, what are we going to do about it?

Please see webite for hours and rates:

Rosanne Graef lives in the West End and is a regular volunteer contributor.

Cpt. Dave Nichols, Lt. Brandon Farley, AEMT Firefghter Nate Asdourian, Paramedic Firefghter Matt Garland at WENA CPR demonstration. -Photo by Steve Graef

Liz Parsons & Roseanne Graef: Re- Foresting Forest City

Every month PelotonLabs co-founder Liz Trice interviews community members.This month, Liz caught up with Liz Parsons and Rosanne Graef, members of the West End Neighborhood Association, who are working to expand Portland’s tree canopy.

How did you get interested in trees in Portland?

Roseanne: I grew up surrounded by trees on the outskirts of a very small town in Kennebec County. I love being among trees.

Liz P: I live near the former Mercy site, and there’s a lack of trees near hospitals, in part because of over salting during winter. A few years ago, a developer cut down several mature trees on a lot between Winter and State streets. Because the developer hadn’t submitted a site plan there was nothing in City code to prevent clear cutting. That got us to advocate for an ordinance. The Heritage Tree Ordinance provides limited protection to large trees in historic areas.

Why are trees so important?

Liz P: Street trees and urban forests help manage storm water surges, purify the air, sequester and store carbon, provide and connect habitat for wildlife, provide shade and coolness in summer, lowering the temperature up to 15 degrees. Trees

reduce traffc speeds and provide safer walking environments, which in turn can provide more safety for residents and foot traffc for businesses. Trees absorb air pollution and make the air cleaner. The shade from trees extends the life of pavement by around 50%. Being around trees reduces blood pressure, improves overall emotional and psychological health, and has a calming and healing effect on ADHD adults and teens. Walking down a street with trees is pleasant. Trees make us happy and healthy! There’s even evidence that trees reduce road rage!

Why are trees an equity issue?

Liz P: A map from American Forest shows the city’s overall tree canopy coverage and breaks it down by census tract. The majority Black census tract in Bayside behind City Hall has the least tree canopy in the district. The City Council allocated $250,000 to try to close this equity gap, and it looks like the tree equity project will get some more funding this year.

A group of us have been advocating for

Rosanne Graef & Liz Parsons -Courtesy

more tree planting, more forestry staff, and a more protective tree ordinance that covers the whole city. In the 19th century, Portland used to have a very strong tree ordinance that prescribed a large fne and jail time for persons injuring city trees (wow!). And in the 1970s, the forestry department had thirty staff and was planting thousands of trees each year.

In the years since, repeated budget cuts have decimated the department. Now the department has fve staff and is lucky if they can plant 200 trees a year, which is fewer than the amount being cut each year. Further, many of those saplings die because the department does not have the staff to do sustained watering that trees need to survive.

What efforts are underway?

Liz P: We have collaborated with several experts on ways to strengthen and expand the Heritage Tree Ordinance and are advocating for this with City offcials. Rosanne: Herb Adams did a street tree inventory for the Parkside area. We then organized a street tree inventory for the West End bounded by the Western Prom, Commercial, High, and Congress streets. Volunteers went street by street counting trees and noted whether they were healthy or unhealthy, if there is a stump, if there’s an empty tree well.

What would the Reforest the City pilot neighborhood association program do?

Rosanne: The idea is to collaborate with the Parkside, St. John/Valley Street, West End, and Western Promenade neighborhood associations to address the crucial role trees play in making urban neighborhoods livable and healthy. The objectives would be to increase the number of trees planted particularly in public areas such as along streets, increase the survivability rate of street trees on the peninsula, and increase the peninsula’s overall tree equity score.

We plan to work with neighborhood groups and the City to inventory street trees in peninsula neighborhoods contiguous to MMC, identify unhealthy and/ or mutilated trees that the city arborist should evaluate for longevity and/or replacement, identify specifc neighborhood areas lacking street trees so that neighborhood associations can advocate for new tree installments, and help neighborhood associations recruit tree adopters to water and monitor the health of new saplings. We’d also like to offer public events about the historical elements of the peninsula tree canopy, links between tree coverage and public health, and tree identifcation and care.

