A Who’s Who list of Maine arts supporters turned out for a reception Sunday night to meet the jurists who are reviewing design entries for the SoPo oil tank art competition.
The reception, held at the Maine Center for Creativity in the Old Port, was hosted by organizer Jean Maginnis, who touted the number of online design entries—560—that her organization received from candidates worldwide.
Maginnis directs the Maine Center for Creativity, which is sponsoring the design competition to create public art on several large oil tanks in South Portland.
The celebratory party included cocktails and tables filled with hors d’oeuvres, such as sushi and scallops wrapped in bacon. Although there were many well-known arts supporters at the fete, there were no sightings of SoPo officials or civic boosters.
Among the attendees were real estate developer Grego Boulos, who heads the Maine Center of Creativity’s board of directors; James Shaffer, dean of the USM Business School; Meg Weston, who chairs the University of Maine Board of Trustees and is VP of the Maine Center for Creativity’s board; and Phil Harriman, a former state senator from Yarmouth who heads an insurance and investment firm.
The international panel of jurists will meet over the next two days at the Cumberland Club reviewing their selections. Five semi-finalists will be announced in July, with a public showing of the Top 5 selections in August.
Updated: Here’s a video taken at the party:

The South Portland Police issued an alert today to residents about a rash of burglaries in the Pleasantdale neighborhood. Police are also seeking the public’s help. Here is the press release:
“CITYWATCH RELEASE TO PLEASANTDALE NEIGHBORHOOD:
This is the South Portland Police Department calling with information and a request for your assistance.
Since April 1, 2008, approximately 16 to 20 residential burglaries or attempted burglaries have been reported in the Pleasantdale neighborhoods in South Portland. These crimes have been reported on Anthoine, Carter, Osborne, Chapel and Cole Streets, as well as on Harborview and Arbuttus Avenues and Shelby Lane.
The police department is asking all residents to keep their doors and windows locked, day and night, and to report any suspicious people, vehicles or activity in or around your home or neighborhood.
Dial 911 in the event of an emergency. Dial 799-5511 to report all other suspicious activity to the on-duty dispatcher. Messages with any other information on who may be responsible for these burglaries may be left on the department’s confidential tip line at 347-4100.”

The following press release was issued Saturday night by South Portland Police:
Incident Date: June 28, 2008 Release Date: June 28, 2008
Incident Time: 7:31PM Release Time: 9:45PM
Incident Location: 201 Elm Street
Incident Synopsis:
On the above date and time, South Portland police officers were dispatched to the area of 201 Elm Street, where a truck had reportedly crashed into a residence and the driver had fled on foot. Upon arrival, officers determined that the driver had disappeared into 200 Elm Street, which was later determined to be a residence connected with a relative of the suspect. Officers made contact with the suspect, who had fled to the 3rd floor attic area. The suspect was enraged and threatened to blow up the officers and building, a 3-story (2-unit) structure. The officers could smell a chemical accelerant odor.
The officers initiated barricaded person protocols. They began to evacuate the residence and cordon the area. After approximately 20 to 30 minutes, a perimeter officer in the rear of the residence confronted the suspect outside the building, where the suspect held a knife to his own chest, refusing to submit. An officer drew and deployed an Electronic Control Device (ECD) – more commonly known as a Taser, which immediately ended the stand off and allowed the officers to take the suspect into custody. The suspect was identified as NEIL RICH, 46, of South Portland.
Police officers, along with South Portland Fire/Rescue, cleared the remainder of the residence, eliminating any explosive potential. RICH was transported to the Maine Medical Center for evaluation and, at the time of this release, is pending a transfer to the Cumberland County Jail, where he will be booked on charges of Operating after Suspension, Leaving the Scene of an Accident and Terrorizing, a Class C felony.

