Gossip
Written and compiled by Chris Busby, except as noted

June 21, 2008

Pizzaria/lounge to open in old Granny’s space, Enterprise moves, and more
A pizzaria with booze and live music is expected to open soon in the Fore Street space long occupied by Granny’s Burritos. Joe’s New York Pizza is not, as you might expect, associated with Joe Soley, who owns the building. It’s a small, but rapidly growing chain with locations in New Hampshire and (of all places) Las Vegas.

Owner and founder Joe Kelly said the Portland location will offer beer, wine and liquor, and will serve slices until late at night every night of the week. There’ll be DJs and acoustic and electric music, but no dancing (Kelly got an entertainment-without-dance license at the City Council’s June 16 meeting.)

Granny’s, now on Congress Street, has a new neighbor. Enterprise Records has relocated across the street, next to Blue, after 16 years at a similarly sized space by the State Theatre. That space will be an art gallery showcasing the work of painter Jim Williams and photographer Jeff Swanson. Both have studios in the State Theatre building – Williams’ is called Mainely Labs, in reference to his primary subject matter, Labrador Retrievers. Williams said the as-yet-unnamed gallery will likely open in September.

A couple doors down, another gallery has joined Aucocisco and 9 Hands Gallery on the block. Holly Ready Gallery features the work of land- and seascape painter Holly Ready. The space her new gallery occupies was long home to Columbia Barber Shop, which closed this spring.


June 16, 2008


Government for hire: Portland City Councilor Kevin Donoghue. (file photo)

Councilor becomes cabbie
The next time you hail a cab after a night of revelry in the Old Port, don't be surprised if Portland City Councilor Kevin Donoghue is at the wheel. Donoghue, 29, recently got a taxi license, and plans to begin working as a cabbie driving for ASAP this week.

"I'm looking for some extra money, and I'd like to work at night," said Donoghue, who also has a part-time job with Mitchell Geographics, a mapping company in Portland. "It looks like interesting work that's compatible with my schedule."

Donoghue is chairman of the City Council's Transportation Committee. Given his new job, he said he'll be recusing himself from votes on taxi-related matters, like tonight's Council vote on an ordinance that would increase fares from 25 cents to 30 cents for each tenth of a mile traveled, and bump up the waiting charge from 30 cents to 40 cents per minute.

The increases are being sought due to rising gas prices. According to city documents, fares were last increased in September of 2004.


June 6, 2008

Toddler shots: Jones Landing customers during Reggae Sunday last summer. (photo/The Fuge)

Jones Landing owner rips Council
Jones Landing owner Robin Clark ripped the Portland City Council a new collective anus Monday night over its handling of a licensing issue related to her Peaks Island business.

Clark faced city scrutiny over concerns raised by the Portland Harbor Commission about boaters docked just beyond Jones Landing's boat landing during its Reggae Sunday events. The boaters have apparently been drinking heavily while listening to the music, and maritime authorities are worried about intoxicated people operating vessels after the event ends.

During a meeting prior to Monday's Council meeting, Clark, Portland police officials and the Harbor Commission reached an agreement by which Clark will take steps to dissuade boaters from floating and boozing at her landing. The police and commission members said they were satisfied with the arrangement, but Clark was decidedly unsatisfied with the city's handling of the issue.

"You tagged my license and you strong-armed me," Clark told councilors from the podium. She said city officials had been "very unfriendly and very uncooperative," and complained that she was first made aware of the issue when a reporter called her about it this spring.

Councilors did not offer any apologies, but thanked Clark several times for her cooperation and unanimously granted her license renewal request with no further comment.

Portland police spokesman Vern Malloch said the department recommended Clark's liquor license be renewed. He said there had been only one fight call at the business during the most recent review period.

While that's probably true, the weekly Reggae Sunday events are not as problem-free as the cops and councilors would have you believe.

Casco Bay Lines now pays for two police officers to ride the ferries to and from Peaks on Sunday afternoons – a show of force necessary to help quell fights and other misbehavior by drunken reggae fans attending Reggae Sunday. (The quasi-public ferry service – which employs this reporter's wife and Councilor Nick Mavodones – previously paid for one officer.) Jones Landing's customers do cause problems that require police calls, but those calls are attributed to Casco Bay Lines or the Maine State Pier, where passengers disembark after the weekly bacchanal.

