Featured Archives - The West End News

Portland Fine Craft Show returns, but with new downtown location

The Portland Fine Craft Show returns for its sixth season with a juried fine craft show on Saturday, August 28...

Can Portland Be Saved? (Part 1)

La Vida Local FIrregular Notes on West End Life By Rosanne Graef Can Portland Be Saved? (Part 1) Ar...

A vibrant, growing community of hope

By Northern Light Mercy Hospital If there is a secret recipe for helping mothers overcome substance abuse and...

Ebenezer Akakpo: Art that helps us live Interdependently

Ebenezer Akakpo: Art that helps us live interdependently Every month PelotonLabs co-founder Liz Trice intervie...

Portland Conservatory of Music’s New Home in Portland’s West End

By Tony Zeli Portland Conservatory of Music is moving to the West End and hopes to start music instruction in...

People should know that Portland (ME) is an outdoorsy city

Despite being situated in the most outdoorsy state in the east and beside the vast wilderness of the Atlantic...

A Future for Reiche Community Center

La Vida LocalIrregular Notes on West End LifeBy Rosanne Graef A Future for Reiche Community Center http:/...

Hour Exchange: Spending Time in Portland

By Eric Fleischmann Since 1971, when its convertibility into any precious metal was suspended, the US dollar h...

How to choose the right sun protection

By Dr. Oren Gersten In recent years concerns have been raised about the effect of sunscreen on both human heal...

Travel Namibia and Botswan-AH! Adventure Travel with Nancy Dorrans

By Nancy Dorrans In the spring of 2017, a small Adventure Marketplace group began an almost three-week journey...

Fixing Climate Critical to Protect Us from New Infectious Diseases

We’re All in this TogetherClimate Solutions Beyond Your Backyard As we begin to recover from Covid, fixi...

How Affordable Health Care Can Fix the Worker Shortage

By Dr. Oren Gersten The big economic news story of the last month has been the worker shortage. As people beco...

Rethinking Food and Wine: Starting with Unusual Sake Pairings

By Layne V. Witherell It is time to move away from the mundane and take two steps into the miraculous. The pho...

Analysis: Portland Charter Commission faces far-reaching issues

Political enthusiasm may be too great for the charter commission to take a narrow view of their role By Tony Z...

An Ongoing David Vs. Goliath Struggle Against Big Oil and for Clear Skies

A Brief History of the Fight for Clear Skies in South Portland By Espahbad Dodd Speaking with people around to...

Surviving Cancer: What’s next? – By the cancer care team at Northern Light Mercy

Surviving Cancer: What’s Next? By the medical team at Northern Light Mercy Cancer Care All of us, or some...

2 Ways to Support Local Business this Summer

By Mary Alice Scott, PBL Executive Director It’s no secret that local businesses have been hurting for the pas...

Alerts: Attack in West End; High rate of bike thefts

Community Safety Alerts Police Investigating Attack in West End The Portland Police Department is investigatin...

Exploring the Val d’Orcia on Foot with Nancy Dorrans

Exploring the Val d’Orcia on Foot By Nancy Dorrans Outside is forever where I’d rather be. A hiking adve...

Adilah Muhammad: The Third Space and Maine’s Black Cultural Infrastructure

Adilah Muhammad: The Third Place Builds Maine’s Black Cultural Infrastructure Every month PelotonLabs founder...

Build Back Better: Reiche Community Center

La Vida LocalIrregular Notes on West End LifeBy Rosanne Graef Build Back Better: Reiche Community Center The C...

The West End News Garden Survival Guide

Garden Survival Guide Thanks to climate change, even our favorite outdoor activities seem filled with risk. He...

Metro Hits Pause on New Bus Routes

Metro pauses proposal to eliminate Route 8 and create a Portland Peninsula Circulator. Regional transit operat...

WINE DIRECT TO YOUR DOOR

By Layne V. Witherell There have been three dramatic changes over the past year in the world of wine. The firs...

Lead in Portland’s Soils – Free tests for gardeners

Lead in Portland’s Soils Free soil tests for gardeners in Bayside, East Bayside, Parkside, and West End...

Kasandra Thach: Ending youth incarceration and making sure that everyone knows that they have leadership skills and power within them

Every month PelotonLabs founder Liz Trice interviews a community member for The West End News. This month Liz...

The Rise and Fall of the Pine Street Theatre

WEST END PEOPLE The Rise and Fall of the Pine Street Theatre In the spring of 1988 the building on the corner...

Community Print News: Takes a Licking, Keeps on Ticking

La Vida LocalIrregular Notes on West End Life By Rosanne Graef Takes a Licking and Keeps on Ticking Who would...

Thoughts on food and wine after 20 years in Portland

Layne’s Wine Gig WEN AT 20: Thoughts on food and wine By Layne V. Witherell The tourist is led; the traveler s...

