THE DUMPSTER
WHERE WE THROW ALL THE STUFF
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH
March 19-31, 2010
Vinny O'Malley says that kids growing up on Tyng Street played a lot of wiffle
ball...Fergis the West End Terrier fell in love with the bagpipers at the West End
St. Patrick's Day March...Everett Perlman claims that a leprechaun told him that
St. Patrick was Jewish...
March 4-18, 2010
Happy Birthday Richard Lawlor (March 16th)...State Rep Diane Russell talking
late-night politics at Colucci's...Blue Lobster Sue Yandell on safari in Africa...
Sandy Amborn and her new puppy Theo looking to move back to Munjoy Hill...
Councilor Marshall celebrated thirtysomething on March 7th...Ellen Murphy
will be taking part in her first West End St. Patrick's Day March...Bayside's Ron
Spinella has joined the tenor section of the Blue Lobsters...Wonder if Bill
Nemtiz had a copy of the WEN with him aboard the Sea Hunter...Kelly Nesbitt
and Rob Lieber headed back to New Orleans...John Eder and Dan Jenkins
among the many Greens at League of Young Voters' Re-Ignition...Cole Caswell
and Jessica George collaborative exhibit at USM Woodbury opened March 12th..
We thought Michelle Souliere was more a Halloween birthday type than a St.
Patrick's Day birthday type...
When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they were taking a pizza break at
Leonardo's in the middle of their 5,000-copy Leonardo Flyer/WEN run around
the city. PaperBoy was wondering if Leonardo gives nicknames to all his
delivery guys, like PizzaGuy or The Slicer or maybe Pepperoni Kid.
DeliveryMan was thinking that it's probably not as glamorous a job as it appears
to be....
February 19-March 3, 2010
Steven Scharf is now a West Ender...Pat LaMarche was in Ecuador during
earthquake that struck Chile...City Manager Joe Gray is now a Grandpa...
Councilor Marshall taking a holiday in San Francisco...Colin Woodward's piece
in the latest Downeast Magazine links the Maine State Pier and the Portland
Charter Commission...Tackle Box Billy getting ready for fishing season...Hard
to believe that Fresh Approach's fabulous chicken breasts are actually less
expensive than WalMart's...Who knew that Baysider Susan McCloskey's name
had an 'e' in it?!...WEN correspondent Pamela Cragin leaving for Costa Rica
soon...Former Danforth owner Barbara Ward has a doppleganger in Orrington,
Maine...Some nominees in recent Phoenix survey arguing over who is actually
Most Influential Portlander...Anne Schaff's polymer sculptures were a great
investment in art at recent Old Port storefront sale... Lee Auchincloss of
Furniturea on Market Street hosted latest Buy Local party...Mayor visited the
West End for grand opening of 645 Congress Street...West Ender Skip Edwards
in UMaine track meet in Boston...Station A shortcut from Congress to Park
Street has been cut off...Bayside power brokers holding high-level summit
upstairs at the Public House Market... Former State Senate candidate David
Babin visiting Mom on Sheridan Street....West End publisher guest speaker at
Portland Republican City Committee...
February 4-18, 2010
Victoria Hershey, Susan McCloskey at the Maine Studios Valentine's Bazaar...
East End resident thrilled that the Valentine Bandit made a stop at her house..A
lot of Influential People at Portland Phoenix event at Bull Feeney's...City
Councilor John Anton says it was colder in Asheville, North Carolina than it is
here...Did City Manager Joe Gray remember to bring the WEN to Europe with
him?!..Restaurants in Longfellow Square all getting face-lifted...Councilor
Marshall says he's now the last remaining car-free City Councilor...Tropa Wine
closing shop...Lisa Walker shoveling a lot of snow in DC...WEN Washington
correspondent Ruth Riddick soon to become our Big Apple correspondent...
Pamela Craigin and Scott Duncan at Eli Phant for First Friday ArtWalk...
Peter Smith now writing for Maine Magazine...
January 21-February 3, 2010
Michel Jonka wants the WEN to cover his graduation from the Civilian Police
Academy...East Bayside has the longest wish list of any neighborhood group in
the city...West End publisher Ari Meil has traded in his Taylor Street home for a
place in the country...Eric Lusk giving up Portland politics for the good life in
Cape Elizabeth...Katie Brown reports crocuses growing on Monument Street in
February (Must be that salty air on the Hill)...Tenants starting to move into
fabulous new apartment building at 645 Congress...Madeline Segal may be a
candidate for public office after her final term on the Police Review Committee...
Don Lindgren of Rabelais Books one of the celebrity judges at the second
annual Pizza Bowl...West End publisher named one of Portland's most influential
people by The Phoenix...Sandy Amborn no longer a twenty-something...Lot of
Dems saying they won't run for District 3 City Council seat...The Stenbak twins
have arrived...
January 5-20, 2010
City officials relieved that it actually snowed for the most recent Snow Parking
Ban...One WMPG radio host requires some guests to bring their own donuts to
his early morning talk show...West End got quite a spread in latest Maine
Magazine piece written by Chelsea Holden Baker...Not true that a local
politician's new puppy ate his copy of the State Budget...Will Everitt the new
head of Maine's League of Young Voters...Jobani Cohen joining the WEN team
(Can she play third base?!)...Councilor Donoghue kicking off his January 20th
birthday with a meeting of the METRO board...Joey D is back in town (Watch
out!)...Former City Councilor considering running against incumbent for District
3 City Council seat...John Eder, Abraham Schechter and Sally Struever all
celebrating January 18th birthdays...Very arty (and quiet) cardboard motorcycle
in front window at Eli Phant...Maine Studios planning huge fundraising bazaar
on Valentine's weekend...Mary Amalia going to spend the rest of the winter in
Arizona...Green Hand's Michelle Souliere working on Strange Maine book...
Commander Mike Sauschuck MC'd the roast at Joe Loughlin's retirement
party...Ellen Murphy headed back to Ireland...Michael Quint is a big Red Claws
fan...Marie Galland visited a lot of churches on her pilgrimage to San
Francisco...
December 23, 2009-January 4, 2010
West End photographer Smyth Wolfe contributed one of the New York Times'
Photos of the Decade...Snowstorms delayed Police Chief Craig's return from
California Christmas vacation...Bill Doukas planning a Patriots' playoff tailgate
party at his Longfellow Square pad...Meanwhile all the local Giants fans are
becoming Vikings and Jets fans...Adams School grounds becoming a dumping
ground for some local dog owners...Diane Edwards glad she brought her winter
jacket along on her trip to the Florida Panhandle...Steve Hirshon thinks there
should be a Reny's downtown to replace LL Bean...Looks like snowpersons are
going to be big this winter...Pamela Craigin snowshoeing in Vermont...One
City Councilor wants a WEN news box in front of his house...WEN Technical
Advisor Jack Woods planning to redesign our website...Parksider Dan Noel may
become an opera star...Goldie Peacock taking New York by storm...Jane and
Nate Stevens in Key West...James Cagney proud of daughter Fiona's starring
role in Up Up, Down Down...Happy New Year's Eve birthday to Virginia
Collins...Friends turned Suzanne Gagnon's leg cast into a work of art...Planet
Dog's Alex Fisher running the hounds at Willard Beach on Christmas...Guy tried
to pay for a donut at local Dunkin' with a $100 bill...
December 9-22, 2009
Paul's Market no longer accepting fake $100 bills...Group of creative types
putting together new art center in the city... A resident of 75 State Street says
she was named after Nebuchadnezzar, the ancient ruler of Babylon...KatieMade
Bakery the new hot breakfast spot in East Bayside...Alison Berg Hills got
surprise birthday cake at Portland Magazine Christmas party at Bintliff's...
Nancy at the West End Deli very excited about their new website
(thewestenddeli.com)...Martha Putnam unloading the MOFGA truck at the
Rosemont Market on the Hill...Diane Edwards put on a big holiday bash at the
Wild Iris Inn in Parkside before heading for the Florida Panhandle... Dugan
Murphy headed back to Cincinnati...New apartment building in old USM (645
Congress) dorm almost ready to open...Councilor Marshall's insurance
provider wondering if he'll be filing a claim after being pummeled in recent
mayoral contest...Second annual East End Stroll a huge success...A few hearty
farmers showed up in snowstorm for December 9th Farmer's Market in
Monument Square...Heavy rain made City's first snow ban a washout...We'll
have to wait another month to find out who Chip Martin recruited to run for
WENA Prez because of snow cancellation...Munjoy Hill dog calendar made
instant celebrities of a number of East End canines...
November 25-December 9, 2009
Suzanne Gagnon will have plenty of time to rehearse for the Spring Blue
Lobster recital while she recuperates from surgery on her broken ankle...Will
King will no longer be a teenager as of December 13th...Marge Niblock and
Wendy Cherubini won't be teenagers much longer either...Rebecca Minnick
sang a duet with a famous local celebrity at Eli Phant's First Friday opening...
Local baseball addict has a pitching machine set up in his Bayside shop to
keep him sharp until Spring Training...Huge tribute held at Irish Heritage
Center for late Portland restaurateur Jimmy Ledue...Next WENA Prez wil have
big shoes to fill...Former Mayors Cloutier and Geraghty spotted from the
WestEndNewsMobile...Councilor Donoghue wants to see WEN's 10th
Anniversary Issue in 2011...Happy December 1st Birthday to Charter
Commissioner Anna Trevorrow...Washington correspondent Ruth Riddick back
in the nation's capital after spending the holiday in the West End...Jack Woods
named Technical Advisor to the WEN...Guy changing his pants next to his car
on Cumberland Avenue on Thanksgiving...
November 12-25, 2009
Mayor-elect Mavodones promises to publicly say something nice about the
WEN during his term in office...Shana and Chris Barry in town for Shana's
Meet the Fofers show...Crime reporter Marge Niblock on the scene for stolen
truck drama across from Portland Observatory...Chip Martin heading up
nominating committee as WENA looks for new officers for the coming year...
Former State Senator Mike Brennan spotted in the West End...Will King
putting his '80 Chevy Chevette in the garage for the winter...Sandy Amborn
headed to graduate school - and she bakes a wicked pie crust...Mayor Duson
thinks the online print edition of the WEN is very cool...East Baysider Amanda
Sears helping to organize Million Baby Crawl...Former Mayor Ed Suslovic now
a half-century old...Tony Reilly getting rave reviews playing Tricky Dick in
Frost/Nixon at the St. Lawrence...Happy 62nd Birthday to our own Harlan
(Not Ready to Retire Yet)Baker... Ken and Patty Rosen brunching at Local 188
with some East End friends... Reiche fifth grader Jane Ackermann placed first
among Maine fifth graders in both verbal and math... Guy in Congress Square
showing off the NY Yankees tattoo on his chest...Yes Books' Russ Sargent
featured in New York Times story...Bangkok Thai undergoing a complete
overhaul...Some West End residents didn't get notice of the City's annual
meeting at Reiche until a week after the meeting...Munjoy Hiller Gary
Marscisso at Maine Hardware on St. John Street...
October 28-November 11, 2009
If you see Liz McMahon today, wish her a Happy Birthday...
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree kicking off fund-raising campaign for re-
election at Cyrus Hagge's place on Munjoy Hill...Lisa McNeil back in town...
Strange Maine's Michelle Soulierre's Green Hand Bookstore opened on First
Friday, November 6th...Jenny Anastasoff now a cub reporter for the WEN...
Jeff Karl back in town to open a new G'Vanni's on Exchange Street...Suzanne
Gagnon now covering art, music, dance, literature and life at 60 Eastern Prom
Vortex...Karl Rawstron broken hand in bike-car mishap...Scary, knife-wielding
mannequin looking out Western Prom window on Halloween...Residents at 75
State excited about upcoming holiday fair...New ownership at Holiday Inn not
very hospitable to neighborhood newspapers...Neighborhood Watcher Christine
McHale keeping her eye on things in the West End...October 29th 60th
anniversary of great stock market crash...Bonobo's Oliver Outerbridge pretty
serious about getting on the Portland Water Board...Yankees-Phillies World
Series may bring some local Philly Cheesesteak parties...City Councilor chided
little old lady for not standing up when she spoke at recent public meeting...
October 15-28, 2009
WEN Editor pontificating about West End politics on Steve Hirshon's WMPG
morning show, Thursday, 8AM...Oliver Waterman a big hit at Cafe Review's
20th Anniversary party...WENA Prez Rosanne Graf emailed us from New
Mexico for an update on a local issue...There's a blog called Overheard in
Portland...Turntables hanging from the ceiling at Dugan Murphy's 27th
birthday party...ME/NH Computer Services saved our bacon this week, who
will be next?!...City Councilor Dan Skolnik wondering where all the leaks
from City Hall's back rooms are coming from...League of Young Voters
founder Billy Wimsatt at East End party...Arroz con pollo a big draw at
WMPG's Begathon...Sarah Colton Facebooked us from Ireland...Susan Doran
enjoying the late autumn sunshine in Monument Square...Michelle Souliere
consulting with Nancy Grayson at Cunningham Books about Michelle's new
bookstore - The Green Hand - which is due to open soon...Plant Lady Deb
McCoy leading WENA cleanup of Harborview Park ...Snow flakes but no
parking ban on October 18th...State Rep Diane Russell in love with her new
laptop...Former state rep may become WEN's newest political columnist...
Plaster the Cat improv group a big hit at the Comedy Connection...
October 1-14, 2009
Maine magazine covering the West End for an 8-10 page feature in the
Dec/Jan issue...Liz Trice spent part of her Columbus holiday at her laptop in
the window at Bard's Coffee Shop on Middle Street...Who was that handsome
gentleman having coffee at Bard's with Virginia Collins and Suzanne Gagnon
after the First Friday ArtWalk?!...Bronco fans Peggy and Chet Knights are
ready for football season...West Ender Wendy Cherubini counting pedestrians
on Franklin Arterial...Bill Green pretty sure it's going to be a long, cold
winter...Lisa Walker wants to get started on the West End NEWS movie...West
End getting ready for big Halloween parade...Bob Nason still painting and
playing tennis - at 86...Barbara McGivaren back in the West End from
Auburn...Rose Harris planning to resume Rosie's/Ruski's Holiday Auction and
gift and food distribution in honor of her late husband Steve...Natalie the
theater cat made a surprise guest appearance at energy forum at the St.
Lawrence...Big traffic snarl at Congress & Forest Avenue when traffic lights
went on the blink...First pair of winter gloves spotted on October 1st...John
Eder and Suzanne Kahn at Good Theater play The Little Dog Laughed at the
St. Lawrence... Great-tasting apples at Coyne's Laundromat for fifty cents
each. Vinny claims he picked them himself...Chocolate-covered bacon causing
a sensation at Black Tie on Commercial Street...Rogue bicyclist rode through
pickup basketball game at Reiche gym...License plate seen on Vaughan Street
says 'BE GOOFY'...
September 16-30, 2009
Neighborhood Watches sprouting up all over despite recent police stats showing
that crime is actually down in the city...Campaign signs sprouting up
everywhere too...Waynflete neighbors not happy with the plan the school put
before the Planning Board...Haven't heard what the big racket on Brackett
Street was the other night - residents think it was a big drug bust...Some fun
photos coming from Cadillac Mountain...Red Sox fans can hardly wait
another two weeks to get another crack at the Yankees...No self-loathing
hipster should be without a good flask... Life about to begin for Brackett Street
sleuth Jenny Anastasoff...Former Mayor Tom Kane feigning disinterest in
taking over his old post...Looks like the West End NEWSIES may be headed
for an undisputed three-peat...Cliff Gallant doing promotion for the Portland
Club... Steven Scharf ditto for Styxx...Mike DeLong collecting a lot of local
artists' work...League of Young Voters' Director Harris Parnell moving on to
new gig in Augusta...City Councilors say it's too early to talk about who will be
the next Mayor...Bangkok Thai to make major change in November...We
think Bill Dukas should open a Greek restaurant in Longfellow Square...West
Ender Marie Galland visited The Hill for Munjfest...
September 2-16, 2009
Not true that Dan Jenkins is moving to Munjoy Hill so that he can run for
East End City Council seat (Good Morning, Dan!)...Michelle Souliere
planning a Strange Maine art show...One Parkside resident thinks local coffee
brewer should start making a Darkside roast... Nobody hurt when driver of
parked SUV on Washington Avenue opened door just as METRO bus was
passing by...The Baysider to resume publishing with Black Frame edition...
Deena Weinstein swam two miles and raised $1050 at the Beach to Beach
Swim for Breast Cancer ...German visitors Fredricka and Hannah were the
toast of the Thursday night comedy open mic at Slainte...West End's Plant
Lady also an expert hot dog chef...You never know what Portland neighbor
you'll meet on Mt. Katahdin...Annual PICNIC festival dampened a bit by the
weather...West End Policing Coordinator Sarah Colton kept very busy face-
painting during WENA's annual picnic at Harborview Park...West Ender's trip
to New York slowed down by President's entourage in mid-Manhattan...Jobani
Cohen's fabulous birthday party on The Hill on August 9th was almost like
going to Woodstock...State Senator Justin Alfond and Rachael Weinstein
engaged to be married...School Committee candidate Jenna Vendil still
running hard despite having no opponent...WEN fan Mary McCarthy turned
80 in August...Novelist Patrick Quinlan at the Portland Public Library...Local
residents wondering how two seagulls got killed in Longfellow Square...
August 19-September 2, 2009
Head of new police crime lab now has a faux window in his office...Bayside
upholstery guru Pistol Pete shocked at new customers who saw his ad in the
WEN...Former State Street resident (and Honorary Founding Editor of the
WEN) Selena Craig visiting from Boston...Friend in Bayside claims she once
had two cats who played chess while she was away at work...The West End has
the city's first break-dancing city councilor...Joe Roberts still putting in 12-
hour days at Station A building on Congress Street-at age 83!...Cora Brown
celebrated 99th Birthday on August 21st...Original WENA member Patrick
Baldwin commuting from Falmouth to keep active in the old hood...WENA
board got a tour of the Irish Heritage Center from St. Dom alum Vinny
O'Malley...Local School Committee candidate stuck in elevator on her way to
work...Movie Night at Reiche had to be cancelled because of new carpet
installation...The Bears at Cunningham Books will be going to the beach
while everyone else is back-to-school...Rain held off for big Democratic lobster
bake...Dan Jenkins in Boston for Red Sox-Yankees...Colette Bouchard in
Boston for her birthday...Some high-ranking Portland police in line outside
Becky's Diner for Sunday breakfast...Local nonprofit selling off some of its
real estate holdings...McMahon clan in town from Asheville, NC...Gang at
Paul's Market was happy to have air conditioning during mid-August heat
wave...WestEndNewsMobile almost got a ticket for not parking close enough to
the curb....
August 5-19, 2009
WENA annual picnic in jeopardy because of City Hall red tape…Sean
Wilkinson has moved to Brackett Street… Portland Monthly holding a lobster
bake on the Western Prom… Michelle Souliere thinking about opening a
bookstore in town…Ben Meiklejohn is now a West Ender...Car full of dogs
barking at City Councilor John Anton out walking his dog near Reiche
School...West Enders helping with a pedestrian count on Franklin Arterial...
Munjoy Hill's Joan Sheedy starting to think about putting together this year's
snow shovelling program...WMPG morning host will probably invite back
recent guest who brought a bag of Tony's Donuts to the station...Makara from
Mitpheap Asian Market to open cafe on Cumberland Avenue...Local 188's
owner Jay Villani to open new place on Exchange Street in old O'Natural's
space...Styxx under new ownership...Guy on Munjoy Hill wearing a Pistol Pete
t-shirt is not the same guy who runs the upholstery shop in East Bayside...West
End traveller crossed paths with Minnesota Senator Al Franken at Washington,
DC airport...EliPhant owners Peter and Sally spending the rest of the summer
in a vintage camper...West End yellow lab named Buzz found his way onto the
stage at the St. Lawrence in the middle of a Secret Lives comedy skit. Now he's
a star!...Local couple vacationing in San Francisco report eight straight days
of fog and 60-degree weather. Sounds like Maine...So many rumors,so little
time...
July 22-August 5, 2009
Sara Lemieux just opened an ice cream stand on Pine Street...Goldie Peacock
very excited about Wednesday night dance parties at the White Heart...Ayperi
& Friends belly dancing in Post Office Park August 6 at 12 Noon...Roundtable
of culinary experts at Congress Street CBD discussing Jewish, Greek, Italian
and Irish cuisine…Charter Commissioner Jim Gooch riding his bike through
Longfellow Square in the rain...Some West Enders walked back over the bridge
after completing the 10K Beach-to-Beacon...Alicia Harding passing out health
care leaflets in Monument Square... State Senator Justin Alfond doing
constituent work from his car on Congress Street...Neighbors report Brackett
Street hooker has moved on...Some West Enders who danced the night away at
Zootz reunion had a hard time getting up the next morning...Couple of guys
standing in front of Fresh Approach got a cell phone call from passing
motorist who recognized them and just wanted to say hi...Peter Hall working
on walking tour of West End carriage houses...Hula hoopster at Monument
Square farmers' market...New garden behind Cunningham Books in full
bloom...Local politician practising his flamenco steps at Congress Street CBD...
WMPG Softball Tournament to be held in September this year...WEN's crime
dog Marge Niblock taking PPD's Taser training...Peaks Islander Mike Levine
quit his teaching job at Gorham High School to focus full-time on Acorn
Productions in Westbrook…
When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they were pouring quarters into
the feed dispensers at the Gray Animal Farm so they could feed the moose and
the bears and the chickens (or whatever those birds on the pond were).
DeliveryMan was thinking that it might be a good idea to have something
dispensing from Portland parking meters, just so people would feel like they
were getting something for their money other than just an empty space. Maybe
a few jelly beans or a fortune cookie or something. PaperBoy doesn’t care
about getting anything back from the parking meters. He wasn’t even really
that excited about feeding the bears…
July 8-22, 2009
Belinda Ray now East Bayside's Community Organizer...Duane Pierson doing
a lot of undercover work for the WEN...Jesse and Tori Stenbak expecting
twins...East Bayside kids loved the Labradoodles at the Boyd Street Garden
Fair... East End newlyweds seen biking in SoPo...Former Rustic Overtone
Ryan Zoidis back from tour of Japan...Pistol Pete has set up his upholstery
shop in Bayside...Marie Gallant celebrating Bastille Day on July 14th...West
Ender attended her first Red Sox game in nearly forty years...Break dancers in
Congress Square...Bob from Bangkok Thai riding power scooter down
Congress Street...Lot of canine guests at recent Buy Local event at Planet
Dog...Kris Clark organizing July 25th Zootz reunion...Local reporter left latest
Charter Commission meeting early to go dancing at Bubba's...Photojournalist
Margo Roy may soon be joining the WEN parade...Parksider Ray Curry in
training for upcoming marathon...Liz Trice and Mom biking through
Longfellow Square...Portland historians Herb Adams and Harlan Baker
conferring in Monument Square...Former Seekonk singer Sarah Ramey now
doing her thing in San Francisco…
June 24-July 8, 2009
Former Parkside state rep Michael Quint working next to current state rep for
"The Hill" Diane Russell at Colucci's on July 4th. Maybe they'll
caucus…John Eder organizing West Enders to crack down on cigarette
butts…Deena Weinstein in the annual Beach to Beach Swim for Breast
Cancer…Ruth Riddick in Auburn visiting longtime pal Barbara McGivaren…
Any fan in attendance at July 11th event who is able to sink a shot from center
court will win a season ticket for the 2009-10 Red Claws season...Would-be
local wedding crasher foiled when he couldn't name the groom...Portland
couch surfer from Tucson couldn't wait to get back to the Arizona sunshine...