It's unclear exactly why city officials were mum about the actual impact Reggae Sunday has, but after the tongue-lashing they got on Monday, we can only guess they were loathe to get another.


April 29, 2008

Another chance to revive The Tree; new deal for Keystone space
Brothers Jimmy and Billy O'Brien, former proprietors of The Big Easy, got city approval for liquor and entertainment licenses last night to open O'Brien's Bar and Grill in the Danforth Street building formerly occupied by Sisters. The spot was made famous many years ago as home of The Treehouse Café (The Tree), a live music venue where a host of notable musicians once performed.

The O'Brien twins are taking over from Joe and Jill Cooper, a couple from Cumberland who had previously tried to open the space as a private function room with music shows open to the public a couple times a month. Those plans stalled as other priorities took precedence, Joe Cooper told The Bollard in late 2006. [See "The Tree's stunted growth," Dec. 15, 2006, in Gossip.]

The O'Briens plan to operate the establishment seven days a week, with live music two night a week. The food will be pub fare.

Billy O'Brien said the bar and grill may open as soon as this summer or as late as next spring, depending on the amount of work necessary to get the long-vacant building back in shape.

Several neighbors had raised concerns about noise, parking and other issues associated with bars when the Coopers got their license. A couple neighbors echoed those concerns last night, but Billy O'Brien pledged to take steps to mitigate any potential problems and maintain a constructive dialogue with neighbors. The council approved the license requests unanimously.

City councilors were also unanimous in support of granting liquor and entertainment licenses for Port City Music Hall/The Front Lounge, a new live music venue, bar and eatery slated to occupy the portion of the former Keystone Theater that fronts Congress Street. The Stadium, a sports bar, occupies the back half of the same building.

On March 4, The Bollard reported that Space Gallery co-founder Todd Bernard was leading efforts to realize this project. [See "Space co-founder to start big music venue," in Gossip, below.] However, the proprietor has now been identified as Rob Evon, of Portland. Bernard said there had been discussion between his group and Evon of operating the venue together, but the two parties' visions for the space could not be reconciled. Bernard and his partners are still looking for a suitable space to launch a music venue.

Evon plans to bring local and regional and national touring acts to Port City Music Hall. The Front Lounge will occupy a smaller part of the same space and operate like a pub, but the barrier between the lounge and the approximately 600-person capacity concert hall can be removed during big shows.

In documents submitted to the city, Evon described the mix of music as "rock, roots, reggae, jazz and hip-hop," and said the target demographic will be people ages 21 to 35.

Evon has operated Champion Sound Works, a live concert audio and video recording company, for the past seven years. He said equipment set up on the floor above the venue will allow for live audio recording of shows there.


April 18, 2008


The Scotia Prince awaiting her fate in Toulon, France. (photo/Matteo Fasce; used by permission)

The Scotia Prince: Where is she now?
For 24 years, the Scotia Prince was part of Portland's fabric, her transits of the harbor to and from Nova Scotia serving as a giant clock: if you saw the Scotia Prince pulling out of the International Marine Terminal, lights ablaze, you knew it was about eight o'clock. For passengers, the 14-hour trip across the Gulf of Maine was like a transatlantic passage in miniature, a taste of bygone days when cruise liners were about transportation, rather than the all-you-can-eat waffle station.

The Prince left Portland in 2005, following a dispute with the city over mold contamination and other maintenance issues at the city-owned International Marine Terminal. Last fall, an arbitrator ordered the city to pay Scotia Prince Cruises $1.2 million to settle the dispute – a financial hit that has worsened Portland's already stressed budget situation this year. (Granted, it could have been much, much worse: the ferry company initially sought nearly $165 million in damages.)

Bermuda-based Scotia Prince Cruises sold the ship to a holding company in April 2007, and now the 12,000-ton vessel is for sale again. She's been tied up in the French port of Toulon since last October, after a season ferrying passengers between Almeria, Spain and Nador, Morocco. Niels-Erik Lund, president of International Shipping Partners, the Miami-based management company that is brokering the sale, would not disclose the asking price, but said, "we have had a number of serious negotiations."

