PRESS RELEASE:
March is “Music In Our Schools” month, and the student musicians of the South Portland Schools have been, and will be, very busy!
  The South Portland Middle School bands will perform on two consecutive evenings, March 16th & 17th, at the South Portland High School auditorium.  On Tuesday evening March 16, the Memorial Middle School band will offer a variety of selections under the direction of Jean Quinn.  Wednesday evening, March 17, Sandra Barry will conduct the Mahoney Middle School band in concert.  Both shows begin at 7pm, and are open to the public.  Admission is free!
  A full schedule of music and related events is available at http://www.southportlandmusicboosters.org

Media Release:
Incident Date: March 4, 2010   Release Date:  March 4, 2010
Incident Time: 7:30PM   Release Time:  10:30PM
Incident Location: 58 Broadway, South Portland
Incident Synopsis: On March 4, 2010, at approximately 7:30PM, an armed home invasion was reported at 58 Broadway in the City of South Portland. It was reported that three white males in their late teens or early twenties entered the residence and one of the robbers was armed with a shotgun. All of the robbers had their faces partially concealed with bandanas, but we are confident that some physical evidence was recovered at the scene.

    There were five individuals inside the residence when the three robbers entered. Only one was injured slightly as he struggled to get away from one of the robbers. He was not transported to the hospital.

    At this point in the investigation we will unfortunately be releasing few details. I can tell you that a laptop computer and other miscellaneous items were stolen prior to the robbers running off. We will not be releasing details concerning the victims or a possible motive to ensure the integrity of the investigation. Hopefully you all understand. We don’t believe this house was chosen at random.

    Anyone with information concerning this robbery is asked to contact the South Portland Police Department at 207-799-5511. Thanks for your assistance.

PRESS RELEASE

Chief Edward J. Googins is pleased to announce that Officer Brian McCarthy has been named the South Portland Police Department’s Officer of the Year for 2009. Officer McCarthy joined the South Portland Police Department in 2007 and is presently assigned to Patrol Team E, working the 11 PM to 7 AM shift. He is also a member of the department’s Special Reaction Team. Officer McCarthy is an enthusiastic officer who works hard every night. He brings a contagious energy to his patrol team, where he supports and encourages his younger fellow officers, who are quick to point out his strong command presence and excellent Officer McCarthy was selected by the Department’s Lieutenants and Sergeants from the list of officers who were selected as Officer of the Month during the last year.

Officer McCarthy received the Officer of the Month aware in both January and December 2009. He will receive two days off with pay, a personalized plaque and an award pin. Officer McCarthy was to be recognized by the South Portland City Council at their meeting this evening (March 1, 2010) at 7:00 PM.

PRESS RELEASE

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES FOR GOVERNOR TO DEBATE ECONOMY: Second of four monthly candidate forums sponsored by the Democratic City Committee, giving the six Democratic candidates for Governor discuss the important issues. The topic this month is “the economy.” This forum is a televised event, so please arrive before 6:45 P.M. for a prompt 7:00 P.M. start. Please invite your friends, and come to support your favorite candidate for Maine’s governor.

Thursday, March 4, 2010
6:30pm - 8:30pm
South Portland City Hall Council Chambers, Cottage Road

PRESS RELEASE:

In the tradition of oral history, six storytellers will each have 15 minutes to tell us their story. The stories will inspire, make you think, make you laugh, make you remember. After the last story, a trio of celebrity judges will declare a winner. This is the first in a series of Story Slams that will happen in South Portland this year.

NO CHARGE FOR THIS EVENT!
Donations for the So. Portland Historical Society will be accepted.
South Portland Story Slam - April 2010
Use the Mitchell Street entrance
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Time: 6:00pm - 8:30pm
First Congregational Church UCC, South Portland
301 Cottage Road
South Portland, ME

FMI call David Rooker at 207.741.4037.

Thursday, February 25, 2010
Time: 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Location:
South Portland City Hall, Council Chambers

Jeremy D’Entremont, lighthouse expert and author of multiple books, including “The Lighthouse Handbook: New England” and “Lighthouses of Maine” will present a program on the lighthouses which are familiar to those of us who live in the Casco Bay Region. But while many of us see lighthouses often, few of us know much about the interesting histories connected with them.

PRESS RELEASE

The South Portland Land Trust’s WET (West End Trails) Committee is dedicated to extending walking and biking and other multi-use trails through the West End section of the city. So far, trails have been created along Long Creek, Clark’s Pond and the mall area.  Future plans include a ped/bike bridge over I-295 and Long Creek.