Martino’s Pizza—which drew controversy for proposing large signs to draw business—has quietly shut down operations on outer Highland Avenue.
The shop opened early in 2008, offering convenience store items and takeout food in this rural-residential area of SoPo.
Although Martino’s was busy in the early evening hours when people were coming home from work, the shop’s parking lot largely seemed empty during the day.
Fieldhouse Variety, which previously occupied the building, also shut down after briefly doing business in the neighborhood.
Although area residents appeared to support the stores, the traffic was not enough to keep either place in business.
Meanwhile, the ordinance change allowing the large signs stays for future businesses that may set up shop at that location, which is near Wainwright Field.
A Council vote in February allows a business there to erect a free-standing sign, a permanent banner, a building sign and a roadside message board.

How to revitalize the waterfront business district has vexed city leaders and merchants for a long time.
Now two enterprising music organizers are offering a solution: free Saturday concerts, from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., in Thomas Knight Park, under the Casco Bay Bridge.
John E. Seymore of South Portland and Chris Jordan of Portland launched the concerts June 7, featuring local musicians who are friends and seeking some publicity.
The music ranges from bluegrass to class rock, with an eye toward keeping the shows family-friendly, says Seymore, who moved to SoPo recently and fell in love with the tiny waterfront business district.
I provide details on the concerts and the organizers in an article in today’s Current. Click here to read it.
Musical guests have included Portland-area musicians Meantone, Houseboat, Adam Early of the Chickadees and Elijah Ocean of Loverless.
“I live in South Portland, and I think this is a great idea,” said Alfred Giusto of Meantone, who returns for a second engagement this Saturday, along with the classic rock band, Nerve. Giusto, originally from Brooklyn, NY, plays the blues on his fretless slide guitar.
“Live music is needed over here,” said Giusto, who believes that the waterfront district is “perfect for an artsy music venue. It’s next to the water. It has great views.”
To see the full summer schedule, click here.
Seymore said he will post more bands, as they are booked.

Excise tax revenues are taking a hit across Maine, with fewer people buying new vehicles in this tough economy.
The good news for South Portland is that the city is faring better than other municipalities, according to an article in the Current newspaper.
Excise tax revenues are flat in SoPo for this fiscal year, while they are down by a whopping $1 million in Portland and by $100,000 in Scarborough.
One reason that SoPo’s revenues may not be as weak as some other municipalities is the move by Enterprise Rental Car business from Portland to South Portland.
Nevertheless, South Portland excise tax revenues have taken a hit. Previously, they had been rising yearly for the past decade or so.
The tax revenues are highest on new vehicles and level off for vehicles that are at least six years old.
Excise tax revenues have been a steady stream of dollars for city and town budgets. In many communities they are the second highest revenue source next to property taxes.

6/25 UPDATE: More than 550 design submissions were received by the deadline. The panel of jurors will meet for the first time this weekend…
UPDATE: Organizer Jean Maginnis sent the following stats on the oil tank design competition: “We have surpassed our goal of 200 submissions to the design competition to paint the tanks in South Portland. Recent stats: This week alone (6/17 – 6/23) There have been 2,437 visitors, averaging 348 each day (yesterday there were 507 visitors) Overall stats: Since 3/25/08 when the competition was announced, there have been 18,346 visitors, averaging 201 each day . Visits from at least 73 countries; almost all 50 states; many Maine submissions from Bridgton to Portland to Whitefield to Rockland. Groups of collaborators submitting; such as Technology school from Sydney, Australia to a middle school in Philadelphia, PA. Deadline for submissions is: at http://www.artallaround.com Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at midnight Eastern Standard Time.”
EARLIER TODAY: The deadline is June 25 for designing artwork for several Sprague Energy Corp. oil tanks in South Portland. Click here to access the Art All Around Web site and read the rules for submission.
Organizer Jean Maginnis is counting on the painted designs to draw attention to our fair city and underscore the creative innovations taking place in Maine.
The winning design will not only cover a large canvas—16 oil tanks—but also reap for the artist up to $30,000 in a cash prize.
The overall public art installation will cost more than $1 million, once industrial painters apply the design with specially made, weather-resistant coatings.
The design competition has gained momentum as oil prices have reached record levels, with the cold Maine winters posing an especially hard financial burden on residents.
But Maginnis has maintained that the oil tank artwork is not about politics but to underscore for visitors and residents the creative energy in Maine.