Since leaving Portland, the 36-year-old ship has been taking odd jobs – the marine equivalent of temping. From September 2005 to March 2006, she was chartered to the Federal Emergency Management Agency in New Orleans, where she served as a floating apartment block for hundreds of relief workers and residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina. She then crossed the Atlantic and spent a month on the Genoa-to-Tangier run before being detained by Italian authorities for numerous safety violations.

After undergoing the required repairs in Genoa, the Prince spent the summer and fall of 2006 under charter to Algerie Ferries, ferrying passengers and vehicles between the Algerian port city of Oran and ports in Spain and France. In April of last year, Scotia Prince Cruises sold her to the Clipper Group, a Bahamian holding company, which contracted ISP to manage the vessel.

Interested buyers can visit the following Web page for details: www.isp-usa.com/fleet/scotiaprince/scotiaprince.html

– Colin Woodard


April 9, 2008

Strimling: No thanks, Selwyn
State Senator Ethan Strimling's Congressional campaign said it has returned a $250 online contribution from S. Donald Sussman, the hedge fund honcho whose company has given rival Chellie Pingree nearly $60,000. [See "Following the money in the 1st District Congressional race," March 20, 2008, in News.]

After The Bollard broke news of Pingree's windfall from Sussman's Paloma Partners fund, the Strimling camp said it sent out an e-mail to supporters criticizing Pingree for accepting that block of cash. "Just hours" later, the Strimling camp said in a press release, a $250 contribution arrived via the Internet from Selwyn Sussman. A campaign worker flagged the contribution as suspicious, and after a Google search revealed that Selwyn Sussman is S. Donald Sussman, the money was returned.

"This is nothing more than attempted dirty politics by the Pingree camp," the Strimling camp said in its press release. It added that a search of Federal Election Commission records turned up no other instances of Sussman contributing under his little-used first name.

Had the Strimling team unwittingly accepted Sussman's contribution, the theory goes, his criticism of Pingree's take from Paloma would be deflated.

In a statement released by Pingree communications director Willy Ritch, the campaign said, "neither she nor anyone in her campaign has any knowledge of or has been involved with directing contributions to any of her opponents."

Sussman did not return a call seeking comment.


April 4, 2008


Resurgam: Granny's Burritos' old Old Port home — now available for $1,500/week. (photo/Mich Ouellette)

Granny's meets Billy's
Granny's Burritos is coming back.

Chris Godin, proprietor of the popular Old Port eatery that closed its doors on Fore Street last December, is partnering with Uncle Billy's Resto-Bar chef and owner Jonathan St. Laurent to reopen in Uncle Billy's Congress Street location later this month.

St. Laurent said he will continue the catering side of his business (see unclebillysbbqmaine.com) and may offer some Uncle Billy's dishes at the new Granny's, but burritos will be the focus.

Uncle Billy's relocated to Portland over a year ago after several years in Yarmouth. St. Laurent said family medical bills, coupled with the sluggish economy, made it tough to keep the Resto-Bar going. After this weekend, Uncle Billy's will close for a week or more of renovation work, then reopen as Granny's.

Godin said he's excited to back in the burrito biz. Granny's fans will undoubtedly rejoice (though barbeque aficionados are bound to be a bit bummed). Godin quoted a comment written on a sign outside the old Granny's: "Your creations are genius, your traditions are clear, your reemergence is IMPERATIVE."


One more time for the world
This just in: Portland indie-rock kings Cult Maze will be playing one last show in addition to tonight's gig at Geno's, previously believed to be their last (see item below). The free, 18-plus show will take place this Sunday night, at Space Gallery, at 7 p.m. The band will be recording a live album that evening (including several new songs) and also capturing the show on video.

