August 2008

By Carol McCracken

Late Monday night, the city council overwhelmingly passed the two motions presented to it for action by the community development committee regarding the redevelopment of the Maine State Pier by Olympia Cos. and the separate construction of a megaberth. But the vote didn’t come easily and until after 11:00 p.m. – after public testimony and lengthy posturing by some councilors.

The televised meeting also on the record was more project-friendly than had been exhibited by some city council members in the past in untelevisied and off the record meetings. For example, appreciation was expressed for the enormity of the task performed by the negotiating team composed of Councilor Cheryl Leeman, James Broder, attorney, and Joe Gray, city manager and their staffs. The sour grapes reaped over this politically charged project seemed less sour at times. Almost unanimous passage of the two motions demonstrated that.

The first motion asked the council to approve the term sheet which forms the basis for the yet to be negotiated contract between the city and Olympia Cos. – the Master Development Agreement. The vote was 7 to 1 in favor of the motion. (Councilor James Cohen recused himself again). The dissenting vote came from Councilor Dan Skolnik who took exception to the term sheet as presented. Skolnik gave the term sheet a scathing review –  calling it a “sweetheart” of a deal that would be unnecessarily costly to Portland because it gives Olympia Cos. a rent break for the first 20 years of its 75 year lease – among other criticisms.  He supported Ocean Properties over Olympia Cos. in the selection of a developer.

The second motion which passed unanimously referred the matter of the construction of a mega-berth back to the community development committee in order to consider possible options for its separate development from the Maine State Pier. It is expected that the community development committee will instruct its staff on how to proceed to achieve that goal at its next meeting.

A number of Ocean Properties supporters addressed the city council with their concerns about the term sheet Monday night.  Among them were attorney Harold Pachios, retained by Ocean Properties to “monitor the transparency of the process,” former city councilor Donna Carr and Dory Waxman, a lobbyist for Ocean Properties.

Speaking on behalf of the Portland Community Chamber, Quincy Hentzel, supported the approval of the term sheet. Last fall the Chamber made ten recommendations to the city council on points to consider in the development of the term sheet. The Chamber is pleased that many of the suggestions were incorporated in the term sheet. But Hentzel also said: “We recognize that in any negotiation both sides must give and take. We note that the timeline for construction is longer than we anticipated and the money escrowed lower than we suggested. We hope some of these issues may be better clarified when the Master Development Agreement is completed.” That is scheduled for October 24^th.

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By Carol McCracken

It had been a beautiful weekend the likes of which we hadn’t seen since early July. The history laden Amistad schooner was docked at Portland Yacht Services – open for tours and 2 – hour sailing trips out into Casco Bay. The odds for a pefect evening sail before this schooner left town were just too great not to take advantage of – so I climbed aboard with the other seven passengers Sunday evening – one of whom was Hill resident Kathleen Bailey, owner of Finishing Touches.

Captain John welcomed us aboard this replica of a cargo ship which inadvertently and briefly became a slave ship in the mid 1800’s. This replica was built in Mystic, Connecticut where it was launched in 2000. According to the Captain, as the crew of 13 young people raised and set the sails heading out of Portland Harbor, the schooner took two years to build because the investors wanted the story of the Amistad to be told to school groups from all over the State of Connecticut. Normally it could have been built in a year.

When the sails were set and the schooner was moving at about 4 ½ knots, one freed-up crew member Brynna Scherloum, said that the Amistad was slowly sailing its way back to port in Mystic after having just completed a 14,000 mile trip in the Atlantic – it began in Nova Scotia and had just ended there. She will spend the winter in port for maintenance.

In 1839, three hundred “free Africans” were taken from the west coast, Sierra Leone, and put aboard a slave ship – the Tacora – to be taken to what is now called Cuba. In Havana, the Tacora sold 53 of them to two men Ruiz and Monteg who intended to transport them to their plantation on the other side of Cuba. To do this, the 53 were placed aboard the Armistad; the Armistad was a cargo ship – one of thousands of inter-coastal cargo ships that moved cargo among the islands. The Captain of the ship did not liking using his ship in this manner for which she was ill equipped and had never been used. Not surprisingly, there was an incident aboard causing a mutiny. Eventually, the Armisted found its way to Connecticut where the 53 were jailed. Trials began.

In time, the case wound up in the United States Supreme Court. The 53 were released – it’s considered to have been the first human rights case in our history. Thirty-six survivors of the 53 returned home to Sierra Leone.

The Armistad normally has a minimum number of passengers it requires to run a two – hour cruise in Portland Harbor. One passenger, Steve from Auburn, arrived at the Armistad just before departure time without his check book. In order to meet the minimum number required for the cruise, Steve sailed with the understanding he’d put a check in the mail to the Captain upon his return to Auburn. “ I’m a New Englander myself and I know we live by a strict honor code, so I’m not worried,” the Captain said, grinning at the conclusion of a beautiful Maine weekend.

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By Carol McCracken

You are  invited to attend an organizational meeting for the Portland Peninsula for the Barack Obama campaign for President, said Bonnie Blythe, coordinator.

The meeting is on Wednesday, August 20 at 1037 Forest Avenue at 7:00 p.m. at Obama Headquarters.  For more information, please email Bonnie at bblythe@maine.rr.com You may also find out more by visitng barackobama.com. That’s the place where you can find events in your zip code.

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By Carol McCracken

The annual St. Peter’s Italian Street Festival received its yearly kickoff with a road race that began on India Street and followed a four mile course, some of it along the scenic Eastern Promenade and back to India Street. Two hundred and ninety-four runners entered this year’s race held on Friday evening, August 15^th. The weather was excellent for the race -  cool and dry.  Awards were given to those winning in specific age categories – the oldest age group was 65 years old and above.

The road race which began twenty-two years ago jumpstarted the Festival which runs on Saturday, August 15 and Sunday, August 16 beginning about 5:00 p.m. and running on into the night. Outstanding food is always a highlight of the Festival. All proceeds go to St. Peter’s Church located at 72 Federal Street.

Former Hill resident Joanne Nappi served as registrar for the race. Her husband, Jim, along with several others was a co-chairman. According to Jim, the road race was begun in 1987 by Joe Discatio, founder and still owner of Joe’s Smoke Shop on Congress Street in downtown Portland. Joe who is now 92 years old did not attend this year’s road race for the first time in its twenty-two year history. Michael Reali is the other co-chair of the event.

Be There (Early) Or Be Hungry!

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