Upcoming Event - Herb Adams will be giving a talk on May 18th, “Portland’s Trees - Today, Yesterday, Tomorrow.” For more information visit www.wenamaine.org.

PelotonLabs is a coworking space in the West End of Portland, Maine, with a mission to connect and encourage people working on their own to manifest their visions without fear.

PelotonPosts is produced by PelotonLabs and WEN provides free column space. Publisher-editor Tony Zeli is a coworking memeber at PelotonLabs.

Layne's Wine Gig Presents TWELVE

By Layne V. Witherell

Mostly, for the past twenty-fve years or so, I have written wine-based columns with a wide assortment of food ideas sprinkled in. I guess this piece can be termed a “calling” because of both the unprecedented buzz and the fact that over $350 of our hard-earned money was just spent to both live inside the buzz and experience a dinner here. There was no West End News expense account – just my hard-earned cash. We dine out so often in Portland that our names should be inscribed on a brick placed in Monument Square.

Let’s start at the beginning. Some of my comments are responses to an article by Andrew Ross in the March 12th edition of the Maine Sunday Telegram, “Twelve isn’t perfect but has many high points.” I admire his work, but in this piece I found too many nagging questions both before and after visiting this newly anointed temple of gastronomy buzz.

ALL THOSE BRICKS

They disassembled brick by brick the original structure and put them back into place at 115 Thames Street in Portland, “while introducing uneven lines and surfaces into the space,” and don’t forget the salvaged beams and ethereal ceramic art. You should get a bill for all that before you even sit down.

ALL

THOSE C.V.’s

There are lots of people working in the kitchen – veterans of Per Se, Eleven Madison Park, Tartine. Resumes, resumes, resumes. Hope they found housing here before the opening, because the commute from Parsonsfeld can get a bit rough. One thing they didn’t seem to lack was staff. And our service was exceptional. (Note: we are already spoiled by a superb dining scene and don’t dazzle easily.)

PRIX FIXE MENU

The one thing they forgot to bring along is a copy of Webster’s New World Collegiate Dictionary: “Prix Fixe (is the) set price for a complete meal…” Oh, sorry, we forgot the Parker House Rolls with smoked pecan butter for an additional eight bucks and the Lobster Roll served warm, with butter, for twenty-eight more bucks. I guess they could coin a new term: “modifed ala carte.”

APPETIZERS THAT LOBSTER ROLL

This is where our local food critic Mr. Ross ducked out after seeing a couple just add an extra seventy-two dollars to their bill. Sadly, he didn’t try it. They probably would have offered him a bite if he had told them who he was. We did add it to one of our dinners and the addition

Come visit today!

BTM is thrilled to offer over 2,500 curated wines and a robust selection of Mainemade products for your pantry!

Our Portland market is open! 262 Commercial St, Portland Tues – Sat: 10 am – 5 pm Closed: Sunday-Monday

was worth the experience. The lobster is contained in a little wrapper of a delicate puff pastry, served warm and without overdoing the butter. Between Eventide and Twelve, the modern, gourmet, elegant lobster roll is being redefned.

GRILLED SCALLOPS

These were among the freshest scallops that we have ever tasted. I know, sauce is a thing, especially when you moved here from wherever to dazzle us. In the summer it won’t just be the freshfrom-the-ocean crazed locals, and they will be more appreciative of that wonderful celery root, green apple slaw sauce. For

me, it's the scallops.

Just invite Rod Mitchell, our local caviar and all things fsh purveyor, to give everyone a tutorial on how the late, great Jean Louis Palladian (frst threestar French chef to land on these shores) taught his crew in 1988 how to locate and differentiate “diver scallops.”

MAIN

COURSE

BAKED HALIBUT

Not since our dinner at The Lost Kitchen – in the good old days when the

WINE GIG: Twelve

meal was closer to $150 per person with a BYOB, not the current $250 – have I tasted halibut as tender or favorful.

This is where the confusion begins at the table. Four of us with different food interests and thoughts. You must fgure out wine and food pairing about the time that roasted beet salad starter arrives. I always search menus and wine lists weeks in advance.