Community Newspaper Celebrates 20 Years

WEN survives despite the decline of print media By Tony Zeli When I took over The West End News in 2014, I’m s...

Is This Any Way to Run a Newspaper?! -By Ed King

By Ed King Previous WEN Publisher & Editor Ed King shares memories from the first years for publication! A...

Knee Pain and Osteoarthritis

By Bruce Gomberg, MD FAAOS and Stephen Rodrigue, MD FAAOS Osteoarthritis, which is the most common form of art...

Stay the Course, West End

La Vida LocalIrregular Notes on West End Life By Rosanne Graef Stay the Course Did you watch the Covid-19 Memo...

Toxic Fumes II: Living in a Sacrifice Zone

CLIMATE JUSTICE FEATURE Toxic Fumes Part 2Living in a Sacrifice Zone By Espahbad Dodd This is the second insta...

Practices for Making the Most of Challenging Years

By Michael Stern For many of us, 2020 was one of the most challenging years of our lives. As we move through 2...

A physician perspective on health equity

HEALTH CARE COMMENTARY A physician perspective on health equity By Dr. Oren Gersten Equity means considering f...

Video: Portland residents help one another during Covid-19 pandemic

What did I do during the Covid-19 pandemic? Below is a short video of Portland, Maine residents who helped eac...

Western Prom Tree Removal Called ‘Clear Cutting’

Removal of Invasive Trees on Western Prom Concerns Neighbors By Tony Zeli The removal of an invasive species o...

Layne’s Wine Gig – Flying Under the Radar

LAYNE’S WINE GIG FLYING UNDER THE RADAR By Layne V. Witherell Our oddest Sunday brunch experience ever (...

Western Cemetery in Need of Love & Attention

WEST END PLACES FEATURE Western Cemetery in Need of Love & Attention One could consider the western cemete...

Children’s Museum Installs Exhibits at New Location on Thompson’s Point

Whether you were out walking the Western Prom on Christmas Eve morning to catch some views or dashing down I-2...

All the info you need to survive city life this winter

PORTLAND WINTER STORM SERVICES All the info you need to survive city life this winter Heading into the winter...

What Covid can teach us about global health and infectious disease

By Dr. Oren Gersten Infectious disease is at the forefront of people’s minds across the world. Specifica...

A Letter from Frontline Healthcare Workers

To our fellow Mainers: We are frontline healthcare workers. We are caring, hard-working professionals with fam...

Outdoor Exercise in the Winter – Parks & Rec During Covid-19

By Tony Zeli Throughout the Stay at Home orders, outdoor exercise has remained a viable option for getting out...

Munjoy Hill Development Not Affordable

Munjoy Hill Development Not Affordable As residents of Munjoy Hill, we feel compelled to clarify the picture o...

Katie Shorey: Starting Up Maine

Every month PelotonLabs founder Liz Trice interviews a community member for The West End News. This month Liz...

Support Local Business with the Buy Local Gift Guide

By Mary Alice Scott Every year, Portland Buy Local produces an annual gift guide to inspire community members...

The Rule of Nobody

READER OPINION The Rule of Nobody By Zack Barowitz Below, police from twelve law enforcement agencies deploy r...

The Terms We Use To Build One Climate Future

With properly designed cities we can greatly lower our impact on the planet while living healthy, meaningful l...

Health care costs are eating up workers’ raises

By Dr. Oren Gersten On November 3rd voters in Portland, Maine passed a ballot initiative paving the way for wo...

Turning A Corner… Into A Dark Tunnel – An Astrological Forecast

Perspectives from the SkyAstrological Forecast for December 2020 Turning a Corner… Into a Dark Tunnel By Leo K...

Covid-19 Memorial Held in West End

The West End News came together with volunteers from the neighborhood over Thanksgiving weekend to create a te...

We Need Public Funding for Cultured Meat Research

By Jon Hochschartner Jon Hochschartner is the author of a number of books about animal-rights history. He thin...

An Incomplete Guide to Dining Out on Thanksgiving

The Portland Palate Review and Photos by James Fereira When I was asked to write about options this year for p...

Do you know of a tree that should be on the Big Trees List?

Urban BIG Trees By Tony Zeli Did you know? Arborists and tree enthusiasts have been working for the last 80 ye...

Toxic Fumes in the West End

CLIMATE JUSTICE FEATURE Toxic Fumes in the West End By Espahbad Dodd The air smells like petroleum or burning...

Sauna Use Decreases Heart Attacks

By Dr. Oren Gersten Part of the job of any primary care doctor is staying up to date on the latest medical res...

Creative Ideas for All that Campaign Trash

La Vida Local: Irregular Notes on West End Life What a Pile of Trash! By Rosanne Graef By the time you read th...

The Banality of Segregation: Why Zoning Matters

Reader Opinion By Zack Barowitz Until recently, there has not been much conversation about how land policy is...

