tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2315523436107295072012-02-09T12:25:36.711-05:00Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comBlogger9861100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-32091744476761757132012-02-08T12:25:00.000-05:002012-02-09T12:25:36.720-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix Even as Portland city officials continue to pressure OccupyMaine to leave Lincoln Park, they have done the Occupation a great favor, perhaps unintentionally. By extending the deadline for the encampment to end until Friday from its previous Monday-night limit, they have given the Occupiers a chance to retake the media narrative of their departure. Had Monday

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-49686870106798369712012-02-08T12:24:00.000-05:002012-02-09T12:24:23.469-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix Maine journalists appear to disbelieve their own eyes, decline to do their own research, and prefer to quote officials instead of relying on independent knowledge and experience. Heck, the public editor of the New York Times recently asked readers if reporters should verify public officials' claims — and seemed surprised and defensive when the overwhelming

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-33507522031497456392012-02-01T11:13:00.000-05:002012-02-03T11:13:54.052-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix As OccupyMaine's request to stay in Lincoln Park is considered by a Maine judge, it appears the Portland City Council's decisions (which the judge is reviewing) were based more on individual councilors' views and less on constituent complaints than elected officials have let on. Based on the results of a Freedom of Access request for citizen communications

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-57932451000715014882012-01-18T17:20:00.000-05:002012-01-24T17:21:07.177-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix Maine's congressional delegation appears to be in a holding pattern while attempting to form positions on two bills that address widespread copyright and trademark violations via the Internet. The bills are controversial because they would make online censorship much easier, more effective, and harder to combat. Over the weekend, the White House issued a

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-60718239379398560012012-01-18T17:19:00.000-05:002012-01-24T17:20:02.566-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix OccupyMaine has filed its comments on the city's reality-detached answer to Occupy's lawsuit (see "10 Fun Things in the OccupyMaine-Portland Lawsuit," by Jeff Inglis, January 13), and a hearing on the Occupiers' request for court protection from city eviction is scheduled for next week. The outcome of the hearing will shift the Occupation into a new phase.

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-40035428804227597532012-01-11T17:23:00.000-05:002012-01-24T17:23:11.647-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix OccupyMaine sued Portland late last year, seeking a court's permission to stay in Lincoln Park, given that the City Council has refused to brook any possibility of anyone remaining overnight in a city park for any reason (including free speech, expression, or assembly). The city has now replied with a court filing even longer than Occupy's. Together they

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-82716230408944879412012-01-11T17:21:00.000-05:002012-01-24T17:21:58.019-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram and its sister papers announced at 4 pm last Friday that an effort was under way to bring in new owners to take over the papers, in the wake of Richard Connor's abrupt departure back in October. Led by Chris Harte, who back in the pre-Blethen 1990s was president of the Press Herald, the prospective investors say

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-41200243890974274832012-01-04T16:00:00.000-05:002012-01-12T16:00:54.137-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix; what's below are my parts of a longer piece co-written with Deirdre Fulton and Nicholas Schroeder Improving opinion polling Pretty much as soon as the champagne glasses are empty, the state — and the nation — will return to Election Mode. With the presidency, one of Maine's US Senate seats, and the entire state legislature in the running, it'll be impossible

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-84951390558088096982011-12-28T15:58:00.000-05:002012-01-12T15:58:47.441-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix; part of a longer piece co-written with Deirdre Fulton - what's below is my part Occupy Maine (and everywhere else) While its members (and the rest of the 99 percent) wait to see about how OccupyMaine fares in court — and in possible multiple rounds of appeals and requests for reconsideration — they're not resting on their pallets and sleeping mats. After the

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-19436624037800899862011-12-08T11:22:00.000-05:002011-12-09T11:22:39.983-05:00

Published at thePhoenix.com/AboutTown It appears time to consider the possibility that the pro-business, anti-public ethos that plagues American politics has also started to infect Portland's city council. To wit: Most Portland city councilors love to make deals with corporations, but have no interest in finding a way for people to protest overnight in city parks, despite repeated attempts on

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-42017453015930934662011-12-07T11:17:00.000-05:002012-01-12T15:56:38.362-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix Is it trash or treasure? The editorial team here at the Portland Phoenix compiled this year's incarnation of our annual local gift guide by searching for diamonds in the rough. Thrift stores, secondhand shops, even one of those massive New England antique barns: Surely, there's great stuff in there, we thought. Turns out we were right. It took some doing, but we

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-33600572258798643792011-12-07T10:53:00.000-05:002011-12-09T10:54:10.147-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix In place of our usual monthly Gubernatorial Scorecard, we're looking at what Governor Paul LePage has been up to through the lens of the holiday season. Augusta gets back to business in mid-January, making the current state of relations between the gov and various groups even more important than usual. Here's what we imagine they're giving each other, and how

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-13639715763977945132011-12-06T11:21:00.000-05:002011-12-09T11:21:13.936-05:00