WINE SELECTION

You know a visit to Fore Street can be comfortably reliable with red wine, even with their grilled fsh. Or a boldly oaked California Chardonnay like Ridge. Scales’ dishes can always work with an energetic white like Zind- Humbrecht Pinot Gris from Alsace. But this place is a totally different wine pairing world altogether. It is the reincarnation of “Surf and Turf,” the time worn classic from the 1950’s updated.

If our local food writer has palpitations over a twenty-eight buck lobster roll add on, then your bill rises exponentially as you order wine. My bill always does. He got off easy with a cheesy $16 California Cabernet by the glass.

The restaurant’s motto is: “We try very hard to be accessible to everyone who comes in.” Their wine list shows it. The problem is, what goes with Surf and Turf and fts within your budget? For that matter, what goes with Surf and Turf at all?

We wound up having a “Cru” Beaujolais Julienas Domaine Du Clos Fief by Michel and Sylvain Tete, 2020, $60.00 bottle. Bright, foral, spicy, and structured. As good with the scallops as with the meat. Two bottles, please. We were a four top after all.

You can fy among the Opus One world in the $800’s or Ridge Montebello in the $500’s, but we were all perfectly pleased with our delicious “Cru” Julienas.

NEW YORK STRIP

“Don’t try to fool a steak man,” said Gael Green of New York Magazine.

The Hasselback potatoes were worth the price of admission. They should have been an extra twenty bucks for a larger portion to add to our “modifed ala carte.”

“My main course of New York strip was a revelation in its construction…” Mr. Ross’ conversation with the chef reminds me of when I sit down with a winemaker, and I know that I am listening to a well-rehearsed monolog that is long in form and a tad short in substance. When I think of a New York strip, my mind wanders to a half pound, thick, rare piece of beef, not a silver

dollar sized pancake.

DESSERT

I never have dessert, but here is where the total buzz comes in. Pastry chef Georgia Macon seems to be the star of the hour holding it all together with their dessert fourish. Gingerbread crème fraiche and buttercrunch was a highlight.

“The dessert alone was worth the $82.00 prix fxe cost,” commented a New York blogger. We too travel the world and are not easily fooled. No, I would not spend eighty-two bucks on dessert!

DESSERT WINES

We were spaced out enough by the dinner to forget to order from their short but impressive dessert wine list. From Tokaji to Vin Santo, older Tawny Port to older Madeira, it’s all there.

“I don’t expect perfection, even when I leave a restaurant $300 lighter for a two-person meal,” noted Andrew Ross. Now, Twelve is making the rounds on social media, with national food critics looking for the next newest thing to write about – which happens to be here, together with our high-powered food résumé obsession. I guess in some ways we resemble all our food obsessed visitors.

We might return, but probably in January when the tourists are in their warm climes and there isn’t a frantic need to

Layne has been a professional in the wine business for many decades and was awarded the Master Knight of the Vine for his pioneering work in Oregon. He can be reached at lvwitherell@gmail.com.

get in. By that time the next big “It Girl” restaurant will attract our gaze and they will repair that “prix fxe” sign that is broken. And maybe, just maybe, we can get out of there for a tad under three bills. One can only hope.

Layne’s Wine Gig - Every 3rd

Thursday

Don’t forget about Layne’s Wine Gig every third Thursday from 5 to 6 p.m., at Blue, 650 Congress Street, Portland. You get four three-ounce pours, the opportunity to do a little blending of your own, and the chance to learn in a fun, relaxed environment. More often than not, I am tasting these wines for the frst time myself! FMI, check out portcityblue.com.

CAFE & CATERING

Tuesday - Friday: 10-4 Saturday: 9-4 (w/ special brunch menu)

The Dirt on Slippers & Sisters

By Nancy Dorrans

You can travel far away for an adventure to distant lands, or an adventure can be as close as a discovery in your own backyard or wooded lot.

Spring has me looking closer within and at the dirt and mud under my feet. I am hungr y. Hungry for sunshine, hungry to get out into the garden, hungry for my winter sowing native seedlings to sprout. Hungry for an understanding of how plants and animals can be teachers. And hungry for more time outside.

