Headline Update: March 3- March 8, 2012

AJ: Westbrook Historical Society opens new home in Community Center. (March 7)

AJ: Charter Commission presents its proposed changes to the City Council. (March 7)

AJ: Municipal spending is expected to remain level, and positions are expected to be eliminated. (March 7)

PPH: City Councilor Brendan Rielly opts not to run for Congress after Rep. Chellie Pingree decides not to run for the U.S. Senate. (March 7)

AJ: Sappi engineer becomes the University of Southern Maine's first engineer-in-residence. (March 7)

PPH: Comprehensive Plan Task Force prepares to unveil 10-year plan. (March 3)

- John C.L. Morgan

Happy Friday

h/t: Wool, Wood, and Whiskey

- John C.L. Morgan

A Couple Quick Thoughts on the School Budget

(Editor's Note: I am in my second year as a teacher at Westbrook High School, and the pilot program I'm involved with is once again on the chopping block. That's not what this post is about, though. Instead, it's my take on a couple issues that I have mulled over since we first learned about the particulars of this tough budget season back in December. And now that those specifics have been made public, here's my two-cents.)

Scrap the nearly $1 million in pay raises.

In the two most recent news articles about the school's budget quandary (here and here), most of the attention has been placed on the number of jobs cut and the amount of state and federal aid dollars that won't be coming our way. In both pieces, though, there's also a key paragraph, even though it has the tone of a throwaway passage.*

That paragraph is about how almost half of the $2.2 million budget deficit in the FY '12-'13 budget is due to pay raises for school district employees. Mindful of the conflict of interest I have in arguing against the pay raises within the context of job cuts and additions, I'm going to stay away from that debate and instead look at the pay raises within the context of rational economics and the need to raise taxes in order to fund at least some of the pay increases.

The pay raises should be extracted from the budget because they are not rational given the tough job market, both within and without the education sector; Westbrook's classroom teachers are well-off, at least relative to the population from whom we are looking for a tax increase; and because the culminating school of our district, Westbrook High School, is performing at a below-average level.

According to the Maine Department of Education, Westbrook High School's students in 2011 scored below the state average in all four of the categories (mathematics, reading, science, and writing) of the SAT,** which is used by Augusta as a common assessment for high schools across the state. Moreover, our high school's graduation rate in 2009-2010 (the most recent public information available) was about 80%, which was a couple points below the state average. And our high school's dropout rate in 2009-2010 was about 5% (see grad link above), or roughly a point above the state average.

These are three important criteria that assess not only a school but a district, and we are not even meeting state averages in any of them. Continuing to clutch to this pay raise will only continue to give fuel to public education's critics who complain our system rewards mediocrity, except in our case the argument could actually be made that we aren't even achieving mediocrity in return for said reward.

Another reason the pay raise should be scrapped is because the median salary for a classroom teacher in Westbrook is already more than what the median household earns in Westbrook. This is a significant point, because it is of course these households that will pay more taxes in order to fund at least some of our pay raises.

According to the conservative think tank Maine Heritage Policy Center's online database of public institutions' spending, the median salary for Westbrook's classroom teachers was $47,010 in 2009. As the 2010 U.S. Census figures confirm, that median wage for an individual teacher is slightly greater than what the median household in Westbrook earns ($46,810). This data is even more relevant when you consider our teaching wages are for about 40 weeks of labor over the course of a school year, or roughly 20-30% fewer weeks of labor than most working taxpayers in Westbrook work in a salary year.

Naturally, the argument for why Westbrook residents' taxes shouldn't be raised in order to fund administrators' pay increases is even stronger when you consider the median salary among Westbrook's administrators in 2009 ($83,761) outstrips the earning power of the median household in Westbrook by an even greater ratio than that of the median-earning classroom teacher in Westbrook.

Finally, the nearly $1 million in pay raises should be scrapped because they are not rational given the contraction and unique pecularities of the education labor market.

Obviously, I'm not a Human Resources expert (nor did I stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night), but I figure pay raises are utilized for a couple reasons: As a reward for a job well done and as a tool for the retainment of valuable workers. I've already addressed why we should not get a pay raise for the former reason above, so I'll address why pay raises don't make rational economic sense within the context of the second point of staff retainment.

Even just a cursory glance at the daily headlines would give you the accurate perspective that the job market in education is stagnant. In fact, if there's any movement in the labor market, it's the contraction of jobs available, not the expansion of job opportunities. So why give pay raises to retain employees, when there's nowhere else to go? And why give pay raises to retain your most veteran staffers, when there is little chance they will trade the (job) security blanket of seniority at their current school district for the lack of a (job) security blanket resulting from the loss of their seniority when they shift to a new job?

The job markets for almost all sectors right now are management-friendly, yet these pay increases would give you the impression from a purely rational perspective that it is labor who has the multitude of options. Pundits arguing for how and why governments and public institutions should be run like businesses often overestimate how feasible such an approach would be. But pay raises is an area in which there could be an overlap between the public and private sectors.