Published at thePhoenix.com/AboutTown There is one question that must be answered at tomorrow night's Portland City Council meeting: Will the councilors treat the Occupiers the same way the councilors treat for-profit corporations? We'd hope so, of course - we'd hope that the council would behave equably toward all petitioners, from all quarters. We'll have to see whether Portland's councilors

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-41931799351196057962011-12-02T11:20:00.000-05:002011-12-09T11:20:28.700-05:00

Published at thePhoenix.com/AboutTown Portland's Public Safety Committee, a subcommittee of the City Council, has refused to enter into ongoing negotiations with OccupyMaine over conditions in Lincoln Park, with two of the committee's three members suggesting there are no provisions under which they would support First Amendment protests to last overnight in public spaces. With that decision

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-77393572599624243652011-11-30T08:39:00.000-05:002011-12-01T08:40:07.647-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix As officials continue to pressure Maine's Occupy campsites in Portland, Augusta, and Bangor, the Portland Occupation is pushing back, asking the city to create "a permanent 24/7 speech, assembly and community building zone" in about half of Lincoln Park, and proposing that the OccupyMaine group be allowed to remain in that area — which would be a smaller area

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-57148341172062400992011-11-23T13:02:00.001-05:002011-11-23T13:03:00.455-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix With OccupyBangor under near-constant threat of eviction, and Portland city officials pressing the Lincoln Park campers to scale back their encampment to a degree that will make winter survival difficult if not impossible, the Maine branch of the Occupy movement — like those elsewhere in the country — is at a crossroads. Will the Occupiers get bogged down in

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-19553475372486324792011-11-16T17:07:00.000-05:002011-11-17T17:09:57.078-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix Last week in Ellsworth, Governor Paul LePage renewed his efforts to change Maine's welfare system, calling for increased restrictions on benefits for people seeking taxpayer support to get health coverage through the state's Medicaid program. This, and a guilty plea the day before of a 26-year-old Andover woman to charges of defrauding the state of $8800 in

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-12610000866353808122011-11-16T17:06:00.000-05:002011-11-17T17:06:48.533-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix The day before Richard Connor resigned his position as editor and publisher of thePortland Press Herald and head of MaineToday Media (as well as departing his leadership posts atop a Pennsylvania newspaper company), he moved $3 million worth of real estate holdings in Maine into a trust held by his wife. While all the facts surrounding his departure aren't

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-41846765983397527262011-11-16T17:04:00.000-05:002011-11-17T17:05:30.269-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix OccupyMaine's Portland branch has a plan for winter survival and overall camp safety that includes using the people's mic for emergency warnings, round-the-clock warming huts, and shifting to hotels or other dwellings in times of extreme cold. City officials will review the plans, as well as possibly tour the camp to identify potential safety hazards,

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-3554708076749187262011-11-02T09:49:00.000-04:002011-11-17T17:05:45.815-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix Portland's public-school employees and leaders are working hard to meet the needs of every student in the system, but when asking themselves whether they've accomplished that, "the answer is 'Not yet,'" according to School Board chairman Kate Snyder, who spoke to the League of Young Voters' Portland 101 class last week. Snyder is just finishing the first year

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-46618773689903286142011-10-25T15:04:00.003-04:002011-10-25T15:04:19.790-04:00

Published online at thePhoenix.com Based on my observations, conversations, and reading of Occupation reports from around the globe:  Despite mainstream media incomprehension, the message of the Occupy movement is extremely clear and lucid. It is creating a parallel, alternative society that cares for humans, represents humans, and provides for humans - using systems free of corporate

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-45262744094990269462011-10-19T15:34:00.000-04:002011-10-25T15:34:40.109-04:00

Published in Out In Maine When Howard Solomon's name was submitted as a nominee for the Catalyst for Change Award, the highest honor given by the Sampson Center for Diversity in Maine at the University of Southern Maine, the center's board agreed very easily to bestow it upon the well-known LGBT historian. "He has an outstanding record in Maine," says Susie Bock, the center's director, who

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-58466282146512734162011-10-19T15:20:00.000-04:002011-10-25T15:20:39.770-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix Portland's 15 mayoral candidates are missing an opportunity to connect with the people, both directly and through the media, by failing to publicize their support for OccupyMaine. Perhaps their reasoning is that the underlying demand of the Occupy movement — supporting the removal of money from politics — might upset their donors. Why else would they avoid a

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-14352932912371846742011-10-13T15:31:00.000-04:002011-10-25T15:31:17.458-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix Colin Woodard's book American Nations delineates the 11 separate nations within the political state of the United States, explains their origins and interactions with the others, and uses the historical record to better understand how the country's social tensions develop, ebb, flow, and either mesh or conflict with each other. Ranging from the earliest

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-470291995605896002011-10-12T15:16:00.000-04:002011-10-25T15:17:01.984-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix With formal occupations slated to begin Augusta and Bangor this week, and impromptu ones springing up all over the state (including one so far during daylight hours only in South Portland's Legion Square), the two-week-old OccupyMaine movement really picked up steam over the weekend. The central branch, in Monument Square, itself built huge momentum, with