Sandy Amborn back from her first trip to the Big Apple...Local photographer
had to fight with mother seagull atop the Eastland Hotel while trying to get
photos of 900-foot flag in Pride Parade...Neighbors concerned about
prostitutes on Brackett Street.. Packed house for James Hayman's book
signing and reading from The Cutting at Longfellow Books... Shana and
Chris Barry in town for her show at SPACE...People jumping rope in
Monument Square...
June 10-24, 2009
Biggie the Golden Retriever a big hit at the Peter
Patton show…Jack Glynn back from New
Orleans (until the next cheap flight),,, Blue
Lobsters looking to supplement their bass
section…Hilarious cop photos on display at City
Hall… West End in summer just isn’t the same
without Popeye’s Ice House…Doug Emerson
working on his tan lines at Jones
Beach…Rebecca Minnick waving to her
neighbors from atop the Observatory…Portlander
Dugan Murphy moving from Cincinnati to
Bangor for the summer...Liz McMahon to fill in
for Harlan Baker on the True Tales Tour...
Retired Munjoy Hiller Eric Handley may have
stumbled upon a new profession...Former West
Ender Jesse Connolly to lead upcoming gay
marriage epic battle...Steven Scharf finally getting
some recognition for endless hours of
watchdogging public meetings...Neighbors of one
loud Old Port bar say they have to sleep with ear
plugs...Night shift workers having trouble sleeping
during the day with street repairs on Brackett
Street...A third candidate has joined the upcoming
Munjoy Hill City Council race...Station A may be
on the Postmaster's chopping block...Portland
Mag planning its annual lobster bake...One East
End street turning into a journalists' row...
Baysider newspaper may be coming back soon...
PPH'S Bill Nemitz ran into Harlan Baker's True
Tales Walking Tour on Commercial Street...
Former West Ender Louise Philbrick now
dismantling pianos in SoPo...Bike cops winding
down at CBD on India Street after a hectic day...
Some West Enders calling local graffiti problem
an epidemic... John Eder hoping he remembers to
bring a WEN to Greece for a photo op...Jack
Woods waiting for an opening in the upcoming at-
large City Council race...One potential candidate
wants to pre-screen debate moderators to measure
their impartiality...
May 27-June 10, 2009
Peter Hall to host annual West End solstice party...Lee Orme back from
California...Mike Kriegman of Smokers' Depot brunching at the Front Room...
Blue Lobster Troupe starting rehearsals for fall concert..Brackett Street
gardener Donald Mullen planting flower garden behind Cunningham Books...
Another West Ender may become known as the Singing Gardener...Who is that
West Ender driving the 1980 Chevy Chevette?!...Chet Knights of Fresh
Approach may be dropped to the bottom of the West End Newsies lineup after
recent batting fiasco...Local publishers comparing notes in the cereal aisle at
Hannaford's... Harlan Baker in Boston for college reunion...New police chief
meeting neighbors at the Front Room...Lot of old mayors at St. Lawrence's
Charter Commission candidate debate...Former City Councilor Peter
O'Donnell about to get his nursing degree...Mike is back at Fit To Eat and
planning some big changes...Some Portland police officers will soon be riding
Segways...Loud motorcycles may get some attention from Portland City
Council...Senator Alfond and Councilor Donoghue stuck in morning traffic
on Congress Street on their way to a transportation meeting...
May 13-27, 2009
St. Lawrence to host a July 4th wedding...One
state legislator flew down the turnpike to make it
to the Buy Local awards at the Empire...Local
elected official standing on the Sunday brunch
line at the Front Room...Portland pol holding late-
night meeting at Bonobo... Karen Ball running
down Exchange Street with the script for Taming
of the Shrew in hand...Former Portland Mayor
Ed Suslovic talking politics at the front window
table of the North Star Cafe...Full house at the St.
Lawrence for the inaugural Blue Lobster Troupe
recital...New Police Chief plans to rearrange
office to take better advantage of the ocean views...
City Charter Commission candidate Jim Gooch
says somebody is messing with his campaign
signs...Munjoy Hill Observer board thinks
somebody is messing with the circulation of their
new publication...Former SALTine Jessica
Hasslen in town for a visit from Minnesota...
Thelma Gagne got a birthday card from Survivor
Bob...West Enders looking forward to Carleton
Street solstice party...Dan Jenkins never made it
to Beantown for Bruins playoff game... David
Kauffman back from India...Yes, you're supposed
to STOP at the intersection of Spring and Park
Street...Professor Harlan Baker correcting papers
and sipping a grande at a back table at CBD on
Congress...
May 1-13, 2009
Congress Square seagull scored a direct hit on local reporter's notebook...Fix-It
Man helping fix the steps in front of First Congregational Church on Congress
Street...City to replace park bench in Longfellow Square demolished by snow
plow this winter...Notary John Eder looking forward to performing marriages
for gay and lesbian couples... Local politico has a ghostwriter...Deb McCoy,
the Plant Lady, planting flowers on Morning Street...Bruce Brown tutoring at
Portland High School... Sandy Amborn, Steve Luttrell, Dan Jenkins, Elke
Rosenberg, Pat Buckley, Cliff Gallant - all at Congress Street Coffee by Design
at the same time:...Yes, there is a Congress Street Pigeon Whisperer...Cafe
Review to have big 20th Anniversary bash at the St. Lawrence...East End City
Councilor alerted us to a Daily Dumpster technical glitch...Neighborhood prez
Alex Landry busy at the Bayside public garden...Munjoy Hill political rivals no
longer North Street neighbors... Waynflete students building raised garden beds
behind Harbor Terrace...WENA wants Community Policing Center moved
from Harbor Terrace to Reiche...The Bollard may field a team in this year's
WMPG softball tournament...Dennis Fournier selling his paintings outside
Portland Museum of Art on First Friday...HiTides surf band about to wipe
out...Liz Trice back from Bora Bora...USM's Gabe Demaine doing the campus
stroll on Brighton Avenue...New 'Junque Shoppe' on Brighton Avenue in
Rosemont Corner...Munjoy Hill Observer back on the street after 10 months...
Bill Doukas studying for a big Bridge Inspection exam...Carol McMahon spent
her birthday in Puerto Rico...
May 1-15, 2009
Big New York publisher wants our Astrologer to write a book review for them...
NASCAR cookouts have resumed in Bayside...Isabelle Weyl staying in Boston
this summer because of great job she's landed there...Two English visitors
watched their first Yankee-Red Sox game at Rivalries...Former Red Sox owner
Les Otten showing fans his World Series Championship ring at GOP
fundraiser...WENA working on tee shirt logo for World's Longest Lobster Roll
event...City marking parking spaces in town for scooters and motorcycles...
Young Voters' Harris Parnell planning to tour Europe with the WEN...Steven
Scharf missed WEN photo op in nation's capitol...Nathan Szanton's
construction project on Danforth Street on schedule and on budget...First
Friday ArtWalk may be coming to Coyne's Laundromat...Harlan Baker
planning a unique new walking tour for Downtown Portland...West End beat
East End in April 19th Capture the Flag competition...Ran into West End
author Andrew McNabb on Pine Street on his way to a Friday night reading at
Longfellow Books...West End City Councilor David Marshall witnessed
potentially disastrous mishap caused when car ran stop sign at Pine and
Brackett...Bill Linnell talking politics at the entrance of the Miss Portland
Diner...Guy at the bar at Andrews VFW Hall wanted to buy PaperBoy a beer
for delivering the latest WEN...Meanwhile, he got evicted from the Eastland...
Harriet Harmon at Harbor Terrace is bound to win a West End Nellie prize if
she keeps entering the contest... Anna Trevorrow campaign kickoff on April
11th a big success... Big contingent from 75State Street at most recent Good
Theater dress rehearsal at the St. Lawrence...St. Louis Polish Church may be
part of the Waynflete School in the future... Changes coming to The
Danforth...
April 15-30, 2009
Green Party founder John Rensenbrink in town for lunch with activist Morgen
D'Arc...Happy Birthday to Thelma Gagne (April 9th)...Golf ball autographed
by President Obama found in Western Cemetery...Giant moving van from the
Upper East Side delivering new West Ender's stuff to Park Street condo...
Pamela Cragin and Harlan Baker may be thinking about unionizing WEN
staff...Neil Knowlton-Randall newest recruit of the WEN softball team...Great
chocolate chip cookies at the April 8th WENA meeting... Chris of The Kitchen
in Congress Square now making falafels in shop on Woodfords Street...
Former State Senator Mike Brennan talking politics on his cell phone at
Federal Spice... Guy standing next to his car in the Old Port applying his
underarm deodorant...Upcoming East End City Council race getting nasty
already...Local elected official picked up a free desk at USM Dorm giveaway...
Some East End dog lovers want a dog park on the Hill...Local journalist
considering new career as a dread stylist...Portland City Councilor having
Leonardo's $3 lunch...Recent local book group get-together had a Scottish
theme...Munjoy Hill Observer inching toward resuming publication... Baysider
looking for new editor...
April 1-15, 2009
Katie Brown taking up cartooning...Moving guys on Brackett Street tied
bookcases to top of station wagon with string of Christmas lights...Tony Taylor
working on signs for new Mexican restaurant at High & York...A lot of readers
coming to our website from the fabulous foodie blog Portland Psst...One Blue
Lobster baked blue lobster cookies for recent social gathering...Liz McMahon
headed to New Orleans for a few days...Nancy Foss going north to clear brush
on the family farm...Green Party's John Eder having a latte at Starbucks...
Portland School Committee member Sarah Thompson will be running for re-
election...Steven Scharf really can be at two municipal meetings at the same
time...Mayor Duson dancing around town to raise money for Community
Television Network...Maine Historical Society has re-opened its library...Casco
Bay Ferry to raise rates May 1st...Anthony Mastropasqua from Tropa Wine Co.
taking a break at Java Net on Exchange Street...Crocuses popping at the
corner of Brackett and Walker Street...Aucocisco Gallery moving to the Old
Port...County Commissioners had birthday cake for Commissioners Cloutier &
Shaughnessy after March 23rd meeting... Daisy Wilson getting to be a regular
on the WEN World Photo page...Police on the lookout for Bob Bergeron's two
bass guitars-stolen from his parked car in the Old Port on the night of March
21st...Yes, those were snow flurries on March 22nd...Local guy stood on his
head in the talent portion of Michael Parent's 'Goofy Show' at the St.
Lawrence...Bobby Lipps on the front page of the Sun (He's got one great PR
team!)...Will Gorham still planning to enter the East End City Council race...
New East Ender Cyrus Hagge and wife Patty out for a walk with the dog in the
new 'hood...Station A's John Nappi had to do a solo on Saturday morning...
West Ender William Nelligan accepted at Dickinson College in Carlisle,
Pennsylvania...Munjoy Hiller seen doing her laundry in the West End...Survey-
taker at Fresh Approach wants to see more names in the Dumpster (She didn't
leave hers)... West End artist Lee Orme moving to California...Super intern
Laura Pohjola will be back at St. Lawrence this summer...WMPG Softball
Championship Trophy on display at Strange Maine...About 50 marchers at the
West End's annual St. Patrick's Day march from St. Dom's to Harborview
Park...
March 3-17, 2009
BNA Prez Alex Landry sitting in on MHNO monthly meeting...Blue Lobster
Troupe will be performing Nirvana at its May 18th concert...Baysider Annie
Wadleigh got a ride to the St. Lawrence Clothes Swap in the
WestEndNewsMobile...Strange Maine's Michelle Souliere has a St. Patrick's
Day birthday....Jonah Fertig planning big 30th birthday bash at the Meg Perry
Center...West Ender Jenny Anastasoff gets sad when we don't update the
Dumpster...Green Party operatives planning campaign strategy at Arabica
coffee shop...Brian Chick's neighbors on Brackett Street think he's tres
debonnaire sitting on his stoop smoking his tobacco pipe...Bright new paint job
in the entrance to Fresh Approach...Nancy Arnold is up and running at the
West End Deli...WMPG's DJ Dale is high energy...Green Party Portland Chair
Tina Smith has called it quits...City Councilor Dan Skolnik has a video
entitled "Talking Trash"...Local novelist may write a book about Maine
politics to kick off his gubernatorial campaign...WENA's Jadot Bakunda wants
to use the Reiche big screen TV for educational programs about Africa, which
would be shown after WENA meetings...Reiche librarian Michael Whittaker
collecting stories from refugees to document their history and their
immigration to Maine...He's also heading up effort to build world's biggest
lobster roll at the Old Port Festival...WENA might also have a screening about
Reiche dog waste problem on the big -screen TV...Equality Maine to hold 25th
Anniversary Dinner on March 21st at Holiday Inn by the Bay...Guy in the East
End has two watches so he doesn't have to bother with the 'Spring forward/Fall
back ' thing...Motorcycle with a side car seen on Brackett Street...Local
Community TV host Harold Pachios got a rare interview with Bill Moyers...
West End City Councilor David Marshall turned 31 on March 7th...WEN and
WMPG teaming up to promote each other...Richard Lawlor not getting any
younger on March 16th...
February 20-March 3, 2009
Paul is back at the Market after mid-winter respite in Florida...Chicky Stoltz,
wife Amy (Brackett Street Vet's) and kids headed to New Hampshire...Check
out Rob O'hairt's fabulous photo exhibition at The Frame Shop at Longfellow
Square...Adele Geraghty called us at 7AM from London just to say 'hello'...
Rachael Weinstein promoting next big League event...West Ender Abraham
Schecter taking lunch break from the Portland Public Library at Old Port
Sandwich Shop...Cyrus Hagge is now officially an East Ender....Munjoy Hill’s
Bobby Lipps has extended his snow-and-ice clearing domain to include the
downtown…Local teacher lost six bucks in Vegas during Presidents' Week
break...West End NEWSIES starting to get in shape to defend their WMPG
softball title...Local mag doing a story on Yankee fans in Maine...USM's
fabulous Gabe Demain celebrating birthday on March 11th (May need a
bigger city than Portland to hold the party)...Rumors that El Deemon may be
returning to the WEN (Look for Tony Taylor again soon as well...Jed
Rathband and friends in Mexico... Former Democratic City Chair Sive Neilan
back on the Old Sod...
Bobby & Big Bertha at work downtown
Fresh Approach's Chet Knights is 50!... Governor declared February 17th 'Bob
Crowley Day' in Maine...Irish American Club starting planning for St.
Patrick's Day festivities...Rebecca Minnick featured as a sweater model on the
cover of Classic Elite Yarns online catalogue...State Senator Justin Alfond
dropped into recent MHNO meeting...Some Congress Street regulars watched
Obama Town Hall meeting at Norm's...Recent State Senate candidate Eric
Lusk among the Republican dignitaries at the Lincoln Day Dinner honoring
West Ender Cora Brown...Steve and Renee's Dner at Washington Avenue &
Veranda Street becoming major WEN distribution point...Jack Glynn
negotiating big contract for local artist at Java Net in the Old Port...
Playwright/performer Peter Patton in town for Munjoy Hill party...Former
Attorney General Steve Rowe at the St. Lawrence for 'A Funny Thing
Happened on the Way to the Forum'...Mayor Jill Duson personally delivered
proclamation declaring February 11th 'Robert Solotaire Day' to the Station A
Post Office - one of Bob's regular Congress Street stops...Former Mayor Ed
Suslovic may not be done yet with the Maine State Pier...Gang from the St.
Lawrence seen lunching at the Thai Buffet on Congress Street...Local poobah
locked his keys inside car at McDonald's St. John Street parking lot...
February 5-19, 2009
Will the Valentine Bandit make his annual appearance this year?!
…Longfellow Frame Shop serving FREE COFFEE to its patrons…Good
Theater-goers finding it hard to get ‘something for everyone - a comedy
tonight!’ out of their heads…One local bank had to issue new debit cards
because of recent security breach…Local Giants’ fans lent their Super Bowl
magic to the Steelers this year…At least one well-known West Ender was too
chicken to send us a Valentine’s Personal…Local Green Party activist rumored
to be considering a run for Governor...Paul Drinan and Chris Clark among
many Mainers at the Presidential Inauguration... Former Hill Rep Ann Rand
was there…Some locals thought the Vice President in a wheelchair reminded
them of Dr. Strangelove...Four-month-old Athena Everitt stole the show at
John Eder's 40th Birthday breakfast at Local 188...Survivor Bob posing for
photos at the annual Ice Bar (He's everywhere!)…WENA board members
braved latest snowstorm to attend January meeting...Mayor Duson not happy
with proposed energy savings at newly-designed Main Library...Anania's took
home the most prizes at the first annual Pizza Bowl...Chet at Fresh Approach
can tell you how many days there are til the start of Spring Training…
When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they were getting ready for their
big annual Valentine’s Day Party. DeliveryMan is always looking to get all his
buddies hooked up romantically at the party, whereas PaperBoy is just
interested in eating, drinking, and having a good time, which makes his job a
lot easier. Last year, Valentine’s Day brought fourteen inches of snow with it,
burying DeliveryMan’s matchmaking plans, and the boys were still eating
candy hearts all the way to the Fourth of July. Maybe this year, somebody will
get lucky...
.January 17-February 4, 2009
Baysider hopes to publish again soon…Dan Jenkins considering a run for the
City Charter Commission…Plans are in the works to get Portland in the
Guinness Book of World Records for producing the world’s largest lobster
roll…Former West Ender Shana Barry has a new line of Obama art dolls
(shana@theshaggallery.com) …Parkside Neighborhood Prez Bob Giovannini
putting a spark back in the organization…Congratulations to Parkside Police
Coordinator Michele Lauture –City Employee of the Month and new
mother…Some West Enders want City to put up signs to discourage dog
owners from allowing their pets to poop on Reiche soccer field…Local elected
official still not speaking to several non-supporters of his last
campaign…Happy 40th Birthday to former West End State Rep John Eder on
January 18th...and East End City Councilor Kevin Donoghue turned 30 on the
20th...Munjoy Hill Observer close to hiring new editor and restarting
publication...
When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy they were headed south again,
not to get away from another snowstorm, but to participate in a little bit of
good old American History. “Where you boys headed in such a hurry?” said
the traffic officer when he stopped the WestEndNewsmobile going through
Downtown Old Orchard Beach at 87.3miles-per-hour. “We’re going to see the
new President of the United States get inaugurated!” said PaperBoy proudly,
hoping to appeal to the officer’s patriotic sentiments. DeliveryMan
didn’t say anything, but if he did he would have said “I told you we should
have stayed home and watched it on TV,” which is what the boys ended up
doing after they paid their speeding ticket with what was supposed to be their
gas money. So that’s what it feels like to bail out a struggling economy…
January 3-17, 2009
Will King now a freshman at USM…Greater Portland Landmarks’ Bill Hall
says he gets a lot of his History Docents through the WEN…West End will be
getting two new Mexican restaurants very soon…Some Hillers planning their
Valentine’s Party already…Recent School Committee candidate Anna
Trevorrow elected Chair of the Maine Green Independent Party… Michael
Quint back at Collucci’s on Sundays…Greens launching logo design contest -
a call for artists to design the new logo for the PGIC…Survivor Bob joined a
group of pub crawlers on Congress Street…Former West End School
Committee member Stephen Spring may be headed back to Portland after
helping to start a new high school in Austin, Texas… Michael McKenzie
celebrated his birthday on January 3rd with the Kings of the Hill…Portland
comic Tim Hofmann is unbelievably funny. Catch his act before he hits the
big time and you can't afford the tickets...Nancy Grayson's new computer is up
and running at Cunningham Books...Local Yankee fans can't wait for spring
training with their billion dollar payroll...Looks like Public Works crews are
going to have their hand full (of snow shovels) this winter...
December 19, 2008- January 2, 2009
Old Port Pharmacy attracting a lot
of local celebrities...PPH’s Jenn
Menendez knows more about
football than most guys we
know…Bill Doukas’ New Year’s
bash in Longfellow Square the hot
ticket in town again this year…PPD’
s Captain Malloch is one tough
cookie…Former WEN
correspondent Barbara McGivaren
sends greetings from Auburn,
Maine… Maybe Reiche’s Allison
Villani will finally get Maine’s
Teacher of the Year Award this
year…Cora Brown’s corner of Pine
and Brackett once again the best-
shoveled in town…West Enders
Kathy White and Doug Bixby at
Vivid Motion’s Night Before
Burlesque show…Was that Leigh
Donaldson picking up the lunch tab
at Silly’s?!…WEN Crime Reporter
hosting a steady stream of Portland’
s movers and shakers at her Munjoy
Hill salon…West End Giants' fan
claims she was at famous Giants-
Colts Championship Game (even
though she was only five days old!)
…New Portland Civilian Police
Review Committee chair bakes a
mean batch of Christmas cookies…
When we last left DeliveryMan and
PaperBoy, they were dealing with
the first Parking Ban of the season.
Last year, when the parking ban
came, the boys just hopped into the
WestEndNewsMobile and kept
driving south until it stopped
snowing and the temperature was
over fifty degrees, which was about a
thousand miles from here on the
odometer. PaperBoy doesn’t really
mind dealing with the snow drifts
and the snow plows and the clueless
pedestrians. “If you don’t like the
way I drive, get off the sidewalk!” he
tells them…
December 4-18, 2008
Some WEN staffers were so close to the Monument Square Christmas tree at
the annual lighting that they could have reached over and flipped the ‘ON’
switch themselves…Liz McMahon’s nieces and nephews in Asheville, North
Carolina helped her create about a bazillion handmade cards for the St.
Lawrence fair on the 13th…Will King turns 19 on the 13th…Doug Emerson's
'Angels' were flying off the table at MECA's annual show at East End School...