Last May I wrote about getting “Back to Nature with native plants and a wooded lot.” Buying a wooded lot in Waltham, Maine, two years ago this month, was “all very spontaneous, but I had to follow the signs. First, there was a lady slipper blooming next to the for-sale sign (one sign). Second, this lot had some DEP restrictions… because of the adjacent vernal pool (another sign)…”

That lady slipper was on the clearing that would soon become my driveway. Later that summer I was camping with friends at Lamoine State Park, when I received a call from Michigan. My Aunt Gail had died. I had known her my whole life and a food of memories enveloped me. Unfor tunately, I couldn’t get to her memorial and was sad. I was going to miss her and all the shared memories.

She was still on my mind when I went back up to my lot to move the lady slipper out of harm’s way and the new driveway. The bloom was long gone, but the leaves and stem were still there.

I was told it wasn’t possible to move them, that it never works. “Lady slippers do not like to be moved!”

As I was carefully digging it up, I noticed another slipper nearby. Thinking about my aunt, I moved the slippers together to a rock under the hemlock tree. I named them Aunt Gail’s lady slippers and prayed that they would survive.

On my way to Waltham and my wooded lot last spring, I happened upon Fernwood Nursery in Montville. It was here that I met Rick Sawyer and his wife Denise. Rick showed me around the variety of native and woodland plants they had for sale and told me to take a walk along the path towards the back of the garden. I was mesmerized by the beauty.

Denise greeted me with a welcoming calm. She told me the garden had held her up and supported her through the pandemic. The plants were not just plants to her… they were her counsel and teachers.

I told her about how I had transplanted Aunt Gail’s lady slippers and I prayed they would survive.

She said, “Of course they will, because you planted them with intention!” I cried.

We chatted a long time and she recommended I read the book “Braiding Sweetgrass” by Robin Wall Kimmerer.

So now, I am reading and listening to this book and learning about “Indigenous Wisdom, Scientifc Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants.” I’m going to plant the “Three Sisters.” Three seeds: one corn, one bean, and one squash. Planted together, “these three plants feed the people, feed the land, and feed our imaginations, telling us how we might live…”

I am the middle sister of three sisters. My oldest sister lives next to my almost ninety-year-old father in East Tennessee. She is “clearly in charge… upright and effcient.” She is the corn that comes frst.

I am a bean and come second. I am fexible, adaptable, and wind my way about searching for some support.

Now I’m remembering a rhyme my mother made up years ago about the two of us… “Susan Ann is a Can. Nancy Jean is a Bean, and together they make a can of beans.” Ha! Irony.

My younger sister came eight years later. She, like the squash seed, had to fnd

her own way and write her own rhyme.

Kimmerer writes, “You can tell they are sisters: one twines around the other… while the sweet baby sister lolls at their feet, close but not too close…”

I have traveled far and yet I have so much more to learn about plants and planting and our “reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world.”

Hopefully by the time you read this, the warmth of our spring will have arrived and the time for us to go outside and dig, breathe, and plant something with intention!

Nancy Dorrans is founder of Adventure Marketplace... Navigating travelers on authentic, nurturing, global and local adventures since 2014.

Aunt Gail's Lady Slippers going strong at Nancy's wooded lot.

-Photos courtesy of Nancy Dorrans

We’re All in This Together Global Climate Concern & the Pine Tree Amendment

Hidden Cost of a Digital Life

By Jennifer Ruggiero

Did your cat do something adorable… again? Then you just had to take another picture of their overwhelming cuteness? With a touch of the fnger, you’ve captured their greatness!

Digitalization has paved the way to effortlessly capture, sort, and track memories, communications, and activities. It’s a generational meme that younger people will never know the struggle of deciding if a picture was worth taking because there are only twenty-four pictures- only then to wait weeks to get it developed and fnd out someone sneezed. Now it’s easy. Grandma sneezed but everyone else looked good. Might as well keep it, it’s not taking up any space.

However, there is a hidden consequence. In fact, there are consequences for all our digital activities. Just like physical objects, a digital presence carries an environmental impact. Instead of accumulating clutter, as digital citizens, we now accumulate dark data.