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-90901436835143791272011-10-05T15:14:00.000-04:002011-10-25T15:14:29.245-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix One of Governor Paul LePage's most impressive performances, to date, has been his consistency. At times it has been without regard to reality or facts, but still, there's something impressive about a politician who stands up and says what he thinks, without caring which way the wind is blowing. No more. Herewith, our ninth Gubernatorial Scorecard, in which we

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-40506683393536502132011-10-05T15:08:00.000-04:002011-10-25T15:34:59.205-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix After a rain-drenched initial weekend, the folks at OccupyMaine's area in Monument Square have settled in for the long haul, negotiating with Portland officials from a position of strength because of a provision in city ordinances that virtually guarantees them a right to stay — so long as they meld art into their other activities. Portland police did issue a

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-61759065968288494082011-09-21T15:12:00.000-04:002011-10-25T15:12:29.905-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix There are three streets in Portland that police lieutenant Janine Roberts won't walk down alone, learned a group of interested citizens organized by the League of Young Voters on a visit to the Portland Police Department last Wednesday. The 26-year veteran of the force demurred when asked to name the streets, but did impart a lot of other interesting

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-63415606380851793122011-09-21T15:10:00.000-04:002011-10-25T15:12:43.585-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix The Portland Press Herald is really under the gun right now, from within and without its walls. On the inside, PPH staffers have been working without a contract since the end of June. While there have been a couple of meetings between union and company negotiators, progress is slow, according to Kathy Munroe, the administrative officer of the Portland

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-80894013935999779672011-09-14T09:34:00.000-04:002011-09-15T09:34:35.042-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix While FairPoint executives are saying that the 400 layoffs the company announced last week are related to "workload" and "competition," they're hoping everyone forgot that their business model — especially in northern New England — requires regular downsizing to have a prayer at success. The North Carolina-based telecommunications company, which promised

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-58209245043589813572011-08-31T09:24:00.000-04:002011-09-01T09:25:09.237-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix We just weathered a storm that hit harder elsewhere than it did in Maine. Along a similar line, we're finding that the Tea Party-style allegations of government waste, welfare fraud, and excessive regulation are not quite as severe here as critics claim; whether they're more real in other places remains to be seen. In any case, here are the storms facing

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-45308934024132665462011-08-31T09:21:00.000-04:002011-09-01T09:23:19.996-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix It'll be a while before Portlanders with doctor's orders for medical marijuana have a local dispensary, but Northeast Patients Group may open its first facility in Thomaston in the next couple of weeks. NPG, which holds four of Maine's first eight dispensary licenses, is still embroiled in a legal battle with Berkeley Patients Group, its original financing

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-34143820594549524542011-08-24T09:25:00.000-04:002011-09-01T09:25:53.198-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix The 8000-plus-word play-by-play of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, written by freelancer Nicholas Schmidle and published in the New Yorker recently, is a fascinating read, with lots of juicy details (example: the plan was always to kill bin Laden, not capture him) delivered in the rapid-fire pace of a military thriller novel. It has spawned a large set

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-66786771464035863762011-08-10T19:26:00.000-04:002011-08-15T19:27:05.936-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix For someone whose government job is to handle media inquiries, Brenda Kielty, special assistant to and spokeswoman for Maine Attorney General William Schneider (a Republican), sure says some strange things on the record.For example, when I was asking her how much taxpayer money the AG's office spent prosecuting fraud cases in Maine's welfare system, she told me

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-85118285086750606472011-08-10T19:21:00.000-04:002011-08-15T19:26:24.475-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix Summer's here, and everybody needs a break. Even Governor Paul LePage seems to be taking a holiday from the hard work of keeping his mouth shut in public. What a relief for him to finally be able to relax, wag his chin, flap his lips, and score those wonderful headlines again! Herewith, our seventh Gubernatorial Scorecard, in which we score LePage on political

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-89019192985596944742011-08-03T08:52:00.000-04:002011-08-05T08:52:41.278-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix Maine's largest daily-newspaper group has outsourced its circulation customer-service work to Honduras, letting five Maine-based employees go, reassigning another, and allowing one to retire early. The workers, some of whom were part-time, were paid at rates that for full-time workers were between $445 and $542 per week, depending on their seniority, according

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-53617783143029296302011-07-27T08:53:00.000-04:002011-08-05T08:53:36.836-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix Last week's news was dominated by a larger-than-life figure whose cartoonishly confident self-image was battered by revelations that high-level staffers were engaging in questionable practices while trying to get their jobs done.No, I'm not talking about Rupert Murdoch, but rather Paul LePage, Maine's governor. There was the Phoenix's own story about a man