These arguments probably give the impression that my idea of a good school employee is a poor one. That's not true. It's just that pay raises for school staff should be taken on a case-by-case and year-by-year basis, instead of being viewed as an entitlement captured by an unwritten amendment to the Natural Rights portion of the Maine Constitution. Put simply, this is not the case nor the year for Westbrook's school employees to be awarded nearly $1 million in pay raises. Our culminating school is performing at a below-average level, our average staffers are already earning more than the average taxpaying household in Westbrook, and a pay raise is a failure to recognize the scarcity of options for us teachers to relocate elsewhere if we are discontented by the lack of a pay raise.

* The reason the pay raise is mentioned in a throwaway manner is because among all the fluidity of the budget, the contractual nature of the pay raises makes it as close to a fixed cost as you're going to find. That's why this issue won't be solved by the School Committee, which is busy enough without provoking a messy fight with the employees' unions only a year after the contract was agreed to. So it will either be resolved by the unions voluntarily re-negotiating the contract (t'aint likely) or it will be solved by taxpayers.

** As the teacher of a brief SAT Prep. Course, I share some of the blame for the relatively low SAT scores. Fortunately, the program was eliminated ruing the last year's budget cycle due to the ineffective nature of the course and the inability to attract a critical mass of students to participate in the course.

Recruit a sponsor for the upper athletic fields.

Whether it was S.D. Warren president George Olmsted contributing $150,000 in the mid-1960s for the construction of the eponymous field Westbrook High School currently uses or Hannaford's $100,000 donation toward Cape Elizabeth High School's athletic fields in 2006, there is evidence that Westbrook High School could raise revenue by selling the naming rights to its various athletic complexes.

As it stands now, the baseball and softball fields are nameless, but are sometimes referred to as Olmsted more out of happenstance, I think, than out of formal agreement. And the upper fields on which the soccer teams practice and the lacrosse and field hockey teams play their games are currently called just that, the upper fields.

Retain the Olmsted name for the stadium complex, sell the naming rights to the baseball and softball fields either together or separately, and package the upper fields as a complete complex in which varsity-level soccer, field hockey, and lacrosse teams compete. I've always thought the Olympia Sports Park had a nice ring to it, and it also could be a win-win situation for both the school and the Westbrook-based company Olympia Sports.

Besides increasing revenue, selling naming rights to the upper fields and shifting more events up there could save money in the long run: There would be less annual wear and tear on Olmsted, which would therefore lessen the need for a future, capital-intensive investment in the form of replacing the current field with costly synthetic turf.

- John C.L. Morgan

Westbrook Barn Refashioned as Kitchen

PPH:

Tina and Erik Richardson's new kitchen has all the
modern conveniences that most home cooks yearn for--top-of-the-line appliances,
stunning granite countertops and lighting fixtures that illuminate the room in
just the right way. But the 700-square-foot room also retains plenty of features
that showcase its previous life as a barn.Yes, you read that right--a
barn.

- John C.L. Morgan

Former Westbrook High Teacher Sentenced to Jail

PPH:

A longtime Westbrook High School teacher and
soccer coach who resigned last fall was sentenced Thursday to five days in
jail and forced to surrender his teaching license for providing alcohol to
a minor. Westbrook police received a report in September that Timothy
Gillis, 43, of Portland had given alcohol to a 16-year-old at his
apartment on Whitney Avenue in August.

- John C.L. Morgan

Full disclosure: I teach at Westbrook High School.

A Look Back at the Blizzard of '52

AJ:

The fierce storm, remembered as the Blizzard of
1952, belted greater Portland with 25.3 inches of snow driven by gale-force
winds. "We were snowbound for three days," Roger Knight of Smiling Hill Farm in
Westbrook said recently, recalling an 8-foot snowdrift in front of the farmhouse
on County Road."“The wind did howl."

- John C.L. Morgan

Local Retailer Bullish on Downtown Westbrook

AJ:

We absolutely encourage retailers to move here. The
more dynamic the retailers are in downtown Westbrook, the better it will be for
all of us. Westbrook’s Rudy Vallee Square is a gem that has been hidden for a
long time and it’s time to let it shine again.

- John C.L. Morgan

METRO Board to Consider Investment in Technology

Portland Daily Sun:

[T]he board will consider spending another $75,000
for new technology that offers real-time updates on arrival times that bus
riders could access via smart phones, iPads or personal computers.

[snip]

Last month, Metro’s board deadlocked 5-5 about
whether to spend the additional $75,000 or so for the AVL devices, software and
installation on every bus--which is just 20 percent of the total cost.
Portland’s five members supported the proposal while members from Falmouth and
Westbrook opposed it.

- John C.L. Morgan

Officials Take First Steps to Sell Relocate City Hall

PPH:

The city is taking the first steps toward selling its City Hall building on York
Street and consolidating administrative offices for the city and school
department. The City Council's Facilities and Streets Committee authorized the
city's administration Monday night to seek bids from commercial real estate
brokers.

- John C.L. Morgan

Westbrook Woman, Local Pools Part of Worldwide Event

PPH:

Pat Gallant-Charette, the Westbrook grandmother who
conquered the English Channel and the Catalina Island crossing off California at
age 60 last year, wants you to swim a few laps with her today. Or, at least, pay
a visit to a community pool for a free health screening or sponsor a swimmer
raising money for local heart programs. It's all part of an international
effort--29 countries are involved – called Swim for Your Heart to raise
awareness of heart disease and its prevention.Fourteen pools in Maine are
participating in the event, held for the second year in a row on Valentine's
Day.