Was that really David Sedaris who signed the guest book at St. Lawrence’s
First Friday ArtWalk show?!…First Christmas card of the season from our
Washington correspondent Ruth Riddick…West End School Committee
member Robert O’Brien says he has no intention of running against West End
City Councilor David Marshall next year…Marie Galland gets so envious when
her son Milan gets a mention in The Dumpster…
November 19 to December 3, 2008
Patrick Banks thinks Portland needs a late-night coffee shop…We finally ran
into somebody who hates The Dumpster. Go figure…Couple of local political
junkies holding up the line at Cumberland Farms having a heated discussion
about local politics (What else?!)…Should be seeing more political signs soon
in Deering Oaks Park for all the candidates in the upcoming WENA elections
(Maybe we need to hold another Head-to-Head Debate)…West End NEWS in a
video made in Churchill Manitoba, Canada - The Polar Bear Capitol of the
World…Colin Sargent signing copies of his first novel, Museum of Human
Beings, at the Smithsonian on December 13th… Leigh Donaldson back in
the loop…Elderly West End toys staging a comeback at West Street soiree early
in December …Obama supporters meeting in Portland to keep the momentum
going…Phil George from Leonardo’s advises to never put turkey on
pizza…WEN staff and St. Lawrence volunteers planning a joint shindig on
December 8th (Yes, that’s Katie Brown’s birthday - and the day before Marge
Niblock’s!)…Greens plotting party strategy at the North Star Café… Welcome
to new WEN reporter Pam Cragin…New City Councilor not related to
legendary West End laundromat owner… Tim Rich elected Chair of Portland
Democratic City Committee replacing Sive Neilan… Diane Edwards
represented Parkside in a Police Chief focus group…
Nov.4-November 18, 2008
Got an email from Selena Craig, Honorary Founding Editor of the WEN, who
now lives in Boston…Our astrologer had a great time celebrating her birthday
on November 11th…More absentee ballots this year than ever… Tina Smith
ready to step into organizing role with Green Party…Sandy Amborn is their
interim chair, replacing Brian Chick…WEN keeps getting Events Listings
from West End of London…Guy arrested at the jetport for dropping his pants -
then fighting with police… WEN Head-to-Head Debates a smashing
success…St. Lawrence Saturday Show had its first sellout with Mad
Science…Captain Vern Malloch kept order at Munjoy Hill’s annual
Neighborhood-City Staff meeting…WEN in negotiations with a couple of new
reporters…League’s Harris Parnell part of a post-election coffee klatch outside
Colucci’s…WEN’s WMPG Softball Championship Trophy almost ready for
display at Fresh Approach…Local business tycoon strolling down Congress
Street in his flip-flops talking on his cell phone in early November…
Councilor Jill Duson picked by new Council majority as new Mayor...New
development in West End would house Maine Med medical students... Next
fight over Maine State Pier may involve revisiting its zoning...Jo Coyne may be
next WENA Prez...Patrons at Congress Street Coffee by Design were dancing
and singing along to ‘70s Motown tunes on Saturday night…Next Portland
Mayor could sing the Star Spangled Banner at the Inauguration… Jim Alberty
was up at 4 AM and camped out in front of the Expo in order to be the first
one in to vote on Nov. 4th…Ron Paul received one write-in vote at the
Expo…Aepril Schaile teaching belly dance classes in Salem,Mass.- a block
away from the Witch House…Maine Dems made more than 2 million phone
calls during recent election season (in a state with only 1.3 million people)
…We knew mind reader Rory Raven would have a return engagement at the
St. Lawrence (Nov. 29th)...
October 28 to November 3, 2008
Parksider Michael Quint claims the camel ate his West End NEWS on recent
trip to Egypt…Former Munjoy Hill Rep Ben Dudley seen strategizing outside
City Hall with City Councilor Nick Mavadones…Not true that a particular
WMPG morning host charged up San Juan Hill with Teddy Roosevelt…Joe
Gelband seen in some pretty star-studded company lately…Local comedy show
interrupted by uninvited bat…Thewestendnews.com had over 1,000 visitors in
October…Deirdre NIce could be the next Grandma Moses...City Clerk still
waiting for overdue paperwork from one local candidate...King Middle School
teachers not allowed to wear homemade Obama buttons at school...
October 13-27, 2008
West End Councilor Dave Marshall gave a shout-out to the WEN at recent
Public Safety event…Former City staffer Ethan Macomber-Boxer and family
at Candidates’ Night at Longfellow School…Captain Bill Linnell sure has a
flair for unique political signs…Empire Dine and Dance filled to capacity for
Presidential election debate…Local political junkies wading through three-
volume, 2,000-page bio of LBJ in celebration of election season…WEN
switchboard lit up with locals wanting to know if they were mentioned in
Richard Lawlor’s new book… East End Beach is a great dog show in the late
afternoon…If you see Joe the Plumber, tell him we have a toilet that needs to
be fixed…Twenty singers showed up at the St. Lawrence for inaugural
rehearsal of Blue Lobster Troupe…Local reporter's cell phone went off in the
middle of the Mayor's speech at Longfellow School debate... Straight Talk
Express spotted on Milk Street in the Old Port...Maybe the City Council’s
Public Safety Committee could promote a program that could re-teach
Portland pedestrians how to cross the street safely…Local financial advisor
says her desk was set on fire by the crystal ball she uses in her work...Jackie
Lipps turned 74 on October 16th!…
September 28 to October 12, 2008
Local pol enthusiastically courting promising-looking couple – until he
discovered they were registered voters – in Pittsburgh…Some West End
campers hoping for one more adventure before the snow flies…Leonardo’s
owner Phil George claims his pizza is what makes Mona Lisa smile… Former
West End Rep John Eder walking his little dog Angel on Gray Street (No, he
wasn’t ‘doing doors’)…Munjoy Hill’s Sheila Jackson headed for big-time,
stand-up stardom… Richard Lawlor’s book is almost done…Parkside Rep.
Herb Adams has freed up schedule to join Head-to-Head debates on Oct,
30th…Bobby Lipps gave Episcopal Bishop his patented tour of the St.
Lawrence before special service on October 5th...Empire’s Bill Umbel a great
host on a busy First Friday night…Late Saturday night activity on Dow Street
may have been curtailed by dead skunk in the middle of the road… Rita
Spinella led Italian friends on whirlwind tour of the city-starting at DiMillo's...
Lee Bellavance checking out the reggae band at the Empire...Rachael
Weinstein and Lisa McNeil back in town and partying on Congress Street on
First Friday...Luke Flagg in town from Saudi Arabia...Couple of Munjoy Hill
activists talking politics on Congress Street at 1AM...Former Fotoshops owner
Kim Knight lunching at Aurora Provisions with wife Sheila and local artist...
Herb and Tom Moulton having a brew at Ruski's...Marilyn Blinkhorn dining
with friends at the Blue Spoon...Some local candidates dismayed at League of
Young Voters recent endorsements...
September 13-27, 2008
Happy 24th Birthday to Jenna Vendil of the League of Young Voters...East
End State Legislature candidate Peter Doyle the first candidate to get signs on
the peninsula....City Council candidate Dory Waxman first to hit the West
End...Tony Taylor working on new exterior design at Allen & Walker at High
& Congress...We didn't forget Steven Scharf's birthday on the 15th - did we
?!...Some local art lovers hauled off to Newton, Mass. for Carol McMahon's
show Wreckages at the New Art Center through October 26th... Happy Birthday
to our Washington correspondent Ruth Riddick (Sept. 17th)... Democracy
Now! host Amy Goodman seen getting freshened up at the Salon Paragon on
Congress Street for recent local speaking engagement... Our celebrity spotters
Peter and Terry Weyl were running into Donna Brazile (Al Gore’s campaign
manager in the 2000 election) all over town...Nancy Foss celebrated her 23rd
Birthday with her fabulous friends at Local 188 on September 10th...
August 29th to September 12th, 2008
Baysider Collette Bouchard seen reading the WEN at 125th Street and
Lexington Avenue in Harlem...John Navarra leaving Portland West for the
Big Apple...The regulars at Colucci's are sure going to miss super-clerk
Michael Quint...Plans for a Candidates' Screaming Match and Free-for-All on
hold (One candidate offered to bring Jell-o and cream pies...Dany and
Amanda at West End business Neko-Jin Designs celebrate business’s one-year
anniversary! Check out http://nj-designs.com for fuzzy happy hats, handmade
wind chimes, or a kung fu coaster!… At-large City Council candidate Tina
Smith seen pushing her niece around Munjoy Hill in a baby carriage…City
Councilor seen eating pink M&M's and drinking Eli's Strawberry Soda…Two
guys having discussion in the Old Port interrupted at the same time by cell
phone calls...Yes, that was Charlie Berry you saw walking down Congress
Street, visiting from Key West, headed to who-knows-where!...Local cigar
smoker now sucking on lollipops instead...School Committee's Rebecca
Minnick loves giving tours of Portland Observatory...Artist Jeanette Ross in
town visiting from her new Biddeford base...
August 14-28, 2008
Pop’s Painting crew did a beautiful job on the fabulous Peabody home on
Walker Street…Popeye’s Mexican Ice House?!… Brackett Street parked car got
booted…Baysider got the inside story on the ‘drinking in public’ story… Local
artist moving from Congress Street to West Street to get a little peace and
quiet…Local City Councilors hitched a ride in the WestEndNewsMobile to get
to a Franklin Street appointment on time…Bollard’s Chris Busby keeping an
eye on the paper stacks at Mr. Bagel in the Old Port… Munjoy Hill performer
Sheila Jackson the life of the party at the St. Lawrence yard sale…Don’t ask
Station A’s John Nappi if he knows the difference between a Red Sox Hot Dog
and a Yankee Frank…Hi-Tides celebrating the End of Summer with a Beach
Party concert at Club Onyx on Fore Street on Friday, the 29th… City of
Portland has unveiled a new welcome sign in Deering Oaks Park… Portland
Republican City Committee members Jay Hibbard, Vance Wheelock and State
Senate candidate Eric Lusk will be attending the Republican National
Convention -which begins on September 1st in Minneapolis, Minnesota…NBC
News at Becky's Diner on August 26th to ask how people are going to cope
with having no daily newspaper. They'll interview Rep Herb Adams too...
Portland cops nabbed hit-and-run driver while she was having Sunday brunch
at trendy local eatery... Mayor Ed Suslovic left PaperBoy in charge of the City
while he's off on vacation to Prince Edward's Island...Local artist Bob Nason
still painting and playing tennis at 85...Former West Ender Cliff Gallant says
he's not in the running for Munjoy Hill Observer Editor job...Sixtyish lady
having coffee outside Big Sky Bread wearing sequined 'Cowgirls Rule' tee
shirt... District 3's Dan Skolnik answers 'Yo!' to City Council roll call...
July 31-August 13, 2008
Brackett Street’s Matiss Duhon (and musical accompanist Erica Burkhart)
wowed the Saturday Show audience with juggling performance…Bob the
Record Guy doing great at his new location…Some West End athletes starting
training to take on the Chinese Gymnastic Team in 2012. (First step is to cut
back on the Schlitz)…Katie Brown warming up her pitching arm getting ready
for September 14th MunjFest Dunk Tank…Local party animals headed west
to Burning Man event in the Nevada desert…Jo Boni Cohen and Virginia
Collins ran a great food stand at African Cultural Museum block party… City
Council hopefuls Dory Waxman and Will Gorham seen chatting near City
Hall...If you see Cora Brown on August 21st, be sure to wish her a Happy 98th
Birthday!...Customers came from all over the city for Michelle Souliere's
August 2nd yard sale on State Street...Local artists Lee Orme and Marie
Gallant discussing aesthetics on Congress Street...WMPG might have had a
better chance against the champion WEN team if they had had DJ Deirdre
Nice batting cleanup (Not true that Manny was one of the NEWSIES many
ringers...Who knew?!There's a serious NASCAR clique in Bayside...City
Councilor Kevin Donoghue pulled over his taxicab in front of Paul's Market to
pick up the latest WEN...
JULY 16-30, 2008
Cumberland County Jail guards stopped shaving and tucking in their shirts
over contract dispute…Munjoy Hill Observer looking for new talent… Greens,
Dems, and Republicans side by side at Festival of Nations…Portland real
estate icon John Hatcher at open house at 135 Sheridan Street luxury
condos… Former Portland Mag rep Laura Grant seen about town…Prelim,
Chad Verrill’s 2008 book of comics and art, is now available at the Middle
Street Casablanca Comics… 97-year-old Cora Brown turned down
Republicans’ request for her to run for West End State Rep seat… Steven
Scharf named PPH’s Letter Writer of the Month…West Ender didn’t bring
back any flounder from recent nautical expedition… City Manager Joe Gray
back at work…Cliff Gallant working on an article about the Mayor of
Congress Street…Woman seen practicing her dance steps in parking lot on
Park Street…Portland cops hesitant about dealing with a possibly rabid skunk
on the Hill… Munjoy Hill fire trucks blocked traffic and sidewalks for recent
photo op…Big maple tree in Brackett Street back yard blown down by
windstorm… West End bull mastiff Judah recovering from his first meeting
with a skunk...Bobby Lipps back in the studio getting ready for his First Friday
art opening...
JULY 2-16, 2008
Former Parkside Rep Michael Quint forgot to take the WEN to Amsterdam
with him, but promises to take it to the pyramids in October!...Happy 50th
Birthday to WEN subscriber Dean Rossman... Local celebrity can't wait to
return from long vacation and show us his tan lines...Bike cop Danny Knight
back on duty after time on the injured list...Local crime reporter picked up a
case of poison ivy in her garden...Former CMPAC member Gloria Mallet
discussing politics with local newsman at Georgia O'Keefe exhibit at the PMA...
Ray Curry grappling with the Sunday Times crossword puzzle on the Eastern
Prom...Becky's Diner's new outdoor late-night service is fun!...Daily swimmers
at Reiche Community Center to get more parking spaces...Popeye's Ice House
may re-open soon with new owners...Jed Rathband seen in midtown
Manhattan chatting on his cell phone...Lisa Walker still planning to script the
West End NEWS movie!...Kim Curry to be part of a multi-lingual art show at
the Language Exchange on Friday, August 1st...Everett Perlman seen at
Ogunquit Playhouse for Breaking Up is Hard to Do...Corner of Pine and
Brackett, currently for sale, could see major development in coming years...
WEN Newsies ready to defend their title at the WMPG Annual Media Softball
Tournament set for July 26th... Greens Pamela Craigen and Ben Meiklejohn
at the Alive at Five concert in Monument Square...Chris O'Neil was the life of
the party at Dan Skolnik's 40th Birthday bash...Marie Galland and Yeva
Melyantsev shopping for French language books at annual St. Lawrence yard
sale...Parkside musician Jamie Lebish to play on July 20th in Vagina
Monologues...
When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they had somehow wandered
onto a nude (gulp!) beach somewhere in Long Island, New York. DelivryMan
thought it was the coolest thing he had ever seen, and PaperBoy was so pre-
occupied trying to keep his copy of the West End NEWS strategically placed
that he couldn’t even enjoy the scenery.
DeliveryMan was just about to snap a photo for the next issue of the WEN
when a gust of wind came along and swept PaperBoy’s copy right into the
Atlantic Ocean. He’s hoping nobody will recognize him in the photo with his
sunglasses on…
JUNE 18 - JULY 2
Tropa Wine Co. now open on Congress Street near Longfellow Square, just
across from Local 188...Rachael Weinstein spotted at a farm in upstate New
York on her cross-country migrant farming tour...Jay and Jackson Villani
seen recently at Fenway Park...East End Councilor Kevin Donoghue and State
Senate candidate Justin Alfond both attended the Munjoy Hill Neighborhood
Organization's annual meeting in full make-up for the 'zombie kickball' event
on the Eastern Prom which they had attended earlier...Steve Hirshon didn't do
any rock 'n rollin' on his 56th birthday (June 27th)...West Ender John Kerr
back form New York where he attended a staged reading of a new musical
version of "Please Don't Eat the Daisies." The musical is being developed for
a possible Broadway run and is based on his mother Jean Kerr's book of the
same title...Half of the WEN staff covering the last Farmers' Market... Zarra's
bringing crepes to Monument Square (Oooh la la!) ...Nobody stung at recent
beekeepers' Open Hive on Edwards Street near Tony's Donuts...Sign on Route
17 in Conneticut: "You can't get there from here!" Flash- Lee Belavance seen
in New Haven....Peter Hall and friends from Maine Historical welcomed in
summer with annual Solstice Party on Carleton Street...Former West End City
Councilor Karen Geraghty part of the Pingree contingent at Gay Pride parade...
Russ at Yes Books has a whole shelf of Granta Anthology books..Brian Chick
leaves PDD to pursue accounting degree...Former West Ender Adam Gutgsell
at Millcreek Shaw's in SoPo..
JUNE 6-18, 2008
Isabelle Weyl hoping to catch a glimpse of her neighbor-cellist Yo-Yo Ma- in
Somerville, Mass...Nancy Nevergole’s work featured at recent UNE sculpture
show…Dan Noel holding court at Starbuck’s al fresco table in Congress
Square...Joan Benoit Samuelson strolled into Homegrown Tea on Congress
Street recently…Rachael Weinstein headed west for the summer...Joan Alfond
lined up a lot of votes greeting at the polls for her son Democratic State Senate
nominee Justin Alfond…Natalie the theater cat (who used to be an Italian
supermodel) stole the show with a cameo appearance at the Bring the Funny
show at the St. Lawrence…East End City Councilor Kevin Donoghue
promoting his accomplishments with a card featuring an ice cream truck on
the front...Guy walking down Congress Street with a fake red nose strapped to
his face...Crowd at St. Lawrence astounded by Rory Raven's mind-reading
abilities...Johnny Lomba must have a whole closetful of WEN t-shirts...City
Councilor Dan Skolnik plans to celebrate hi 40th on stage at The Big Easy on
the 26th - rockin' and rollin' with A Band Beyond Description..The Humble
Farmer is allergic to cats.....
MAY 28-JUNE 6, 2008
City Councilor Jill Duson raffling off Obama merchandise at Dem State
Convention to pay for her trip to the National Convention in Colorado in
August...Local activist Carol Schiller manning Equality Maine booth at
Convention...Steve Meister pens a hot commodity...Homeowners of Munjoy
South and Washington Square discussing building a 2-foot walkway on Ponce
Street... Rumor has it that the Greens have a strong candidate to run as At-
Large City Councilor in November. Word on the street is that it's a West Ender
with a strong reputation ...Brackett Street resident nearly caused an avalanche
of fresh coffee beans at Fresh Approach recently...Will King to graduate from
the New School in Kennebunk on June 14th...Liz Rose-Cohen one of the
movers and shakers at Maine Democratic Party Convention....Missing St.
Lawrence turret found in neighbor's garden...
Pete Kilpatrick, As Fast As, and Paranoid Social Club will be playing at noon
at The Old Port Festival on June 1st... Delivery Man snagged a great pair of
shoes and a bureau during Big Trash pickup week...WEN staff will be at the
Dem Convention in Augusta, May 30-31...Enterprise Records now moving to
storefront in the Lafayette Building...Local food critic described one Old Port
restaurant's fare as "...chewy...tasteless..." and "like a cross between a raisin
and a football",,,Portland's music elite at Area Code 207 CD release party at
the Empire (including West Ender Colleen Cole...Paul's Market feeding
congressional candidates and their staffs from nearby campaign offices
during the last weeks of the campaign... City Councilor Donoghue biking to
Brennan campaign event in Woodfords Corner...Local voting activists looking
for someone to swim from the islands to the East End polling place in
November... Brendan at Strange Maine waiting anxiously for WEN Newsies
baseball practises to begin...Democrat Steve Hirshon the only visible candidate
so far in the County Commissioner race (What does a County Commissioner
do?!)...The Hi-Tides will rock The Bollard's first anniversary party at Geno's
on June 1st...Local City Councilor may be facing recall petition... Hardly
anybody passes by St. Lawrence these days without taking a picture of the
dismantling...WEN getting its first intern this week...Not much for Heavy Item
Pickup shoppers to choose from this year...WEN Foreign Correspondent Lee
Bellavance seen in Hawaii...Mayor Suslovic enthusiastically greeted by all the
Republicans at annual Truman Dinner at East End School...First campaign
sign theft of the political season reported on Munjoy Hill...Two ladies seen
lugging cinder blocks down State Street (new exercise fad?!)...Jaye Gorham
watering her new plantings on North Street...Leigh Donaldson back from the
Grand Ole Opry (Didn't know he could carry a tune!)... Johnny Lomba seen
in Monument Square in his WEN t-shirt...
MAY 14-28, 2008
What if a candidate gave a house party and nobody came?...Melinda Titus
promises to replace the last plant she gave us that we killed...That was Will
King's 1980 Chevy Chevette parked on Neal Street with its lights on...Lisa
McNeil back in town from New Hampshire... Doug Emerson looking forward
to receiving the WEN on Long Island, NY...Dave Noyes back home in the West
End after Rustic Overtones' recent tour..You know it's officially summer in the
city when Kirk Goodhue starts wearing his shorts...Local patriarch Herb Ledue
in town for volunteer work...Female hawk nesting in the antenna on top of
the Eastland Hotel - they've been known to snatch small dogs/cats..Awful
Annie's on the Hill could be the next hip hot spot in town...Green Sandy
Amborn resting up for the general election now that Ben Meiklejohn has
dropped out of the East End legislative race,,,Marie Galland adding to her
jewelry collection at Good Cause's big, half-price sale in preparation for its big
move... Coffee by Design opening a branch inside L.L.Bean...Mike Brennan
and Dan Skolnik talking politics on Exchange Street...Jackson Villani never
forgets a Yankee fan's face,,,State Senate candidates Alfond, Ginn and Rand
at 100 State Street...Public Works behind on street-sweeping this year because
of budget and manpower shortage, and extra sand on the street due to snowy
winter... Mayor and entourage back from Russia...Bobby Lipps sold a bunch of
paintings at his inaugural art show, catered by The Front Room, at the St.
Lawrence on Bobby's 55th birthday (April 29th)...
May 1-14, 2008
Chellie Pingree, Jerry Conley (Sr.&Jr.), Jim Cloutier among the many heavy
hitters giving a standing O to Harlan Baker's world premiere boffo
performance of Jimmy Higgins at the St. Lawrence...West End Cleanup Day
Saturday...Former Forecaster reporter Peter Smith at Rabelais for promotion
of his work in Gastronomica and show of photos by Julia Thomas...Green
candidate Sandy Amborn and Chair Brian Chick plotting campaign strategy
over Sunday morning coffee on Councilor Marshall's front steps...Munjoy Hill
artist Don Ogier impressed with WEN's Anti-Terrorist Training story...WCSH's
Peter Weyl thinks Cuban cigars are overrated... Bunch of kids on Tate Street
making some extra vacation money washing cars for $5 a pop...Two 1st
District congressional candidates seen chatting on Congress Street...Brackett
Street opossum got a free Earth Day transport to Evergreen Cemetery by the
City's Animal Control Officer...Republican congressional candidate Dean
Scontras caught off guard when a local Democrat (and Yankee fan) stopped
by his Longfellow Square office for a visit...West End State Rep Jon Hinck
stopped to talk to constituents outside Coffee by Design on Congress Street...
Justin Alfond knocking on doors on State Street...Latest fad on the Hill: Cat
Walking...Hard to find a parking space at Back Cove with everybody getting in
shape for bikini season...Lot of former Sea Dogs now playing at Fenway...
Patrick Quinlan and Joy Scott visiting former West End school rep Stephen
Spring in Austin, Texas... Sox fan checking Sox-Yankee score on his cell
phone during recent State Senate candidates' forum...City Dem leader Sive
Neilan is also an expert parallel parker...Local elected official reports her car
was broken into and she found a Ford key in the ignition of her Saab, with an
Alcoholic's Anonymous medallion and a Heineken bottle opener...Bollard's
Patrick Banks goes straight to The Dumpster when he gets his new WEN...
Jack Glynn back from a little jaunt to Mexico...Deb the Plant Lady planning
to join WENA...Stained glass windows being removed from St. Lawrence
sanctuary in preparation for dismantling..
April16-30,2008
Some local art critics think the SOPO oil tanks should retain their industrial
look and not get all arted up...Roller derby girls a big hit at the Expo...Orlando
and Judy Delogu back from trip to Chicago with rave reviews for their art
museum, which is currently featuring a Winslow Homer exhibit (Some of it
on loan from the PMA)...WENA now requiring absent board members to have
a proxy at monthly meeting... Portland West's Crystal Barone supplied great
desserts for last WENA meeting...Reiche art teacher Allison Villani training
her students to be Red Sox fans...Lots of local media in St. Dom's bell tower
for recent bell-raising...Portland Police Captain Joe Loughlin special guest of
local book group...Mayor Suslovic not expected to get the Truman Award from
his fellow Dems this year...Nancy Foss still fighting the temptation to become
part of the cell phone generation...Big changes coming to Fat Baxter's on the
Hill...Parkside Director Zoe Miller will take a few weeks sabbatical after giving
birth to her first child around June 1st...The al fresco tables are on the
sidewalk at the West End Deli...San Francisco-based Mira Betz, belly dancer
extraordinaire, coming to town in June...Fence-painting season starting in the
West End...N'East Mag designer Danny Louten surfing around the Old Port...