March 17, 2008


Better than The Cult: Cult Maze members (from left) Peet Chamberlain, Jay Lobley, Andrew Barron and Josh Loring. (photo/courtesy Cult Maze)

CLARIFICATION: The following statement was received on March 17 from Cult Maze drummer Andrew Barron: "As of April 4th, Cult Maze will be going on indefinite hiatus. The last few years have been a lot of fun, but also really exhausting, and we need a break to evaluate where we stand.While hanging it up is not out of the question, we're simply not at a point where we can make that public. You'll get your Pulitzer off us yet."

Cult Maze calls it quits
The local indie-rock band Cult Maze, widely considered one of the finest practitioners of the form to emerge from Portland, are disbanding, according to guitarist Josh Loring. The group's last gig will be on April 4, at Geno's, with fellow local indie-rockers Phantom Buffalo.

Loring said the four bandmates will pursue various side projects in the wake of Cult Maze's demise, like his own project, Brenda, a drum-and-guitar duo. Guitarist, singer and songwriter Jay Lobley has been playing in a new outfit called Metal Feathers with his brother, Derek, Diamond Sharp frontman Jason Rogers, and drummer Althea Pajak [see The Online Underground, Feb. 3, 2008, for more on this group].

Cult Maze also includes keyboardist Peet Chamberlain and drummer Andrew Barron. The group released two highly praised albums, 2006's The Ice Arena [read our review here] and last year's 35, 36 [reviewed in the Fall 2007 print issue of The Bollard].


March 4, 2008


The former Keystone Theater on Congress Street. (photo/City of Portland)

Space co-founder to start big music venue
Space Gallery co-founder Todd Bernard has left the non-profit arts organization to open a sizeable music venue a couple blocks down Congress Street, in the front half of the former Keystone Theater. Bernard said he hopes to begin construction this summer and open the as-yet-unnamed venue in the fall.

Bernard and buddy Jon Courtney started Space six years ago. Courtney curates films for Space, and is staying on board. The gallery has hired local musician and writer Ian Paige (White Light) as its new events programmer.

The spacious former Keystone space has the potential to host shows by the type of nationally touring rock and roots acts that previously played the State Theatre. The State has been shuttered for the past two years, since a nasty legal dispute between owner Stone Coast Properties and tenant/promoter Chris Morgan. There's been no indication when or whether the historic theater will reopen.

Bernard's new venue will share the building with The Stadium, which occupies the half fronting on Free Street. In the summer of 2006, Stadium owner Mike Harris announced plans to move his sports bar into the Congress Street half and open a Hooters in his current space. You know what happened to that…


February 25, 2008

Úna mas, Bleachers goes Italian
Úna, the classy tapas, wine and cocktail lounge on Fore Street, plans to expand into the space next door formerly occupied by Portland Pie. In documents submitted to the city, proprietor John Reed said the expansion will allow the lounge to offer more entertainment. The City Council is expected to approve the request at its meeting tonight.

Portland Pie vacated the space last year after a dispute with landlord Kerry Anderson [see "Pie fight," June 27, 2007]. The pizzeria has since opened a much larger location nearby on York Street. Anderson had planned to build a seven-story retail, office and condo building next to the building Úna occupies, but city officials say there's been no progress on that development since it was presented to the planning board last summer.

In other nightlife news, the Bayside sports bar Bleachers has a new owner, Gene DiMillo, son of DiMillo's Floating Restaurant founder Tony DiMillo. DiMillo is renaming the establishment G&R DiMillo's Bayside, renovating the building, and adjusting the menu to give it more Italian flavor. He's also adding entertainment, but only plans to have music about once a month. The reborn sports bar is expected to open soon. And no, it will not float.


February 6, 2008


A recent "Picture of the Week" on Portland's new sidewalk vigilante Web site, portlandsidewalks.org.

Online sidewalk vigilante steps in
City officials recently wrestled again with the problem of keeping sidewalks clear of snow, and decided last Monday to maintain the status quo for the rest of this winter while a committee studies the costs of various alternatives.

There's plenty of dissatisfaction with the current system, which relies on citizens to alert the city of properties where snow and ice has not been cleared at least a day after a storm. A city inspector is supposed to issue lax property owners a notice, and if the sidewalk isn't clear after another 24 hours, public works employees may clear the sidewalk and charge the property owner for the task.