Dark data is defned as “the information assets organizations collect, process, and store during regular business activities, but generally fail to use for other purposes such as analytics.”1 It still applies outside of organizations via our emails, photos, fles, basically anything we store on the cloud, send, post, or event search. In Britain, OVO Energy found that more than 64 million unnecessary emails were sent. Think of one-line emails such as “OK,” “Thanks,” and such. This led to the production of carbon equivalent to 81,152 one-way fights from Madrid to London.2

Over 3%3 of global greenhouse emissions are generated through digitizing our lives. This is expected to keep growing. However, reducing this inconspicuous carbon consumption couldn’t be easier.

Whether it is sending or storing, ultimately reducing consumption is the best way to decarbonize our lives. And all that is needed is to curate your digital presence a little and hit that delete button. Some examples include: Email

• Spam emails are the easiest target, especially if you have a dedicated email to give out so your personal email isn’t bombarded. Delete the emails from the inbox and clear out the trash folder.

• Review subscriptions and unsubscribe to those emails you don’t need or read.

File

• Go through old folders and remove any duplicate or obsolete fles.

• Check note-taking apps.

Internet Browser

• Browsers such as Ecosia offer a way to do carbon neutral searches. For more tips about decarbonizing your digital presence check out the World Economic Forum.4

SOURCES

1. https://www.gar tner.com/en/information-technology/glossary/dark-data

2. https:/ /www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/12/with-thank-you-emailspolite-britons-burn-thousands-oftonnes-of-carbon-a-year/

3. https://www.bbc .com/future/article/20200305-why-your-internethabits-are-not-as-clean-as-you-think

4. https:/ /www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/12/digital-carbon-footprint-how-to-lower-electronics

Bright Ideas is brought to readers by the Portland Climate Action Team (PCAT) which meets the Third Tuesday of the month, 6-7:30 p.m. All are welcome to join in: portlandclimateaction@gmail.com.

By Tom Berry

Like most, I didn’t become aware of the climate crisis until 2006, when Al Gore came out with “An Inconvenient Truth.” At the time , I was working in the Kennebunk area schools and, following that ominous wakeup call, whenever I observed young students (e.g., on the playground or just walking down a hallway) innocently oblivious to the looming threat, I often found myself wondering: What kind of world will these kids be inheriting from us? (A common experience to many who are reading this, no doubt.)

Still, it wasn’t until after the Presidential election in 2016 that I felt impelled to stop merely taking notice of the growing dire situation and to join efforts to actively engage with it. Several like-minded members of the Kennebunk community and I formed a group, The Planeteers of Southern Maine, to take on a range of environmental issues, including climate change, at the community level.

One of the earlier events our group hosted was a presentation by someone from Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) This organization’s practical approach for pressing Congress to pass legislation to markedly reduce our national carbon emissions had defnite common-sense appeal for me. In addition, its well-organized methods provided the kind of focus I needed to turn my anxiety into purposeful action. And, after a while , I joined up.

Then, last year, a colleague brought the proposed Pine Tree Amendment to my attention. After reading what proponents

were saying about it, a question rose in my mind: How would advocating for the Pine Tree Amendment factor for me in the face of the global climate crisis? In other words, shouldn’t the unfolding planet-wide disaster demand my full attention?

I thought about this, and then remembered: Having a destabilized climate with high potential for global catastrophe does not mean that regional environmental concerns have become less important.

The natural features of our home state – the forests and waters, the ecosystems therein, and the clarity of the air we breathe – have perennially been at risk. And, as negative effects of climate change increase, those vulnerabilities will only become starker.

These features are iconic of the spirit of Maine and form the foundation upon which our state’s economy is built. Offcially declaring a healthy environment to be a constitutional right would place this undergirding principle beyond the vicissitudes of politics.

The answer to my question then? I guess, for me, attending both the global and the regional will have to be do-able. It may just require a little more coffee, is all.

So, my recommendation for concerned WEN readers: Do what you can to stabilize the climate and contact your state representatives and senators. Urge them to support the Pine Tree Amendment, LD 928.