- John C.L. Morgan

School Board Approves the Closure of Prides Corner

PPH:

The School Committee voted Wednesday night in favor
of closing Prides Corner Elementary School, which would set in motion a plan to
reconfigure elementary grades throughout the district. The 6-1 vote was the
first of two needed for the school to close and the plan to move forward.
Committee member Jim Violette cast the sole dissenting vote, but said he might
change his mind before the final vote next month.

- John C.L. Morgan

City Officials Unveil Plan for Maine Rubber Site, Seek Partners

PPH:

Westbrook Housing plans to hire architects to
design a multi-story building for the western end of Westbrook's Main Street, in
hopes that this will attract a commercial partner to share in developing and
owning the site, which used to house Maine Rubber Co. It is the most detailed
public proposal yet for the property at the intersection of Main and Saco
streets and William Clarke Drive, which the city has long seen as an impediment
to developing the downtown area.

- John C.L. Morgan

Competitor of Westbrook Business Closes

PPH:

Market Fresh's owner, Stephen Goodrich, said the
company's 20 employees were notified last week that Saturday will be their last
day of work. Goodrich said his sales staff has been referring customers to a
competitor, Native Maine Produce and Specialty Foods in Westbrook.

- John C.L. Morgan

Chipotle to Completely Replace Blockbuster

AJ:

A national chain of Mexican restaurants now has its permits to open in its
newest location next week in a shopping plaza in Westbrook, but the former
tenant of that property, a video rental store, will not be returning to an
adjacent space as originally planned.

- John C.L. Morgan

City to Begin Dialogue on Moving City Hall

AJ:

Westbrook city officials are planning to hold the
first official public discussions Feb. 13 on whether or not to move out of City
Hall and sell the building. City Councilor John O'Hara, president of the city's
Facilities and Streets Committee, said Tuesday that there will be an item on
next Monday's agenda referencing "consolidation" of city facilities.

- John C.L. Morgan

Paulians Take Over Westbrook Republican Caucus

PPH:

It won't be known for certain until Saturday who
got the most votes at the Westbrook caucus, but half of the 30 or so voters who
attended openly supported Paul. They frustrated some other attendees by
objecting to the process, introducing motions and ultimately choosing a Paul
supporter to be Westbrook's delegation chairman. The chairman gets to select who
will fill open seats to attend the state nominating convention in May.

If I weren't still recovering from last night's game, I might re-hash my thoughts on why I don't like the caucus system. Instead, I'll just link to a 2008 piece I wrote in which I complain about the unrepresentative nature of caucuses in the wake of a Republican caucus that attracted more than twice the participants than this year's edition.

- John C.L. Morgan

Westbrook Schools Take Hit in State Aid

PPH:

Westbrook Superintendent Mark Gousse was "stunned"
to learn that his district's state-aid allocation will decrease an estimated
$607,000, from $13.3 million this year to $12.7 million in 2012-13. "It's
devastating," Gousse said Friday. "It's a game-changer." Gousse fully expected a
reduction in state aid. Last September, the education department had estimated
it would be a disappointing but manageable $215,000 loss. But when the
department released updated figures last week, Westbrook's hit had nearly
tripled.

- John C.L. Morgan

Full disclosure: I teach at Westbrook High School.

Legacy Publishing Expands, Nearly Doubles Workforce

AJ:

The event celebrated a major expansion for Legacy
Publishing, which already has one 10,000-square-foot office on Speirs Street.
Now the company, a call center that produces multimedia personal development
products for families, has leased another 10,000-square-foot building on
Larrabee Road.

- John C.L. Morgan

Westbrook Schools Save Money with Alliance

AJ:

That [tough] financial climate makes the
Sebago Education Alliance an even more welcome opportunity to cut costs and pool
resources for five member districts: Westbrook, Gorham, Scarborough, School
Administrative District 6 and Windham/Raymond. The alliance has saved its
districts thousands of dollars a year, particularly in special education costs,
which are typically a large piece of any school’s budget.

- John C.L. Morgan

Full disclosure: I teach at Westbrook High School and have worked at the SEA's day treatment program.

Maine DOT Begins Bridge Repairs Early

PPH:

Construction is under way to replace the bridge in
Westbrook that got its 15 minutes of infamy last fall when President Obama cited
its deterioration as an example of the nation's desperate infrastructure needs.
Workers from Reed & Reed, the contractor for the $5 million project, are
erecting a temporary bridge next to the Cumberland Mills Bridge, which is to be
replaced and ready for use by the spring of 2014. Traffic is expected to shift
to the temporary bridge in May, said Ben Condon, project manager for the Maine
Department of Transportation.

- John C.L. Morgan

Cuts in State Spending Could Close Westbrook Drug Rehab Center

PPH:

At Mercy, the cuts would lower revenues by an estimated $6 million a year, said
Eileen Skinner, president and chief executive officer. As a result, the hospital
would likely close the Mercy Recovery Center, the largest substance-abuse
treatment center in Maine. Closing the Westbrook facility, which serves people
from all over the state, would eliminate 100 jobs. Mercy supports the governor's
goal of being fiscally responsible, Skinner said. "But we obviously endorse an
approach that is more gradual and targeted so things can adjust and people can
understand the unintended consequences of whatever action they take," she said.