The current policy simply "isn't working," Councilor Jim Cohen said during Monday's meeting. Residents complained that sidewalks along major roadways off the peninsula are not plowed, and even with the threat of fines, many property owners aren't shoveling. One resident of outer Congress Street brought in a picture of the sidewalk outside her home, where she said city plows had left an enormous pile of snow. "You expect me to shovel this?," the sign read.

There's inadequate enforcement of the city ordinance requiring sidewalk-clearing "unless someone is ratted out," noted Councilor Jill Duson. Now, thanks to a local pedestrian activist – who requested anonymity due to the nature of his rabblerousing– it's gotten easier to rat out irresponsible property owners this winter.

The Web site this activist maintains, portlandsidewalks.org, has an explanation of city policy (and a link to research and report violations online), a blog following the latest political developments, a list of offending properties, and an "action alert" e-mail bulletin sent out after major storms to rally fellow vigilantes.

With more snow forecast to fall later this week, you may want to bookmark that one.


January 27, 2008

Life after Ethan
The buzz has begun over who will represent the peninsula and western mainland neighborhoods in State Senate District 8, the seat Congressional candidate Ethan Strimling has held since 2002.

At first, the top dog in this contest was J. Elizabeth Mitchell, daughter of State Sen. Elizabeth "Libby" Mitchell of Vassalboro, the Democratic majority leader. Elizabeth the Younger, also a Dem, served two terms in the Maine House in the mid-1990s (she ran unopposed both times), and was considered the candidate to beat when she formally filed papers to run earlier this month.

Enter Justin Alfond, director of the Portland chapter of The League (formerly The League of Pissed Off Voters) and grandson of the late philanthropist Harold Alfond. Last month, Alfond announced he was leaving his job with The League after almost five years heading the non-partisan organization that works to get young people engaged in politics. At the time, he told The Bollard he wasn't sure what he'd do next, but said he'd stay on as League director through the election this November, to help his successor transition into the job.

Now Alfond tells us he's "considering" a run for the Maine Senate. (Sources say he's been considerably more committal in private conversations, and plans to step down as League director well before Election Day to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.)

A registered Democrat, Alfond could have forced Mitchell to compete in a party primary this June – if she'd stayed in the race.

According to Sive Neilan, chair of the Portland Democratic City Committee, Mitchell has dropped her bid for the Senate seat – she recently had a baby, Neilan noted, so the timing isn't great.

The Green Independents don't have a well-positioned contender for this seat, and a Republican would have a snowball's chance in hell in this left-of-center district. But Mitchell's exit doesn't mean Alfond's got a free ride to Augusta.

Enter Cliff Ginn.


Opportunists: Cliff Ginn, third from left, and Justin Alfond, far right, with Gov. John Baldacci after the Opportunity Maine bill was signed into law last year. (photo/Ramona du Houx, The Maine Democrat)


Ginn and Alfond have more than party affiliation in common. They're both founders and major figures in Opportunity Maine, the organization that got a law passed last year giving graduates of Maine colleges a tax credit if they stay and work in the state. Ginn is president of the Opportunity Maine board; Alfond serves as treasurer of the organization's lobbying and political action committee arms.

Ginn confirmed that he's running as a Democrat, but said he wasn't sure whether his Op Maine colleague will do the same. Neilan said she was also unsure what banner Alfond would run under, then noted that City Councilor John Anton became a Green shortly before making his recent bid for public office – a telling remark.

Alfond and The League caught flack from the Democratic establishment last fall for promoting Anton's candidacy. Some local Dems said they felt The League didn't work hard enough on behalf of Councilor Jill Duson, a Democrat whom the group also endorsed in the (officially non-partisan) at-large council race Anton and Duson won. [See "City races get nasty in final stretch," Oct. 31, 2007, in News.] Alfond defended The League's level of support for both candidates, saying each had gotten the amount of backing they had requested.

Interestingly, Ginn's own party loyalty is hardly rock-solid. The Harvard Law grad was a leading Green Party organizer on the Cambridge campus back in 2000. He told The Bollard today that he was a Democrat before becoming a Green, and rejoined the Donkey Party in 2003 when he moved back to Maine.