State Senate candidate Justin Alfond back campaigning on the peninsula after
a month in District 3 (Deering)...Former WENA VP Patrick Baldwin paid a
surprise visit to neighborhood meeting on April 9th... Kate Suslovic, the
Mayor's 13-year-old daughter, was King Middle School Geography Bee Champ
for second year in a row...Barbara and Ron Ward out walking their one-year-
old twins on the first nice day of the Spring...Patrick and Gary from Local 188
using homemade pinhole camera to take pictures in Bayside...Strange Maine
celebrated its 5th Anniversary on April 1st...We're hoping Carol McMahon
(who celebrates her birthday on the 27th) will send us photos from Italy...West
End Councilor Dave Marshall's art now showing at the Empire on Congress
Street...Local ducks taking advantage of giant puddle that formed at the
Somerset Street recycling spot...
April 2-16, 2008
Marga Hanson - often seen at the Hilltop Coffee Shop or the White Heart -
back in town from Brooklyn. She now works at one of the coolest bars in
Manhattan…Happy Birthday to Ann Cowie on April 13th… SALTeen Jessica
Hasslen has current exhibit of Kenyan photos at St. Cloud State U.
(Minnesota!)…Bobby Lipps’ 55th Birthday bash at the St. Lawrence will be
the social event of the year!…WEN got the following listing from a lady who
thought we were in the OTHER West End: For jazz listings: Michael Garrick,
first solo piano concert by jazz composer and pianist, Hinde Street Church,
London W1U 2QJ (between Bond Street and Baker Street stations), tickets at
the door: £9 / £7, 8 pm. (We’ll be there!)…Some local Yankee and Red Sox
fans are calling a truce so they can attend one last game at Yankee Stadium
this summer…WENs Puzzlers were puzzled this week…Some Grant Street
residents planning big Earth Day cleanup…One reader couldn’t find West End
Nellie in last issue…Amy at Portland Mag got surprised at her birthday bash
by guy who walked in and had a piece of her birthday cake… One West Ender
drove to Rite Aid, did his shopping, and walked home. Remembered his car a
few hours later… Richard Lawlor celebrated his 40th (AGAIN!)…What were
coffee shops like before laptops?!)… Former West End Rep John Eder at Earl
Shuttleworth’s lecture at One Longfellow Square…Artists will soon be filling
up Congress and Monument Squares…Ruth Summers was a big hit at latest
congressional debate pinch-hitting for her husband Charlie Summers. She
said you could tell them apart because “he would never wear a dress this short!”
…Joe at Paul’s Market rescued the WEN news rack from a recent midday
downpour…Former police Chief Mike Chitwood hasn’t yet declared his
candidacy for any of the open local political offices…Weekly trash pickup
could be a casualty of the City’s annual budget crunch… Happy Birthday,
Lisa Meyer (You thought we forgot you!)…
March 19- April 2, 2008
Former Fotoshops owner Kim Knight (the guy with the Hawaiian shirts)
opening a hot dog restaurant in Old Orchard Beach…Nice U-turn on Congress
Street by local political operative. Must have been heading to the St. Paddy’s
Day bash at The Ice House…Get well wishes to Al Diamon (who proved that
even a real Mainer can have difficulty making it through a real Maine winter)
… Dem’s City Chair Sive Nielan a very entertaining debate
moderator…Former Water District candidate Keith Gibson a world-class
Apples-to Apples player…Local cops received a 911 call about a guy riding his
bike down Congress Street with a three-year-old on the handlebars… Some
West Enders think a gong chair should be the centerpiece of the redesigned
Andrews Square…Chet from Fresh Approach getting his knees stretched for
upcoming softball season…Spell Check Dept: Anne (with an ‘e’ ) Pringle and
Leana (one ‘n’) Good-Simpson. How come nobody’s named Mary or Bob
anymore? Except Solotaire…uh, oh… Shana Barry says her husband (former
Casco Bay Weekly investigative writer Chris Barry) still calls this rag the ‘West
End Snooze’…Caroline Rose O’Brien (two weeks old) celebrating her first St.
Patrick’s Day outside the Ice House…
When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they were barreling down the
Hill in the WestEndNewsMobile, which they had painted green for St. Patrick’
s Day, trying to make it on time to the traditional West End March from St.
Dominic’s to Harborview Park. Their clock said
11:55 Daylight Savings Time, as they sprinted down State Street trying to catch
up with the bagpipers and politicians and local Irishmen who had already
stepped off ahead of the parade’s scheduled noon start time. The boys tried to
cut off the parade by taking the Gray Street shortcut, but the pipers were
already headed down Tate Street by the time the boys got to Spring. By the
time they caught their breath and made the last dash to York Street, the flags
had been raised, the speeches made, and the pipers were putting back on their
wool trousers. The only thing they could figure was that someone must have
been in an awful hurry to get to Popeye’s Ice House to start celebrating…
February 20-March 5, 2008
WCSH bigwig a little jealous because his daughter is always in The
Dumpster…Local butcher owes local reporter a bottle of Schlitz (Yea, the beer
that made Milwaukee famous!) for betting that Paul Harvey is no longer with
us. (He’ll be 90 in September!)…We love it that Deirdre Nice’s birthday is on
Valentine’s Day!...Is it true that local cops have taken up writing poetry?!...
Portlander Steve Huston in Juneau, Alaska and brought his copy of the West
End News to take a photo and the TSA (Homeland Security) at the airport
took it out of his bag and confiscated it! We mailed him another one…Guy at
local public restroom surprised when historic walking tour got mistakenly
guided through…We’re expecting some hot WEN photos soon from the Virgin
Islands…Senator Brennan and West End Rep Jon Hinck at Monument Square
rally protesting legislation targeting “Violent Radical and Homegrown
Terrorists”…We think the West End’s Plant Lady saw her shadow recently and
will soon be out in the garden…Former Portland City Councilor considering a
run for Cumberland County Commission…Potential candidates are starting to
line up to run for the East End State House seat currently held by Anne Rand,
who is running for the State Senate…No local pols have yet announced any
intentions to try to take over for ailing Cuban premier Fidel Castro…City Clerk
Linda Cohen must be wondering if those lines around Portland High School
for the Democratic Caucus will translate to lines around City Hall on Election
Day…We hear there’s a movement afoot to ban dim bulbs from the State
Legislature (it’ll never pass)…
When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they were stocking up on
popcorn and red wine and Spanikopita in preparation for Academy Awards
Night. PaperBoy just loves the Oscars and DeliveryMan loves them too but he’s
really more of a Super Bowl kind of guy. Anyway, the boys get dressed up in
their tuxedos and get their snacks all lined up and make little side bets on who’
s going to win in each category and then they yell and scream for three or four
hours or however long it takes. Last year DeliveryMan had to run over to the
West End Deli during a break because they ran out of black bean quesadillas
and he got back just in time to collect on his $2 bet for Best Supporting
Actress…
Prospective Cumberland County Commissioner candidate Steve Hirshon (right)
- on the campaign trail kissing the first baby of the election season.
“Hey, Dude, You Won’t Believe What Just Happened to Me…”
While other drivers on Congress Street were scrambling to get out of the way of
a passing ambulance on February 19th, one driver decided to take advantage
of the stopped traffic to attempt a U-turn in his late-model SUV.
As soon as the ambulance screamed by, the driver, who was also on a cell
phone at the time, spun his vehicle into the East-bound lane, ending up
behind a little old lady who had pulled aside to get out of the way of the
ambulance.
Unfortunately, the lady didn’t notice the U-turner, and backed up into his
front bumper, then took off toward Longfellow Square, apparently without
realizing she had hit anything. The other driver pulled into the 7-Eleven
parking lot to assess the damage. It is not known if the accident was reported to
police. Meanwhile…
Have Vehicle-Will Park
Police issued numerous summonses to the West End driver of a Ford Explorer
who left his vehicle parked at the end of Houlton Street, a one-lane dead end
street in the West End, while he stopped to visit a friend on Brackett Street.
The driver appeared after about 20 minutes to find a line of agitated Houlton
Street residents backed up on the street, and a Portland police officer
inspecting the vehicle, which was also straddling the sidewalk, causing
pedestrians to wade into the ice and slush of the gutter to continue their
journeys.
February 6-20, 2008
West Ender Brian Chick chosen as the Chair of the Portland Green
Independent Committee… First brother Bob Baldacci to leave Ocean
Properties to join forces with former Portland Mayor George Campbell as a
development team (they could be looking at the West End waterfront)…
Hilltop Coffee Shop just about to make the move from 99 Congress across the
street next to FatBaxters…look for a watch shop to occupy the old 99…Munjoy
Hill residents spoke out at CDC meeting about Adams School re-use… Many
want it to house “community space” and Bob Lipps wants to make sure the
trees he helped plant in the 1960s stay put… Councilors Marshall and
Donoghue spoke against I-295 widening at MDOT's public forum…
Evangeline's the restaurant to replace at the former Uffa location, may face a
tough liquor license hearing on 2/25... Jan Beitzer of PDD to lead effort to
prohibit skateboarding in the downtown again… Portland Green Independents
to caucus at 12 noon on Sunday 2/10 in the State of Maine Room in City
Hall…Councilor Marshall hoping that Obama wins the Democratic primary.
(He was a guest server at Herb Adams’ Fuel Assistance Dinner in Parkside on
Saturday, February 2nd)… West End artisan/ entrepreneurs Dany and
Amanda can now be found at www.nj-designs.com, the website for their craft
business Neko-Jin designs. One popular line is their Nine Tails All-Natural
Knits--funky, individual, unique works of wearable art. Paperboy is addicted to
collecting their magnets!.. Which City Councilor has earned the nickname
“Councilor Schoolboy” after his Russian name?!…
When we last left Paperboy and Deliveryman, they were trying to make some
money by selling an old computer on Craigslist. Paperboy was almost duped by
a “Mrs. Danilara Lara” from the U.K. who was going to send a money order
for twice the amount of the computer and told Paperboy to wire her back the
remainder. Suspicious, Paperboy asked Deliveryman if something seemed fishy
about the whole thing, whereby Deliveryman pointed out that it sounded
exactly like the scams all over the Internet that they warn you about. PaperBoy
is beginning to wonder what DeliveryMan did for a living in his previous
incarnation…
January 9-23, 2008
City Hall’s Amy Grommes Pulaski celebrated a big birthday on January 6th…
Bobby Lipps may still be packing boxes with all the buildings from his
spectacular Christmas Village…The Star East Café in Woodfords Corner is the
newest stop for DeliveryMan and PaperBoy…Lady rolling a big orange ball
down Congress Street…Guy at the Ice House wanted a 1979 back issue of the
WEN (We didn’t start ‘til 2001)…PDD’s Jan Beitzer doing some winter
trimming in front of her Park Street pad…Some local guy bet on the Giants to
beat the Pats! LOSER!...Lot of West Enders at recent Munjoy Hill burlesque
show…Patrick Ian Banks becoming one of Portland’s more prolific
writers…Good time of year to give blood (and get free coffee!)…If you haven’t
found West End Nellie yet, here’s a hint - GO BACK!...Old West End hippie
got a haircut!...West End’s Tavia Gilbert one of the stars of Eclipsed, now at
the St. Lawrence…Those senior hockey guys at the Portland Ice Arena are a
rough lot…Harlan Baker’s one-man play had a successful first reading at the
Dana Warp Mill…Local surfer and real estate mogul Dana Trumann was
‘hangin’ 10’ in OOB during the holidays…Forecaster reporter Peter Smith on
his way to Boston to write for The Christian Science Monitor…
When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they were dressing up like a
couple of hula dancers to see if they could spook Mother Nature into forgetting
that this is January in Maine and it’s supposed to be 20 below zero with six-
foot snow drifts everywhere. So the boys are doing their tropical dance routine
across the peninsula, everywhere from the Blue Room on the Hill to the
Smoker’s Depot on St. John Street, and don’t you know it, the temperature
suddenly starts getting into the 40s and even the 50s and the sun comes out
and the icewalks are starting to turn into slush ponds and local merchants are
starting to think about Spring Clearance sales. But the boys are smart enough
to leave on their longjohns under their hula skirts, and they didn’t even bother
to take off their snowmobile boots…
Bobby’s got that Christmas spirit!
November 1-14, 2007
Former Portland Mayor Tom Kane got one write-in vote for District 3 School
Committee when the votes were tallied at Temple Beth El... Another write-in
was Arthur Fonzerelli - The Fonz - from TV's Happy Days, played by Henry
Winkler... Rabbi Carolyn Braun was greeting voters at Temple Beth El with
"Hi, I'm Rabbi Carolyn Braun and I'm a friend of God"... West Ender Cora
Brown still going strong at The Portland Exposition Building polling station...
Former City Hall beat reporter Mark Shaughnessy in town to support his
longtime buddy, new City Councilor John Anton...
October 17-31, 2007
No Yankee-Red Sox showdown this year...West End School Committee
member Robert O'Brien putting up a Cloutier sign at State & Spring...City
Council candidate Dan Skolnik got personal WEN delivery on Federal Street...
Everyone was at the Young Voters' Step Up to the Plate Awards on October
3rd...Some West Enders concerned about citywide jaywalking epidemic...
Munjoy artist Richard Wilson has a great show at the June Fitzpatrick Gallery
on High Street...High profile local artist, musician, and writer cornered for a
group photo op in front of Paul's Market by MECA photo student (Maybe
she'll send us a copy)...Was that Young Voters' Justin Alfond sprinting out of
City Hall to his next critical engagement?!... Bill Doukas’ reputation for Greek
cuisine spreading wildly in the West End…Former West End State Rep John
Eder may be slowly stepping back into the local political scene… Parkside
State Rep Herb Adams keeping his eye on wild parties at USM Congress Street
dorm keeping his constituents awake all night…West End City Councilor Dave
Marshall planning to reconfigure Andrews Square…City Council candidate
having cupcakes in Tommy’s Park strategizing with his campaign
manager…Arizonan Jane Simpson in town for a couple of weeks… Lots of
politics lined up for next issue of the WEN… Some local artists painting their
own arty signs in support of local candidate…Munjoy Hill Neighborhood
Organization has a lot of regrouping to do after recent battles…
When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they were pasting up signs all
over the Peninsula saying “DeliveryMan and PaperBoy for Portland Water
District.” The last time the boys got into politics, they ended up not talking to
each other for two weeks because PaperBoy got twelve votes and DeliveryMan
only got four and even the City Clerk was mad at both of them for gumming
up the City’s whole electoral system…
October 4-17, 2007
Former Mayor Tom Kane looking tanned, rested and ready to run at recent
City Council meeting…Had to send extra WEN issues to subscriber Carol
McMahon to distribute to all of her new friends in China…Great Old Port
Pharmacy billboard on the side of local sanitation truck…Ladies from 100
State Street thrilled to meet PaperBoy at annual Retired Senior Volunteer
Program (RSVP) luncheon…Eggbot joined local surf band The High Tides
just in time to keep them from being washed up…Percy Cycles in Bramhall
Square closing shop…Local Red Sox lover Catherine Fisher hoping her boys
get a chance to wipe up the field with the hated Yankees… Now that UFFA is
gone from Longfellow Square, where will Sunday morning brunchers line
up?!...Former City Councilor Will Gorham erecting political billboards on the
Eastern Prom…New garden at the Hill House great spot for an alfresco
lunch…Lucas Tree workers surprised to find a bag of dog poop hanging from
a limb on Cushman Street…Cunningham Books’ expansion moving right
along…Lot of West Enders walking to work got caught in recent surprise
morning rainstorm…Get well wishes to Helen of the former Goodfinds…Lots
of political lobbying at the Wednesday farm market in Monument
Square…Downtown bike cops leading the Department in arrests…Happy
Columbus Day to our many Italian friends!...
When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they were getting ready for their
biggest night of the year – when they dress up and go door to door begging for
people to give them stuff. No, they’re not running for Portland City Council,
they’re getting ready for Halloween! DeliveryMan wants to be GI Joe this year,
because when he was a kid, his mother always dressed him up for Halloween
like Batman or The Incredible Hulk or some other sissy. PaperBoy, on the
other hand, is thinking of going in a kinder, gentler direction, like maybe
America’s Next Top Model. When you think about it though, sometimes it
seems like every day is Halloween for DeliveryMan and PaperBoy…
September 19-30, 2007
PPH’s Bill Nemitz got his latest WEN personally delivered at The Udder Place
on Brighton Avenue…Parkside’s Tony Holt having a leisurely breakfast at
Aurora Provisions… Bollard’s Chris Busby celebrated publication’s second
issue with takeout from Bangkok Thai…Moviegoers planning to see The 11th
Hour walked into a wedding instead at the Nickelodeon recently… Water in the
dunk tank at Munjfest was too cold for some local celebrities to take a
dip…Dugan Murphy in town from Cincinnati…Local novelist Patrick Quinlin
tore himself away from latest book to attend candidate debate on Sept.
18…Laura Fuller’s stained glass studio thriving on Munjoy Hill…Richard
Wilson one of the local art stars shining at the annual Black Frame show in
Bayside… Nancy from West End Deli headed to Western New York State for
family get-together…Chet from Fresh Approach anxiously awaiting arrival of
2007 WMPG Championship trophy…One City Councilor threatening to -take
local reporter out in the parking lot…Bayside’s Tom Blackburn and Ron
Spinella returning lots of empties to East End Redemption Center…West End
Community Policing looking to move from its Danforth Street locale…Local
NY Giant football fans anxiously awaiting 2008 baseball season…Happy
Belated Birthday to Portland’s favorite gadfly Steven Scharf (Sept.15) and
Ruth Riddick, WEN’s gal in Washington (Sept.18)…
When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they were sitting idly idling the
WestEndNewsMobile in front of Coyne’s Laundromat, when one of those
smart-aleck, know-it-all City Council candidates strolled up to them and asked
“Do you know about the ten-second rule?”
Well, DeliveryMan, another know-it-all, was sure it had something to do with
eating food that had fallen on the floor, but Mr. Future City Councilor tells
the boys that it has to do with the fact that you save gas if you turn off you car
engine if you’re going to be idling for more than ten seconds. Well, the boys
couldn’t even see the point of idling for less than ten seconds, so they turned
off the engine to save gas, and now they’re trying to get the
WestEndNewsMobile started again so they can resume their delivery route.
They always get in trouble when they start listening to these City Councilor
types…
Local publisher gorging himself on local
gossip…
September 5 - 19, 2007
Guy ran out of gas in the middle of High Street in Congress Square on Friday
afternoon… This just in: Visitor to the other Portland reports that at the Art
Walks out there, they feature nude bicycle jousting…Local actor Sean Demers
headed for New York City with Equity Card in hand....Actor Lou Solomon
returns to Portland after several years hiatus. Expect to see him performing
Shakespeare soon… Natalie the theater cat is back at the St. Lawrence after a
two-day adventure that ended at the Cumberland Animal Shelter. She’ll be
wearing a collar from now on…Less than two months to Election Day… Taxi
driver asking directions while driving up Walker Street probably could have
found Brackett Street on her own if she just kept going about another 20
yards…Hackers knocked Congressional candidate Mike Brennan’s website
offline for a few hours…Gang from PMA gave Isabelle Weyl a rousing sendoff
to school in Boston…Local Sea Dogs fan holding onto poster autographed by
Red Sox’ rookie no-hit sensation Clay Buchholz…Bollard’s Chris Busby,
Forecaster’s Kate Bucklin, and West End NEWS’ Ed King dishing the inside
dirt on the Maine State Pier and Portland School Department on Steve
Hirshon’s WMPG morning show…Local Yankee fan thinking about starting a
coffee klatch for fellow Evil Empire partisans…
When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they were thinking about
skipping the fall season and jumping into full winter mode: take out the air
conditioners and put in the window insulation; get the camping gear out of the
trunk of the West EndNewsMobile and start waxing the cross-country skis; put
away the flip flops and break out the snowmobile boots. Then the boys
realized that autumn also brings election season, also know as “the only time
we make any money around here.” PaperBoy started commenting on how
beautiful the leaves looked when they started turning and told DeliveryMan to
hold off on the long underwear…
Suspect Nabbed in Clown Nose Theft
Ronnie Roy Icke, 41, of Portland, was arrested on August 26 around 6 PM in
reference to a reported theft at Longfellow Square. A street performer stated
that a red clown nose, a brown hat, and two rainbow socks had been stolen.
Officers searched the area for a suspect and saw Icke, who matched the
description of the person who took the items. During the course of stopping
Icke, they discovered a folding lock-blade knife in his possession. Subsequently,
they found a red clown nose, a brown hat, and two rainbow socks.
Icke was arrested and charged with carrying a concealed
weapon. –Marge Niblock
Saturday, 15
3rd Annual MUNJFEST
11am - 5pm (Rain Date Sunday)
A day of food, fun, and frolic - all in the name of building neighborhood
spirit on Munjoy Hill.
This year, we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Portland observatory.
Congress St. will be closed from North St. to Merrill St.
The attractions will include:
*Celebrity dunk tank *Moonbounce *Ball Pit *Balloon Twister *Graffiti
Art competition *Performances by local musicians *Kids dress-up area *Kids
bicycle course and bike registration *Silent Auction *Portland Harbor
Museum with a "History in the Making" interactive table, and walking tours.
*The "MunjMinster Dog Show"
Local artists, small businesses, nonprofits, and service providers will all be here
exhibiting, selling, and informing. If you would like to participate in any way,
please contact Randee Bucknell at 615-8145.
AUGUST 22-SEPTEMBER 5, 2007
The combined Bollard/West End NEWS team took home the trophy after this
year’s WMPG Independent Media Softball Challenge by defeating the radio
guys in two close games! (Our ringers beat their ringers) The trophy will be on
display at Fresh Approach Market (which contributed three generations of
players to the winners!)…Happy belated birthday to Anne Schaff…Former
West Ender Dawn filling in at the North Star Café…Guy driving around
Munjoy Hill looking for a miniature golf course…Get well wishes to Marie
Gray after her bicycle accident on Peaks Island…Local book group members
OK after car crash in the Old Port…Former West Ender Cliff Gallant enjoying
life on the Hill…West Ender Rick Ackerman made a good showing in the first
annual
Portland Triathlon…Guy with arm in a sling on Congress Street having
trouble talking on cell phone and lighting a
cigarette at the same time…Harlan
Baker’s one-man show will premiere
at the St. Lawrence in the spring…
Ran into Congress Square Norm
taking his daily constitutional in Old
Orchard Beach…City Councilor
Donna Carr has taken to lying on a
couch during Council meetings to
relieve her bad back (“I’m still
listening,” she promises constituents)
… Photo by
Marge Niblock
Stinky the Skunk has been making
regular visits to an East End garden.
When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they were trying to get a
lobsterman to row them to an island up north so they could go camping and
get away from the hubbub for a few days. The lobsterman didn’t mind rowing
the boys to their vacation spot, or even posing for the obligatory WEN publicity
photo, but when the thunder and lightning started he was headed back to the
mainland before the boys could talk him out of one of the day’s catch for their
holiday dinner…
The Bollard/West End NEWS team – the 2007 WMPG Independent
Media Softball Challenge Champions.FormerPat
WHERE WE THROW ALL THE STUFF
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH
March 19-31, 2010
Vinny O'Malley says that kids growing up on Tyng Street played a lot of wiffle
ball...Fergis the West End Terrier fell in love with the bagpipers at the West End
St. Patrick's Day March...Everett Perlman claims that a leprechaun told him that
St. Patrick was Jewish...