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-71860994677748817932011-07-01T10:23:00.000-04:002011-07-01T10:23:13.394-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix A school that has quietly drawn to Portland, trained, and set loose around Maine a large number of journalists and other young creative professionals is entering a new phase, and not a decade too soon. The Salt Institute for Documentary Studies, which relocated to Congress Street in 2008 after nearly a decade on Exchange Street (with its gallery in the space

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-2507164326111295682011-06-29T19:27:00.000-04:002011-08-15T19:28:18.125-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix As the legislative session ends, the amount and nature of Governor Paul LePage's political influence has become clearer. He is no longer the bombastic blowhard he once was, but neither is he ceding control of major policy initiatives to House and Senate leaders — though it is easy to see why people might think that. Herewith, our sixth Gubernatorial Scorecard,

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-84813729917836004682011-06-23T09:18:00.000-04:002011-06-23T09:18:03.636-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix What happens when lawyers, public-relations experts, bankers and accountants, construction contractors, insurance brokers, and manufacturers join forces to get involved in emergency disaster relief in one of the most underdeveloped countries in the Western Hemisphere?Much less than they hoped, it turns out. The brainchild of Darcy Pierce, a Scarborough-based

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-5193526422286625402011-06-23T09:17:00.000-04:002011-06-23T09:17:16.801-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix; sidebar to larger banking story by another writer How much do you spend in ATM fees? Maine consumers are paying more — by one estimate, the average per-transaction charge has risen from $1.50 in 2006 to $2.35 last year. And some ATMs charge $10 or $20, says Yellow Breen, chief strategic officer at Bangor Savings Bank, which is acutely aware of rising ATM fees

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-23702883452302025412011-06-02T08:42:00.001-04:002011-06-02T08:44:29.388-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix Two years after ceasing production for lack of funding, Portland-based LibertyNewsTV is back in action, and just released a June episode of the progressive news-commentary series, which is distributed on CTN Channel 5 in Portland and on public-access cable channels nationwide.The money that evaporated in the wake of Obama's election (see "Freedom Isn't Free,

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-46336160413443579142011-06-01T19:28:00.000-04:002011-08-15T19:29:03.514-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix Governor Paul LePage has, perhaps unexpectedly, refrained from loudly saying stupid things over the past month or so, since GOP legislators confronted him and told him he was a problem child. (Dems figured this out too, and are using LePage's photo on flyers recruiting activists for summer work.) Here's our fifth Gubernatorial Scorecard, in which we score

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-82917479309116664912011-05-05T09:38:00.000-04:002011-05-05T09:39:36.904-04:00

Published in the Portland PhoenixHe won't thank me for pointing this out, but Portland Press Herald columnist MD Harmon is a liberal's best friend. The infamously reality-detached arch-conservative textbook-cranky-old-white-man has established a reputation for himself of explaining in great detail the exact nature of conservative viewpoints on controversial issues.This goes back at least as

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-48280659263895105652011-05-05T09:08:00.002-04:002011-05-05T09:09:02.253-04:00

Published in the Portland PhoenixGovernor Paul LePage recently returned from a Jamaican vacation, which provided fodder for some political controversy, and probably helped him avoid getting into new messes. Here's our fourth Gubernatorial Scorecard, in which we score Governor Paul LePage on political savvy, and on whether what he's trying to do is good policy. Note the running

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-24201913427509334142011-04-07T12:15:00.000-04:002011-04-07T12:16:34.902-04:00

Published in the Portland PhoenixTrue free-market capitalism has lasted 30 years — barely half as long as its arch-enemy, Soviet communism. It began with Reagan chipping away at the social contract that bound us all together as fellow Americans, as human beings. Now, as funds "saved" by slashing programs for regular people are handed off to megamillionaire plutocrats as tax breaks, we can

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-54116985943022188192011-04-07T12:14:00.000-04:002011-04-07T12:15:25.702-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix Why is that when one Maine news outlet breaks a big story, the others spend more energy trying to copy it, rather than extend it? Take the most recent example, the labor mural dispute.Governor Paul LePage's remarks and actions about the historical mural at the Maine Department of Labor office in Augusta are indeed newsworthy.But after more than two weeks of

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-9566825870614344432011-03-31T09:29:00.000-04:002011-03-31T09:30:03.616-04:00

Published in the Portland PhoenixHere's our third Gubernatorial Scorecard, in which we score Governor Paul LePage on political savvy, and on whether what he's trying to do is good policy. Note the running total. VEILED LOBBYING | LePage tried to create a "business advisory council," to allow key players in the state's economic scene to have direct access to the governor. After a statewide

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-39632262507556560312011-03-31T09:26:00.001-04:002011-03-31T09:29:19.812-04:00

Published in the Portland PhoenixBack in the early '90s, Eli Cayer had just finished art school in Boston and headed to Maine, where he continued creating street art. In a scene then heavy on "throw-ups," tags with an artist's nickname in stylized letters, Cayer had another approach. "Instead of going to do throw-ups, I'd just do faces."In the mid- to late '90s, Cayer was a busy, visible

