October 2008

By Carol McCracken

Portland is looking for a fir or spruce tree to serve as its centerpiece for the holiday season. The selected tree will be 50-70 feet tall and should be within 15 miles of Portland. The city will transport it from your property to Monument Square in downtown Portland for its annual celebration of the holiday season.

The Annual Tree Lighting Celebration is set for Friday, November 28th at 5:30 p.m. in Monument Square.

All entires must be received by ll/7. For more information, please call Portland’s Downtown District at 772-6828 or email info@portlandmaine.com

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By Carol McCracken

By a unanimous vote, Dory Waxman’s ethics complaint against Mayor Ed Suslovic was dismissed. The matter was heard by the Ethics Committee in Augusta early yesterday afternoon. Waxman charged the Portland Mayor with using comments from colleagues on his web page as endorsements for his re-election to the city council when they were not. Waxman, a newcomer to politics, is running for Suslovic’s at-large seat on the Portland council. Maine State Law’s interpretation is very broad in this area – leading some to believe that Waxman had a reasonable case against the Mayor. The Ethics Committee did not see it that way.

Suslovic who supported the winning developer Olympia Co. for the redevelopment of the Maine State Pier has been the political target of some of his fellow democrats since supporting Olympia. Democrats from Senator George Mitchell right down the line to local politicians on the city council supported Ocean Properties. Consequently, some democrats have sought to replace the Mayor with Dory Waxman as punishment for his independence.

There is a third candidate in the at-large seat for city council.  Tina Smith, a Hill resident, is the Green candidate.  She was not involved in this controversy.

Dory Waxman has a community relations business of her own – In Good Hands. While some have said she has served as a lobbyist for Ocean Properties that is not so. According to the Secretary of State’s office in Augusta, Waxman has never been a registered lobbyist for Ocean Properties or anyone else. However, in response to an email on the subject of lobbying, Waxman said: “Ocean Properties hired me for 4 months to do contract work as their community liason, to bring their plan to Portland residents. They had their own lobbyists who were there to sell their idea/plan once I planned the events.” Presently Waxman is the community liason for Northern Utiliies.

Waxman’s email noted that the last time she was paid by Ocean Properties was in September of 2008 – last month.

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By Carol McCracken

Do you know where my parents’ keel is? – may be just one of many questions occupying the thoughts of Phin Sprague, Jr. Apparently, no one does know its whereabouts. Because Sprague recently hired a diving company to search the shoreline in front of Portland Yacht Services for the missing keel that was once affixed to the bottom of the family sailboat that is normally moored there.

The keel on the sailboat belonging to the wealthy Phineas Sprague, of Cape Elizabeth, went missing sometime this summer. Despite PYS repeated searches for the keel of the Spragues’ 25 ft. sailboat, Bon Adventure, it hasn’t been found, according to a PYS employee knowledgeable of the situation. The keel is a “retractable” keel which means it can be lowered and pulled up by a  winch located inside the boat – should shallow water or other conditions warrant.  Incorrect useage of this winch could result in a separation of the keel from the bottom of the boat.  It also is called a centerboard.

So, a diving company for which Ron Birch works, was hired to take on a more comprehensive and bottom search of  the harbor to find the keel. As of today, Birch had spent three days working four hours a day walking the bottom of the waterfront looking for the keel. Birch, from western Maine, says he has “walked” the bottom of the Harbor as far out as 600 Ft. from the shoreline and as deep as 30 ft. down.  He says he’ll continue to look until he’s told not to do so any more.

According to Phin Sprague, Jr. who said in an email to the MHN that the keel weighs 1100 lbs. and that when the cable broke, (for whatever reason),  the keel   headed straight for the very soft mud below it and probably ultimately  for “China.”  This keel (called a centerboard) is very hard to replace. The boat is a Parker Dawson designed by a family friend in Harasseket.

The Sprague family owns at least several other sailboats including the 72-foot luxury schooner Lions Welp. It was launched in mid-July of 2003 at PYS where everything but the hull was built over a few years.  It’s equipped for world-wide cruising with no expense spared.  For this reason, particular attention was paid to comfort and safety.  It sleeps twelve, has a sauna, a complete sound and video system.  The navigational equipment is likewise the best there is.   Probably there’s no centerboard.

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By Carol McCracken

This Sunday, October 19 Derek Lovitch of the Wild Bird Center in Yarmouth, will conduct a fall bird walk along the Eastern Promenade. The purpose is to search for and identify birds in this oasis on Munjoy Hill.

Those interested should meet at the Fort Allen Park on the E. Prom this Sunday, between 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. (rain or shine). Please bring good walking shoes and if you have them, binoculars.

The event is sponsored by the Friends of the Eastern Promenade and the Wild Bird Center of Yarmouth.

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