Election Day brings challenges and hope of major transformation

Perspectives from the Sky November 2020 Major Transformation Begins By Leo Knighton Tallarico We are now movin...

Dining Al Fresco in a New World

The Portland Palate Dining Al Fresco in a New World By James Fereira As a food writer, it’s been hard to know...

Get to know your city council candidates

By Tony Zeli Updated 10/23/2020 Voters have mostly made up their minds in 2020, right? Two national polls of v...

Urban Trees: Wanting to know their true economic value

By Tony Zeli If you ask any given city manager, what is the value of our city’s urban trees, the answer...

Portland Ballot Question Guide 2020 – Know your local ballot!

By Tony Zeli Portland voters will decide on six local ballot question measures this November. Five of six ques...

Viva & Andrew Zarro: Keeping the culture alive

Andrew Zarro & VivaKeeping the culture alive Every Month PelotonLabs founder Liz Trice interviews a commun...

Absentee Ballot in Maine: Your vote is secure

By Tony Zeli More people are requesting absentee ballots than ever before. In fact, the city clerk in Portland...

Busting the myths of breast cancer screening

By Diane Stoller, MD, FACS Each October we observe breast cancer awareness month, which serves as a lifesaving...

Finding Balance as Chaos Battles Order in October’s Astrological Perspective

Perspectives from the Sky – Astrological Forecast October 2020 By Leo Knighton Tallarico October’s astro...

Heritage Tree Ordinance Protects Trees in the Forest City

Spare the Woodman’s Axe Heritage Tree Ordinance to Protect Urban Trees By Tony Zeli A new ordinance in t...

What’s Wrong with Camping?

La Vida Local: Irregular Notes on West End Life What’s Wrong with Camping? By Rosanne Graef Homelessness is no...

Stressed? Ready for Dining Out? Try the Food Truck Craze

The Portland Palate Food Truck Craze Review and Photos by James Fereira It’s summer. The weather’s been beauti...

Doctors and patients unite! Time to change health care.

By Dr. Oren Gersten As a doctor who has dedicated a career to primary care and public health I have more than...

Jess Falero and Cullen Ryan talk about homelessness

Jess Falero and Cullen Ryan talk about homelessness Every Month Peloton Labs founder Liz Trice interviews a co...

How long has it been since your last health screening?

Provided by Northern Light Mercy Hospital For many, it’s been too long since their last health screening due t...

The Most Important Time of Our Lives – Astrological Forecast

Perspectives from the Sky – Astrological Forecast September 2020 By Leo Knighton Tallarico As we enter S...

Portland Farmers Market meets the pandemic, still provides great local food

THE PORTLAND PALATE Portland Farmers Market252 years of excellence in fresh, local produce Review and Photos b...

Patrick Kiruhura: Asking the right questions to feel connected

Part 2 of 2: Patrick Kiruhura on asking the right questions to feel connected to our neighbors Every Month Pel...

Top 3 Concerns Facing Local Business – By Portland Buy Local

Local Business Survey Reveals Grim Outlook By Mary Alice Scott, Portland Buy Local Every month, I sit down to...

Surviving the Pandemic at the Portland Conservatory of Music

By Jean Murachanian, Portland Conservatory of Music It’s been a crazy year, to say the least, and we continue...

Maine Craft in a Time of Corona

Maine Craft in a Time of Corona An Interview with a Maine Craft Artist By Rosanne Graef My usual summer-time h...

Safe Return To Business – Free Zoom Sessions

By Northern Light Mercy Hospital As we continue through this pandemic and all that it entails, we’ve heard fro...

Local Farms & Markets Innovate During a Pandemic

By Tony Zeli Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, interest in local foods was burgeoning. According to the U.S....

Local Takeout Reviews from The Portland Palate

The Portland Palate Review and Photos by James Fereira I begin my July review on local takeout with a correcti...

Patrick Kiruhura: Creating an environment for all cultures to thrive

Patrick Kiruhura: Creating an environment for all cultures to thrive (Part 1 of 2) Every Month Peloton Labs fo...

Protect Portland’s Trees – Bright Ideas No. 13

Protect Portland’s Trees NOTE: The West End recently experienced three significant multiple mature tree cuttin...

Providing a Safe Return to Health Care

Content Provided by Northern Light Mercy Hospital At Northern Light Mercy Hospital, the health and safety of o...

Winds of Change brought in by 2 eclipse seasons

Perspectives from the Sky Astrological Forecast for July 2020 with Leo Knighton Tallarico As we enter the seco...

How You Can Vote (and Help Others Vote, Too)

GUEST OPINION How You Can Vote (and Help Others Vote, Too) State Representative candidate for the Democratic p...

Silver Linings: Local foods & time to experiment

Tara Treichel of SeaMade Every month Peloton Labs founder Liz Trice interviews a Peloton member for the West E...