March 4-18, 2010
Happy Birthday Richard Lawlor (March 16th)...State Rep Diane Russell talking
late-night politics at Colucci's...Blue Lobster Sue Yandell on safari in Africa...
Sandy Amborn and her new puppy Theo looking to move back to Munjoy Hill...
Councilor Marshall celebrated thirtysomething on March 7th...Ellen Murphy
will be taking part in her first West End St. Patrick's Day March...Bayside's Ron
Spinella has joined the tenor section of the Blue Lobsters...Wonder if Bill
Nemtiz had a copy of the WEN with him aboard the Sea Hunter...Kelly Nesbitt
and Rob Lieber headed back to New Orleans...John Eder and Dan Jenkins
among the many Greens at League of Young Voters' Re-Ignition...Cole Caswell
and Jessica George collaborative exhibit at USM Woodbury opened March 12th..
We thought Michelle Souliere was more a Halloween birthday type than a St.
Patrick's Day birthday type...
When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they were taking a pizza break at
Leonardo's in the middle of their 5,000-copy Leonardo Flyer/WEN run around
the city. PaperBoy was wondering if Leonardo gives nicknames to all his
delivery guys, like PizzaGuy or The Slicer or maybe Pepperoni Kid.
DeliveryMan was thinking that it's probably not as glamorous a job as it appears
to be....
February 19-March 3, 2010
Steven Scharf is now a West Ender...Pat LaMarche was in Ecuador during
earthquake that struck Chile...City Manager Joe Gray is now a Grandpa...
Councilor Marshall taking a holiday in San Francisco...Colin Woodward's piece
in the latest Downeast Magazine links the Maine State Pier and the Portland
Charter Commission...Tackle Box Billy getting ready for fishing season...Hard
to believe that Fresh Approach's fabulous chicken breasts are actually less
expensive than WalMart's...Who knew that Baysider Susan McCloskey's name
had an 'e' in it?!...WEN correspondent Pamela Cragin leaving for Costa Rica
soon...Former Danforth owner Barbara Ward has a doppleganger in Orrington,
Maine...Some nominees in recent Phoenix survey arguing over who is actually
Most Influential Portlander...Anne Schaff's polymer sculptures were a great
investment in art at recent Old Port storefront sale... Lee Auchincloss of
Furniturea on Market Street hosted latest Buy Local party...Mayor visited the
West End for grand opening of 645 Congress Street...West Ender Skip Edwards
in UMaine track meet in Boston...Station A shortcut from Congress to Park
Street has been cut off...Bayside power brokers holding high-level summit
upstairs at the Public House Market... Former State Senate candidate David
Babin visiting Mom on Sheridan Street....West End publisher guest speaker at
Portland Republican City Committee...
February 4-18, 2010
Victoria Hershey, Susan McCloskey at the Maine Studios Valentine's Bazaar...
East End resident thrilled that the Valentine Bandit made a stop at her house..A
lot of Influential People at Portland Phoenix event at Bull Feeney's...City
Councilor John Anton says it was colder in Asheville, North Carolina than it is
here...Did City Manager Joe Gray remember to bring the WEN to Europe with
him?!..Restaurants in Longfellow Square all getting face-lifted...Councilor
Marshall says he's now the last remaining car-free City Councilor...Tropa Wine
closing shop...Lisa Walker shoveling a lot of snow in DC...WEN Washington
correspondent Ruth Riddick soon to become our Big Apple correspondent...
Pamela Craigin and Scott Duncan at Eli Phant for First Friday ArtWalk...
Peter Smith now writing for Maine Magazine...
January 21-February 3, 2010
Michel Jonka wants the WEN to cover his graduation from the Civilian Police
Academy...East Bayside has the longest wish list of any neighborhood group in
the city...West End publisher Ari Meil has traded in his Taylor Street home for a
place in the country...Eric Lusk giving up Portland politics for the good life in
Cape Elizabeth...Katie Brown reports crocuses growing on Monument Street in
February (Must be that salty air on the Hill)...Tenants starting to move into
fabulous new apartment building at 645 Congress...Madeline Segal may be a
candidate for public office after her final term on the Police Review Committee...
Don Lindgren of Rabelais Books one of the celebrity judges at the second
annual Pizza Bowl...West End publisher named one of Portland's most influential
people by The Phoenix...Sandy Amborn no longer a twenty-something...Lot of
Dems saying they won't run for District 3 City Council seat...The Stenbak twins
have arrived...
January 5-20, 2010
City officials relieved that it actually snowed for the most recent Snow Parking
Ban...One WMPG radio host requires some guests to bring their own donuts to
his early morning talk show...West End got quite a spread in latest Maine
Magazine piece written by Chelsea Holden Baker...Not true that a local
politician's new puppy ate his copy of the State Budget...Will Everitt the new
head of Maine's League of Young Voters...Jobani Cohen joining the WEN team
(Can she play third base?!)...Councilor Donoghue kicking off his January 20th
birthday with a meeting of the METRO board...Joey D is back in town (Watch
out!)...Former City Councilor considering running against incumbent for District
3 City Council seat...John Eder, Abraham Schechter and Sally Struever all
celebrating January 18th birthdays...Very arty (and quiet) cardboard motorcycle
in front window at Eli Phant...Maine Studios planning huge fundraising bazaar
on Valentine's weekend...Mary Amalia going to spend the rest of the winter in
Arizona...Green Hand's Michelle Souliere working on Strange Maine book...
Commander Mike Sauschuck MC'd the roast at Joe Loughlin's retirement
party...Ellen Murphy headed back to Ireland...Michael Quint is a big Red Claws
fan...Marie Galland visited a lot of churches on her pilgrimage to San
Francisco...
December 23, 2009-January 4, 2010
West End photographer Smyth Wolfe contributed one of the New York Times'
Photos of the Decade...Snowstorms delayed Police Chief Craig's return from
California Christmas vacation...Bill Doukas planning a Patriots' playoff tailgate
party at his Longfellow Square pad...Meanwhile all the local Giants fans are
becoming Vikings and Jets fans...Adams School grounds becoming a dumping
ground for some local dog owners...Diane Edwards glad she brought her winter
jacket along on her trip to the Florida Panhandle...Steve Hirshon thinks there
should be a Reny's downtown to replace LL Bean...Looks like snowpersons are
going to be big this winter...Pamela Craigin snowshoeing in Vermont...One
City Councilor wants a WEN news box in front of his house...WEN Technical
Advisor Jack Woods planning to redesign our website...Parksider Dan Noel may
become an opera star...Goldie Peacock taking New York by storm...Jane and
Nate Stevens in Key West...James Cagney proud of daughter Fiona's starring
role in Up Up, Down Down...Happy New Year's Eve birthday to Virginia
Collins...Friends turned Suzanne Gagnon's leg cast into a work of art...Planet
Dog's Alex Fisher running the hounds at Willard Beach on Christmas...Guy tried
to pay for a donut at local Dunkin' with a $100 bill...
December 9-22, 2009
Paul's Market no longer accepting fake $100 bills...Group of creative types
putting together new art center in the city... A resident of 75 State Street says
she was named after Nebuchadnezzar, the ancient ruler of Babylon...KatieMade
Bakery the new hot breakfast spot in East Bayside...Alison Berg Hills got
surprise birthday cake at Portland Magazine Christmas party at Bintliff's...
Nancy at the West End Deli very excited about their new website
(thewestenddeli.com)...Martha Putnam unloading the MOFGA truck at the
Rosemont Market on the Hill...Diane Edwards put on a big holiday bash at the
Wild Iris Inn in Parkside before heading for the Florida Panhandle... Dugan
Murphy headed back to Cincinnati...New apartment building in old USM (645
Congress) dorm almost ready to open...Councilor Marshall's insurance
provider wondering if he'll be filing a claim after being pummeled in recent
mayoral contest...Second annual East End Stroll a huge success...A few hearty
farmers showed up in snowstorm for December 9th Farmer's Market in
Monument Square...Heavy rain made City's first snow ban a washout...We'll
have to wait another month to find out who Chip Martin recruited to run for
WENA Prez because of snow cancellation...Munjoy Hill dog calendar made
instant celebrities of a number of East End canines...
November 25-December 9, 2009
Suzanne Gagnon will have plenty of time to rehearse for the Spring Blue
Lobster recital while she recuperates from surgery on her broken ankle...Will
King will no longer be a teenager as of December 13th...Marge Niblock and
Wendy Cherubini won't be teenagers much longer either...Rebecca Minnick
sang a duet with a famous local celebrity at Eli Phant's First Friday opening...
Local baseball addict has a pitching machine set up in his Bayside shop to
keep him sharp until Spring Training...Huge tribute held at Irish Heritage
Center for late Portland restaurateur Jimmy Ledue...Next WENA Prez wil have
big shoes to fill...Former Mayors Cloutier and Geraghty spotted from the
WestEndNewsMobile...Councilor Donoghue wants to see WEN's 10th
Anniversary Issue in 2011...Happy December 1st Birthday to Charter
Commissioner Anna Trevorrow...Washington correspondent Ruth Riddick back
in the nation's capital after spending the holiday in the West End...Jack Woods
named Technical Advisor to the WEN...Guy changing his pants next to his car
on Cumberland Avenue on Thanksgiving...
November 12-25, 2009
Mayor-elect Mavodones promises to publicly say something nice about the
WEN during his term in office...Shana and Chris Barry in town for Shana's
Meet the Fofers show...Crime reporter Marge Niblock on the scene for stolen
truck drama across from Portland Observatory...Chip Martin heading up
nominating committee as WENA looks for new officers for the coming year...
Former State Senator Mike Brennan spotted in the West End...Will King
putting his '80 Chevy Chevette in the garage for the winter...Sandy Amborn
headed to graduate school - and she bakes a wicked pie crust...Mayor Duson
thinks the online print edition of the WEN is very cool...East Baysider Amanda
Sears helping to organize Million Baby Crawl...Former Mayor Ed Suslovic now
a half-century old...Tony Reilly getting rave reviews playing Tricky Dick in
Frost/Nixon at the St. Lawrence...Happy 62nd Birthday to our own Harlan
(Not Ready to Retire Yet)Baker... Ken and Patty Rosen brunching at Local 188
with some East End friends... Reiche fifth grader Jane Ackermann placed first
among Maine fifth graders in both verbal and math... Guy in Congress Square
showing off the NY Yankees tattoo on his chest...Yes Books' Russ Sargent
featured in New York Times story...Bangkok Thai undergoing a complete
overhaul...Some West End residents didn't get notice of the City's annual
meeting at Reiche until a week after the meeting...Munjoy Hiller Gary
Marscisso at Maine Hardware on St. John Street...
October 28-November 11, 2009
If you see Liz McMahon today, wish her a Happy Birthday...
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree kicking off fund-raising campaign for re-
election at Cyrus Hagge's place on Munjoy Hill...Lisa McNeil back in town...
Strange Maine's Michelle Soulierre's Green Hand Bookstore opened on First
Friday, November 6th...Jenny Anastasoff now a cub reporter for the WEN...
Jeff Karl back in town to open a new G'Vanni's on Exchange Street...Suzanne
Gagnon now covering art, music, dance, literature and life at 60 Eastern Prom
Vortex...Karl Rawstron broken hand in bike-car mishap...Scary, knife-wielding
mannequin looking out Western Prom window on Halloween...Residents at 75
State excited about upcoming holiday fair...New ownership at Holiday Inn not
very hospitable to neighborhood newspapers...Neighborhood Watcher Christine
McHale keeping her eye on things in the West End...October 29th 60th
anniversary of great stock market crash...Bonobo's Oliver Outerbridge pretty
serious about getting on the Portland Water Board...Yankees-Phillies World
Series may bring some local Philly Cheesesteak parties...City Councilor chided
little old lady for not standing up when she spoke at recent public meeting...
October 15-28, 2009
WEN Editor pontificating about West End politics on Steve Hirshon's WMPG
morning show, Thursday, 8AM...Oliver Waterman a big hit at Cafe Review's
20th Anniversary party...WENA Prez Rosanne Graf emailed us from New
Mexico for an update on a local issue...There's a blog called Overheard in
Portland...Turntables hanging from the ceiling at Dugan Murphy's 27th
birthday party...ME/NH Computer Services saved our bacon this week, who
will be next?!...City Councilor Dan Skolnik wondering where all the leaks
from City Hall's back rooms are coming from...League of Young Voters
founder Billy Wimsatt at East End party...Arroz con pollo a big draw at
WMPG's Begathon...Sarah Colton Facebooked us from Ireland...Susan Doran
enjoying the late autumn sunshine in Monument Square...Michelle Souliere
consulting with Nancy Grayson at Cunningham Books about Michelle's new
bookstore - The Green Hand - which is due to open soon...Plant Lady Deb
McCoy leading WENA cleanup of Harborview Park ...Snow flakes but no
parking ban on October 18th...State Rep Diane Russell in love with her new
laptop...Former state rep may become WEN's newest political columnist...
Plaster the Cat improv group a big hit at the Comedy Connection...
October 1-14, 2009
Maine magazine covering the West End for an 8-10 page feature in the
Dec/Jan issue...Liz Trice spent part of her Columbus holiday at her laptop in
the window at Bard's Coffee Shop on Middle Street...Who was that handsome
gentleman having coffee at Bard's with Virginia Collins and Suzanne Gagnon
after the First Friday ArtWalk?!...Bronco fans Peggy and Chet Knights are
ready for football season...West Ender Wendy Cherubini counting pedestrians
on Franklin Arterial...Bill Green pretty sure it's going to be a long, cold
winter...Lisa Walker wants to get started on the West End NEWS movie...West
End getting ready for big Halloween parade...Bob Nason still painting and
playing tennis - at 86...Barbara McGivaren back in the West End from
Auburn...Rose Harris planning to resume Rosie's/Ruski's Holiday Auction and
gift and food distribution in honor of her late husband Steve...Natalie the
theater cat made a surprise guest appearance at energy forum at the St.
Lawrence...Big traffic snarl at Congress & Forest Avenue when traffic lights
went on the blink...First pair of winter gloves spotted on October 1st...John
Eder and Suzanne Kahn at Good Theater play The Little Dog Laughed at the
St. Lawrence... Great-tasting apples at Coyne's Laundromat for fifty cents
each. Vinny claims he picked them himself...Chocolate-covered bacon causing
a sensation at Black Tie on Commercial Street...Rogue bicyclist rode through
pickup basketball game at Reiche gym...License plate seen on Vaughan Street
says 'BE GOOFY'...
September 16-30, 2009
Neighborhood Watches sprouting up all over despite recent police stats showing
that crime is actually down in the city...Campaign signs sprouting up
everywhere too...Waynflete neighbors not happy with the plan the school put
before the Planning Board...Haven't heard what the big racket on Brackett
Street was the other night - residents think it was a big drug bust...Some fun
photos coming from Cadillac Mountain...Red Sox fans can hardly wait
another two weeks to get another crack at the Yankees...No self-loathing
hipster should be without a good flask... Life about to begin for Brackett Street
sleuth Jenny Anastasoff...Former Mayor Tom Kane feigning disinterest in
taking over his old post...Looks like the West End NEWSIES may be headed
for an undisputed three-peat...Cliff Gallant doing promotion for the Portland
Club... Steven Scharf ditto for Styxx...Mike DeLong collecting a lot of local
artists' work...League of Young Voters' Director Harris Parnell moving on to
new gig in Augusta...City Councilors say it's too early to talk about who will be
the next Mayor...Bangkok Thai to make major change in November...We
think Bill Dukas should open a Greek restaurant in Longfellow Square...West
Ender Marie Galland visited The Hill for Munjfest...
September 2-16, 2009
Not true that Dan Jenkins is moving to Munjoy Hill so that he can run for
East End City Council seat (Good Morning, Dan!)...Michelle Souliere
planning a Strange Maine art show...One Parkside resident thinks local coffee
brewer should start making a Darkside roast... Nobody hurt when driver of
parked SUV on Washington Avenue opened door just as METRO bus was
passing by...The Baysider to resume publishing with Black Frame edition...
Deena Weinstein swam two miles and raised $1050 at the Beach to Beach
Swim for Breast Cancer ...German visitors Fredricka and Hannah were the
toast of the Thursday night comedy open mic at Slainte...West End's Plant
Lady also an expert hot dog chef...You never know what Portland neighbor
you'll meet on Mt. Katahdin...Annual PICNIC festival dampened a bit by the
weather...West End Policing Coordinator Sarah Colton kept very busy face-
painting during WENA's annual picnic at Harborview Park...West Ender's trip
to New York slowed down by President's entourage in mid-Manhattan...Jobani
Cohen's fabulous birthday party on The Hill on August 9th was almost like
going to Woodstock...State Senator Justin Alfond and Rachael Weinstein
engaged to be married...School Committee candidate Jenna Vendil still
running hard despite having no opponent...WEN fan Mary McCarthy turned
80 in August...Novelist Patrick Quinlan at the Portland Public Library...Local
residents wondering how two seagulls got killed in Longfellow Square...
August 19-September 2, 2009
Head of new police crime lab now has a faux window in his office...Bayside
upholstery guru Pistol Pete shocked at new customers who saw his ad in the
WEN...Former State Street resident (and Honorary Founding Editor of the
WEN) Selena Craig visiting from Boston...Friend in Bayside claims she once
had two cats who played chess while she was away at work...The West End has
the city's first break-dancing city councilor...Joe Roberts still putting in 12-
hour days at Station A building on Congress Street-at age 83!...Cora Brown
celebrated 99th Birthday on August 21st...Original WENA member Patrick
Baldwin commuting from Falmouth to keep active in the old hood...WENA
board got a tour of the Irish Heritage Center from St. Dom alum Vinny
O'Malley...Local School Committee candidate stuck in elevator on her way to
work...Movie Night at Reiche had to be cancelled because of new carpet
installation...The Bears at Cunningham Books will be going to the beach
while everyone else is back-to-school...Rain held off for big Democratic lobster
bake...Dan Jenkins in Boston for Red Sox-Yankees...Colette Bouchard in
Boston for her birthday...Some high-ranking Portland police in line outside
Becky's Diner for Sunday breakfast...Local nonprofit selling off some of its
real estate holdings...McMahon clan in town from Asheville, NC...Gang at
Paul's Market was happy to have air conditioning during mid-August heat
wave...WestEndNewsMobile almost got a ticket for not parking close enough to
the curb....
August 5-19, 2009
WENA annual picnic in jeopardy because of City Hall red tape…Sean
Wilkinson has moved to Brackett Street… Portland Monthly holding a lobster
bake on the Western Prom… Michelle Souliere thinking about opening a
bookstore in town…Ben Meiklejohn is now a West Ender...Car full of dogs
barking at City Councilor John Anton out walking his dog near Reiche
School...West Enders helping with a pedestrian count on Franklin Arterial...
Munjoy Hill's Joan Sheedy starting to think about putting together this year's
snow shovelling program...WMPG morning host will probably invite back
recent guest who brought a bag of Tony's Donuts to the station...Makara from
Mitpheap Asian Market to open cafe on Cumberland Avenue...Local 188's
owner Jay Villani to open new place on Exchange Street in old O'Natural's
space...Styxx under new ownership...Guy on Munjoy Hill wearing a Pistol Pete
t-shirt is not the same guy who runs the upholstery shop in East Bayside...West
End traveller crossed paths with Minnesota Senator Al Franken at Washington,
DC airport...EliPhant owners Peter and Sally spending the rest of the summer
in a vintage camper...West End yellow lab named Buzz found his way onto the
stage at the St. Lawrence in the middle of a Secret Lives comedy skit. Now he's
a star!...Local couple vacationing in San Francisco report eight straight days
of fog and 60-degree weather. Sounds like Maine...So many rumors,so little
time...
July 22-August 5, 2009
Sara Lemieux just opened an ice cream stand on Pine Street...Goldie Peacock
very excited about Wednesday night dance parties at the White Heart...Ayperi
& Friends belly dancing in Post Office Park August 6 at 12 Noon...Roundtable
of culinary experts at Congress Street CBD discussing Jewish, Greek, Italian
and Irish cuisine…Charter Commissioner Jim Gooch riding his bike through
Longfellow Square in the rain...Some West Enders walked back over the bridge
after completing the 10K Beach-to-Beacon...Alicia Harding passing out health
care leaflets in Monument Square... State Senator Justin Alfond doing
constituent work from his car on Congress Street...Neighbors report Brackett
Street hooker has moved on...Some West Enders who danced the night away at
Zootz reunion had a hard time getting up the next morning...Couple of guys
standing in front of Fresh Approach got a cell phone call from passing
motorist who recognized them and just wanted to say hi...Peter Hall working
on walking tour of West End carriage houses...Hula hoopster at Monument
Square farmers' market...New garden behind Cunningham Books in full
bloom...Local politician practising his flamenco steps at Congress Street CBD...
WMPG Softball Tournament to be held in September this year...WEN's crime
dog Marge Niblock taking PPD's Taser training...Peaks Islander Mike Levine
quit his teaching job at Gorham High School to focus full-time on Acorn
Productions in Westbrook…
When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they were pouring quarters into
the feed dispensers at the Gray Animal Farm so they could feed the moose and
the bears and the chickens (or whatever those birds on the pond were).
DeliveryMan was thinking that it might be a good idea to have something
dispensing from Portland parking meters, just so people would feel like they
were getting something for their money other than just an empty space. Maybe
a few jelly beans or a fortune cookie or something. PaperBoy doesn’t care
about getting anything back from the parking meters. He wasn’t even really
that excited about feeding the bears…
July 8-22, 2009
Belinda Ray now East Bayside's Community Organizer...Duane Pierson doing
a lot of undercover work for the WEN...Jesse and Tori Stenbak expecting
twins...East Bayside kids loved the Labradoodles at the Boyd Street Garden
Fair... East End newlyweds seen biking in SoPo...Former Rustic Overtone
Ryan Zoidis back from tour of Japan...Pistol Pete has set up his upholstery
shop in Bayside...Marie Gallant celebrating Bastille Day on July 14th...West
Ender attended her first Red Sox game in nearly forty years...Break dancers in
Congress Square...Bob from Bangkok Thai riding power scooter down
Congress Street...Lot of canine guests at recent Buy Local event at Planet
Dog...Kris Clark organizing July 25th Zootz reunion...Local reporter left latest
Charter Commission meeting early to go dancing at Bubba's...Photojournalist
Margo Roy may soon be joining the WEN parade...Parksider Ray Curry in
training for upcoming marathon...Liz Trice and Mom biking through
Longfellow Square...Portland historians Herb Adams and Harlan Baker
conferring in Monument Square...Former Seekonk singer Sarah Ramey now
doing her thing in San Francisco…
June 24-July 8, 2009
Former Parkside state rep Michael Quint working next to current state rep for
"The Hill" Diane Russell at Colucci's on July 4th. Maybe they'll
caucus…John Eder organizing West Enders to crack down on cigarette
butts…Deena Weinstein in the annual Beach to Beach Swim for Breast
Cancer…Ruth Riddick in Auburn visiting longtime pal Barbara McGivaren…
Any fan in attendance at July 11th event who is able to sink a shot from center
court will win a season ticket for the 2009-10 Red Claws season...Would-be
local wedding crasher foiled when he couldn't name the groom...Portland
couch surfer from Tucson couldn't wait to get back to the Arizona sunshine...
