The Knightville Mill Creek Neighborhood Association and the Waterfront Market Association will host a neighborhood mixer for Knightville residents and businesses on Thursday, Feb. 25, at 5:30 p.m. at the Snow Squall restaurant on Ocean Street.

The event will feature food samples from local establishments, including new arrivals such as Verbena Café, Zeta Café, the Snow Squall, The Meat House and familiar favorites such as the the Q Street Diner and Hannaford. The Snow Squall will provide a cash bar. Neighborhood businesses are offering door prizes including restaurant gift certificates. The evening will be an opportunity for residents and businesses to meet and socialize with one another.

This neighborhood mixer is the first effort in community-building campaign being promoted by the “Knightville Boosters,” members of both the neighborhood and the business community. Attendees will be invited to share and comment on ideas for future events, large and small, to be scheduled throughout the year. All are welcome to join and participate in the Booster effort.

Leah Muliero, president of the KMCNA, said, “The whole idea is to make our community as vibrant a place as possible in which to live and conduct business.”

Bob O’Brien, president of the WMA, said, “Our local business people are excited about the opportunity to meet and work together with our neighbors to show everyone the great things that are happening in downtown South Portland.”

KMCNA member Sarah Kirn initiated the Knightville Booster committee. She said, “Those of us who live or work in Knightville have invested in this place because we see the treasures we have here now and the potential for even better things in the future. We hope to fill the banquet room with people interested in celebrating Knightville.”

Many members of the two organizations have been involved with planning for Knightville and Millcreek since South Portland six years ago commissioned the creation of several concepts for the future. All were based on the neighborhood’s role as a village existing with the commercial “downtown” of South Portland and Cape Elizabeth. This led to development of a revised city plan designed to blend residences and commercial establishments.

Thirteen candidates in Maine’s race for governor debated Jan. 20 at the Wyndham Hotel in South Portland. Here is the video stream of the debate, thanks to the Associated General Contractors of Maine:

Building the Road to the Blaine House Debate from Matt Marks on Vimeo.

SOUTH PORTLAND POLICE PRESS RELEASE (Excerpted for length):
LD 1561, the bill seeking to ban the use of Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR) statewide, is set for a public hearing in front of the Transportation Committee this coming Friday (2/5/10) at 1pm in room 126 at the State House in Augusta.

As previously released, in the best interests of public and officer safety, the City of South Portland and the South Portland Police Department, which recently implemented the first ALPR camera in the state, opposes this legislation. South Portland Police Chief Edward Googins commented that “Automated License Plate Recognition technology has huge benefits in law enforcement by providing an additional layer of safety for officers, while improving their effectiveness in keeping our communities safe. It is unfortunate that this proposed legislation has been presented as the best way to protect privacy issues when other, more appropriate,
safeguards could be implemented that would balance the expressed privacy concerns with this technology’s ability to provide for the safety of the public and our officers.”

Click here for the department’s procedures for using the technology.

South Portland police officers handle between 33,000 and 35,000 calls for service each year. Evacuation estimates indicate that the Maine Mall alone, which is located in South Portland, sees over 17 million visitors each year; averaging around 46,000 visitors each day, or 1.4 million visitors each month. These numbers increase during the busier summer and holiday shopping seasons. In fact, on Black Friday alone, there are estimated to be approximately 71,223 vehicles in the area of the Maine Mall, an area patrolled by one police officer. Considering this data and the current climate in which municipalities are being asked to do more with less, the department
views the ALPR as a force multiplier. The ALPR can process upwards of 3,000 license plates hour. I compare it to having 200 cops riding around together in the same police car. How priceless could that level of effective and efficient protection be, not if, but when we’re looking for just one dangerous and wanted felon, or one missing child or endangered adult?

This bill was introduced based upon privacy concerns raised by the Maine Civil Liberties Union (MCLU). Their concerns stem from law enforcement’s access to what we’re calling a “scan file,” which is simply a list of license plate numbers that the ALPR cruiser drives by during the day that are not contained on the ALPR “hotlist.”

In addition to other law enforcement agencies, the following organizations are among those stakeholders who also oppose this legislation:
Maine Chiefs of Police Association
Maine Association of Police
Maine Municipal Association
Maine Alzheimer’s Association
Maine Family Crisis Services
National Insurance Crime Bureau

PRESS RELEASE: Cancer Community Center, 778 Main St., South Portland, ME 04106
 
If You Have Been Through a Cancer Experience, Consider Volunteering to Help Others Who are Affected by Cancer

South Portland, ME, February 1, 2010.  A cancer diagnosis inevitably changes a person’s life. Often one of the first things that someone who has been diagnosed with cancer wants to do is to talk to someone else who has been through a similar experience. Other cancer patients may feel that need for information and support at a later stage, perhaps during or even after their medical treatment. The Maine Buddy Program provides one-to-one emotional support, information and encouragement to people affected by cancer:  patients, their family and friends, and those who have lost someone to cancer.

The Cancer Community Center is looking for cancer survivors and co-survivors (partners, parents, family members, friends and those who have lost a loved one to cancer) who would like to use their own experience to help others. We are offering a Maine Buddy training session on Saturday February 27, 9am-3pm at the Cancer Community Center, 778 Main Street in South Portland. Lunch will be provided. Cancer survivors and co-survivors should be at least six months out of their own cancer experience or loss in order to be trained to be a Maine Buddy.