- John C.L. Morgan

Swimmer Looks to Raise Funds to Fight Heart Disease

AJ:

An informal effort to raise money for heart health
research and education, started last year by a Westbrook woman, has blossomed
into a worldwide event scheduled for Valentine’s Day. Participation in Swim for
Your Heart Feb. 14 has grown exponentially since last year, said the event’s
founder, Pat Gallant-Charette, who drew international acclaim after swimming the
English Channel last summer.

- John C.L. Morgan

Related: Westbrook Woman Swims English Channel (August 22, 2011)

City Officials Weighing Options for New Public Services Facilities

PPH:

Building a new facility for the Westbrook Public
Services Department could cost as much as $17 million. The proposal is the most
expensive of four options that a 10-member building committee is considering to
replace the department's facility on Saco Street, which has been in need of
upgrades since 2006. The committee plans to make a recommendation to the City
Council in coming weeks. The $17 million plan calls for a six-building complex
that would include offices, a warehouse, covered areas for equipment and school
buses, and a storage shed for salt and sand. Other options call for fewer
buildings and would cost from $10.6 million to $14.4 million, according to
estimates from Westbrook-based Sebago Technics, the project's engineering firm.
Plans call for completing construction in 2014.

- John C.L. Morgan

Pike Faces Fines for Exceeding Blasting Limit

PPH:

Pike Industries will pay $4,500 in fines for blasts
in its Spring Street quarry that violated vibration limits set in a consent
agreement reached by the city, Pike and neighboring Idexx Laboratories. The
city's code enforcement officer issued the fine on Jan. 11. Tom Spellman, Pike's
crushing manager for Maine and New Hampshire, said today that the company plans
to pay the fine. The consent agreement reached in the fall of 2010 set the
maximum ground vibration of a blast at 0.5 inches per second. A blast on Dec. 9
registered at 0.73 inches per second, and a blast on Dec. 14 registered at 0.59
inches per second. A third blast on Dec. 16 did not violate the standards set in
the agreement.

- John C.L. Morgan

New Development Being Planned for Warren Avenue

AJ:

The building that was once home to a short-lived
Westbrook strip club is part of a new proposal designed to develop a large
parcel of industrial property off Warren Avenue. A copy of the proposal,
submitted to the city last month, indicates the property’s owner, Selden Von
Herten, wants to turn his 20.5-acre parcel into a commercial and industrial
condominium site.

- John C.L. Morgan

Westbrook Soccer League to Host Poker Tournament

The Westbrook Soccer League is hosting a state-sanctioned poker tournament this Saturday at the Stockhouse Restaurant and Sports Pub.

The tournament begins at 4p, but you can register as early as 2p. There will be a 100-player cap, and the buy-in to participate is $60. Seventy-five percent of the net proceeds go to the eventual winner.

- John C.L. Morgan

Full disclosure: I serve on the Westbrook Soccer League Board of Directors.

State Chops Down Elm Trees to Aid Bridge Work

AJ:

[T]he Department of Transportation first had to
make room for relocated power lines and poles. That meant taking down a number
of large trees growing by the side of the road, including some growing on the
property next to The Elms, a bed-and-breakfast inn across the street from the
mill. The inn was first built byS.D. Warren as a retreat for visiting company
executives, and is now privately owned.

- John C.L. Morgan

City Begins Negotiations with Labor Unions

AJ:

When running for re-election, Westbrook Mayor
Colleen Hilton said she wanted to keep finding ways to make the city run more
efficiently, and she anticipated carrying that philosophy into the next round of
collective bargaining negotiations. Last week, Westbrook officials, including
Hilton, met for the first time this year with representatives of all five of the
city’s bargaining units, in what she called a "frank" discussion.

- John C.L. Morgan

On Paul LePage's Horatio Alger Years

Author and reporter Colin Woodard has written an article on Paul LePage's upbringing.

And though Woodard is receiving some criticism that he should've included a possible conflict-of-interest disclosure in the piece, he deserves high praise for penning an informative essay in which he synthesizes previously published material with original reporting. The result is a rich portrayal of the Maine executive's formative years.

The second part of the essay, which will be about LePage's climb in the business and political arenas, will be published by the Portland Phoenix on January 20.

- John C.L. Morgan

Westbrook Residents Among Mainers Paying for FEMA's Errors

PPH:

Last year, 370 Maine property owners appealed to the Federal Emergency
Management Agency to remove their homes or businesses from flood plain status,
according to the Maine State Planning Office. Most of them had to hire surveyors
at an average cost of $750 to prove they didn't need to pay for costly flood
insurance policies required to obtain a mortgage.

- John C.L. Morgan

In the Blood

For the context of this video, read Bob Keyes's feature on Maine musician/filmmaker Sumner McKane's "In the Blood."

- John C.L. Morgan

The Improvised Puppet Project to Play Show at WHS

The Improvised Puppet Project will be playing a show in the Westbrook High School auditorium tomorrow night (1/14) at 7p. The show will benefit the Sock 'N Buskin, the drama club at Westbrook High.