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-84742821456856038272011-03-17T10:13:00.000-04:002011-03-18T10:14:59.439-04:00

Published in the Portland PhoenixThe details needed to understand where and how to best improve Maine's high-speed Internet connectivity are finally within reach. Even better, the funding and planning are under way. Three major developments have happened recently, and two more are on the horizon, that could hasten the dawn of a day in which Maine is no longer in the slow lane for Internet

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-9255311721881784862011-03-17T10:12:00.000-04:002011-03-18T10:12:52.406-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix Heaven knows I like the idea of the Portland Buy Local campaign, so it pains me to say that I found the recently released results of an area business survey just a bit too self-congratulatory.An announcement headlined "Survey Finds 'Buy Local' Drawing New Customers to Local Businesses" describes the responses to a questionnaire sent to organization members

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-80228400101730558922011-03-09T10:24:00.000-05:002011-03-10T10:25:13.876-05:00

Published in the Portland PhoenixRight now, Maine can afford to pay its state employees' pensions for the next 10 years with no additional investment — without any sort of supplement, not even workers' biweekly paycheck deductions. The nationwide McClatchy newspaper group published that fact on Sunday in a massive, comprehensive report on public pension funds nationwide.But that information

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-78237254109088860532011-03-09T10:23:00.001-05:002011-03-10T10:24:32.316-05:00

Published in the Portland PhoenixOn the one-year anniversary of a life-changing incident on a foreign battleground, a Marine (Matthew Pennington) begins to take up his old life again. In this 15-minute short, writer-director Nicholas Brennan (2009's Portland Phoenix Maine Short Film of the Year Hard Rock Havana) adroitly plumbs the depths of the manifold complications facing servicemembers

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-21262219899943883412011-03-09T10:23:00.000-05:002011-03-10T10:23:50.650-05:00

Published in the Portland PhoenixPolitical theory has, for centuries, come down to an analogy of anatomy, or of family: the head of the government is the head of the body politic, or the head of the household. Other government agencies are the limbs and organs of the body, or the working adults in the home. Citizens are the cells that make up the body, or the children. In The Parent As

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-47312923119003769912011-03-09T10:22:00.000-05:002011-03-10T10:23:08.086-05:00

Published in the Portland PhoenixLongtime Portland Phoenix contributing writer Lance Tapley's investigation of the Maine State Prison and the state's corrections system as a whole have reached a yet wider audience with the publication of an essay by Tapley in The United States and Torture: Interrogation, Incarceration, and Abuse (New York University Press, edited by Marjorie Cohn). The book

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-26094395072992905512011-02-23T11:13:00.000-05:002011-03-09T11:15:01.287-05:00

Published in the Portland PhoenixLast week, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Congress that keeping President Obama's promise to close the notorious military prison for suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, would be difficult because of opposition from members of Congress. Maine 1st District Representative Chellie Pingree, however, is among those who support closing the base.Last

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-14910260962538346712011-02-16T15:30:00.000-05:002011-02-17T15:31:15.803-05:00

Published in the Portland PhoenixReading Hannah Holmes's work is enlightening and entertaining — even when it's at its most depressing. And that is how the South Portlander's latest book, Quirk, starts. The intro smacks you with it: There is no "divine spark" that makes humans more special than other animals. Mice, which are as much a subject of the book as people, can be bred to have any of

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-54314934394663946782011-02-09T09:59:00.000-05:002011-02-28T09:59:46.181-05:00

Published in the Portland PhoenixThis week, we introduce a regular feature, Gubernatorial Scorecard. We'll evaluate Governor Paul LePage's recent moves. We'll score him from 1 to 10 on his political savvy, and on whether what he's trying to do is good policy, and keep a running total. This first marking period, LePage got 43 out of 100 possible points. For a minority governor who garnered

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-90116475588092789622011-02-09T09:23:00.000-05:002011-02-10T09:24:20.251-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix The state's largest newspaper company is about to negotiate its contract with its employees. With workers seeking a share of the company's newfound profitability, and owner Richard Connor striving mightily to stay in the black, this could go very smoothly, or be a bloody, destructive battle — with the quality of information available to Mainers hanging in

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-54153906928444859672011-02-02T13:22:00.000-05:002011-02-04T13:23:33.234-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix The dual CD-release party for Ellen Tipper's The Juggler and Marie Moreshead's self-titled full-length album was a stripped-down affair, which was a relief because Blue was packed to the gills. Tipper opened with her keyboard folk, playing several songs based on her experiences spending time in other countries (Vietnam and England among them). She proved

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-47968667663111476212011-01-26T11:07:00.000-05:002011-01-31T11:08:01.500-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix The Maine arm of the John Birch Society, founded in 1958 to combat communist influence in government, visited the State House in Augusta last week, calling for legislators to, well, do nothing, as it turns out. But that's not how it started. On January 20, the local Birchers joined a nationwide effort asking state legislators to rescind longstanding