UPDATE: A ninth member of the Willard Beach Task Force apparently has been added by the co-chairs. He is resident Bill Arnold.
The first meeting of the new Willard Beach task force has been scheduled, with the date and time posted on the city’s Web site, as promised by Mayor Jim Soule.
The meeting is set for Thursday, June 26, from 7:30-9 a.m. in the Lower Level Conference Room of City Hall.
The agenda for the first meeting will include an introduction, a discussion on protocol, and identification of issues the group wants to cover.
Councilor Claude Morgan said recently that the meetings of the city/citizen task force would likely take place in the early morning to accommodate the members’ schedules.
The public is welcome to attend the meetings but there will not be a public comment period nor will questions be taken from the audience.
The committee’s job is to gather information on noise and nuisance complaints about dogs on Willard Beach, and then make recommendations to the full Council.
Heading the committee are co-chairs Councilors Morgan and Jim Hughes.
Morgan selected residents from District 1 as members. They are Bob Johnson, owner of Scratch Bakery; Dr. Douglas Howell, a gastroenterologist; and Elizabeth Ross, experienced in leadership training.
Hughes tapped businessman Gary Crosby, a dog owner who has publicly opposed dogs on the beach; Reta Nappi, a librarian; and Devon Gray, a beach-front resident who initiated some of the complaints about dogs that the committee will explore.
Assistant City Manager Erik Carson will facilitate the meetings. Carson said Tuesday that minutes from the task force meetings will be posted on the city’s Web site.

Andover College will celebrate its move from Portland to a newly renovated building in South Portland at an open house on Thursday, June 26, from 4-6 p.m.
The move by Andover is good news for city officials at a time when the Maine Mall has canceled expansion plans and Fairchild Semiconductor has expressed interest in leaving SoPo for new headquarters in Scarborough.
Andover is a private college owned by Kaplan Higher Education Corp. It recently re-opened its greater Portland campus at 265 Western Ave., at a site owned by developer Vinny Maietta.
Maietta said Andover’s new home is a 20,000-square-foot building that he rehabbed to fit the college’s educational needs. The building previously housed Northern Mattress and Furniture.
Andover College also invested about $1 million for interior renovations and furnishings. The school signed a 10-year lease, with an option to renew for another 10 years.
“Andover College is a great tenant and will be a great business for the city,” Maietta said.
According to the Andover College Web site, the school first opened in Portland in 1967 as the Andover Institute of Business. It changed its name to Andover College in 1977.
Kaplan bought the institution in 2005. Andover also has a Lewiston campus.
College courses are offered year-round. They are aimed at students seeking careers.
Areas of study include accounting, business administration, early childhood education, criminal justice and medical assisting.

Councilor Maxine Beecher announced today in a written statement that she will not seek to reintroduce an ordinance to change pet access at Willard Beach. Instead, she will allow a newly appointed task force to complete its work and make recommendations.
Beecher’s ordinance change, which passed last Monday in a Council vote, was later deemed invalid because the Council did not have a two-thirds majority when it allowed the law change to be heard.
Here is her press release:
“Yesterday, I was informed that the vote taken on Monday regarding the amendment to Chapter 18, Code of Ordinance, Article V. Willard Beach, Section 18-66 was invalid. To reintroduce this amendment now would produce a very limited impact when approved. With the requirement for First reading now on July 7th, final approval on July 21st, together with the required waiting period for the amendment to become effective,
there would be approximately 20 days for this amendment to stand before its proposed sunset on Sept. 30th.
As a result, I am officially requesting that this amendment be tabled, thus reaffirming my own and my colleagues’ belief that the Task Force will deliberate this issue thoroughly. I believe the Committee should be free to propose changes to the ordinance that will consider the rights of everyone who want to use Willard Beach and the residents of that neighborhood. At this time, committee members should be well aware of the Council and our belief in the need to address the ordinance regarding Willard Beach during both the June - Sept. and Oct. - May time periods. We believe that the importance of following the process, as well as giving the Task Force time to do its work of vital importance, and look forward to what if any recommendations may come forward.”
Maxine Beecher, South Portland City Council, District Four