More information can be found here.

- John C.L. Morgan

Parents Give Feedback at School Budget Forum

AJ:

Most of the discussions in the forum, which lasted
more than two hours, centered not on whether to close the school, but what the
reconfiguration of the city’s educational districts would mean for
fifth-graders, who would be thrust into the middle school with much older kids.
"We know they're very different children, with very different needs," School
Superintendent Marc Gousse said.

- John C.L. Morgan

Historical Society Prepares for Move to Community Center

AJ:

Diane Dyer, the society’s director, said the move
in part is to make the society more accessible. Right now, the society gets
about 25 people visiting per month, but she is sure there could be more. "A lot
of people don’t even know we’re here," she said. The community center, on the
other hand, is a far more visible location, she said, and first-floor access
there will make visiting the collection even easier. Right now, visitors
must travel up a steep flight of stairs. "The idea was to make it more available
to people," [president Mike] Sanphy said. The other goals, he added, are to make
the collection safer. Its new home, he said, will have fire alarms and
sprinklers, something the society doesn’t have at the legion building. The city
also won’t have to pay $600 per month in rent to house the collection, either,
Sanphy said.

-John C.L. Morgan

Related: On Location: Westbrook Historical Society (June 24, 2008)

Maine Food Coma

Joe Ricchio and friends toured four other Maine locales (Bangor, the Fryeburg Fair, Lewiston/Auburn, and Sanford) and did not die of any heart attacks before posting abbreviated shows online. If you enjoy Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations," you'll probably enjoy this show--including the episode when Ricchio sits down with Bourdain backstage at Merrill Auditorium.

- John C.L. Morgan

Related: No Reservations (April 23, 2010)

Dept. of Labor Calculates Living Wages for Mainers

Wicki Biz:

What do you have to make to be able to afford to
live in Maine? If you look at the basic expenses, the whole kit and caboodle,
including food, rent, utilities, phone, health care, transportation, child care,
clothing, personal care, household goods, taxes, etc., what’s the end cost? A
new report out from the Maine Department of Labor tells us that.

- John C.L. Morgan

Superintendent Advocates for the Closure of Prides Corner School

PPH:

There will be no mention of Prides Corner
Elementary School in the school budget that Superintendent Marc Gousse
recommends to the Westbrook School Committee for next year.Gousse told about 80
0people at a community forum Thursday evening that he couldn't "with good
conscience" advise the committee to keep the school open.The closure of Prides
Corner is part of larger proposal to reconfigure the city's elementary grades
and address a $2.2 million shortfall in the budget.

- John C.L. Morgan

Full disclosure: I teach at Westbrook High School.

LeClerc's Closes

AJ:

On Tuesday, a sign up in the window of LeClerc’s
Service Center in Westbrook advertised that the recently closed gas station is
available for purchase or lease. But even as the locks on the doors at 952 Main
St. were being changed, Jeff Farstad was still turning away drivers looking for
gas and callers asking to bring vehicles in for repairs."It’s tough talking to
my customers," Farstad, 43, said Tuesday as he finished closing the station for
the last time.

- John C.L. Morgan

WHS Principal Resigns

AJ:

First-year Westbrook High School Principal Thomas O’Malley is resigning his
position at the end of the 2011-2012 school year, according to School
Superintendent Marc Gousse. Gousse said O’Malley made his resignation official
in a letter dated Dec. 19. O’Malley’s resignation is effective June 30, 2012,
Gousse said.

- John C.L. Morgan

Full disclosure: I teach at Westbrook High School.

Director of Economic Development Also Submits Resignation

PPH:

The city's economic and community development
director, who vacated his post Saturday, is one of two department heads to
resign in recent weeks. Keith Luke, who was hired in 2008, submitted his
resignation letter on Dec. 14, the same day as Chief Financial Officer Dawn
Ouellette. In his letter, Luke wrote that he is resigning "at this point to
allow Mayor (Colleen) Hilton time to match skills with the priorities of her
management team during her second term in office."

- John C.L. Morgan

Profile of a Native Architect

Maine Home + Design:

As a 29-year-old architect still early in his
career, Evan Carroll is not your typical nursing home resident. Yet for nine
days in September, he lived at the Maine Veterans’ Home in Scarborough. Carroll
was studying firsthand the needs of nursing home residents to inform his future
design work in the housing market.

Carroll, a 2001 graduate of Westbrook High School, had his aforementioned stay at the veterans' home documented in a September 2011 PPH article.

- John C.L. Morgan

Judge Rules in Favor of Westbrook, Against Dreamers

PPH:

A federal judge has ruled that the city of Westbrook did not violate a strip
club owner's Constitutional rights by revoking the occupancy permit for Dreamers
Cabaret and subsequently enacting a nude entertainment ordinance. The ruling was
handed down Thursday in U.S. District Court by Magistrate Judge John H. Rich
III. The Ferrante Group Inc., the owner of Dreamers, which sued the city in
September 2010, can object to the ruling within 14 days of when it was
filed.

- John C.L. Morgan

Who are the Most Influential Political Players in Maine?

Matt Gagnon over at Pine Tree Politics has his list of the Top 25.