“The state-wide Maine Buddy Program has been one of the foundational pillars of the Cancer Community Center for over eight years and we have trained over 300 Buddies all over the state” says Jani Darak-Druck, Manager of Volunteer Services at the Cancer Community Center. “Talking with someone who has had the same type of cancer, surgery or treatment can relieve a lot of anxiety. Geography is irrelevant because Buddies mostly connect by phone. I might have a colon cancer survivor in Lewiston talk to someone diagnosed with colon cancer in Fort Kent.  It’s a wonderful way for survivors and co-survivors to make a real difference in someone else’s life and a great way to give back” she adds.

If you would like to become a Maine Buddy or if you need a Buddy contact Jani Darak- Druck at 774-2200 or e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). The Cancer Community Center provides activities and support services at no charge for adults living with cancer and their families and friends. Visit http://www.CancerCommunityCenter.org for more information about what we do.

Here is a message from the SoPo dog owners’ group:

Subject: DOG LICENSES ARE DUE FOR 2010

Dog licenses are due for 2010, if you didn’t get yours you have this weekend to get them online before a LATE FEE applies!

For South Portland residents go to: http://www.southportland.org, scroll down, on lower right click “dog licensing”. Late fee starts 2/1 and is $15 in addition to the license fee.

If you live in Portland or another town go to your City’s webpage and see if they have this service available.

REMEMBER TO HAVE YOUR DOG IMMUNIZED FOR RABIES EVERY 3 YEARS (ASK YOUR VET!)

Press Release:

Becoming the Change You Wish to See in the World: A New Year, A New You!  A one-day professional development symposium

**Already over 130 people registered…still some space left!**

Come and be part of our day-long personal and professional development symposium which will explore the question of how we can become our best selves by improving communication, heightening self-awareness, gaining personal direction, and increasing our productivity.

Who: Experts in the field of professional development, David Lee, Fran Liautaud, Jim Bouchard, Michael J. Chase and Jennifer Comeau

What: A full day of inspiring sessions. Proceeds to benefit the Cancer Community Center of South Portland

Where: Hosted by Unum, 2211 Congress St., HO3 Building, Portland, ME

When:  Saturday, January 30, 2010, 9am-4pm, cost: $25 or $35 with lunch

Contact: REGISTRATION CLOSES Friday, January 29, 2010 at 2pm, for workshop with lunch; Call 774-2200 or visit http://www.CancerCommunityCenter.org to register. Day of registration will be available, however the lunch option will not.  Please bring a lunch or plan to go out during the one hour break for lunch.

Need more information? Call 774-2200, Jennifer Nelson or Kathryn Davidson

SoPo resident and entrepreneur Tollef Olsen is featured with business partner Paul Dobbins on Internet TV discussing the pair’s venture in kelp farming off the coast of Maine. The two operate Ocean Approved, the only commercial kelp farm in the U.S. They farm on underwater acreage leased from Maine’s Department of Marine Resources. See why they believe kelp farming is an industry for the 21st Century.

This nifty kids’ bike was discovered by Alec Wilson, Teddy Norton and Anna Wildes in January, and they are hoping to find the owner.

According to Becca Wilson, Alec’s mom, the three pals “went sledding one day and they decided to make a snow fort. They began to dig on a big mound of snow; in the process, they managed to unearth a bicycle that was completely covered with snow. 

“It actually took them quite a while and they worked great together as a team to get it out!  It’s a nice bike and should be returned to its rightful owner.”

The kids and their parents hope that the bike owner will see this photo and be able to further identify the bike and where it was last seen.

If you think the bike is yours or can help solve the mystery, contact Becca Wilson, at 799-5435.

With its diverse industries and careful fiscal management, South Portland has weathered previous economic slowdowns better than other Maine municipalities. The current recession seems to be no exception.

The Bond Buyer reports that Standard & Poor’s boosted the long-term rating on SoPo’s general obligation debt from AA to AA-Plus and described its financial outlook as “stable.”

It also issued an AA-Plus rating to the city’s series 2010 general obligation bonds.

The Bond Buyer quoted a Standard & Poor’s analyst on South Portland’s finances:

“The stable outlook reflects the city’s sound economic position, which we believe should enable property taxes revenues to remain a stable source of general fund revenue,” said Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Victor Medeiros. “We also expect the city’s financial position will remain sound, aided by the city’s formal fund balance policy, as well as its demonstrated record of making the appropriate budgetary adjustment to maintain structural balance. We also believe that sound debt ratios should remain low to moderate, given the city’s identified capital needs.”

PRESS RELEASE:

Help Haiti this week at Soma Massage & Wellness

We are pleased to announce that this week, when you come to a Yoga class or make an appointment for a massage with Julie (Tuesday or Thursday), 10% of our proceeds will go to benefit a non profit serving Haiti.
We have selected: http://www.hopeforhaitinow.org. Based on the multiple non-profits being served by this organization, we believe your money will be put to use in the most efficient manner.
There is no better time than now to consider taking a Yoga class with us or arranging for that well deserved massage. Doing so this week (with no extra cost to you) means you are giving to a country in great need.
Please join us this week to make a difference. Yoga classes meet nightly at 6pm and to schedule a massage with Julie, you may call 741-2639 or visit us online at http://www.somamassageandwellness.com.
We request Cash or Check only for this benefit drive. Previously purchased Gift Cards excluded.