Sandy Amborn back from her first trip to the Big Apple...Local photographer
had to fight with mother seagull atop the Eastland Hotel while trying to get
photos of 900-foot flag in Pride Parade...Neighbors concerned about
prostitutes on Brackett Street.. Packed house for James Hayman's book
signing and reading from The Cutting at Longfellow Books... Shana and
Chris Barry in town for her show at SPACE...People jumping rope in
Monument Square...
June 10-24, 2009
Biggie the Golden Retriever a big hit at the Peter
Patton show…Jack Glynn back from New
Orleans (until the next cheap flight),,, Blue
Lobsters looking to supplement their bass
section…Hilarious cop photos on display at City
Hall… West End in summer just isn’t the same
without Popeye’s Ice House…Doug Emerson
working on his tan lines at Jones
Beach…Rebecca Minnick waving to her
neighbors from atop the Observatory…Portlander
Dugan Murphy moving from Cincinnati to
Bangor for the summer...Liz McMahon to fill in
for Harlan Baker on the True Tales Tour...
Retired Munjoy Hiller Eric Handley may have
stumbled upon a new profession...Former West
Ender Jesse Connolly to lead upcoming gay
marriage epic battle...Steven Scharf finally getting
some recognition for endless hours of
watchdogging public meetings...Neighbors of one
loud Old Port bar say they have to sleep with ear
plugs...Night shift workers having trouble sleeping
during the day with street repairs on Brackett
Street...A third candidate has joined the upcoming
Munjoy Hill City Council race...Station A may be
on the Postmaster's chopping block...Portland
Mag planning its annual lobster bake...One East
End street turning into a journalists' row...
Baysider newspaper may be coming back soon...
PPH'S Bill Nemitz ran into Harlan Baker's True
Tales Walking Tour on Commercial Street...
Former West Ender Louise Philbrick now
dismantling pianos in SoPo...Bike cops winding
down at CBD on India Street after a hectic day...
Some West Enders calling local graffiti problem
an epidemic... John Eder hoping he remembers to
bring a WEN to Greece for a photo op...Jack
Woods waiting for an opening in the upcoming at-
large City Council race...One potential candidate
wants to pre-screen debate moderators to measure
their impartiality...
May 27-June 10, 2009
Peter Hall to host annual West End solstice party...Lee Orme back from
California...Mike Kriegman of Smokers' Depot brunching at the Front Room...
Blue Lobster Troupe starting rehearsals for fall concert..Brackett Street
gardener Donald Mullen planting flower garden behind Cunningham Books...
Another West Ender may become known as the Singing Gardener...Who is that
West Ender driving the 1980 Chevy Chevette?!...Chet Knights of Fresh
Approach may be dropped to the bottom of the West End Newsies lineup after
recent batting fiasco...Local publishers comparing notes in the cereal aisle at
Hannaford's... Harlan Baker in Boston for college reunion...New police chief
meeting neighbors at the Front Room...Lot of old mayors at St. Lawrence's
Charter Commission candidate debate...Former City Councilor Peter
O'Donnell about to get his nursing degree...Mike is back at Fit To Eat and
planning some big changes...Some Portland police officers will soon be riding
Segways...Loud motorcycles may get some attention from Portland City
Council...Senator Alfond and Councilor Donoghue stuck in morning traffic
on Congress Street on their way to a transportation meeting...
May 13-27, 2009
St. Lawrence to host a July 4th wedding...One
state legislator flew down the turnpike to make it
to the Buy Local awards at the Empire...Local
elected official standing on the Sunday brunch
line at the Front Room...Portland pol holding late-
night meeting at Bonobo... Karen Ball running
down Exchange Street with the script for Taming
of the Shrew in hand...Former Portland Mayor
Ed Suslovic talking politics at the front window
table of the North Star Cafe...Full house at the St.
Lawrence for the inaugural Blue Lobster Troupe
recital...New Police Chief plans to rearrange
office to take better advantage of the ocean views...
City Charter Commission candidate Jim Gooch
says somebody is messing with his campaign
signs...Munjoy Hill Observer board thinks
somebody is messing with the circulation of their
new publication...Former SALTine Jessica
Hasslen in town for a visit from Minnesota...
Thelma Gagne got a birthday card from Survivor
Bob...West Enders looking forward to Carleton
Street solstice party...Dan Jenkins never made it
to Beantown for Bruins playoff game... David
Kauffman back from India...Yes, you're supposed
to STOP at the intersection of Spring and Park
Street...Professor Harlan Baker correcting papers
and sipping a grande at a back table at CBD on
Congress...
May 1-13, 2009
Congress Square seagull scored a direct hit on local reporter's notebook...Fix-It
Man helping fix the steps in front of First Congregational Church on Congress
Street...City to replace park bench in Longfellow Square demolished by snow
plow this winter...Notary John Eder looking forward to performing marriages
for gay and lesbian couples... Local politico has a ghostwriter...Deb McCoy,
the Plant Lady, planting flowers on Morning Street...Bruce Brown tutoring at
Portland High School... Sandy Amborn, Steve Luttrell, Dan Jenkins, Elke
Rosenberg, Pat Buckley, Cliff Gallant - all at Congress Street Coffee by Design
at the same time:...Yes, there is a Congress Street Pigeon Whisperer...Cafe
Review to have big 20th Anniversary bash at the St. Lawrence...East End City
Councilor alerted us to a Daily Dumpster technical glitch...Neighborhood prez
Alex Landry busy at the Bayside public garden...Munjoy Hill political rivals no
longer North Street neighbors... Waynflete students building raised garden beds
behind Harbor Terrace...WENA wants Community Policing Center moved
from Harbor Terrace to Reiche...The Bollard may field a team in this year's
WMPG softball tournament...Dennis Fournier selling his paintings outside
Portland Museum of Art on First Friday...HiTides surf band about to wipe
out...Liz Trice back from Bora Bora...USM's Gabe Demaine doing the campus
stroll on Brighton Avenue...New 'Junque Shoppe' on Brighton Avenue in
Rosemont Corner...Munjoy Hill Observer back on the street after 10 months...
Bill Doukas studying for a big Bridge Inspection exam...Carol McMahon spent
her birthday in Puerto Rico...
May 1-15, 2009
Big New York publisher wants our Astrologer to write a book review for them...
NASCAR cookouts have resumed in Bayside...Isabelle Weyl staying in Boston
this summer because of great job she's landed there...Two English visitors
watched their first Yankee-Red Sox game at Rivalries...Former Red Sox owner
Les Otten showing fans his World Series Championship ring at GOP
fundraiser...WENA working on tee shirt logo for World's Longest Lobster Roll
event...City marking parking spaces in town for scooters and motorcycles...
Young Voters' Harris Parnell planning to tour Europe with the WEN...Steven
Scharf missed WEN photo op in nation's capitol...Nathan Szanton's
construction project on Danforth Street on schedule and on budget...First
Friday ArtWalk may be coming to Coyne's Laundromat...Harlan Baker
planning a unique new walking tour for Downtown Portland...West End beat
East End in April 19th Capture the Flag competition...Ran into West End
author Andrew McNabb on Pine Street on his way to a Friday night reading at
Longfellow Books...West End City Councilor David Marshall witnessed
potentially disastrous mishap caused when car ran stop sign at Pine and
Brackett...Bill Linnell talking politics at the entrance of the Miss Portland
Diner...Guy at the bar at Andrews VFW Hall wanted to buy PaperBoy a beer
for delivering the latest WEN...Meanwhile, he got evicted from the Eastland...
Harriet Harmon at Harbor Terrace is bound to win a West End Nellie prize if
she keeps entering the contest... Anna Trevorrow campaign kickoff on April
11th a big success... Big contingent from 75State Street at most recent Good
Theater dress rehearsal at the St. Lawrence...St. Louis Polish Church may be
part of the Waynflete School in the future... Changes coming to The
Danforth...
April 15-30, 2009
Green Party founder John Rensenbrink in town for lunch with activist Morgen
D'Arc...Happy Birthday to Thelma Gagne (April 9th)...Golf ball autographed
by President Obama found in Western Cemetery...Giant moving van from the
Upper East Side delivering new West Ender's stuff to Park Street condo...
Pamela Cragin and Harlan Baker may be thinking about unionizing WEN
staff...Neil Knowlton-Randall newest recruit of the WEN softball team...Great
chocolate chip cookies at the April 8th WENA meeting... Chris of The Kitchen
in Congress Square now making falafels in shop on Woodfords Street...
Former State Senator Mike Brennan talking politics on his cell phone at
Federal Spice... Guy standing next to his car in the Old Port applying his
underarm deodorant...Upcoming East End City Council race getting nasty
already...Local elected official picked up a free desk at USM Dorm giveaway...
Some East End dog lovers want a dog park on the Hill...Local journalist
considering new career as a dread stylist...Portland City Councilor having
Leonardo's $3 lunch...Recent local book group get-together had a Scottish
theme...Munjoy Hill Observer inching toward resuming publication... Baysider
looking for new editor...
April 1-15, 2009
Katie Brown taking up cartooning...Moving guys on Brackett Street tied
bookcases to top of station wagon with string of Christmas lights...Tony Taylor
working on signs for new Mexican restaurant at High & York...A lot of readers
coming to our website from the fabulous foodie blog Portland Psst...One Blue
Lobster baked blue lobster cookies for recent social gathering...Liz McMahon
headed to New Orleans for a few days...Nancy Foss going north to clear brush
on the family farm...Green Party's John Eder having a latte at Starbucks...
Portland School Committee member Sarah Thompson will be running for re-
election...Steven Scharf really can be at two municipal meetings at the same
time...Mayor Duson dancing around town to raise money for Community
Television Network...Maine Historical Society has re-opened its library...Casco
Bay Ferry to raise rates May 1st...Anthony Mastropasqua from Tropa Wine Co.
taking a break at Java Net on Exchange Street...Crocuses popping at the
corner of Brackett and Walker Street...Aucocisco Gallery moving to the Old
Port...County Commissioners had birthday cake for Commissioners Cloutier &
Shaughnessy after March 23rd meeting... Daisy Wilson getting to be a regular
on the WEN World Photo page...Police on the lookout for Bob Bergeron's two
bass guitars-stolen from his parked car in the Old Port on the night of March
21st...Yes, those were snow flurries on March 22nd...Local guy stood on his
head in the talent portion of Michael Parent's 'Goofy Show' at the St.
Lawrence...Bobby Lipps on the front page of the Sun (He's got one great PR
team!)...Will Gorham still planning to enter the East End City Council race...
New East Ender Cyrus Hagge and wife Patty out for a walk with the dog in the
new 'hood...Station A's John Nappi had to do a solo on Saturday morning...
West Ender William Nelligan accepted at Dickinson College in Carlisle,
Pennsylvania...Munjoy Hiller seen doing her laundry in the West End...Survey-
taker at Fresh Approach wants to see more names in the Dumpster (She didn't
leave hers)... West End artist Lee Orme moving to California...Super intern
Laura Pohjola will be back at St. Lawrence this summer...WMPG Softball
Championship Trophy on display at Strange Maine...About 50 marchers at the
West End's annual St. Patrick's Day march from St. Dom's to Harborview
Park...
March 3-17, 2009
BNA Prez Alex Landry sitting in on MHNO monthly meeting...Blue Lobster
Troupe will be performing Nirvana at its May 18th concert...Baysider Annie
Wadleigh got a ride to the St. Lawrence Clothes Swap in the
WestEndNewsMobile...Strange Maine's Michelle Souliere has a St. Patrick's
Day birthday....Jonah Fertig planning big 30th birthday bash at the Meg Perry
Center...West Ender Jenny Anastasoff gets sad when we don't update the
Dumpster...Green Party operatives planning campaign strategy at Arabica
coffee shop...Brian Chick's neighbors on Brackett Street think he's tres
debonnaire sitting on his stoop smoking his tobacco pipe...Bright new paint job
in the entrance to Fresh Approach...Nancy Arnold is up and running at the
West End Deli...WMPG's DJ Dale is high energy...Green Party Portland Chair
Tina Smith has called it quits...City Councilor Dan Skolnik has a video
entitled "Talking Trash"...Local novelist may write a book about Maine
politics to kick off his gubernatorial campaign...WENA's Jadot Bakunda wants
to use the Reiche big screen TV for educational programs about Africa, which
would be shown after WENA meetings...Reiche librarian Michael Whittaker
collecting stories from refugees to document their history and their
immigration to Maine...He's also heading up effort to build world's biggest
lobster roll at the Old Port Festival...WENA might also have a screening about
Reiche dog waste problem on the big -screen TV...Equality Maine to hold 25th
Anniversary Dinner on March 21st at Holiday Inn by the Bay...Guy in the East
End has two watches so he doesn't have to bother with the 'Spring forward/Fall
back ' thing...Motorcycle with a side car seen on Brackett Street...Local
Community TV host Harold Pachios got a rare interview with Bill Moyers...
West End City Councilor David Marshall turned 31 on March 7th...WEN and
WMPG teaming up to promote each other...Richard Lawlor not getting any
younger on March 16th...
February 20-March 3, 2009
Paul is back at the Market after mid-winter respite in Florida...Chicky Stoltz,
wife Amy (Brackett Street Vet's) and kids headed to New Hampshire...Check
out Rob O'hairt's fabulous photo exhibition at The Frame Shop at Longfellow
Square...Adele Geraghty called us at 7AM from London just to say 'hello'...
Rachael Weinstein promoting next big League event...West Ender Abraham
Schecter taking lunch break from the Portland Public Library at Old Port
Sandwich Shop...Cyrus Hagge is now officially an East Ender....Munjoy Hill’s
Bobby Lipps has extended his snow-and-ice clearing domain to include the
downtown…Local teacher lost six bucks in Vegas during Presidents' Week
break...West End NEWSIES starting to get in shape to defend their WMPG
softball title...Local mag doing a story on Yankee fans in Maine...USM's
fabulous Gabe Demain celebrating birthday on March 11th (May need a
bigger city than Portland to hold the party)...Rumors that El Deemon may be
returning to the WEN (Look for Tony Taylor again soon as well...Jed
Rathband and friends in Mexico... Former Democratic City Chair Sive Neilan
back on the Old Sod...
Bobby & Big Bertha at work downtown
Fresh Approach's Chet Knights is 50!... Governor declared February 17th 'Bob
Crowley Day' in Maine...Irish American Club starting planning for St.
Patrick's Day festivities...Rebecca Minnick featured as a sweater model on the
cover of Classic Elite Yarns online catalogue...State Senator Justin Alfond
dropped into recent MHNO meeting...Some Congress Street regulars watched
Obama Town Hall meeting at Norm's...Recent State Senate candidate Eric
Lusk among the Republican dignitaries at the Lincoln Day Dinner honoring
West Ender Cora Brown...Steve and Renee's Dner at Washington Avenue &
Veranda Street becoming major WEN distribution point...Jack Glynn
negotiating big contract for local artist at Java Net in the Old Port...
Playwright/performer Peter Patton in town for Munjoy Hill party...Former
Attorney General Steve Rowe at the St. Lawrence for 'A Funny Thing
Happened on the Way to the Forum'...Mayor Jill Duson personally delivered
proclamation declaring February 11th 'Robert Solotaire Day' to the Station A
Post Office - one of Bob's regular Congress Street stops...Former Mayor Ed
Suslovic may not be done yet with the Maine State Pier...Gang from the St.
Lawrence seen lunching at the Thai Buffet on Congress Street...Local poobah
locked his keys inside car at McDonald's St. John Street parking lot...
February 5-19, 2009
Will the Valentine Bandit make his annual appearance this year?!
…Longfellow Frame Shop serving FREE COFFEE to its patrons…Good
Theater-goers finding it hard to get ‘something for everyone - a comedy
tonight!’ out of their heads…One local bank had to issue new debit cards
because of recent security breach…Local Giants’ fans lent their Super Bowl
magic to the Steelers this year…At least one well-known West Ender was too
chicken to send us a Valentine’s Personal…Local Green Party activist rumored
to be considering a run for Governor...Paul Drinan and Chris Clark among
many Mainers at the Presidential Inauguration... Former Hill Rep Ann Rand
was there…Some locals thought the Vice President in a wheelchair reminded
them of Dr. Strangelove...Four-month-old Athena Everitt stole the show at
John Eder's 40th Birthday breakfast at Local 188...Survivor Bob posing for
photos at the annual Ice Bar (He's everywhere!)…WENA board members
braved latest snowstorm to attend January meeting...Mayor Duson not happy
with proposed energy savings at newly-designed Main Library...Anania's took
home the most prizes at the first annual Pizza Bowl...Chet at Fresh Approach
can tell you how many days there are til the start of Spring Training…
When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they were getting ready for their
big annual Valentine’s Day Party. DeliveryMan is always looking to get all his
buddies hooked up romantically at the party, whereas PaperBoy is just
interested in eating, drinking, and having a good time, which makes his job a
lot easier. Last year, Valentine’s Day brought fourteen inches of snow with it,
burying DeliveryMan’s matchmaking plans, and the boys were still eating
candy hearts all the way to the Fourth of July. Maybe this year, somebody will
get lucky...
.January 17-February 4, 2009
Baysider hopes to publish again soon…Dan Jenkins considering a run for the
City Charter Commission…Plans are in the works to get Portland in the
Guinness Book of World Records for producing the world’s largest lobster
roll…Former West Ender Shana Barry has a new line of Obama art dolls
(shana@theshaggallery.com) …Parkside Neighborhood Prez Bob Giovannini
putting a spark back in the organization…Congratulations to Parkside Police
Coordinator Michele Lauture –City Employee of the Month and new
mother…Some West Enders want City to put up signs to discourage dog
owners from allowing their pets to poop on Reiche soccer field…Local elected
official still not speaking to several non-supporters of his last
campaign…Happy 40th Birthday to former West End State Rep John Eder on
January 18th...and East End City Councilor Kevin Donoghue turned 30 on the
20th...Munjoy Hill Observer close to hiring new editor and restarting
publication...
When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy they were headed south again,
not to get away from another snowstorm, but to participate in a little bit of
good old American History. “Where you boys headed in such a hurry?” said
the traffic officer when he stopped the WestEndNewsmobile going through
Downtown Old Orchard Beach at 87.3miles-per-hour. “We’re going to see the
new President of the United States get inaugurated!” said PaperBoy proudly,
hoping to appeal to the officer’s patriotic sentiments. DeliveryMan
didn’t say anything, but if he did he would have said “I told you we should
have stayed home and watched it on TV,” which is what the boys ended up
doing after they paid their speeding ticket with what was supposed to be their
gas money. So that’s what it feels like to bail out a struggling economy…
January 3-17, 2009
Will King now a freshman at USM…Greater Portland Landmarks’ Bill Hall
says he gets a lot of his History Docents through the WEN…West End will be
getting two new Mexican restaurants very soon…Some Hillers planning their
Valentine’s Party already…Recent School Committee candidate Anna
Trevorrow elected Chair of the Maine Green Independent Party… Michael
Quint back at Collucci’s on Sundays…Greens launching logo design contest -
a call for artists to design the new logo for the PGIC…Survivor Bob joined a
group of pub crawlers on Congress Street…Former West End School
Committee member Stephen Spring may be headed back to Portland after
helping to start a new high school in Austin, Texas… Michael McKenzie
celebrated his birthday on January 3rd with the Kings of the Hill…Portland
comic Tim Hofmann is unbelievably funny. Catch his act before he hits the
big time and you can't afford the tickets...Nancy Grayson's new computer is up
and running at Cunningham Books...Local Yankee fans can't wait for spring
training with their billion dollar payroll...Looks like Public Works crews are
going to have their hand full (of snow shovels) this winter...
December 19, 2008- January 2, 2009
Old Port Pharmacy attracting a lot
of local celebrities...PPH’s Jenn
Menendez knows more about
football than most guys we
know…Bill Doukas’ New Year’s
bash in Longfellow Square the hot
ticket in town again this year…PPD’
s Captain Malloch is one tough
cookie…Former WEN
correspondent Barbara McGivaren
sends greetings from Auburn,
Maine… Maybe Reiche’s Allison
Villani will finally get Maine’s
Teacher of the Year Award this
year…Cora Brown’s corner of Pine
and Brackett once again the best-
shoveled in town…West Enders
Kathy White and Doug Bixby at
Vivid Motion’s Night Before
Burlesque show…Was that Leigh
Donaldson picking up the lunch tab
at Silly’s?!…WEN Crime Reporter
hosting a steady stream of Portland’
s movers and shakers at her Munjoy
Hill salon…West End Giants' fan
claims she was at famous Giants-
Colts Championship Game (even
though she was only five days old!)
…New Portland Civilian Police
Review Committee chair bakes a
mean batch of Christmas cookies…
When we last left DeliveryMan and
PaperBoy, they were dealing with
the first Parking Ban of the season.
Last year, when the parking ban
came, the boys just hopped into the
WestEndNewsMobile and kept
driving south until it stopped
snowing and the temperature was
over fifty degrees, which was about a
thousand miles from here on the
odometer. PaperBoy doesn’t really
mind dealing with the snow drifts
and the snow plows and the clueless
pedestrians. “If you don’t like the
way I drive, get off the sidewalk!” he
tells them…
December 4-18, 2008
Some WEN staffers were so close to the Monument Square Christmas tree at
the annual lighting that they could have reached over and flipped the ‘ON’
switch themselves…Liz McMahon’s nieces and nephews in Asheville, North
Carolina helped her create about a bazillion handmade cards for the St.
Lawrence fair on the 13th…Will King turns 19 on the 13th…Doug Emerson's
'Angels' were flying off the table at MECA's annual show at East End School...