- John C.L. Morgan

News Fit to Post--Holiday Edition

Westbrook school officials will be hosting a second public forum devoted to solving the upcoming budget deficit. (December 28)

Westbrook school officials are looking at ways to combat substance abuse among students. (December 28)

Some neighbors of Pike filed complaints about the company's blasting efforts throughout December. (December 28)

Westbrook elementary school students and teachers tout the success of a growing anti-obsesity campaign. (December 27)

Members of the Westbrook-Warren Congregational Church served a free Christmas meal to about 300 people. (December 26)

Developers are looking at turning vacant St. Hyacinth buildings into housing. (December 21)

Westbrook's Finance Director will step down from her post. (December 21)

Westbrook Housing officials are looking at new strategies for selling three downtown condo units. (December 21)

The Westbrook Fire Department continued a ten-year tradition of delivering gifts to children. (December 21)

- John C.L. Morgan

City Hopeful of Solution for Maine Rubber Facility

AJ:

The Westbrook City Council has accepted a $125,000
grant to help clean up the former Maine Rubber buildings and property at 942
Main St., and renewed talks between the city and the property’s owners are
finally showing promise of new development there. "We’re making very good
progress," Keith Luke, the city’s director of community and economic
development, told the council at a meeting Monday night.

- John C.L. Morgan

Related: City: Messrs. Elowitch, Tear Down These Walls (April 29, 2011)

Westbrook High Hires New Baseball, Softball Coaches

PPH:

Westbrook High has hired new varsity baseball and
softball coaches. Greg Souza, a former assistant, is the new Blue Blazes'
baseball coach, and Dee (Regan) Allen will coach softball. Allen has coached
Portland for the last three seasons. Their nominations were approved Wednesday
night by the Westbrook School Committee.

- John C.L. Morgan

School Department Explores Closure of Prides Corner, School Re-Configuration

AJ:

The Prides Corner School would be closed and the elementary school model would
be reconfigured if one scenario for the 2012-2013 budget is approved. School
Superintendent Marc Gousse officially informed the Prides Corner staff Monday
that their school might close. He followed that with a district-wide staff email
discussing the possibility and a meeting for district employees on Tuesday
afternoon.

- John C.L. Morgan

Full disclosure: I teach at Westbrook High School.

Related: School Officials to Host Open Forum on Upcoming Budget (Monday, November 28, 2011)

Indian Restaurant, Ice Cream Shop to Open Downtown

AJ:

If you love homemade ice cream, chocolate or curry, you might want to pay
attention to the 800 block of Main Street through the next month or so. Two new
Westbrook businesses will soon open in the heart of downtown, and both represent
the goals of two people who have already made names for themselves on the
Portland culinary scene.

- John C.L. Morgan

On Political Apathy

The Frog and Turtle to Host Santa Again

The Frog and Turtle is hosting Santa at its restaurant for the third year in a row on Saturday, December 10, from 10a-1p.

A ten-dollar donation to benefit the Mission Possible Teen Center will get you a photo with your child (or you, if you prefer) and Santa. There will also be complimentary coffees, cookies, and doughnuts.

- John C.L. Morgan

How Maine Gets Its Drink On

Considering it's nearly closing time on the 78th anniversary of the passage of the Twenty-first Amendment repealing prohibition, what better time to check out the Boston Globe's take on Maine's "new drinking culture":

John Myers, a traditional saloonist and cocktail
historian, tends bar at The Grill Room, a steakhouse with a wood-burning grill
in the center of the Old Port here. Myers, looking like a Wild West gunslinger
with his wool vest and bushy beard, stands in the lamplight - a sommelier of
cocktails ready to shake or stir. I’m sitting on the other side of the bar,
deciding what to order. I know that the bar man specializes in the tried and
true. I ask him what defines a classic cocktail.

- John C.L. Morgan

Related: Did You Know? (February 20, 2008)

On eHope

MPBN:

The man attaching the tube is a wiry,
energetic 53-year old Army veteran, and he's more than just a personal care
attendant. He's the reason why the Kennedys have a network of volunteer
caregivers to call upon."My name is Jeffrey Wood. I am the founder and president
of an organization called eHope." EHope was begun five years ago. According to its website, the non-profit's mission is "To form caregiving communities which provide
non-medical, physical, social, emotional, and spiritual support, for a loved one
who faces a life-threatening illness."

An extended interview with Wood can also be heard at the link above.

- John C.L. Morgan

Related: Jeffrey Wood One of Region's 'Unsung Heroes' (December 31, 2010)

Dreamers Moves Out

AJ:

Dreamers Cabaret, a controversial strip club that
opened for one day last fall and has been locked in a legal battle with the city
ever since, is moving out of its Warren Avenue location. Selden Von Herten, the
owner of the property, confirmed this week that he has filed suit in Cumberland
County Superior Court to prematurely terminate the club’s lease, which was
supposed to remain active for another four years.

- John C.L. Morgan

Owner of Dana Warp: Westbrook Provides Affordability, Political Stability

Mainebiz:

I think I naturally gravitated to Westbrook
for several reasons: One, I think from a pricing standpoint, there’s greater
upside, greater value to be had in Westbrook. Two, I think there’s greater
political risk in Portland. I was involved in the redevelopment of the Maine
State Pier and I saw Portland government at its worst, and I vowed that I would
never invest a dime in Portland, never, never.

