American Journal Reporter to Leave for Waterville Daily

Al Diamon:

Incidentally, the Press Herald won’t have
to worry about being beaten by [Leslie] Bridgers any longer. She’s been hired as
a reporter at its sister paper, the Morning Sentinel in Waterville.

- John C.L. Morgan

Related: American Journal's Leslie Bridgers Wins NEPA Award (February 9, 2009)

American Journal's Leslie Bridgers Wins NEPA Award

Leslie Bridgers, a reporter for the American Journal, won first place in the "Social Issues Feature Story" category at the 2009 New England Press Association's (NEPA) Better Newspaper Contest for a March 2008 story she wrote on the increasing drug use and enforcement in Westbrook. NEPA's verdict:

Great lede--really manages to draw the reader.
Reporter clearly did her homework and performed exhaustive research. The story
has a good range of sources.

- John C.L. Morgan

What Say You, Magic 8-Ball?

After consulting his crystal ball Magic 8-Ball, the American Journal's editor Brendan Moran has the following answers to what he thinks are Westbrook's most pressing questions for 2009:

1. Will the Stroudwater Place center ever get built? My reply is no.
2. Will Pike Industries and Idexx learn to live as neighbors? As I see it, yes.
3. Will curbside recycling be popular in Westbrook? My sources say no.
4. Will Skybox reopen? YES.
5. Will Dunkin' Donuts honor Westbrook's mayor with a new drink called Coffee Chulatta? Without a doubt.

For what it's worth, I consulted my very own Magic 8-Ball and received the following answers: (1) Maybe (2) No way! (3) Definitely (4) No way! (5) No way!

I guess that makes me pessimistic.

- John C.L. Morgan

American Journal, Leslie Bridgers Get Shout-Outs

Media critic and political columnist Al Diamon gave the American Journal and AJ reporter Leslie Bridgers credit for running a story about the shenanigans at the Fire Department a full two weeks before the Portland Press Herald bothered to write anything about the events.

- John C.L. Morgan

American Journal One-Liners

Westbrook residents concerned about new scrap metal yard in Portland.

AmeriCorps volunteer talks about rehabilitating a "lawn on drugs."

Stroudwater Place's request for an amendment to Westbrook's Comprehensive Plan is the focus of a public hearing on Tuesday.

Three municipal hearings were postponed because no one was manning the television cameras.

Collision involving a bicyclist and a pickup truck is the latest accident on William Clarke Drive.

Pike's latest plans for Spring Street have not quelled critics' complaints about the company's proposed expansion.

- John C.L. Morgan

American Journal One-Liners

Portland police officer who is a resident of Westbrook pleaded not guilty for two Class C crimes and three Class D crimes.

'Cat Girl' talks about, well, cats.

Westbrook man arrested for having a loaded gun in his car for the second time this year.

Westbrook-based 133rd Engineering Combat Battalion could be deployed to Iraq in 2010.

Sex offender sues City of Westbrook.

Westbrook Housing to ban smoking in all its units.

Westbrook folk enjoy Westbrook Together Days.

Congin School cut the ribbon for new green space at the school.

Westbrook Housing petititions Ellen DeGeneres to help with fundraiser.

- John C.L. Morgan

On the City Budget

Via Leslie Bridgers's article on the city budget in this week's American Journal, here are the particulars of the latest round of budgeting:

• The Finance Committee approved the school budget, which was decreased by $46,000 because of a grant.
• The Finance Committee unanimously voted to restore funding ($8,8775) for the position of a part-time car washer.
• The Finance Committee rejected a proposal to double the funding (from $1,500 to $3,000) for a dinner organized to recognize public safety officials, 3-3. (Councilors Aube, Foley, and Joyce in favor; Councilors Gattine, O'Hara, Rielly against.)
• The Finance Committee was able to extract $15,370 from the budget because of redundancy in the Police Department's budget.
• The Finance Committee supported an increase of $6,100 to cover the cost of printing and postage for citywide mailings on behalf of the Recreation Department, 5-1. (Councilors Aube, Gattine, Joyce, O'Hara, Rielly in favor; Councilor Foley against.)
• The Finance Committee increased funding for social services by $12,100, including an extra $6,000 for the Mission Possible Teen Center and an extra $3,000 to the Red Cross.

The City Council will be voting on Monday to give preliminary approval to budget. The meeting is at 7p, and will take place in Room 114 at the Westbrook High School.

- John C.L. Morgan

American Journal One-Liners

City Council gave preliminary approval to an amendment that requires severence payments to city workers of more than $3,000 to be approved by the Council.

Pike Industries has been awarded part of the contract to renovate an 18-mile stretch I-295.

