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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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
MPBN:
The third time's the charm for a Westbook woman, who has finally realized her
dream of swimming across the English Channel. Pat Gallant-Charette, 60,
succeeded today on her third attempt to swim the 20-mile distance. According an
entry posted at 3:14 p.m. today on her blog, www.patgalant.blogspot.com/,
Gallant-Charette completed the swim after battling strong currents at the end.
"SHE DID IT!, OMG, she did it!" the entry reads.
- John C.L. Morgan
Related: Westbrook Woman Prepared to Swim English Channel (August 15, 2011)
AJ:
[City Administrator Jerre] Bryant said Unified Technologies has been helping the
city with IT needs on an “on-call” basis since the vacancies occurred, and the
proposed contract would bring the company on in a more extensive fashion. The
contract, if approved, will involve a one-time fee of $7,650, and a monthly fee
of $15,000, starting in September and ending on June 30, 2012. Bryant said it
will cost a total of $161,950. By contrast, Bryant said the city’s budget for
that same time period for in-house IT services is $188,000.
- John C.L. Morgan
PPH:
[F]or all three settlements, taxpayers will pay $338,000 of the $1.2 million
that the employees receive.
[snip]
Each claim covered by insurance also requires that the city pay a deductible,
the cost of which differs depending on the type of claim. Each of the three Fire
Department employees' lawsuits triggered the payment of a $10,000 deductible.
That adds another $30,000 to the cost of the lawsuits. Big settlements also
affect the annual premium the city pays for insurance coverage. Between 2009 and
2010, the premium jumped from $188,000 to $208,000, or a $20,000 increase. In
the three years prior, the premium increased an average of about $10,000 per
year.
- John C.L. Morgan
FOX 23's "Good Day Maine" has had a couple guests with Westbrook ties on their show recently.
Mandolin player Taylor Smith and his progressive bluegrass band Cribstone Bridge Band played on the show, and James Tranchemontagne of the Frog and Turtle cooked and talked shop.
- John C.L. Morgan
NPR:
Pat Gallant-Charette wants to swim across the English Channel in August. On top
of her job as a nurse, the 60-year-old grandmother from Westbrook, Maine,
follows a rigorous training schedule that includes one- to 10-hour swims along
the crashing waves of the cold ocean shore. Gallant-Charette almost crossed the
Channel once before, but currents kept her at bay just a mile and a half from
the finish. This time, she's convinced she'll make it.
The PPH also had a profile on Gallant-Charette last week.
- John C.L. Morgan
Related: Westbrook Woman Sets Record in Swim Across the Strait of Gibraltar (June 29, 2010)
PPH:
Westbrook and Marshwood moved from Western Class A to Western Class B, and
Brewer and Mt. Blue made similar drops in Eastern Maine. The moves are intended
to make them more competitive because they will play against schools of similar
size. "We're really excited about it," said Westbrook Coach Jeff Guerette. "It
gives us a chance to be competitive. The more attractive we can make the
program, the better the chances to get more kids out for the sport."
- John C.L. Morgan
PDS:
Using 80 percent federal highway funds and 20 percent state funds, MaineDOT
hired R.J. Grondin and Sons of Gorham as the contractor. The job started in
spring 2010 and it's scheduled to be completed by the end of this October, Latti
said. "Basically we're widening that road, it's nearly a mile long, from the
Westbrook Connector to Saco Street in Westbrook," Latti said. Over 16,500
vehicles a day use this stretch of Route 25, which connects the Westbrook
Arterial to Saco Street. More than 19,000 vehicles a day travel some sections,
Latti said. In the past, pedestrians faced a steady flow of traffic with few
easy crossings.
- John C.L. Morgan
Maine Biz:
People seem to think Colleen Hilton should be more stressed out than she is. As
CEO of a health care organization facing major funding cuts and mayor of a city
that’s seen its share of controversy in the last year, she certainly has reason
to be. But for Hilton, making tough decisions comes with the territory.
"If you don’t have the mindset that you’re confident about what you’re doing,
you shouldn’t be doing it," Hilton says, sitting in her office at VNA Home
Health & Hospice, a nonprofit that serves more than 3,000 clients each year.
- John C.L. Morgan
Related: CCB Inc. President a 'Woman to Watch' (October 13, 2009)
PPH:
White Bros., which was sold last year to Connecticut-based Lane Construction,
has offered the city 14 acres near its quarry to use for athletic fields. The
company is also donating its workers and equipment to build the two fields--an
estimated $400,000 gift. "It's an unbelievable blessing for the city," City
Councilor Victor Chau said last Monday, before voting in favor of an agreement
to lease the land for 25 years for $25. The council also voted to spend $26,400
on the engineering and design of the fields. City Administrator Jerre Bryant
said that cost would be covered by donations. He wouldn't say who was donating
the money because those deals hadn't been finalized.
- John C.L. Morgan