The Portland Palate on Survival and Simulation

The Portland Palate Survival & Simulation Review & Photos By James Fereira This month, I’m not actuall...

Covid-19 Customer Conduct – A little help communicating new rules

By Mary Alice Scott As businesses begin to carefully re-open, the challenges they face are immense. Portland B...

Leveraging the power of telehealth to benefit the community

Submitted by Northern Light Mercy Hospital The pandemic has changed the way we humans connect....

Venus Retrograde & Summer of Shake-Ups

Perspectives from the Sky June 2020 SUMMER SHAKE-UPS By Leo Knighton Tallarico In June 2020 the intensity and...

Harbor View Park Spring 2020 Updates

By Pamela Shaw Though we humans may be struggling, spring is on the way in Maine. At Harbor View Park, the pea...

Our Star Magnolia and other Views from the Third Floor

La Vida Local Irregular Notes on West End Life By Rosanne Graef I’ve been spending a lot of time at home latel...

Dining Out in Portland, Maine: Musings during a Pandemic

The Portland Palate Review and Photos by James Fereira We are living in frightening and uncertain times. While...

Maine partners with IDEXX to more than triple its testing capacity

Mills Administration Secures Major COVID-19 Testing Capacity Expansion for Maine Augusta, MAINE – G...

Ready to garden? Avoid the soil lead. Get a free soil test!

TESTING FIRST Some neighborhoods are eligible for free garden soil tests from the Portland Soil Lead Awareness...

Council Repeals Portland’s Stay at Home Order

Portland To Base COVID-19 Response on Governor Mills’ Reopening Plan PORTLAND, Maine — In light of Gove...

Providing our community care in new ways

By Michael Duffy, MD The COVID-19 pandemic is touching all of our lives in one way or another, and...

Three Retrograde Planets in 4 Days

Perspectives from the Sky Astrological Forecast May 2020 By Leo Knighton Tallarico May and June are transition...

Portland Stay at Home Order Extended to May 18

City Council Extends Stay at Home Emergency Order Until May 18 Requirement for employees to wear face masks be...

Overcoming Election Day Challenges

La Vida Local Irregular Notes on West End Life Updating the Perennial Resolution By Rosanne Graef Okay, I’ve b...

Creative Portland’s Artist Relief Fund… and how you can help

As the City’s official nonprofit arts agency, Creative Portland’s COVID-19 resilience plan is to create and ma...

King of the Roll – The Portland Palate

THE PORTLAND PALATE King of the Roll 675 Congress Street, Portland, ME | 207-828-8880 Review and Photos by Jam...

How Staying Apart Could Bring Us Together

Our Readers Guest Opinion By Charles Skold We’re living in a strange time of self-isolation. Our favorite bars...

A Primary Care Perspective on COVID-19

By Dr. Oren Gersten It’s important not to understate the seriousness of the health crisis we are currently exp...

Disruption Worse for Local Business than Big Chains

By Mary Alice Scott Writing a column that will be relevant for the whole month of April 2020 feels like an unu...

Dr. Oren on Wellness During Covid-19 Crisis

By Cameron Autry What are the main concerns people should have in terms of catching Covid-19? I would refer pe...

Portland Stay at Home Order Extended to April 27

City Council Adds language regarding suspending evictions; prohibiting short-term rentals PORTLAND, Maine...

City Announces Stay at Home Emergency Order

City of Portland’s Stay at Home Emergency Order Takes Effect Wednesday, March 25 at 5:00 PM Restricts al...

Governor prohibits dine-in service, bans gatherings of more than 10 people

March 18, 2020 Governor Mills Takes Further Steps to Respond to COVID-19 Augusta, MAINE – Under authority...

Whitley Marshall Advances Compassionate Leadership

WEST END PEOPLE Whitley Marshall Advances Compassionate Leadership By Tony Zeli If you could change one thing...

Young Climate Activists Urge Citizens to be ‘Climate Voters’

By Tony Zeli Youth from all across Maine gathered at polling stations on Super Tuesday, March 3rd, to remind v...

C Love Cookie Project

WEN FEATURED NONPROFIT C Love Cookie Project, L3C By Tony Zeli What motivates you to buy a cookie? Most likely...

One Longfellow Square ditches bottled water

‘Some things are more important than profit’ By Tony Zeli “If everybody is profiting off it a little bit...

Why I Oppose the Elementary School Reconfiguration

GUEST OPINION By Emily Figdor, District 2 School Board Member I am so honored to serve on the Portland School...

Parking Garage Discontent

Maine Medical Center employee garage on Saint John Street leads to the loss of on-street parking and other con...

Rewriting Their Own Story

By Sister Mary George O’Toole and Sister Miriam Therese Callnan The opioid epidemic in Maine h...

Sea Change Yoga – Featured Nonprofit

Sea Change Yoga Sea Change Yoga brings professional trauma-informed yoga instructors to people who don’t...