Tom Berry is a retired speech-language pathologist and 30-year resident of Kennebunk. Column provided by Portland CCL.

ANSWERS ONLINE

https://thewestendnews.com/puzzle-solutions

Greek Loan Words Trivia

1. In 1516, writer Sir Thomas More coined what word from the Greek for “no place” that we now use to describe an ideal fictional society?

2. Coming from the Greek word for gold, what C-word describes the pupal stage of a butterfly’s life span?

3. What African animal with a Greek name is one of the deadliest creatures in the world, killing about 500 people per year?

4. According to a phrase popularized by journalist Bob Woodward, and now adopted as the slogan of the Washington Post, what dies in darkness?

Mondays at Foulmouthed Brewing, Lazzari

Tuesdays at Ri Ra, Brookside F+D Wednesdays at Wilson County BBQ, Elsmore BBQ in SoPo

Thursdays at Arcadia, Locally Sauced, Goodfire online @bestworsttrivia

Find the answers online at thewestendnews.com/puzzle-solutions!

GET INTO THE DUMPSTER!!

WHERE WE DUMP EVERYTHING WE COULDN’T COMPOST…

Roy’s Shoe Shop gets festve for their 100-year celebraton with a new window design… Congresswoman Chellie Pingree memorializes the Valentne’s Day Bandit Kevin Fahrman on the foor of the US House of Representatves… Chris Poole from Falmouth Maine wins the iconic Congressional Cup undefeated…

It’s never been done before… Portland’s Cong Tu Bot announces that it is the frst independent restaurant in Maine to unionize in 40 years… Maine Is 2023’s 10th Greenest State thanks to our best in the naton water quality and % renewable energy consumpton… Newsweek adds Northern Light Mercy Hospital to their prestgious Best US Hospitals list… Portland Food Co-op adds 22 new bulk bins to their bulk secton bringing it up to 160 food bins… Dave and Whitley Marshall reminisce with Ed King in Chapel Hill… Creatve Portland director Dinah Minot advocates for the arts on Capitol Hill Friends of Woodfords Corner launches a Bike Rack Bonanza to install more bike parking locatons around the neighborhood… Cape Elizabeth high schooler Aurora Milton wins ecomaine’s Upcycle Challenge for the second consecutve year with a stylish jumper made from old materials… Portland Parks staf install 300 gal. inground trash barrels along the Eastern Prom..................

Lupine

Middle English from Anglo-French from Latin lupines wolf 1300s

Lupine

Wrongly named

Wrongly accused

Of “wolfng” up nutrients in the soil

In truth

You give back more than you take Beautiful racemes of blue, purple, white and yellow fowers

Hang gracefully

In gardens and roadsides

A ground cover and fodder

With edible seeds

Subject of a lovely children’s book

All in all

Lupines bear no resemblance to their wolfsh namesake

And are gorgeous, colorful, delightful Harbingers of spring in Maine

-Susan Bassler Pickford ©2023

Learning to Play Playing to Learn

It’s Never Too Late

Make Music

Wednesdays

Beginner Band 3:15, Concert Band 4:15 St. Ansgar Lutheran Church 515 Woodford St. Spring Session began Apr. 19

It’s not too late to join!

SouthernMaineNew HorizonsBand.org

Affiliated with New Horizons International Music Association

SUBMISSIONS

Share your submissions with thewestendnews@gmail.com or send to: The West End News, 795 Congress Street, Portland, Maine 04102.

Letters to the editor should be no more than 200 words. Include your name and town or neighborhood. We also accept poetry, cartoons, and photo submissions. Deadline for publication is the fourth Friday of every month. Publication is not guaranteed.

Ferry Village Market

Happy Hour Specials

Tuesday

Taco Tuesday: All a-la-carte tacos..........$3.00 ea. Burrito Thursday: All burritos...............$10.95 ea.

Tacos – Burritos – Quesadillas – Enchiladas –Sopes – Pozole – Goat Birria – Fajitas –Cocteles de Marisco – Chile Rellenos – Carne Asada –Lamb Shanks in Adobo & much more!

“To know how to eat is to know enough”