We need your help to finish and plan for the expansion of trails near more homes and businesses where we can all get out and enjoy our city using our feet instead of our cars.

Volunteer opportunities vary and time commitments can be accommodated. Help is needed planning, marketing, fundraising, stewardship and signage as well as many others.

Meetings are held the 4th Wednesday of every month at 6pm located at the West End Fire Station located on Western Ave behind Loco and Thai Pom’s.  The next meeting will be Wednesday Feb. 24th.  Please join us!

Meetings are held the 4th Wednesday of every month at 6pm located at the West End Fire Station located on Western Ave behind Loco and Thai Pom’s.

Police Department
Media Release

Incident Date: February 22, 2010 Release Date:  February 22, 2010

Incident Time: 2:30 AM   Release Time:  8:00AM

Incident Location: Lowell Street
Incident Synopsis:  On above date and time a resident of Lowell Street in South Portland awoke to find a male subject standing over him in his bedroom. When the homeowner began to stir the suspect ran from the house. Officer Andrew Nelson located Adam Black (23) of South Portland hiding behind a motor vehicle in the area minutes after the burglary was reported. Black was found to be in possession of several items believed to have been stolen from either motor vehicles or residences in the area.

The investigation that followed revealed that Black had committed (at least) two residential burglaries where he stole cash and loose change; and he also entered several unlocked vehicles and removed change and other items from those. A K-9 officer from the Westbrook Police Department was called in to assist and their expertise was appreciated.

Adam Black was subsequently transported to the Cumberland County Jail where he was charged with two (2) counts of Class B Burglary; which is punishable by up to ten (10) years in prison, and three (3) counts of Class C Burglary to a Motor Vehicle; punishable by up to five (5) years in prison. Bail has not been set yet because Black was on probation and a hold has been placed on him. He pleaded guilty on February 2, 2010, to Burglary and he received a short jail sentence, which he already served, and two (2) years of probation. At the time of his most recent arrest, he hadn’t even reported to his probation officer yet. 

Albert DiMillo, a SoPo resident known for his vocal opposition to spending decisions by city officials, is now setting his sights on the state.

The retired corporate accountant was in Bangor recently to talk about his opposition to Maine’s new tax reforms. He spoke to residents who had gathered at a local coffee shop. He is calling for voters to repeal the new tax law, arguing it favors the rich and places greater burden on the middle class.

A citizen’s referendum on the issue will come before voters in June.

PRESS RELEASE

Democratic Gubernatorial Forums Continue in South Portland on Thursday, March 4
Following a successful first forum on February 4, preparations are underway for the second in a series of four meetings of the Democratic Gubernatorial Candidates here in South Portland.
As a live audience that nearly filled the council chambers looked on, gubernatorial hopefuls Donna Dion, Pat McGowan, Libby Mitchell, John Richardson, Steve Rowe, and Rosa Scarcelli all participated in the February forum that focused on Job Creation. The next forum will detail some of the broader challenges facing Maine’s economy.
The South Portland Democratic City Committee has scheduled a series of four candidates’ forums for Democratic candidates in the race for Governor of Maine. The next forum is set for Thursday evening, March 4 at 7:00 in the council chambers at South Portland City Hall. All four gubernatorial forums are open to the public and will be broadcast live over SPCTV-Channel 2.

The forums are set for the first Thursday evening of four consecutive months: February 4, March 4, April 1, and May 6. Doors will open to the public beginning at 6:30 p.m. each night with the live broadcast commencing at 7:00 p.m. and running for approximately 90 minutes.
Each forum will address a separate major topic in depth. On February 4, the focus was on jobs creation; on March 4, it will be on the economy; on April 1, education; and on May 6, the environment. 
The format for the March forum has been modified slightly from the February event in order to allow candidates to respond to a greater variety of questions on each topic. There will be a two-minute opening statement by each candidate present, followed by questions from a panel of three members of the South Portland Democratic City Committee. Each candidate’s answer will limited to one minute. The forums will conclude with a two-minute closing statement by each candidate. Candidate surrogates will not be invited to substitute for candidates during the forums.
The South Portland Democratic City Committee represents more than 6,100 registered Democrats in South Portland. All registered Democrats are eligible to be members of the City Committee. Our priorities are the election of our Democratic candidates, citizen education on key public policy issues, help state and national leaders formulate governing policy that furthers the needs of all citizens and to build the Party’s capacity.
For more information about the South Portland Democratic City Committee or the Gubernatorial Candidate Forums, please contact Senator Larry Bliss at 799-8229, Dan Mooers at 767-7444 or Matt Beck at 232-1976. You can also contact us by email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).