Fred Forsley – Pillars of Portland

Fred Forsley & Shipyard Brewing Co It’s no joke that in some parts of Portland you can throw a rock in any...

Striving to Be Idle-Free Portland

By Tony Zeli We’re well into the season of remote starters and the start and scrape, as we all struggle to war...

Climate, First Nations, and the CMP Corridor

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hold public hearing on CMP corridor During a December 5th packed public hearing,...

Ruth Goes to Washington

We’re All In This Together Climate Solutions Beyond your Backyard By Ruth Metcalfe ...

Winter Storm Services 2019/2020

During winter storm services, the City of Portland Department of Public Works cares for more than 560 lane mil...

Hannah Hamalainen: Sauna is a part of local culture

Every month PelotonLabs founder Liz Trice interviews a Peloton member for the West End News. This month Liz ca...

Support Climate Youth

We’re All In This Together Climate Solutions Beyond Your Backyard By Ed Pontius Do you wince when y...

Transportation & Land Use -Bright Ideas No. 5

November’s topic is Transportation and Land Use. This is the final component of the One Climate Future plannin...

Mary Allen Lindemann isn’t afraid to take a stand

Pillars of Portland: Mary Allen Lindemann By Cameron Autry Providing community gathering places, educating peo...

The Bow 69

69 Arrests in Bow, N.H. By Kelly Merrill Sixty-nine people were arrested and hundreds gathered to protest Merr...

Portland Buy Local – Leveling the playing field

Leveling the Playing Field By Mary Alice Scott As Portland experiences an unprecedented period of growth and c...

Thousands in Portland Take Part in Global Climate Strike

by Adam Marletta Nearly 2,000 protesters converged on City Hall on Sept. 20 to demand action to combat climate...

Whither Forest City?

La Vida Local: Irregular Notes on West End Life Whither Forest City? By Rosanne Graef Portland has long had th...

Best of Pizza on the Portland Peninsula

The Portland PalateReview and Photos by James Fereira After 29 months of writing food reviews on individual re...

Dr. Philip Thompson: Neighborhood Doctor

By Tony Zeli, Publisher & Editor Dr. Philip Thompson, a well-known and beloved West End physician, passed...

BAYSIDE BUYOUT – CITY SELLOUT

By Kelly Merrill In the midst of the worst housing crisis Portland has ever seen, the City approved the sale o...

Ethan Strimling Says Revisit Emergency Shelter Decision

By Cameron Autry Portland Mayor Ethan Strimling announced his bid for reelection in June, following more than...

Naomi Beal: Bringing Passive House building standards to Maine

Every Month PelotonLabs founder Liz Trice interviews a Peloton member for the West End News. This month Liz ca...

Pecha-What??

PechaKucha Portland’s 45th show seeks stories of empowerment By Kelly Merrill What is PechaKucha? How do...

Tom Handel – Free speech keeps community strong

By Cameron Autry Few rights enjoyed in this country are as essential to maintaining democracy as our freedom o...

Opioid Response Summit

By: Lizzy Handschy, Co-Executive Director Portland Overdose Prevention Society On Monday, July 15th over one t...

What propels an atrocity? Silence.

By Kelly Merrill Some of the issues I work on as an activist and journalist need to be unpacked before the mes...

Justin Costa Withdraws from Mayor’s Race – Endorses Two Candidates (Hint: Neither is Mayor Ethan Strimling)

MAYOR’S RACE UPDATE In July, Portland City Councilor Justin Costa withdraws from the mayor’s race. In a press...

Stop the Fast Driving!

La Vida Local Irregular Notes on West End Life Sign Up – Sign On By Rosanne Graef Signs are tricky thing...

Community Support for Asylum Seekers

By Cameron Autry Last month roughly 300 asylum seekers arrived in Portland. Mostly from the Democratic Republi...

Paul Kendrick Standing Up for Victims

PILLARS OF PORTLAND Paul Kendrick – Standing Up for Victims By Cameron Autry When the truth becomes unpleasant...

Convert War $$ to Green New Deal

By Kelly Merrill Twenty-two people were arrested on June 22nd at a protest calling for the conversion of Bath...

Portland Must-Do Summer Fun

By Mary Alice Scott With June’s arrival, fun in the sun is on everyone’s mind. Throughout the year, we encoura...

Wilma & Charles Redman – Pillars of Portland

PILLARS OF PORTLAND Wilma & Charles Redman – Supporting Culture & Community By Cameron Autry “What is...

Justin Costa to ‘Calm Things Down’

UPDATE: Councilors Justin Costa and Belinda Ray withdraw from mayor’s race. Read more: “Justin Cos...

72,287 Reasons – The Harm Reduction Model

By Kelly F. Merrill The harm reduction movement is creating a buzz in Portland with its compassionate and evid...