- John C.L. Morgan

School Officials to Host Open Forum on Upcoming Budget

AJ:

As part of that, [Superintendent of Schools Marc]
Gousse said, the district is presenting a public forum on Thursday, Dec. 1, at
6:30 p.m. in the library at the Westbrook Middle School, inviting parents and
residents to hear what school officials are doing in the wake of the frantic
2011-2012 budget process, and to solicit opinions on how to proceed now.The new
budget won’t be a walk in the park. Gousse said early numbers indicate a
possible budget gap of $2.1 million to $2.3 million, which the district will
have make up in order to prevent that amount from being handed off to the public
to fund through higher taxes.

- John C.L. Morgan

Full disclosure: I teach at Westbrook High School.

Snyder's Company Files for Bankruptcy

AJ:

A holding company once created to manage more
than 60 acres of land off Stroudwater Street initially destined for a
multimillion-dollar commercial development plan has filed for bankruptcy.Jason
Snyder, the owner of the land and the holding company, 500 Westbrook LLC, filed
paperwork in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Nov. 4 under Chapter 11. The paperwork
lists the company as the debtor, and Snyder as the company’s manager.

- John C.L. Morgan

WHS Replaces Unsafe Bleachers at Olmsted Field

AJ:

The bleachers on the Stroudwater Street side of the
field are being dismantled this week, after a recent inspection brought safety
concerns and code violations to light. "We probably dodged a bullet there," said
School Superintendent Marc Gousse, who said this week that the bleachers were
labeled off-limits following the inspection, and removed to prevent anyone from
getting hurt.

- John C.L. Morgan

Westbrook Leads Greater Portland in Wage Growth

Mainebiz:

Westbrook led the region with a 15.76% rise in
average weekly wages [over five years], ranking first in Greater Portland and
sixth in the state. Portland saw a 12.68% rise in average weekly wages, while
South Portland and Scarborough experienced 10.44% and 7.8% growth,
respectively.

- John C.L. Morgan

Idexx Taking Advantage of iPad's Capabilities

Mainebiz:

Idexx has found a solution in yet another form of
technology. Its new mobile app allows vets to display radiographs on a tablet
computer. “The move to the iPad liberates that information,” says Jonathan
Ayers, the Westbrook company’s president and CEO. Pet owners typically pay out
of pocket for their animal’s veterinary services, and don’t always understand
the level of care involved, he says. When a vet can take an X-ray, share it in a
matter of seconds and explain the results effectively, clients are much more
likely to recognize the benefits--and pay for them.

- John C.L. Morgan

Local Dancers to Participate in Macy's Parade

WCSH:



- John C.L. Morgan

City Council Looks to Adopt Fireworks Regulations

AJ:

The ordinance allows sale of fireworks by dealers who obtain a permit from the
city. Among other requirements, the ordinance mandates that dealers have proper
state and federal permits, and have to show proof of insurance, as is required
by state law. City Administrator Jerre Bryant said dealers must also comply with
other fireworks-specific state laws, such as the law requiring dealers only
operate out of stand-alone buildings, with no other tenants.

- John C.L. Morgan

Gallant-Charette Listed Among Notable USM Grads

From a PPH column written by university president Selma Botman:

How many of us follow the career of Pat
Gallant-Charette, a 1993 School of Nursing graduate and native of Westbrook, who
in August became the oldest American woman to successfully swim the English
Channel? A grandmother of two, and marathon swimmer, Gallant-Charette also holds
the record for the fastest swim of the Strait of Gibraltar for a woman over
50--3 hours and 28 minutes.

- John C.L. Morgan

WHS Baseball Coach Resigns for Family Reasons

PPH:

Mike Rutherford remembers how his parents used to watch all of his games when he
played for Portland High. Wanting to do the same for his daughter and stepson,
and knowing that would be difficult with his job as the Westbrook baseball
coach, Rutherford resigned last week after four seasons with the Blue Blazes.
"It came down to family," Rutherford said.

- John C.L. Morgan

Hilton, Dems Sweep Contested Races

PPH:

Incumbent Colleen Hilton defeated Bruce Chuluda by more than 300 votes in the
mayor's race, in a repeat of their match-up two years ago. The vote total
Tuesday night was 2,659 to 2,350.

[snip]

City Clerk Lynda Adams held onto the post she's had for the past four years. She
defeated former finance director Susan Rossignol, 3,114 to 1,801. In the City
Council Ward 2 seat, incumbent Democrat Victor Chau, who's finishing his first
term, defeated Republican Matt Maloney, 602 to 281. In Ward 4, Dorothy Aube, a
councilor for six years, received 327 votes. Gary Rairdon, who is unenrolled,
got 289 and Republican Ernest Porell finished third with 153. Democrat Michael
Sanphy, who had been appointed to fill the Ward 5 seat, won his first election,
defeating Republican Michael Lawson, 889-558.

- John C.L. Morgan

Westbrook Voters Approve Same-Day Registration, Split Ticket on Casinos

According to the PPH, Westbrook voters mirrored statewide voters' preference for reinstating same-day voter registration, with both local and statewide voters approving Question 1 with a 60-40% margin.