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-71301312238790304612011-01-26T11:05:00.002-05:002011-01-31T11:07:07.231-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix Yes, taking classes online is the wave of the future. And you've figured out that the house always wins: Tuition for those classes is vastly more profitable for universities than the traditional in-person, in-classroom instruction. Students live off-campus (requiring fewer dorms), don't even visit campus (less parking), are too far away to use the gym or

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-60733997294273185092011-01-19T09:59:00.000-05:002011-01-24T10:00:55.600-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix; co-written with Shay Stewart-Bouley About two weeks into his term, Governor Paul LePage has gone local as a follow-up to his telling President Obama "to go to hell," setting off a national media firestorm with an off-the-cuff remark literally telling the Maine NAACP "to kiss my butt." Seems the foot-in-mouth disease he suffers from wasn't limited to the

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-1488125030522990112011-01-12T09:31:00.000-05:002011-01-14T09:33:19.959-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix "Stenographers" is an inflammatory word to use to describe journalists, but it's the only accurate way to respond to news coverage of Paul LePage's inauguration as governor. Not five minutes into his term, LePage uttered a verifiable untruth. And all three of the state's major daily newspapers quoted him without noting that it was false. It wasn't some

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-37161514023351929972011-01-12T09:29:00.002-05:002011-01-14T09:31:08.491-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix Governor Paul LePage's inaugural address was fairly short, and was filled with rhetoric much like that from his campaign. On our blog (thePhoenix.com/AboutTown) we broke the news about his first misleading statement told while in office (see how the media handled that here). He said some other interesting stuff too. WHAT HE SAID "Our programs have to be

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-79212702706012886882010-12-22T08:46:00.000-05:002010-12-28T08:47:16.295-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix; co-written with Nicholas Schroeder This year saw some tech wins (public information), some losses (privacy), and many more questions for the future of an increasingly wired world. (Example: Is anything secret anymore?) And there was the appearance of yet another grassroots David, and, as if a warning to future Davids, the epic collapse of a bloated

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-45892461224996280522010-12-15T16:50:00.001-05:002010-12-21T16:51:26.105-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix How much would you pay to watch TV programs you can already get for free? This month, WMTW (the Hearst-owned ABC affiliate on Channel 8) and WGME (the Sinclair-owned CBS affiliate on Channel 13) are asking you, their viewers, to call your pay-TV provider and declare your willingness to do just that. Both stations pay big bucks to the federal government

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-37034808651317456222010-12-15T16:48:00.002-05:002010-12-21T16:50:13.355-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix A video banned from the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery last week in the wake of threats from conservative politicians will be on view in the front window of SPACE Gallery (538 Congress St., Portland) this week and next, as part of a nationwide show of solidarity between art galleries and the organizers of the Smithsonian's show. The show, "Hide/

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-27922793935303778042010-12-10T16:45:00.008-05:002010-12-21T16:48:37.322-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix Galen Richmond may work in the best tradition of Maine craft artisans, forging functional creations out of everyday materials most might consider junk, but there the comparison stops. Richmond is very much a craftsman for the 21st century, perhaps something of a refugee from one of those far, far away galaxies that populate the Star Wars saga. He creates

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-14374371655145091032010-11-17T09:08:00.000-05:002010-11-17T09:08:52.253-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix Maine is in crisis — big budget shortfalls, lots of people unemployed, a cold winter approaching. And there's this new governor, talking about making life easy for business. But since that often means making things hard on people and the environment, we need a press who will stand up and look out for Mainers. This of course means making sure that

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-31536073341182216402010-10-27T09:06:00.001-04:002010-11-17T09:07:30.478-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix All five Cumberland County posts up for election this year have unopposed candidates — and four have incumbents seeking reelection. That's a verdict of sorts, though a surprising one, given that at budget time municipal officials regularly complain about the burden of county taxes and lament their inability to reduce the cost of county government. But

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-47712918222384391472010-10-21T11:29:00.000-04:002010-10-21T11:29:39.977-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix Most journalism professionals agree that it is appropriate that media organizations should ban reporters from attending certain types of events in the name of objectivity and limiting perceived bias. For example, events supporting specific political candidates are typically considered out-of-bounds, unless a reporter is actually on the job, putting

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-36746597363162938082010-09-29T17:43:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:48:16.903-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix We here at the Phoenix don't pull this kind of thing often, but this weekend you're missing out. Lewiston native (and Munjoy Hill dweller) Michael Parent has headed 1000 miles southwest from Portland to the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee, this weekend.   He'll be telling up to eight hours of stories over the course of the

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-19284519599619076032010-09-22T09:13:00.001-04:002010-09-24T09:14:55.984-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix The news a few years back that the Bush administration had convinced the big telecom companies to allow the authorities to spy on customers without warrants, in the name of fighting terrorism, caused a ruckus. Americans tend to worry about protecting our privacy from the government or big Internet-based businesses. But what if it was newspapers doing the