Hot Suppa

THE PORTLAND PALATE Hot Suppa Southern Kitchen & Bar 703 Congress Street – 207-871-5005 – www....

Now Appearing in Your Neighborhood: Invasive Plants

By Pamela Shaw Some invasive species of plants in our area are old timers, familiar to many, such as Asiatic B...

‘Spring Is Sprung, the Grass Is Riz’

LA VIDA LOCAL: IRREGULAR NOTES ON WEST END LIFE By Rosanne Graef After a couple of April false alarms (during...

John Menario & Urban Renewal

PILLARS OF PORTLAND By Cameron Autry In the history of Portland few people have left an impact as large as tha...

The Other Side of the Opioid Crisis

By Kelly F. Merrill Unintended Consequences Attempts to muscle the Opioid Crisis into submission have been a t...

Belinda Ray Jumps into Mayor’s Race

By Cameron Autry UPDATE: Councilor Belinda Ray withdraws from 2019 mayor’s race. So has Councilor Justin...

Local Restaurateurs to Open Café at Former Aurora Provisions

By Tony Zeli, Editor A new café is moving to the neighborhood in the former site of Aurora Provisions on Pine...

Figgy Wins Food Network’s ‘Chopped’

By Tony Zeli, Editor Natalie “Figgy” DiBenedetto, chef and owner of Figgy’s on Walker Street in the West End i...

Adventure Marketplace heads to Vietnam and Cambodia

By Nancy Dorrans I had never been to Vietnam nor Cambodia, yet a handful of friends asked if I would consider...

The Democrats are Also Climate Change Deniers

The Portland Phoenix made an excellent selection with their “Tweet of the Week,” for the Feb. 28, 2019 issue....

Your Taxes & the Property Reassessment

By Cameron Autry The City of Portland is conducting its first property reassessment since 2006. Given the shar...

Screening Saves Lives

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month By Dr. Chris Kleeman Colon cancer is the third most common cancer a...

Trump’s New Cold War

by Adam Marletta Trump is afraid of the socialist movement. He should be. A scourge is haunting the Trump Whit...

ProsperityME Empowering New Mainers through Financial Education

WEN Featured Nonprofit March 2019 ProsperityME empowers, through education and counseling, members of refugee...

Spencer Thibodeau First to Annouce for Mayor

By Cameron Autry First published February 2019. Last updated by Editor: 9/4/2019. In January, District 2 City...

Veterans Count Maine

WEN FEATURED NONPROFIT What happens when a veteran comes home from a tour and is without a job, without a plac...

15 Ways to Stay Safe During Winter Storms

The American Red Cross provides readers with 15 steps you can take to stay safe with the cold, snow, and ice....

New Snow Removal Rules & Fines

Don’t let winter weather slow you down. To help you get around, the City has revamped its sidewalk snow remova...

Parking Bans & Plowing 2019

For the most recent information please visit: Winter Storm Services 2019/2020. ALL THE INFO YOU NEED – P...

Edible Abundance Next to the 7-11 Parking Lot

Three years of strategic planting and coaxing demonstrate that urban food gardens can grow almost anywhere. By...

Neighborhood Spirit Alive at The 5 Spot

By Cameron Autry While some celebrate the shifting of Portland from a cozy seaside town to Northern New Englan...

Of Referenda, Moratoria & Fable

LA VIDA LOCAL: IRREGULAR NOTES ON WEST END LIFE By Rosanne Graef Ready for another round of the battle for the...

Bramhall Square Gets New Lights

Pandora LaCasse’s light designs now stretch all the way to Bramhall Square. Thanks to a new public-private par...

Thibodeau, Figdor on Path Forward

In local races this November not much has changed for the City of Portland. Councilors Nick Mavodones, Belinda...

240 Strings – WEN December Featured Nonprofit

WEN FEATURED NONPROFIT 240 Strings If the day starts with violin, you KNOW it’s going to be a great day!...

Four A Cause – Raising Awareness for Greater Portland’s Lesser Known Charities

By Tom Landry Since I started Benchmark Residential & Investment Real Estate close to 15 years ago, I’ve m...

Biofuel – Home Heating Alternative

Biofuel is Cleaner & More Local By Tony Zeli & Cameron Autry Mainers can expect sharp rises in the cos...

Biofuel in the Making

Feel Good Fuel: How Biofuel is Made By Tony Zeli, Publisher & Editor Personally, I found it hard to believ...

Greater Portland Family Promise – WEN November Nonprofit

WEN FEATURED NONPROFIT Greater Portland Family Promise Greater Portland Family Promise (GPFP) serves children...

Reiche Community: A.M. Exercise, Monday Evenings Out & More

LA VIDA LOCAL – IRREGULAR NOTES ON WEST END LIFE Reiche Community: A.M. Exercise, Monday Evenings Out & Mo...