Planning Board recommends the City Council continue to allow people build houses on 5,000 square foot lots.

Portland police officer (and Westbrook resident) remembered as "a wonderful neighbor."

Planning Board to quicken vetting process for Stroudwater Place.

Westbrook Little League opens 2008 season.

- John C.L. Morgan

American Journal One-Liners

Westbrook funnyman, Bo McMichael, wants to Portland's Funniest Professional--and a blender.

Westbrook Police union accepts higher health care payments and eight-hour shifts in exchange for fewer years before eligibility for retirement (20 years instead of 25).

Portland cop arrested in Westbrook for alleged domestic abuse wants to avoid prosecution.

Westbrook friends and co-workers of Laureen Rugen, a 49-year-old Westbrook woman who confessed to the murder of her husband, say that Rugen's husband abused her.

Asbestos was removed from the the site of the new middle school.

Moran: New taxes on soda syrup, bottled soft drinks, beer, and wine should not have been approved as a way to prop up the failed Dirigo Health program.

- John C.L. Morgan

American Journal One-Liners

Mayor Chuluda submitted his budget proposal to the City Council.

Planning Department and an architectural firm unveiled a long-term plan for public spaces in Westbrook.

Custodial sink at Congin School determined to be the culprit in contamination of brook.

- John C.L. Morgan

Quote of the Day

"But, let's be honest, light industry or heavy, and with all due respect who punch a clock on Eisenhower Drive, Maine's scenic coast it is not." -- American Journal editor Brendan Moran, poking fun at Idexx Laboratories' contention that the construction of a nearby asphalt plant by Pike Industries would ruin the, um, bucolic nature of the Five Star Industrial Park, and therefore make it more difficult for the lab to recruit top scientists from across the country.

- John C.L. Morgan

P.S. Full disclosure: My wife works at Idexx. And I hope I don't get her fired.

American Journal One-Liners

Here are the main stories in the April 3 edition of the American Journal:

Developers of the proposed Stroudwater Place presented their project to the Planning Board.

Veteran sergeants of Westbrook Police were treated to surprise celebrations.

Committee of the Whole requested more information regarding possible recycling programs.

City, Pike Industries, and Idexx Laboratories are negotiating about the conflict between each company's expansion plans.

Students at Wescott Junior High School raised more than $2,700 to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

- John C.L. Morgan

American Journal One-Liners

Here is the bite-sized news of the March 27 edition of the American Journal:

City Council gave preliminary approval to a new ordinance regulating tattoo parlors.

Westbrook police arrested an off-duty Portland police officer for reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon and domestic violence assault.

Wescott Junior High School Jazz Band placed second in its division at the Maine Music Educators Association State Middle School Jazz Festival.

Brendan Moran: Hannaford should've notified their customers of security breach sooner, banks and credit card companies should cover the costs associated with fraud, and consumers should understand electronic fraud is a way of life.

Rodney Quinn: Profiling is a double-edged sword.

Mike Mack: Support the Mission Possible Teen Center by attending its benefit gala.

Proposed school budget will increase by $1 million, or 3.3%, next year.

City Council denied the developer of a neighborhood being built in the Mitchell Farm area a waiver to avoid installing granite curbing.

Planning Board will be hosting its first meeting devoted to the proposed Stroudwater Place on April 1.

Idexx, Pike at odds over respective expansions.

- John C.L. Morgan

American Journal One-Liners

Here are the bite-sized headlines from the March 20 edition of the American Journal:

Westbrook woman reflects on her husband who died in Iraq nearly four years ago.

Skybox Pub and Grill drops appeal to state, closes doors.

Westbrook High School jazz bands were successful at the State Jazz Festival.

Developer will go to City Council to request a waiver to be exempt from city rules requiring granite curbing for housing development.

Maine Legislature's Appropriations Committee rejected a proposal to cut funding for programs that would include Larrabee Village, but the budget has not been passed yet.

- John C.L. Morgan

American Journal One-Liners

Here's the bite-sized news from the March 13 edition of the American Journal:

Drug arrests are increasing in Westbrook.

Stan Sawyer signed on for another year as the superintendent for Westbrook schools.

Committee of the Whole referred an ordinance for tattoo parlors to the City Council.

Maine Senate wary of tax increases.

Maine Senate rejected amendments to school consolidation law.

- John C.L. Morgan

Wanted: More Energetic Editorials

The weekly column of American Journal editor Brendan Moran is often as tepid as day-old bath water. But Moran's editorial this week possessed the type of strong content that should fill that bully space each week.