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-37312986044505976582010-09-01T20:19:00.000-04:002010-09-07T20:20:23.311-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix When many Mainers think of "cybersecurity," they probably remember the 2008 HANNAFORD SECURITY BREACH, when 4.2 million credit- and debit-card numbers were stolen from shoppers at the grocery chain's stores. What received little coverage amid the hype about the vastly overstated threat of identity theft (only 1800 accounts were actually used to make

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-42387983893332879722010-09-01T20:18:00.000-04:002010-09-07T20:19:40.289-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix Both of Maine's senators, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, have backed cybersecurity legislation in hopes of avoiding or averting the catastrophes described in David Scharfenberg's main piece. But their approaches have been different, leading to conflicting bills in the US Senate. Collins's effort, also backed by senators Joe Lieberman (I-Connecticut)

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-77655893058364997912010-09-01T20:17:00.000-04:002010-09-07T20:18:55.436-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix It has been a very long time since our last FairPoint update, but you can rest assured that the North Carolina-based landline provider's downward slide has continued, as the company attempts to restructure its way out of crushing debt through bankruptcy-court protection. Here are a few gems from the past few months. First up, and most recently, on August

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-23204871081519333592010-08-26T09:31:00.000-04:002010-08-26T09:31:01.366-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix When Naomi Schalit of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting asked for electronic copies of e-mails between the chairman of the Maine Public Utilities Commission and representatives of companies the PUC dealt with, she did not expect to receive a cost estimate of $10,000 from the state — nor to be required to pay $80 for the privilege of

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-78261472582333055812010-08-11T12:20:00.000-04:002010-08-18T12:21:23.145-04:00

Published in  the Portland Phoenix With the Tower/Building of Song on hiatus while its creators move apartments (again), the street-music scene on First Friday was quieter than in recent months. But that left more aural room for buskers along Congress Street. In a two-hour gallery-browsing stroll from Monument Square to Longfellow Square and back, we heard nine musical performances (two

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-73128056053109643962010-07-28T12:00:00.001-04:002010-08-04T12:01:39.500-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix Portlanders collectively sucked in their breath with fear when the story broke last Tuesday morning on Facebook and the local news media: a 20-something woman had reported to police that she had been attacked and sexually assaulted by a group of men while she was walking on Baxter Boulevard at 9:30 pm the night before. The story, as told by the police to

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-66774450504885065652010-07-22T12:21:00.000-04:002010-07-22T12:21:15.852-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix When Kid Millions (Oneida) brought his new project, Man Forever, to SPACE Gallery, it was more than an opportunity to see a friend I have long known as a drummer with unusual intensity and stamina. It was a chance to see four more drummers like him — one even a local standout — at the same time, pouring sound and sweat in equal volumes into the cavernous

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-56317631101705278782010-07-08T10:07:00.002-04:002010-07-08T10:07:51.913-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix If you want more proof of the degeneracy of modern American society, look no farther than the series of books labeled The Complete Idiot's Guide To. Published by Alpha Books, they appear to be aimed at those people whose intellects are one step below the customers of Wiley Publishing's ... For Dummies series. And what do these books help the average "

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-45846941100501766202010-07-01T11:39:00.000-04:002010-07-01T11:39:06.968-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix You probably missed the kerfuffle over the rules governing media access to particular areas of this weekend's Nateva Music and Camping Festival, and over what (if any) rights news photographers would have to the images they made during the multi-day event. But it's an important lesson in how lawyers try to control media access, and the reversal — and happy

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-17994058442810140472010-06-24T10:18:00.001-04:002010-06-24T10:19:36.768-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix, the Boston Phoenix, and the Providence Phoenix And so it came to pass, Roman Catholics, Mormons, and evangelical Protestants have banded together to battle, well, the rest of us — the heathens, the godless liberals, the Hitchens-reading progressives. If you are unmarried and have sex, you're one of us. If you are married and use birth control, you are

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-15702491686751795642010-06-08T11:40:00.005-04:002010-07-15T13:19:00.710-04:00

Aired on WCSH's 207

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-39396585527526826792010-06-03T09:14:00.001-04:002010-07-01T14:45:14.176-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix In this campaign season of railing against government and the status quo, do you actually know much about all the different things your government does? I don’t mean to insult readers by suggesting you don’t know, for example, how much public toll money it will cost to repair the Maine Turnpike bridges over Gorham Road and the I-295 southbound exit ($1

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-45984832021358655762010-05-19T10:51:00.001-04:002010-06-02T10:53:19.590-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix All Maine voters — whether you are registered as a member of a particular party or not — get to vote on five questions on June 8. First is a PEOPLE’S VETO, repealing a law that would give Maine a flat 6.5-percent income-tax rate (changing from a graduated rate with the highest bracket at 8.5 percent for people with income over $16,700) and make up the