30 Years of McAuley Residence

A Saving Grace for Women in Recovery By Melissa Skahan Substance Use Disorder is a crisis that affects all of...

Millennials Compete for Portland City Council D2

PORTLAND CITY COUNCIL ELECTION Millennials Compete for District 2 By Tony Zeli, Publisher & Editor The two...

Neighborhood School Advocates Seek Open School Board Seat

PORTLAND SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION Neighborhood School Advocates Seek Open Seat By Tony Zeli, Publisher & Edit...

Mercy State Street Goes Up for Sale

By Tony Zeli, Publisher & Editor Though it is not inaccurate to say that the behemoth hospital building on...

The Root Cellar – WEN October Featured Nonprofit

WEN FEATURED NONPROFIT The Root Cellar OUR ROOTS… The Root Cellar was started 35 years ago on Munjoy Hill by a...

Indie Biz Award Winners October 2018

By Mary Alice Scott, PBL Executive Director On October 4th, Portland Buy Local (PBL) celebrated the loc...

Portland Prepares for Self-Driving Cars

By Cameron Autry A new public private partnership has landed Portland on the forefront of the emerging market...

Unintended Consequences – A new temporary sign law has unforeseen results

LA VIDA LOCAL: IRREGULAR NOTES ON WEST END LIFE By Rosanne Graef For 41 years, Maine has been blessed by the b...

Stories of Arts and Crafts ‘From Away’

By Nancy Dorrans Every work of art has a story: the story of the idea, the story of the artist, the story of t...

Community Art Around the Corner & Underfoot

By Cameron Autry In June Rosemont Market & Bakery teamed up with Reiche Elementary School to present a new...

A vaccine that prevents cancer

By Christopher Pezzullo, DO The human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause cancer and is a common infection. In fact...

Benefits of Summer Buying

Benefits of Buying a Home in the Summer By Tom Landry The most popular time to list a home in Maine is spring....

Protecting Land Along the Appalachian Trail – Peloton Posts

Every Month PelotonLabs founder Liz Trice catches up with a Peloton member. This month Liz talks with Mark Che...

Full Spectrum Sun Protection

By Kelly Bechtel, Nursing Care Manager at Seventy-Five State Street Health Benefits of Summer Sunshine Enjoyin...

Neighbors and Relations to the North

By Nancy Dorrans I could have been Canadian. My father’s parents came to Canada from Scotland and eventu...

The fear of ticks – Some helpful advice so you don’t have to panic!

By Sara Whelan Entomophobia is the term used to describe the fear of insects. While Maine has its share of bug...

Birth Roots – WEN Featured Nonprofit

FEATURED NONPROFIT Birth Roots Birth Roots supports the community by supporting families. They provide communi...

Mercy on the Move

By Tony Zeli, Editor In May, Mercy Hospital held a community conversation concerning the move of their State S...

Portland Education Foundation – WEN Featured Nonprofit

FEATURED NONPROFIT Portland Education Foundation Portland Education Foundation raises philanthropic support to...

Pedaling Portugal’s Pathways

By Nancy Dorrans Cycling and educational adventure to Portugal… Invited on a travel industry cycling and...

Organic Lawn & Garden… It’s never too soon

By Tony Zeli, Editor The Portland pesticide ban was passed early this year. City property goes organic this su...

Browntail Moth Discovered in Portland

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By Asher Platts I recently attended a lecture by economist Dr. Richard Wolff at the University of Southern Mai...

How Portland’s Other Half Lives

By Adam Marletta Do not be swayed by the class-baiting corporate news pundits, or the vitriolic poor-bashing l...

Marijuana Citations Climb Despite “Legal” Status

Newsflash… Portland declared marijuana legal. Yet, after the first year of being legal, the number of ma...

Perspectives from the Sky – Astrological Forecast for March 2015

by Leo Knighton Tallarico March opens up a major portal of change. As this portal opens, intensified winds of...

In Maine Pot is a Homegrown Business

Marijuana is already a successful and legal business in Maine. The current medical marijuana law has been deve...

Legalization in Maine: It’s Different Here

There are several contenders to make Maine the first East Coast state to legalize marijuana. The national Mari...

La Vida Local: Irregular Notes on West End Life — KAFFEEKLATSCH!!!

By Rosanne Graef, Past President – WENA Today’s Topic: Kaffeeklatsch!!! Coffee? Tea? Hot Chocolate? You’...

The Winter of Our Discontent

By Adam Marletta “Blow, blow thou winter wind,” Shakespeare wrote in As You Like It. “Thou...

Snuggle Therapy Comes to Portland

Local Reiki master Lea Moon is launching Snuggle You Up offering therapeutic snuggling sessions from her offic...

The Agony and the Austerity of Paul LePage

Do not be fooled by Gov. Paul LePage’s faux-populist rhetoric which he adopted in his recent State of th...