Was that really David Sedaris who signed the guest book at St. Lawrence’s
First Friday ArtWalk show?!…First Christmas card of the season from our
Washington correspondent Ruth Riddick…West End School Committee
member Robert O’Brien says he has no intention of running against West End
City Councilor David Marshall next year…Marie Galland gets so envious when
her son Milan gets a mention in The Dumpster…
November 19 to December 3, 2008
Patrick Banks thinks Portland needs a late-night coffee shop…We finally ran
into somebody who hates The Dumpster. Go figure…Couple of local political
junkies holding up the line at Cumberland Farms having a heated discussion
about local politics (What else?!)…Should be seeing more political signs soon
in Deering Oaks Park for all the candidates in the upcoming WENA elections
(Maybe we need to hold another Head-to-Head Debate)…West End NEWS in a
video made in Churchill Manitoba, Canada - The Polar Bear Capitol of the
World…Colin Sargent signing copies of his first novel, Museum of Human
Beings, at the Smithsonian on December 13th… Leigh Donaldson back in
the loop…Elderly West End toys staging a comeback at West Street soiree early
in December …Obama supporters meeting in Portland to keep the momentum
going…Phil George from Leonardo’s advises to never put turkey on
pizza…WEN staff and St. Lawrence volunteers planning a joint shindig on
December 8th (Yes, that’s Katie Brown’s birthday - and the day before Marge
Niblock’s!)…Greens plotting party strategy at the North Star Café… Welcome
to new WEN reporter Pam Cragin…New City Councilor not related to
legendary West End laundromat owner… Tim Rich elected Chair of Portland
Democratic City Committee replacing Sive Neilan… Diane Edwards
represented Parkside in a Police Chief focus group…
Nov.4-November 18, 2008
Got an email from Selena Craig, Honorary Founding Editor of the WEN, who
now lives in Boston…Our astrologer had a great time celebrating her birthday
on November 11th…More absentee ballots this year than ever… Tina Smith
ready to step into organizing role with Green Party…Sandy Amborn is their
interim chair, replacing Brian Chick…WEN keeps getting Events Listings
from West End of London…Guy arrested at the jetport for dropping his pants -
then fighting with police… WEN Head-to-Head Debates a smashing
success…St. Lawrence Saturday Show had its first sellout with Mad
Science…Captain Vern Malloch kept order at Munjoy Hill’s annual
Neighborhood-City Staff meeting…WEN in negotiations with a couple of new
reporters…League’s Harris Parnell part of a post-election coffee klatch outside
Colucci’s…WEN’s WMPG Softball Championship Trophy almost ready for
display at Fresh Approach…Local business tycoon strolling down Congress
Street in his flip-flops talking on his cell phone in early November…
Councilor Jill Duson picked by new Council majority as new Mayor...New
development in West End would house Maine Med medical students... Next
fight over Maine State Pier may involve revisiting its zoning...Jo Coyne may be
next WENA Prez...Patrons at Congress Street Coffee by Design were dancing
and singing along to ‘70s Motown tunes on Saturday night…Next Portland
Mayor could sing the Star Spangled Banner at the Inauguration… Jim Alberty
was up at 4 AM and camped out in front of the Expo in order to be the first
one in to vote on Nov. 4th…Ron Paul received one write-in vote at the
Expo…Aepril Schaile teaching belly dance classes in Salem,Mass.- a block
away from the Witch House…Maine Dems made more than 2 million phone
calls during recent election season (in a state with only 1.3 million people)
…We knew mind reader Rory Raven would have a return engagement at the
St. Lawrence (Nov. 29th)...
October 28 to November 3, 2008
Parksider Michael Quint claims the camel ate his West End NEWS on recent
trip to Egypt…Former Munjoy Hill Rep Ben Dudley seen strategizing outside
City Hall with City Councilor Nick Mavadones…Not true that a particular
WMPG morning host charged up San Juan Hill with Teddy Roosevelt…Joe
Gelband seen in some pretty star-studded company lately…Local comedy show
interrupted by uninvited bat…Thewestendnews.com had over 1,000 visitors in
October…Deirdre NIce could be the next Grandma Moses...City Clerk still
waiting for overdue paperwork from one local candidate...King Middle School
teachers not allowed to wear homemade Obama buttons at school...
October 13-27, 2008
West End Councilor Dave Marshall gave a shout-out to the WEN at recent
Public Safety event…Former City staffer Ethan Macomber-Boxer and family
at Candidates’ Night at Longfellow School…Captain Bill Linnell sure has a
flair for unique political signs…Empire Dine and Dance filled to capacity for
Presidential election debate…Local political junkies wading through three-
volume, 2,000-page bio of LBJ in celebration of election season…WEN
switchboard lit up with locals wanting to know if they were mentioned in
Richard Lawlor’s new book… East End Beach is a great dog show in the late
afternoon…If you see Joe the Plumber, tell him we have a toilet that needs to
be fixed…Twenty singers showed up at the St. Lawrence for inaugural
rehearsal of Blue Lobster Troupe…Local reporter's cell phone went off in the
middle of the Mayor's speech at Longfellow School debate... Straight Talk
Express spotted on Milk Street in the Old Port...Maybe the City Council’s
Public Safety Committee could promote a program that could re-teach
Portland pedestrians how to cross the street safely…Local financial advisor
says her desk was set on fire by the crystal ball she uses in her work...Jackie
Lipps turned 74 on October 16th!…
September 28 to October 12, 2008
Local pol enthusiastically courting promising-looking couple – until he
discovered they were registered voters – in Pittsburgh…Some West End
campers hoping for one more adventure before the snow flies…Leonardo’s
owner Phil George claims his pizza is what makes Mona Lisa smile… Former
West End Rep John Eder walking his little dog Angel on Gray Street (No, he
wasn’t ‘doing doors’)…Munjoy Hill’s Sheila Jackson headed for big-time,
stand-up stardom… Richard Lawlor’s book is almost done…Parkside Rep.
Herb Adams has freed up schedule to join Head-to-Head debates on Oct,
30th…Bobby Lipps gave Episcopal Bishop his patented tour of the St.
Lawrence before special service on October 5th...Empire’s Bill Umbel a great
host on a busy First Friday night…Late Saturday night activity on Dow Street
may have been curtailed by dead skunk in the middle of the road… Rita
Spinella led Italian friends on whirlwind tour of the city-starting at DiMillo's...
Lee Bellavance checking out the reggae band at the Empire...Rachael
Weinstein and Lisa McNeil back in town and partying on Congress Street on
First Friday...Luke Flagg in town from Saudi Arabia...Couple of Munjoy Hill
activists talking politics on Congress Street at 1AM...Former Fotoshops owner
Kim Knight lunching at Aurora Provisions with wife Sheila and local artist...
Herb and Tom Moulton having a brew at Ruski's...Marilyn Blinkhorn dining
with friends at the Blue Spoon...Some local candidates dismayed at League of
Young Voters recent endorsements...
September 13-27, 2008
Happy 24th Birthday to Jenna Vendil of the League of Young Voters...East
End State Legislature candidate Peter Doyle the first candidate to get signs on
the peninsula....City Council candidate Dory Waxman first to hit the West
End...Tony Taylor working on new exterior design at Allen & Walker at High
& Congress...We didn't forget Steven Scharf's birthday on the 15th - did we
?!...Some local art lovers hauled off to Newton, Mass. for Carol McMahon's
show Wreckages at the New Art Center through October 26th... Happy Birthday
to our Washington correspondent Ruth Riddick (Sept. 17th)... Democracy
Now! host Amy Goodman seen getting freshened up at the Salon Paragon on
Congress Street for recent local speaking engagement... Our celebrity spotters
Peter and Terry Weyl were running into Donna Brazile (Al Gore’s campaign
manager in the 2000 election) all over town...Nancy Foss celebrated her 23rd
Birthday with her fabulous friends at Local 188 on September 10th...
August 29th to September 12th, 2008
Baysider Collette Bouchard seen reading the WEN at 125th Street and
Lexington Avenue in Harlem...John Navarra leaving Portland West for the
Big Apple...The regulars at Colucci's are sure going to miss super-clerk
Michael Quint...Plans for a Candidates' Screaming Match and Free-for-All on
hold (One candidate offered to bring Jell-o and cream pies...Dany and
Amanda at West End business Neko-Jin Designs celebrate business’s one-year
anniversary! Check out http://nj-designs.com for fuzzy happy hats, handmade
wind chimes, or a kung fu coaster!… At-large City Council candidate Tina
Smith seen pushing her niece around Munjoy Hill in a baby carriage…City
Councilor seen eating pink M&M's and drinking Eli's Strawberry Soda…Two
guys having discussion in the Old Port interrupted at the same time by cell
phone calls...Yes, that was Charlie Berry you saw walking down Congress
Street, visiting from Key West, headed to who-knows-where!...Local cigar
smoker now sucking on lollipops instead...School Committee's Rebecca
Minnick loves giving tours of Portland Observatory...Artist Jeanette Ross in
town visiting from her new Biddeford base...
August 14-28, 2008
Pop’s Painting crew did a beautiful job on the fabulous Peabody home on
Walker Street…Popeye’s Mexican Ice House?!… Brackett Street parked car got
booted…Baysider got the inside story on the ‘drinking in public’ story… Local
artist moving from Congress Street to West Street to get a little peace and
quiet…Local City Councilors hitched a ride in the WestEndNewsMobile to get
to a Franklin Street appointment on time…Bollard’s Chris Busby keeping an
eye on the paper stacks at Mr. Bagel in the Old Port… Munjoy Hill performer
Sheila Jackson the life of the party at the St. Lawrence yard sale…Don’t ask
Station A’s John Nappi if he knows the difference between a Red Sox Hot Dog
and a Yankee Frank…Hi-Tides celebrating the End of Summer with a Beach
Party concert at Club Onyx on Fore Street on Friday, the 29th… City of
Portland has unveiled a new welcome sign in Deering Oaks Park… Portland
Republican City Committee members Jay Hibbard, Vance Wheelock and State
Senate candidate Eric Lusk will be attending the Republican National
Convention -which begins on September 1st in Minneapolis, Minnesota…NBC
News at Becky's Diner on August 26th to ask how people are going to cope
with having no daily newspaper. They'll interview Rep Herb Adams too...
Portland cops nabbed hit-and-run driver while she was having Sunday brunch
at trendy local eatery... Mayor Ed Suslovic left PaperBoy in charge of the City
while he's off on vacation to Prince Edward's Island...Local artist Bob Nason
still painting and playing tennis at 85...Former West Ender Cliff Gallant says
he's not in the running for Munjoy Hill Observer Editor job...Sixtyish lady
having coffee outside Big Sky Bread wearing sequined 'Cowgirls Rule' tee
shirt... District 3's Dan Skolnik answers 'Yo!' to City Council roll call...
July 31-August 13, 2008
Brackett Street’s Matiss Duhon (and musical accompanist Erica Burkhart)
wowed the Saturday Show audience with juggling performance…Bob the
Record Guy doing great at his new location…Some West End athletes starting
training to take on the Chinese Gymnastic Team in 2012. (First step is to cut
back on the Schlitz)…Katie Brown warming up her pitching arm getting ready
for September 14th MunjFest Dunk Tank…Local party animals headed west
to Burning Man event in the Nevada desert…Jo Boni Cohen and Virginia
Collins ran a great food stand at African Cultural Museum block party… City
Council hopefuls Dory Waxman and Will Gorham seen chatting near City
Hall...If you see Cora Brown on August 21st, be sure to wish her a Happy 98th
Birthday!...Customers came from all over the city for Michelle Souliere's
August 2nd yard sale on State Street...Local artists Lee Orme and Marie
Gallant discussing aesthetics on Congress Street...WMPG might have had a
better chance against the champion WEN team if they had had DJ Deirdre
Nice batting cleanup (Not true that Manny was one of the NEWSIES many
ringers...Who knew?!There's a serious NASCAR clique in Bayside...City
Councilor Kevin Donoghue pulled over his taxicab in front of Paul's Market to
pick up the latest WEN...
JULY 16-30, 2008
Cumberland County Jail guards stopped shaving and tucking in their shirts
over contract dispute…Munjoy Hill Observer looking for new talent… Greens,
Dems, and Republicans side by side at Festival of Nations…Portland real
estate icon John Hatcher at open house at 135 Sheridan Street luxury
condos… Former Portland Mag rep Laura Grant seen about town…Prelim,
Chad Verrill’s 2008 book of comics and art, is now available at the Middle
Street Casablanca Comics… 97-year-old Cora Brown turned down
Republicans’ request for her to run for West End State Rep seat… Steven
Scharf named PPH’s Letter Writer of the Month…West Ender didn’t bring
back any flounder from recent nautical expedition… City Manager Joe Gray
back at work…Cliff Gallant working on an article about the Mayor of
Congress Street…Woman seen practicing her dance steps in parking lot on
Park Street…Portland cops hesitant about dealing with a possibly rabid skunk
on the Hill… Munjoy Hill fire trucks blocked traffic and sidewalks for recent
photo op…Big maple tree in Brackett Street back yard blown down by
windstorm… West End bull mastiff Judah recovering from his first meeting
with a skunk...Bobby Lipps back in the studio getting ready for his First Friday
art opening...
JULY 2-16, 2008
Former Parkside Rep Michael Quint forgot to take the WEN to Amsterdam
with him, but promises to take it to the pyramids in October!...Happy 50th
Birthday to WEN subscriber Dean Rossman... Local celebrity can't wait to
return from long vacation and show us his tan lines...Bike cop Danny Knight
back on duty after time on the injured list...Local crime reporter picked up a
case of poison ivy in her garden...Former CMPAC member Gloria Mallet
discussing politics with local newsman at Georgia O'Keefe exhibit at the PMA...
Ray Curry grappling with the Sunday Times crossword puzzle on the Eastern
Prom...Becky's Diner's new outdoor late-night service is fun!...Daily swimmers
at Reiche Community Center to get more parking spaces...Popeye's Ice House
may re-open soon with new owners...Jed Rathband seen in midtown
Manhattan chatting on his cell phone...Lisa Walker still planning to script the
West End NEWS movie!...Kim Curry to be part of a multi-lingual art show at
the Language Exchange on Friday, August 1st...Everett Perlman seen at
Ogunquit Playhouse for Breaking Up is Hard to Do...Corner of Pine and
Brackett, currently for sale, could see major development in coming years...
WEN Newsies ready to defend their title at the WMPG Annual Media Softball
Tournament set for July 26th... Greens Pamela Craigen and Ben Meiklejohn
at the Alive at Five concert in Monument Square...Chris O'Neil was the life of
the party at Dan Skolnik's 40th Birthday bash...Marie Galland and Yeva
Melyantsev shopping for French language books at annual St. Lawrence yard
sale...Parkside musician Jamie Lebish to play on July 20th in Vagina
Monologues...
When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they had somehow wandered
onto a nude (gulp!) beach somewhere in Long Island, New York. DelivryMan
thought it was the coolest thing he had ever seen, and PaperBoy was so pre-
occupied trying to keep his copy of the West End NEWS strategically placed
that he couldn’t even enjoy the scenery.
DeliveryMan was just about to snap a photo for the next issue of the WEN
when a gust of wind came along and swept PaperBoy’s copy right into the
Atlantic Ocean. He’s hoping nobody will recognize him in the photo with his
sunglasses on…
JUNE 18 - JULY 2
Tropa Wine Co. now open on Congress Street near Longfellow Square, just
across from Local 188...Rachael Weinstein spotted at a farm in upstate New
York on her cross-country migrant farming tour...Jay and Jackson Villani
seen recently at Fenway Park...East End Councilor Kevin Donoghue and State
Senate candidate Justin Alfond both attended the Munjoy Hill Neighborhood
Organization's annual meeting in full make-up for the 'zombie kickball' event
on the Eastern Prom which they had attended earlier...Steve Hirshon didn't do
any rock 'n rollin' on his 56th birthday (June 27th)...West Ender John Kerr
back form New York where he attended a staged reading of a new musical
version of "Please Don't Eat the Daisies." The musical is being developed for
a possible Broadway run and is based on his mother Jean Kerr's book of the
same title...Half of the WEN staff covering the last Farmers' Market... Zarra's
bringing crepes to Monument Square (Oooh la la!) ...Nobody stung at recent
beekeepers' Open Hive on Edwards Street near Tony's Donuts...Sign on Route
17 in Conneticut: "You can't get there from here!" Flash- Lee Belavance seen
in New Haven....Peter Hall and friends from Maine Historical welcomed in
summer with annual Solstice Party on Carleton Street...Former West End City
Councilor Karen Geraghty part of the Pingree contingent at Gay Pride parade...
Russ at Yes Books has a whole shelf of Granta Anthology books..Brian Chick
leaves PDD to pursue accounting degree...Former West Ender Adam Gutgsell
at Millcreek Shaw's in SoPo..
JUNE 6-18, 2008
Isabelle Weyl hoping to catch a glimpse of her neighbor-cellist Yo-Yo Ma- in
Somerville, Mass...Nancy Nevergole’s work featured at recent UNE sculpture
show…Dan Noel holding court at Starbuck’s al fresco table in Congress
Square...Joan Benoit Samuelson strolled into Homegrown Tea on Congress
Street recently…Rachael Weinstein headed west for the summer...Joan Alfond
lined up a lot of votes greeting at the polls for her son Democratic State Senate
nominee Justin Alfond…Natalie the theater cat (who used to be an Italian
supermodel) stole the show with a cameo appearance at the Bring the Funny
show at the St. Lawrence…East End City Councilor Kevin Donoghue
promoting his accomplishments with a card featuring an ice cream truck on
the front...Guy walking down Congress Street with a fake red nose strapped to
his face...Crowd at St. Lawrence astounded by Rory Raven's mind-reading
abilities...Johnny Lomba must have a whole closetful of WEN t-shirts...City
Councilor Dan Skolnik plans to celebrate hi 40th on stage at The Big Easy on
the 26th - rockin' and rollin' with A Band Beyond Description..The Humble
Farmer is allergic to cats.....
MAY 28-JUNE 6, 2008
City Councilor Jill Duson raffling off Obama merchandise at Dem State
Convention to pay for her trip to the National Convention in Colorado in
August...Local activist Carol Schiller manning Equality Maine booth at
Convention...Steve Meister pens a hot commodity...Homeowners of Munjoy
South and Washington Square discussing building a 2-foot walkway on Ponce
Street... Rumor has it that the Greens have a strong candidate to run as At-
Large City Councilor in November. Word on the street is that it's a West Ender
with a strong reputation ...Brackett Street resident nearly caused an avalanche
of fresh coffee beans at Fresh Approach recently...Will King to graduate from
the New School in Kennebunk on June 14th...Liz Rose-Cohen one of the
movers and shakers at Maine Democratic Party Convention....Missing St.
Lawrence turret found in neighbor's garden...
Pete Kilpatrick, As Fast As, and Paranoid Social Club will be playing at noon
at The Old Port Festival on June 1st... Delivery Man snagged a great pair of
shoes and a bureau during Big Trash pickup week...WEN staff will be at the
Dem Convention in Augusta, May 30-31...Enterprise Records now moving to
storefront in the Lafayette Building...Local food critic described one Old Port
restaurant's fare as "...chewy...tasteless..." and "like a cross between a raisin
and a football",,,Portland's music elite at Area Code 207 CD release party at
the Empire (including West Ender Colleen Cole...Paul's Market feeding
congressional candidates and their staffs from nearby campaign offices
during the last weeks of the campaign... City Councilor Donoghue biking to
Brennan campaign event in Woodfords Corner...Local voting activists looking
for someone to swim from the islands to the East End polling place in
November... Brendan at Strange Maine waiting anxiously for WEN Newsies
baseball practises to begin...Democrat Steve Hirshon the only visible candidate
so far in the County Commissioner race (What does a County Commissioner
do?!)...The Hi-Tides will rock The Bollard's first anniversary party at Geno's
on June 1st...Local City Councilor may be facing recall petition... Hardly
anybody passes by St. Lawrence these days without taking a picture of the
dismantling...WEN getting its first intern this week...Not much for Heavy Item
Pickup shoppers to choose from this year...WEN Foreign Correspondent Lee
Bellavance seen in Hawaii...Mayor Suslovic enthusiastically greeted by all the
Republicans at annual Truman Dinner at East End School...First campaign
sign theft of the political season reported on Munjoy Hill...Two ladies seen
lugging cinder blocks down State Street (new exercise fad?!)...Jaye Gorham
watering her new plantings on North Street...Leigh Donaldson back from the
Grand Ole Opry (Didn't know he could carry a tune!)... Johnny Lomba seen
in Monument Square in his WEN t-shirt...
MAY 14-28, 2008
What if a candidate gave a house party and nobody came?...Melinda Titus
promises to replace the last plant she gave us that we killed...That was Will
King's 1980 Chevy Chevette parked on Neal Street with its lights on...Lisa
McNeil back in town from New Hampshire... Doug Emerson looking forward
to receiving the WEN on Long Island, NY...Dave Noyes back home in the West
End after Rustic Overtones' recent tour..You know it's officially summer in the
city when Kirk Goodhue starts wearing his shorts...Local patriarch Herb Ledue
in town for volunteer work...Female hawk nesting in the antenna on top of
the Eastland Hotel - they've been known to snatch small dogs/cats..Awful
Annie's on the Hill could be the next hip hot spot in town...Green Sandy
Amborn resting up for the general election now that Ben Meiklejohn has
dropped out of the East End legislative race,,,Marie Galland adding to her
jewelry collection at Good Cause's big, half-price sale in preparation for its big
move... Coffee by Design opening a branch inside L.L.Bean...Mike Brennan
and Dan Skolnik talking politics on Exchange Street...Jackson Villani never
forgets a Yankee fan's face,,,State Senate candidates Alfond, Ginn and Rand
at 100 State Street...Public Works behind on street-sweeping this year because
of budget and manpower shortage, and extra sand on the street due to snowy
winter... Mayor and entourage back from Russia...Bobby Lipps sold a bunch of
paintings at his inaugural art show, catered by The Front Room, at the St.
Lawrence on Bobby's 55th birthday (April 29th)...
May 1-14, 2008
Chellie Pingree, Jerry Conley (Sr.&Jr.), Jim Cloutier among the many heavy
hitters giving a standing O to Harlan Baker's world premiere boffo
performance of Jimmy Higgins at the St. Lawrence...West End Cleanup Day
Saturday...Former Forecaster reporter Peter Smith at Rabelais for promotion
of his work in Gastronomica and show of photos by Julia Thomas...Green
candidate Sandy Amborn and Chair Brian Chick plotting campaign strategy
over Sunday morning coffee on Councilor Marshall's front steps...Munjoy Hill
artist Don Ogier impressed with WEN's Anti-Terrorist Training story...WCSH's
Peter Weyl thinks Cuban cigars are overrated... Bunch of kids on Tate Street
making some extra vacation money washing cars for $5 a pop...Two 1st
District congressional candidates seen chatting on Congress Street...Brackett
Street opossum got a free Earth Day transport to Evergreen Cemetery by the
City's Animal Control Officer...Republican congressional candidate Dean
Scontras caught off guard when a local Democrat (and Yankee fan) stopped
by his Longfellow Square office for a visit...West End State Rep Jon Hinck
stopped to talk to constituents outside Coffee by Design on Congress Street...
Justin Alfond knocking on doors on State Street...Latest fad on the Hill: Cat
Walking...Hard to find a parking space at Back Cove with everybody getting in
shape for bikini season...Lot of former Sea Dogs now playing at Fenway...
Patrick Quinlan and Joy Scott visiting former West End school rep Stephen
Spring in Austin, Texas... Sox fan checking Sox-Yankee score on his cell
phone during recent State Senate candidates' forum...City Dem leader Sive
Neilan is also an expert parallel parker...Local elected official reports her car
was broken into and she found a Ford key in the ignition of her Saab, with an
Alcoholic's Anonymous medallion and a Heineken bottle opener...Bollard's
Patrick Banks goes straight to The Dumpster when he gets his new WEN...
Jack Glynn back from a little jaunt to Mexico...Deb the Plant Lady planning
to join WENA...Stained glass windows being removed from St. Lawrence
sanctuary in preparation for dismantling..
April16-30,2008
Some local art critics think the SOPO oil tanks should retain their industrial
look and not get all arted up...Roller derby girls a big hit at the Expo...Orlando
and Judy Delogu back from trip to Chicago with rave reviews for their art
museum, which is currently featuring a Winslow Homer exhibit (Some of it
on loan from the PMA)...WENA now requiring absent board members to have
a proxy at monthly meeting... Portland West's Crystal Barone supplied great
desserts for last WENA meeting...Reiche art teacher Allison Villani training
her students to be Red Sox fans...Lots of local media in St. Dom's bell tower
for recent bell-raising...Portland Police Captain Joe Loughlin special guest of
local book group...Mayor Suslovic not expected to get the Truman Award from
his fellow Dems this year...Nancy Foss still fighting the temptation to become
part of the cell phone generation...Big changes coming to Fat Baxter's on the
Hill...Parkside Director Zoe Miller will take a few weeks sabbatical after giving
birth to her first child around June 1st...The al fresco tables are on the
sidewalk at the West End Deli...San Francisco-based Mira Betz, belly dancer
extraordinaire, coming to town in June...Fence-painting season starting in the
West End...N'East Mag designer Danny Louten surfing around the Old Port...