Specifically, Moran was spot-on on all three points he articulated: The City Council is indeed poorer without Ed Symbol's contributions; the Council's rejection of Skybox Bar and Grill's liquor license was wrongheaded; and the City Council's flirtation with more stringent regulations for tattoo artists is heading down an unnecessary path.

I've already ranted about the Skybox liquor license, so I'll say only that Moran echoes some of the same arguments I articulated. As for the tattoo parlor regulations, Moran is correct about the necessary scope of the ordinance being considered: Sure, reinforce state law by prohibiting minors (under 18) from obtaining tattoos. But don't apply moral turpitude and similar regulations to a tattoo parlor, especially when a vast majority of Westbrook businesses don't have to wade through similar bureaucratic muck. Of course, the criticisms for the rejection of the Skybox license and the clumsy consideration of a tattoo ordinance were first uttered by former City Councilor Ed Symbol, so Moran duly gives Symbol props by writing that the City Council will miss the former councilor's contributions. For what's it worth, I concur.

A couple months ago, I referred to Ed Symbol, the former Ward 3 City Councilor, as a 'sly iconoclast.' An anonymous commenter (hmm, I wonder who it was) questioned whether it was meant to be a critical statement. For the record, I intended it only as a compliment: I had admired from afar Symbol's proposals for modest reforms. I'm not sure that I agreed with Symbol's proposals for, say, a nonpartisan City Council or the appointment--rather than the election--of the City Clerk. But I appreciated his willingness to think creatively about the governance of Westbrook.

- John C.L. Morgan

American Journal One-Liners

Here's the bite-sized news from the March 6 edition of the American Journal:

City Council finalized rules for farm animals in residential neighborhoods.

Ed Symbol resigned from the City Council to join the School Committee.

City Council rejected Skybox Pub and Grill's application for five licenses.

Jason Snyder, the hopeful developer of Stroudwater Place, continues to cultivate his Westbrook roots.

John Cottrell, the owner of Mister Bagel on Main Street is the beneficiary of a fundraiser.

Erik Carson, the city's director of Economic and Community Development, will be leaving Westbrook to work for the City of South Portland.

Windham and Raymond school officials voted to opt out of consolidation partnership with Westbrook.

- John C.L. Morgan

Low-Budget Drama

In an American Journal article about a rash of drug-related arrests in Westbrook, Chief Bill Baker explained the 30 warrants and the seven drug-related arrests in Westbrook were the result of inter-agency cooperation and citizens dedicated to reducing drug-related crime in Westbrook. That's true.

But it was also part of a nationwide bureaucratic struggle between drug-fighters and the federal bureaucrats who fund them.

According to these Bangor Daily News and Portland Press Herald articles, the arrests were part of a 24-hour nationwide drug-bust blitz designed to highlight the impact of drug enforcement agencies as a way to fight proposed cuts in federal funding. The stings were part of Operation Byrne Blitz (in reference to the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant that funds interagency efforts) and they yielded 91 arrests in Maine alone from Wednesday morning to Thursday morning.

According to the pieces, the Byrne Justice program's funds were cut 67% for fiscal year 2008, and Maine's share of the money will be reduced from $1.7 million to $630,000. Consequently, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency (MDEA) says it will have to cut 13 MDEA agents and 6 drug prosecutors from the MDEA's payroll.

- John C.L. Morgan

From My Mailbox to Your Computer Screen

I've gotten my hand on this week's American Journal, and this is what it has:

• Leslie Bridgers has a good article on the proposed Stroudwater Place development that focuses more on the personalities involved than other articles on the subject, including the initial reactions of Westbrook residents.
• Editor Brendan Moran has an editorial that can fairly be judged as tepid toward the proposed Stroudwater Place development.
• An article about a Westbrook man who is suing Correction Medical Services Inc. for allegedly interrupting his medical treatment for HIV while he was jailed in the Cumberland County Jail.
• An article about the Maine Public Utilities Commission fining Northern Utilities $5,000 for the February 15 natural gas leak in downtown Westbrook

- John C.L. Morgan

P.S. AJ, you can send that payment we talked about to P.O. Box 207, Westbrook, Maine. It was nice doing business with you. And remember: I deal only in cash. Less of a paper trail that way.

Larrabee Seniors--Live and Kicking!

According to the American Journal, about twenty-five residents of Larrabee Village boarded a bus this morning en route to Augusta to protest Governor Baldacci's proposed cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services. To listen to the public hearing they were planning to attend, click here and click on the "Appropriations & Financial Services" link to the left. State Senator Joseph Brannigan (D-Cumberland) is the only Westbrook representative on either the Joint Standing Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs or the Joint Standing Committee on Health and Human Services Committee.

The meeting just started, and it sounds like there's a full house.

- John C.L. Morgan