Valentine’s Burlesque for a Cause

Strut on down to Geno’s Rock Club on Valentine’s Day, and for a twelve dollar cover–only ten...

Growing into the Optimal Self

A West End Gym Celebrates Its First Anniversary in the Community “You will grow into yourself,” personal train...

Perspectives from the Sky – Astrological Forecast for February 2015

Expect another big year of change in the world this year. Last spring/summer there was a Cardinal Grand Cross...

350 Maine’s Bob Klotz Responds to Adam Marletta

A letter to Adam Marletta, author of “Capitalism is Killing the Planet” Adam: I’m checking in regarding your r...

Words of Advice – Stay Off the Grass

An older gentlemen, Paul, reported an audacious scam to the West End News. One evening while walking around th...

Capitalism is Killing the Planet

A recent anti-tar sands rally in Portland, urging President Barack Obama to veto Congress’ approv...

Inevitable Tar Sands Apocalypse

A report released January 16th by NOAA and NASA demonstrates that 2014 was the warmest on record. According to...

Your Boss and Your Government Want Your Urine

Governor LePage and Republican lawmakers in Augusta want to push forward on drug-testing for welfare benefits....

La Vida Local – Irregular Notes on West End Life: PARKING

by Rosanne Graef, Past President – WENA Today’s Topic: Parking!!! Just to make things clear from the beg...

Your Job is a Prison

“All that time spent going to school,” Jello Biafra sneers on the Dead Kennedy’s punk classi...

Perspectives from the Sky – January 2015

Metaphorically speaking, sometimes it seems as if there is a thumb in the dike of our current world order, hol...

Local Artist Invents 100-Foot Robot Game

UPDATE: As of December 22nd, Team Robots made their Kickstarter goal, raising $22,310 from 192 donors. They no...

Local Pair of Reiche Parents Win $2 Million Education Grant

This fall a West End organization, Side x Side, in partnership with the University of Southern Maine and Youth...

Perspectives from the Sky – December 2014

As I write this on December 16, 2014, we have just passed another Uranus square Pluto exact aspect on December...

Fear Of a Black Planet

If there is any hope to be found in the recent police killings–and subsequent exoneration of the...

Different Definitions of Racism Create Barriers of Understanding Between Law Enforcement and Community

A couple of months ago there was meeting put on by our local NAACP chapter at the Portland Public Library to r...

La Vida Local: Irregular Notes on West End Life – SNOW

This Month’s Topic: SNOW!!! Rosanne Graef, President – WENA Snow Bans Go into effect at 10 p.m. an...

If Elizabeth Warren Runs, So What? – Asher Platts, Guest Commentator

I’m not interested in Elizabeth Warren’s unlikely run for President. Why? She has said she won’t, and that if...

Perspectives from the Sky – November 2014

Astrology, for many of you reading this, is either new to you or seems like superstition or silliness. This is...

Anti-Establishment Candidate Wins School Board Seat

John Eder is a Green Independent, a former Representative for the West End (2002-2006), a politician, a mariju...

Dear Democrats, The Party’s Over

To say the Democrats blew it in the midterm elections would be an understatement. The governor’s race s...

Don’t Blame Cutler: Maine Should Follow Portland’s Lead

Who knows why people vote the way they do. There are countless potential reasons for every ballot box decision...

Portland Green Party Candidates Challenge Two-Party System

With voters’ attention focused almost exclusively on the congressional and gubernatorial races, many hav...

Top 3 Conservative Myths about the Minimum Wage

In my inaugural column, on August 22nd, for the newly re-launched The West End News, I addressed the need for...

Beer & Coffee, with Bayside’s Jay York, by Chris Shorr

For about a year now, I’ve followed Bayside resident, Jay York, on Facebook. The local activist has a ph...

Perspectives from the Sky – October 2014

By Leo Knighton Tallarico As we wrote about last issue, our human family is at a major crossroads on the way t...

Paving of Deering Oaks Pond Delayed

The City’s Transportation, Sustainability and Energy Committee will delay a project to replace the bottom of D...

Beer and Coffee… Chris Shorr w/ Shahin Khojastehzad on Bill Murray & Beer Week

Hi folks, some of you may already know me from my column with The Portland Sun, my blog for the Bangor Daily N...

The Ballot Box: Portland Municipal Races Take Shape

All eyes will be on the gubernatorial race this November, but count on some interesting contests at the local...

Ruby Meets the President

My dog Ruby and I were walking toward the Old Port when I noticed a commotion up ahead at the corner of Middle...

Perspectives from the Sky – September 2014

An Astrological Guide for Worldview and Personal Transformation during these Changing Times on Planet Earth By...

Raise My Wage, Please!

There is good news and bad news on the effort to raise the minimum wage in Portland. The good news is that Por...

Congress Square: Time to Speed Up the Process

The concrete plaza in the heart of Portland’s Art District has been scheduled for a facelift for almost a deca...