One of Nader's invaders: Ginn at Harvard eight years ago. (photo/Perspective magazine)


With Mitchell out of the race, it's quite possible more Dems will join the fray next month, when the party's caucus provides a good opportunity to collect signatures to get on the ballot. Stay tuned.


January 19, 2008


Spilled test-tube shots on Oasis' patio in the summer of 2006. (photo/Mich Ouellette)

Wharf Street shakeup
Threeways out, Cake to walk, Oasis to return
Big changes are afoot in the heart of Portland's Old Port. Five nightclubs and bars have either closed or will soon close within the block of Fore and Wharf streets between Union Street and the byway the cops call "piss alley."

Digger's and Liquid Blue, the adjoining bar and dance club on Fore Street owned by Tom Manning, closed earlier this month after Manning lost his appeals to have the establishments' liquor and entertainment licenses reinstated. Manning is also the proprietor of The Iguana, a bar on Wharf Street expected to close in a few months, when its lease ends.

Cake, the restaurant and nightclub Manning opened next door to The Iguana about a year ago, is also on its way out, said Mike Harris, who holds the lease on a portion of Cake's space. Manning's attorney, Gary Prolman, has not returned calls seeking comment.

Harris formerly leased the building next door to Cake, when it was the dance club Oasis. Oasis closed in late 2006 and was replaced by the dance club Threeways, which recently ran afoul of its neighbors [see "Wharf Street uprising," Oct. 7, 2007, in News]. The Portland City Council gave Threeways a probationary period of sorts last month to clean up its act. Instead, the club's clearing out to make way for: Oasis.

Harris said a new company has bought the lease and Oasis' name from him, and plans to reopen the club next month. The reborn Oasis will be "the same thing," Harris said. "Same staff, same music, same fun stuff" – just a different owner. The new owner's request for liquor and entertainment licenses is expected to come before the city council on Feb. 4.

Harris also owns The Stadium, a sports bar on Free Street that made news last year when he announced plans to make it Maine's first Hooters, inspiring a brief city ban on chain businesses downtown. Harris said he's helping a representative of Kalmon Dolgin Affiliates (KDA), the New York–based real estate investment firm that owns several buildings in the area, find new tenants for the properties.

The owners want "a high-end restaurant" in Cake's space, Harris said. Other sources have talked more specifically of that being an Italian restaurant. Representatives of KDA were not immediately available for comment.

Plans for Liquid Blue "are kind of up in the air [between] nightclub and retail," said Harris. The adjacent Digger's space is being eyed for another restaurant, and The Iguana may change ownership but remain largely the same, he added.

So, for those of you keeping score, that's five bar/nightclubs out, two new restaurants likely coming in, plus one or two new nightclubs and another being reborn, with the possibility of one new retail shop instead of a third club.

Speaking of retail, the hip Bayside t-shirt, clothing and accessory company Rogues Gallery is opening a store on the same block, at 41 Wharf St., on Feb. 1. That space was last occupied by 2 Note, a perfumery that's since retrenched and moved operations to Brackett Street, in Portland's West End.


January 17, 2008


From journalism to advocacy: Marian McCue. (photo/courtesy MCLU)

MCLMcCue
Former Forecaster editor Marian McCue has joined the Maine Civil Liberties Union as its communications specialist, the organization announced this week. McCue (this reporter's former boss at the Forecaster) was editor of the community weekly for 16 years and owned it until 2003, when she sold it to the publishers of the Lewiston Sun Journal.

"I've always really believed in this organization," said McCue. "To be working on the things we're working on is interesting to me."


January 1, 2008

State Sen. Ethan Strimling at Gooch's Beach in Kennebunk this morning after taking a dip for charity. (photo/courtesy Strimling)

How to get free press in The Bollard
1. Acquire Bollard t-shirt. [Browse styles here. Bollardhead shirts also apply!]
2. Announce you are running for Congress in Maine's 1st District.
3. Jump into the ocean off the coast of Maine in January wearing Bollard t-shirt.
4. Have photo taken of this achievement and sent to editor@thebollard.com. (Include name if excessively blue, Green, Republican or otherwise unidentifiable.)


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