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-52728337613718846172010-05-13T13:04:00.000-04:002010-05-13T13:04:47.888-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix You might have caught 18-year-old Dominic Sbrega on NPR’s From the Top last week, playing Mexican folk-dance music on his stand-up bass, accompanying three trumpeters (from the Washington DC area), two 17-year-old Maine percussionists, and show host Christopher O’Riley on piano. If you’re a road-tripping music fan, you also might have caught Sbrega in

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-75982640918357024692010-05-13T13:03:00.000-04:002010-05-13T13:03:22.577-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix Three attorneys who faced allegations of professional misconduct (see “CMP Attorney, State Regulators Under Review,” by Jeff Inglis, April 2) have been cleared of wrongdoing by a committee of the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar, according to a ruling issued last week. The three had been the objects of a complaint from Bob Bemis of Levant, stemming

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-60740259414983575272010-05-05T13:09:00.003-04:002010-05-13T13:10:47.766-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix As the gubernatorial primary date inches closer, we’re starting to see more and more TV ads showing would-be governors touting themselves and their qualifications for the job. But this year is a little different: We’re not seeing any Democrats advertising on WGME, the Sinclair-owned CBS affiliate that broadcasts on Channel 13 from Portland. That’s

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-67557882296221364972010-04-28T14:59:00.001-04:002010-04-28T15:32:45.188-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix Much sport has been made of the hilariously misspelled signs created and proudly displayed at rallies by barely literate Tea Partiers. But far more serious are their apparent deficits in basic math, science, ethics, and social studies, not to mention logic. The results of a recent New York Times/CBS News poll suggest several areas

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-21626940920496300852010-04-08T16:09:00.000-04:002010-04-08T16:09:48.906-04:00

Published at thePhoenix.com Amid relentless bell-ringing (“Let freedom ring!” chanted the enthusiasts as they deprived passersby of their hearing and sanity), the Tea Party came to Portland last week to greet President Barack Obama. None of the folks at the Portland gathering were openly armed, and a walkthrough by a pair of Secret Service agents didn’t appear to draw their interest to

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-60921059804746347882010-04-08T08:59:00.001-04:002010-04-09T09:00:37.072-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix It was, quite obviously, big news when President Barack Obama came to town last week. Even the Bangor Daily News sent a pair of reporters to explore the Portland Expo, while the New York Times sent a correspondent across the street, where health care was actually being delivered to those in need. Gallons of ink were spilled writing about Obama’s visit, the

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-31242303600210786172010-03-31T16:21:00.003-04:002010-03-31T16:26:28.807-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix Three prominent Maine attorneys — two who are state employees and the third who works for one of the state’s largest regulated utility companies — will appear together this week before the grievance committee of the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar, the professional organization monitoring attorney conduct. The lead attorney for Central Maine Power, Ken

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-13869274592203013832010-03-17T08:42:00.004-04:002010-03-18T08:44:29.285-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix The Maine Legislature is considering a move that will make it more difficult for concerned citizens to find out what their government is up to. Many branches of state, county, and local government already violate the spirit of public access by charging large fees for photocopies — or even electronic versions — of documents public officials have already

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-7763122002564037142010-03-10T17:43:00.002-05:002010-03-16T17:46:27.796-04:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix What can we learn from the Portland Press Herald's month-long-and-counting series following the beleaguered Sea Hunter ship carrying relief supplies from Portland to Haiti? Quite a bit, but more about the Press Herald's commitment to skeptical observing and detached reporting than anything else. It certainly seemed a decent enough idea: A Maine-based

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-83783513550617669792010-02-24T15:58:00.000-05:002010-02-26T15:59:14.004-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix We were right. We told you two weeks ago that any list of Portland's Most Influential people was inherently incomplete — and so it was. (See "We Heart These People," February 12.) I asked you to send in names of people you know who should have been included, and several of you did, or mentioned to us on the side that we'd missed someone. One writer observed

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-38600089597040292102010-02-17T15:56:00.000-05:002010-02-26T15:58:12.749-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix We Americans know we don't like taxation without representation in our democracy, but should we allow participation without naturalization? The Portland Charter Commission, tasked with recommending changes big and small to the city's governing document, is discussing just that question, and will likely ask city residents to vote on it in November. The big

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-34568255541929499092010-02-17T15:51:00.001-05:002010-02-26T15:56:21.809-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix Despite numerous repeated claims that he and his party will not raise "broad-based taxes" while attempting to solve Maine's decade-old budget disaster, Democratic governor John Baldacci and legislative Democrats have done exactly that, and are now expanding those efforts by increasing an additional tax that hits many Mainers. Baldacci's typical methods for

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231552343610729507.post-31079421764739183892010-02-10T15:41:00.000-05:002010-02-26T15:50:49.036-05:00

Published in the Portland Phoenix (an introduction and my segments of a larger piece, which can be found here and on subsequent pages) We all know Portland is a busy, exciting place to live. It takes a lot of people's amazing energy to keep it going, though. Who's doing the moving and the shaking? We started with a simple question: Who are the people without whom Portland would be the poorer?

Jeff Inglisnoreply@blogger.com