Westbrook voters also dovetailed with statewide voters with its votes on a proposed casino in Lewiston (57% of Westbrook voters rejected Question 3, and 63% of statewide voters did so), and local voters reflected countywide results on the bond question involving the renovation of the Cumberland County Civic Center (55% of Westbrook voters approved the $33 million bond for the renovation, compared to 59% of county voters).

Westbrook voters did differ with the rest of the state, however, in its preference for casinos based in Biddeford and Washington County: 51% of Westbrook voters approved Question 2, while only 45% of statewide voters approved the referendum question.

- John C.L. Morgan

City Renews Fajita Grill's Liquor License

PPH:

City officials renewed the liquor license for the popular Fajita Grill on
Monday, after determining that their decision could not take into account
pending federal charges against the owner of the Mexican restaurant. Guillermo
Fuentes, 36, was arrested Sept. 21 on charges of conspiracy to harbor illegal
immigrants and employment of illegal immigrants. City Solicitor Bill Dale told
city councilors and the mayor that pending charges are not listed in the city’s
ordinance or state statute as a reason for denying a liquor license.

- John C.L. Morgan

Vocational Center Hosts Trades Demonstration for High School Girls

PPH:

[Westbrook High student Paige] Fogg was among the girls getting a taste of
firefighting Friday from Westbrook firefighter Rachael Welsh at the Totally
Trades Conference. The event, organized by the training group Women, Work and
Community, aimed to expose girls to jobs typically held by men. About 75 girls
from several high schools participated in the event at Westbrook Regional
Vocational Center.

- John C.L. Morgan

UMaine Celebrates Rudy Vallee Day

BDN:

The late entertainer and one-time University of Maine student Rudy Vallee was
remembered Wednesday afternoon on the steps of Fogler Library. Members of
UMaine’s four honor societies--All Maine Women, the Senior Skull Society, the
Sophomore Eagles Society and the Sophomore Owls Society--gathered there to sing
the “Maine Stein Song,” which Vallee popularized.

- John C.L. Morgan

Catching Up

- President Obama referred to the damage on Westbrook's Cumberland Street bridge as a reason for why Congress should pass the American Jobs Act. (October 6)

- The Seventh-day Adventist Church bought the former Warren Memorial Library building and plan to make it the regional headquarters of the organization. (October 5)

- Chipotle is planning to open a new shop in the Westbrook Crossing shopping plaza. (September 29)

- Fajita Grill re-opened about a week after being raided by federal agents for allegedly employing illegal aliens. (September 28)

- City Council wrestled over the regulation of fireworks within city limits. (September 28)

- Long-distance swimmer Pat Gallant-Charette was featured in Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd." (September 26)

- School Committee adopted a new policy on laptops issued by Westbrook schools. (September 21)

- Hassan Faraj, an Iraqi immigrant, plans to open a new convenience store in the location of the former Salvation Army building downtown. (September 14)

- John C.L. Morgan

Westbrook GOP Picks Chuluda, Rossignol as Nominees for Office

PPH:

The city's former mayor and its former finance director, who is banned from City
Hall, will run for office in November. At a caucus on Sunday, Republicans chose
Bruce Chuluda as their candidate for mayor and Susan Rossignol to run for city
clerk. Chuluda was mayor for six years before being unseated two years ago by
current Mayor Colleen Hilton.

Press Herald columnist Bill Nemitz has a take on the nomination of Rossignol.

- John C.L. Morgan

Chuluda Considering Another Mayoral Run

AJ:

With the Republican and Democratic caucuses about to fire the starting gun for
the 2011 elections, Bruce Chuluda, who lost to Colleen Hilton in the 2009
mayor’s race by 100 votes, said he is “strongly” considering challenging Hilton
again. “I’m certainly leaning toward throwing my hat in the ring,” Chuluda said
Tuesday. Chuluda said he will wait to gauge the response from his party at the
Republican caucus, which begins Sunday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m. at the Westbrook
Community Center.

- John C.L. Morgan

Planning Board Approves Idexx's Plans for Building

PPH:

Idexx Laboratories has the city's approval to start building the first phase of
its proposed $60 million corporate headquarters. The city's Planning Board
unanimously approved a site plan Tuesday for a 107,000-square-foot building to
house offices for 300 administrative employees, as well as a fitness center and
a food service area. Construction of the building, next to Idexx's existing
facility off Eisenhower Drive, is scheduled to start in April 2012 and be
completed in August 2013.

- John C.L. Morgan

Performing Arts Center Looks to Expand Marketing

AJ:

Part of the problem is that [Jamie] Grant is the center’s only official staff
member. It’s his job to market the center, but it’s also his job to make sure
events run smoothly. For many of the 97 events he mentioned, Grant said, he had
to open the center and essentially run the building during the event. Grant
acknowledged that he needs to spend more time selling the center than running
events in it. “Every minute that I’m in the theater doing a show is another
minute that I’m not out of the theater getting someone else to do a show,” he
said. Gary Bongiovanni, editor of Pollstar, a concert tour industry magazine
based in Fresno, Calif., agreed that a venue like the center needs someone to
announce its presence to potential performers.

- John C.L. Morgan