State Senate candidate Justin Alfond back campaigning on the peninsula after
a month in District 3 (Deering)...Former WENA VP Patrick Baldwin paid a
surprise visit to neighborhood meeting on April 9th... Kate Suslovic, the
Mayor's 13-year-old daughter, was King Middle School Geography Bee Champ
for second year in a row...Barbara and Ron Ward out walking their one-year-
old twins on the first nice day of the Spring...Patrick and Gary from Local 188
using homemade pinhole camera to take pictures in Bayside...Strange Maine
celebrated its 5th Anniversary on April 1st...We're hoping Carol McMahon
(who celebrates her birthday on the 27th) will send us photos from Italy...West
End Councilor Dave Marshall's art now showing at the Empire on Congress
Street...Local ducks taking advantage of giant puddle that formed at the
Somerset Street recycling spot...
April 2-16, 2008
Marga Hanson - often seen at the Hilltop Coffee Shop or the White Heart -
back in town from Brooklyn. She now works at one of the coolest bars in
Manhattan…Happy Birthday to Ann Cowie on April 13th… SALTeen Jessica
Hasslen has current exhibit of Kenyan photos at St. Cloud State U.
(Minnesota!)…Bobby Lipps’ 55th Birthday bash at the St. Lawrence will be
the social event of the year!…WEN got the following listing from a lady who
thought we were in the OTHER West End: For jazz listings: Michael Garrick,
first solo piano concert by jazz composer and pianist, Hinde Street Church,
London W1U 2QJ (between Bond Street and Baker Street stations), tickets at
the door: £9 / £7, 8 pm. (We’ll be there!)…Some local Yankee and Red Sox
fans are calling a truce so they can attend one last game at Yankee Stadium
this summer…WENs Puzzlers were puzzled this week…Some Grant Street
residents planning big Earth Day cleanup…One reader couldn’t find West End
Nellie in last issue…Amy at Portland Mag got surprised at her birthday bash
by guy who walked in and had a piece of her birthday cake… One West Ender
drove to Rite Aid, did his shopping, and walked home. Remembered his car a
few hours later… Richard Lawlor celebrated his 40th (AGAIN!)…What were
coffee shops like before laptops?!)… Former West End Rep John Eder at Earl
Shuttleworth’s lecture at One Longfellow Square…Artists will soon be filling
up Congress and Monument Squares…Ruth Summers was a big hit at latest
congressional debate pinch-hitting for her husband Charlie Summers. She
said you could tell them apart because “he would never wear a dress this short!”
…Joe at Paul’s Market rescued the WEN news rack from a recent midday
downpour…Former police Chief Mike Chitwood hasn’t yet declared his
candidacy for any of the open local political offices…Weekly trash pickup
could be a casualty of the City’s annual budget crunch… Happy Birthday,
Lisa Meyer (You thought we forgot you!)…
March 19- April 2, 2008
Former Fotoshops owner Kim Knight (the guy with the Hawaiian shirts)
opening a hot dog restaurant in Old Orchard Beach…Nice U-turn on Congress
Street by local political operative. Must have been heading to the St. Paddy’s
Day bash at The Ice House…Get well wishes to Al Diamon (who proved that
even a real Mainer can have difficulty making it through a real Maine winter)
… Dem’s City Chair Sive Nielan a very entertaining debate
moderator…Former Water District candidate Keith Gibson a world-class
Apples-to Apples player…Local cops received a 911 call about a guy riding his
bike down Congress Street with a three-year-old on the handlebars… Some
West Enders think a gong chair should be the centerpiece of the redesigned
Andrews Square…Chet from Fresh Approach getting his knees stretched for
upcoming softball season…Spell Check Dept: Anne (with an ‘e’ ) Pringle and
Leana (one ‘n’) Good-Simpson. How come nobody’s named Mary or Bob
anymore? Except Solotaire…uh, oh… Shana Barry says her husband (former
Casco Bay Weekly investigative writer Chris Barry) still calls this rag the ‘West
End Snooze’…Caroline Rose O’Brien (two weeks old) celebrating her first St.
Patrick’s Day outside the Ice House…
When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they were barreling down the
Hill in the WestEndNewsMobile, which they had painted green for St. Patrick’
s Day, trying to make it on time to the traditional West End March from St.
Dominic’s to Harborview Park. Their clock said
11:55 Daylight Savings Time, as they sprinted down State Street trying to catch
up with the bagpipers and politicians and local Irishmen who had already
stepped off ahead of the parade’s scheduled noon start time. The boys tried to
cut off the parade by taking the Gray Street shortcut, but the pipers were
already headed down Tate Street by the time the boys got to Spring. By the
time they caught their breath and made the last dash to York Street, the flags
had been raised, the speeches made, and the pipers were putting back on their
wool trousers. The only thing they could figure was that someone must have
been in an awful hurry to get to Popeye’s Ice House to start celebrating…
February 20-March 5, 2008
WCSH bigwig a little jealous because his daughter is always in The
Dumpster…Local butcher owes local reporter a bottle of Schlitz (Yea, the beer
that made Milwaukee famous!) for betting that Paul Harvey is no longer with
us. (He’ll be 90 in September!)…We love it that Deirdre Nice’s birthday is on
Valentine’s Day!...Is it true that local cops have taken up writing poetry?!...
Portlander Steve Huston in Juneau, Alaska and brought his copy of the West
End News to take a photo and the TSA (Homeland Security) at the airport
took it out of his bag and confiscated it! We mailed him another one…Guy at
local public restroom surprised when historic walking tour got mistakenly
guided through…We’re expecting some hot WEN photos soon from the Virgin
Islands…Senator Brennan and West End Rep Jon Hinck at Monument Square
rally protesting legislation targeting “Violent Radical and Homegrown
Terrorists”…We think the West End’s Plant Lady saw her shadow recently and
will soon be out in the garden…Former Portland City Councilor considering a
run for Cumberland County Commission…Potential candidates are starting to
line up to run for the East End State House seat currently held by Anne Rand,
who is running for the State Senate…No local pols have yet announced any
intentions to try to take over for ailing Cuban premier Fidel Castro…City Clerk
Linda Cohen must be wondering if those lines around Portland High School
for the Democratic Caucus will translate to lines around City Hall on Election
Day…We hear there’s a movement afoot to ban dim bulbs from the State
Legislature (it’ll never pass)…
When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they were stocking up on
popcorn and red wine and Spanikopita in preparation for Academy Awards
Night. PaperBoy just loves the Oscars and DeliveryMan loves them too but he’s
really more of a Super Bowl kind of guy. Anyway, the boys get dressed up in
their tuxedos and get their snacks all lined up and make little side bets on who’
s going to win in each category and then they yell and scream for three or four
hours or however long it takes. Last year DeliveryMan had to run over to the
West End Deli during a break because they ran out of black bean quesadillas
and he got back just in time to collect on his $2 bet for Best Supporting
Actress…
Prospective Cumberland County Commissioner candidate Steve Hirshon (right)
- on the campaign trail kissing the first baby of the election season.
“Hey, Dude, You Won’t Believe What Just Happened to Me…”
While other drivers on Congress Street were scrambling to get out of the way of
a passing ambulance on February 19th, one driver decided to take advantage
of the stopped traffic to attempt a U-turn in his late-model SUV.
As soon as the ambulance screamed by, the driver, who was also on a cell
phone at the time, spun his vehicle into the East-bound lane, ending up
behind a little old lady who had pulled aside to get out of the way of the
ambulance.
Unfortunately, the lady didn’t notice the U-turner, and backed up into his
front bumper, then took off toward Longfellow Square, apparently without
realizing she had hit anything. The other driver pulled into the 7-Eleven
parking lot to assess the damage. It is not known if the accident was reported to
police. Meanwhile…
Have Vehicle-Will Park
Police issued numerous summonses to the West End driver of a Ford Explorer
who left his vehicle parked at the end of Houlton Street, a one-lane dead end
street in the West End, while he stopped to visit a friend on Brackett Street.
The driver appeared after about 20 minutes to find a line of agitated Houlton
Street residents backed up on the street, and a Portland police officer
inspecting the vehicle, which was also straddling the sidewalk, causing
pedestrians to wade into the ice and slush of the gutter to continue their
journeys.
February 6-20, 2008
West Ender Brian Chick chosen as the Chair of the Portland Green
Independent Committee… First brother Bob Baldacci to leave Ocean
Properties to join forces with former Portland Mayor George Campbell as a
development team (they could be looking at the West End waterfront)…
Hilltop Coffee Shop just about to make the move from 99 Congress across the
street next to FatBaxters…look for a watch shop to occupy the old 99…Munjoy
Hill residents spoke out at CDC meeting about Adams School re-use… Many
want it to house “community space” and Bob Lipps wants to make sure the
trees he helped plant in the 1960s stay put… Councilors Marshall and
Donoghue spoke against I-295 widening at MDOT's public forum…
Evangeline's the restaurant to replace at the former Uffa location, may face a
tough liquor license hearing on 2/25... Jan Beitzer of PDD to lead effort to
prohibit skateboarding in the downtown again… Portland Green Independents
to caucus at 12 noon on Sunday 2/10 in the State of Maine Room in City
Hall…Councilor Marshall hoping that Obama wins the Democratic primary.
(He was a guest server at Herb Adams’ Fuel Assistance Dinner in Parkside on
Saturday, February 2nd)… West End artisan/ entrepreneurs Dany and
Amanda can now be found at www.nj-designs.com, the website for their craft
business Neko-Jin designs. One popular line is their Nine Tails All-Natural
Knits--funky, individual, unique works of wearable art. Paperboy is addicted to
collecting their magnets!.. Which City Councilor has earned the nickname
“Councilor Schoolboy” after his Russian name?!…
When we last left Paperboy and Deliveryman, they were trying to make some
money by selling an old computer on Craigslist. Paperboy was almost duped by
a “Mrs. Danilara Lara” from the U.K. who was going to send a money order
for twice the amount of the computer and told Paperboy to wire her back the
remainder. Suspicious, Paperboy asked Deliveryman if something seemed fishy
about the whole thing, whereby Deliveryman pointed out that it sounded
exactly like the scams all over the Internet that they warn you about. PaperBoy
is beginning to wonder what DeliveryMan did for a living in his previous
incarnation…
January 9-23, 2008
City Hall’s Amy Grommes Pulaski celebrated a big birthday on January 6th…
Bobby Lipps may still be packing boxes with all the buildings from his
spectacular Christmas Village…The Star East Café in Woodfords Corner is the
newest stop for DeliveryMan and PaperBoy…Lady rolling a big orange ball
down Congress Street…Guy at the Ice House wanted a 1979 back issue of the
WEN (We didn’t start ‘til 2001)…PDD’s Jan Beitzer doing some winter
trimming in front of her Park Street pad…Some local guy bet on the Giants to
beat the Pats! LOSER!...Lot of West Enders at recent Munjoy Hill burlesque
show…Patrick Ian Banks becoming one of Portland’s more prolific
writers…Good time of year to give blood (and get free coffee!)…If you haven’t
found West End Nellie yet, here’s a hint - GO BACK!...Old West End hippie
got a haircut!...West End’s Tavia Gilbert one of the stars of Eclipsed, now at
the St. Lawrence…Those senior hockey guys at the Portland Ice Arena are a
rough lot…Harlan Baker’s one-man play had a successful first reading at the
Dana Warp Mill…Local surfer and real estate mogul Dana Trumann was
‘hangin’ 10’ in OOB during the holidays…Forecaster reporter Peter Smith on
his way to Boston to write for The Christian Science Monitor…
When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they were dressing up like a
couple of hula dancers to see if they could spook Mother Nature into forgetting
that this is January in Maine and it’s supposed to be 20 below zero with six-
foot snow drifts everywhere. So the boys are doing their tropical dance routine
across the peninsula, everywhere from the Blue Room on the Hill to the
Smoker’s Depot on St. John Street, and don’t you know it, the temperature
suddenly starts getting into the 40s and even the 50s and the sun comes out
and the icewalks are starting to turn into slush ponds and local merchants are
starting to think about Spring Clearance sales. But the boys are smart enough
to leave on their longjohns under their hula skirts, and they didn’t even bother
to take off their snowmobile boots…
Bobby’s got that Christmas spirit!
November 1-14, 2007
Former Portland Mayor Tom Kane got one write-in vote for District 3 School
Committee when the votes were tallied at Temple Beth El... Another write-in
was Arthur Fonzerelli - The Fonz - from TV's Happy Days, played by Henry
Winkler... Rabbi Carolyn Braun was greeting voters at Temple Beth El with
"Hi, I'm Rabbi Carolyn Braun and I'm a friend of God"... West Ender Cora
Brown still going strong at The Portland Exposition Building polling station...
Former City Hall beat reporter Mark Shaughnessy in town to support his
longtime buddy, new City Councilor John Anton...
October 17-31, 2007
No Yankee-Red Sox showdown this year...West End School Committee
member Robert O'Brien putting up a Cloutier sign at State & Spring...City
Council candidate Dan Skolnik got personal WEN delivery on Federal Street...
Everyone was at the Young Voters' Step Up to the Plate Awards on October
3rd...Some West Enders concerned about citywide jaywalking epidemic...
Munjoy artist Richard Wilson has a great show at the June Fitzpatrick Gallery
on High Street...High profile local artist, musician, and writer cornered for a
group photo op in front of Paul's Market by MECA photo student (Maybe
she'll send us a copy)...Was that Young Voters' Justin Alfond sprinting out of
City Hall to his next critical engagement?!... Bill Doukas’ reputation for Greek
cuisine spreading wildly in the West End…Former West End State Rep John
Eder may be slowly stepping back into the local political scene… Parkside
State Rep Herb Adams keeping his eye on wild parties at USM Congress Street
dorm keeping his constituents awake all night…West End City Councilor Dave
Marshall planning to reconfigure Andrews Square…City Council candidate
having cupcakes in Tommy’s Park strategizing with his campaign
manager…Arizonan Jane Simpson in town for a couple of weeks… Lots of
politics lined up for next issue of the WEN… Some local artists painting their
own arty signs in support of local candidate…Munjoy Hill Neighborhood
Organization has a lot of regrouping to do after recent battles…
When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they were pasting up signs all
over the Peninsula saying “DeliveryMan and PaperBoy for Portland Water
District.” The last time the boys got into politics, they ended up not talking to
each other for two weeks because PaperBoy got twelve votes and DeliveryMan
only got four and even the City Clerk was mad at both of them for gumming
up the City’s whole electoral system…
October 4-17, 2007
Former Mayor Tom Kane looking tanned, rested and ready to run at recent
City Council meeting…Had to send extra WEN issues to subscriber Carol
McMahon to distribute to all of her new friends in China…Great Old Port
Pharmacy billboard on the side of local sanitation truck…Ladies from 100
State Street thrilled to meet PaperBoy at annual Retired Senior Volunteer
Program (RSVP) luncheon…Eggbot joined local surf band The High Tides
just in time to keep them from being washed up…Percy Cycles in Bramhall
Square closing shop…Local Red Sox lover Catherine Fisher hoping her boys
get a chance to wipe up the field with the hated Yankees… Now that UFFA is
gone from Longfellow Square, where will Sunday morning brunchers line
up?!...Former City Councilor Will Gorham erecting political billboards on the
Eastern Prom…New garden at the Hill House great spot for an alfresco
lunch…Lucas Tree workers surprised to find a bag of dog poop hanging from
a limb on Cushman Street…Cunningham Books’ expansion moving right
along…Lot of West Enders walking to work got caught in recent surprise
morning rainstorm…Get well wishes to Helen of the former Goodfinds…Lots
of political lobbying at the Wednesday farm market in Monument
Square…Downtown bike cops leading the Department in arrests…Happy
Columbus Day to our many Italian friends!...
When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they were getting ready for their
biggest night of the year – when they dress up and go door to door begging for
people to give them stuff. No, they’re not running for Portland City Council,
they’re getting ready for Halloween! DeliveryMan wants to be GI Joe this year,
because when he was a kid, his mother always dressed him up for Halloween
like Batman or The Incredible Hulk or some other sissy. PaperBoy, on the
other hand, is thinking of going in a kinder, gentler direction, like maybe
America’s Next Top Model. When you think about it though, sometimes it
seems like every day is Halloween for DeliveryMan and PaperBoy…
September 19-30, 2007
PPH’s Bill Nemitz got his latest WEN personally delivered at The Udder Place
on Brighton Avenue…Parkside’s Tony Holt having a leisurely breakfast at
Aurora Provisions… Bollard’s Chris Busby celebrated publication’s second
issue with takeout from Bangkok Thai…Moviegoers planning to see The 11th
Hour walked into a wedding instead at the Nickelodeon recently… Water in the
dunk tank at Munjfest was too cold for some local celebrities to take a
dip…Dugan Murphy in town from Cincinnati…Local novelist Patrick Quinlin
tore himself away from latest book to attend candidate debate on Sept.
18…Laura Fuller’s stained glass studio thriving on Munjoy Hill…Richard
Wilson one of the local art stars shining at the annual Black Frame show in
Bayside… Nancy from West End Deli headed to Western New York State for
family get-together…Chet from Fresh Approach anxiously awaiting arrival of
2007 WMPG Championship trophy…One City Councilor threatening to -take
local reporter out in the parking lot…Bayside’s Tom Blackburn and Ron
Spinella returning lots of empties to East End Redemption Center…West End
Community Policing looking to move from its Danforth Street locale…Local
NY Giant football fans anxiously awaiting 2008 baseball season…Happy
Belated Birthday to Portland’s favorite gadfly Steven Scharf (Sept.15) and
Ruth Riddick, WEN’s gal in Washington (Sept.18)…
When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they were sitting idly idling the
WestEndNewsMobile in front of Coyne’s Laundromat, when one of those
smart-aleck, know-it-all City Council candidates strolled up to them and asked
“Do you know about the ten-second rule?”
Well, DeliveryMan, another know-it-all, was sure it had something to do with
eating food that had fallen on the floor, but Mr. Future City Councilor tells
the boys that it has to do with the fact that you save gas if you turn off you car
engine if you’re going to be idling for more than ten seconds. Well, the boys
couldn’t even see the point of idling for less than ten seconds, so they turned
off the engine to save gas, and now they’re trying to get the
WestEndNewsMobile started again so they can resume their delivery route.
They always get in trouble when they start listening to these City Councilor
types…
Local publisher gorging himself on local
gossip…
September 5 - 19, 2007
Guy ran out of gas in the middle of High Street in Congress Square on Friday
afternoon… This just in: Visitor to the other Portland reports that at the Art
Walks out there, they feature nude bicycle jousting…Local actor Sean Demers
headed for New York City with Equity Card in hand....Actor Lou Solomon
returns to Portland after several years hiatus. Expect to see him performing
Shakespeare soon… Natalie the theater cat is back at the St. Lawrence after a
two-day adventure that ended at the Cumberland Animal Shelter. She’ll be
wearing a collar from now on…Less than two months to Election Day… Taxi
driver asking directions while driving up Walker Street probably could have
found Brackett Street on her own if she just kept going about another 20
yards…Hackers knocked Congressional candidate Mike Brennan’s website
offline for a few hours…Gang from PMA gave Isabelle Weyl a rousing sendoff
to school in Boston…Local Sea Dogs fan holding onto poster autographed by
Red Sox’ rookie no-hit sensation Clay Buchholz…Bollard’s Chris Busby,
Forecaster’s Kate Bucklin, and West End NEWS’ Ed King dishing the inside
dirt on the Maine State Pier and Portland School Department on Steve
Hirshon’s WMPG morning show…Local Yankee fan thinking about starting a
coffee klatch for fellow Evil Empire partisans…
When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they were thinking about
skipping the fall season and jumping into full winter mode: take out the air
conditioners and put in the window insulation; get the camping gear out of the
trunk of the West EndNewsMobile and start waxing the cross-country skis; put
away the flip flops and break out the snowmobile boots. Then the boys
realized that autumn also brings election season, also know as “the only time
we make any money around here.” PaperBoy started commenting on how
beautiful the leaves looked when they started turning and told DeliveryMan to
hold off on the long underwear…
Suspect Nabbed in Clown Nose Theft
Ronnie Roy Icke, 41, of Portland, was arrested on August 26 around 6 PM in
reference to a reported theft at Longfellow Square. A street performer stated
that a red clown nose, a brown hat, and two rainbow socks had been stolen.
Officers searched the area for a suspect and saw Icke, who matched the
description of the person who took the items. During the course of stopping
Icke, they discovered a folding lock-blade knife in his possession. Subsequently,
they found a red clown nose, a brown hat, and two rainbow socks.
Icke was arrested and charged with carrying a concealed
weapon. –Marge Niblock
Saturday, 15
3rd Annual MUNJFEST
11am - 5pm (Rain Date Sunday)
A day of food, fun, and frolic - all in the name of building neighborhood
spirit on Munjoy Hill.
This year, we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Portland observatory.
Congress St. will be closed from North St. to Merrill St.
The attractions will include:
*Celebrity dunk tank *Moonbounce *Ball Pit *Balloon Twister *Graffiti
Art competition *Performances by local musicians *Kids dress-up area *Kids
bicycle course and bike registration *Silent Auction *Portland Harbor
Museum with a "History in the Making" interactive table, and walking tours.
*The "MunjMinster Dog Show"
Local artists, small businesses, nonprofits, and service providers will all be here
exhibiting, selling, and informing. If you would like to participate in any way,
please contact Randee Bucknell at 615-8145.
AUGUST 22-SEPTEMBER 5, 2007
The combined Bollard/West End NEWS team took home the trophy after this
year’s WMPG Independent Media Softball Challenge by defeating the radio
guys in two close games! (Our ringers beat their ringers) The trophy will be on
display at Fresh Approach Market (which contributed three generations of
players to the winners!)…Happy belated birthday to Anne Schaff…Former
West Ender Dawn filling in at the North Star Café…Guy driving around
Munjoy Hill looking for a miniature golf course…Get well wishes to Marie
Gray after her bicycle accident on Peaks Island…Local book group members
OK after car crash in the Old Port…Former West Ender Cliff Gallant enjoying
life on the Hill…West Ender Rick Ackerman made a good showing in the first
annual
Portland Triathlon…Guy with arm in a sling on Congress Street having
trouble talking on cell phone and lighting a
cigarette at the same time…Harlan
Baker’s one-man show will premiere
at the St. Lawrence in the spring…
Ran into Congress Square Norm
taking his daily constitutional in Old
Orchard Beach…City Councilor
Donna Carr has taken to lying on a
couch during Council meetings to
relieve her bad back (“I’m still
listening,” she promises constituents)
… Photo by
Marge Niblock
Stinky the Skunk has been making
regular visits to an East End garden.
When we last left DeliveryMan and PaperBoy, they were trying to get a
lobsterman to row them to an island up north so they could go camping and
get away from the hubbub for a few days. The lobsterman didn’t mind rowing
the boys to their vacation spot, or even posing for the obligatory WEN publicity
photo, but when the thunder and lightning started he was headed back to the
mainland before the boys could talk him out of one of the day’s catch for their
holiday dinner…
The Bollard/West End NEWS team – the 2007 WMPG Independent
Media Softball Challenge Champions.FormerPat
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