December 2008

The City of Portland has announced there will be a city wide parking ban once again for tonight, Monday, December 22. It runs from 10:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m.

The City also reports that in flat and open spaces over 15 inches of snow fell during this storm. That makes great conditions for outdoor activities such as sledding on the Eastern Promenade and elsewhere, although MHN was there around 1:30 pm and there were no sledders, etc. to be seen. There were lots of good-natured shovelers though.

The Fire Department asks that you help them out by trying to keep fire hydrants clear and accessible to assist them in fighting fires.

For more, please visit ww.portlandmaine.gov. At this link, you can also sign up to receive future emails about the parking ban from the city.

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By Carol McCracken

Just five days before Christmas Day, the holiday peace was shattered when a fire broke out in the third floor apartment at 1:30 am or so at 11 Sheridan Street on the Hill. The fire left twelve people and two dogs homeless in a 3 story multi-family dwelling. No one was injured. The fire began in a “shed” on the rear of the third floor.

Marie Benham was a tenant on the first floor. She’d lived there with her son, daughter-in-law and 3 l/2 year old grandson, Alexander, and dog, for just a year. They’d consolidated families in order to minimuze living expenses. Marie heard the fire alarm go off and ran up to the third floor where she was told there was a fire in the upstairs “shed.” She was told to get out of the building because “it was too late.” Now they are homeless with no apartment insurance. The Red Cross has located a hotel for them to stay in for the next three nights.

The third floor tenant just moved in this August. He returned home from working in a restaurant around 12:30 a.m. Shortly thereafter he saw smoke coming from the shed in the back of his apartment. While an investigation is under way, the fire may have been caused by a bag of trash that caught on fire in the shed. He is homeless with no apartment insurance.

The second floor tenants had a similar story to tell. When MHN visited the building, all the tenants had returned to salvage what they could and to check on each other.

Snowfall and single digit temps made it especially challenging for the fire department to fight. The fire was under control within 45 minutes.

Tenants all agreed the Munjoy Hill fire department did an “amazing” job. Not only did they put the fire out, but they helped tenants remove valuable items from their apartments. Marie said that three of the fireman pushed her car up Sheridan Street at 3:00 a.m. so she and her family could get away.

The cause of the fire is under investigation and a report is expected next week.

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By Carol McCracken

Visiting Lacey Goodrich’s pottery studio is like standing in the middle of a field of wild flowers in a tropical climate and trying to pick a favorite from among all the plates, cups, bowls and much more that line the walls of her Merrill Street studio. That can be hard to do.

Lacey hails from Connecticut. She received a full scholarship to study painting at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. But, when she moved to Portland years ago, she couldn’t find her niche here in abstract painting – her major. So, she decided to switch over to pottery making and with that in mind she studied at Portland Pottery on Washington Avenue. The business is owned by Chris and Lisa Bruni.

She has established a nice business for herself and says she does not want it to grow any larger, although its quality and eye appeal would seem to make that a real possibility. As so many artists do, Lacey still struggles to make i financially, but not as much as she used to. Currently, her line of “Lacey” ware is sold at Maine Cottage Furniture. The company has stores in Charleston, South Carolina and South Palm Beach, Florida that also sells her pottery. A vase of hers was on the cover of its Spring 2008 catalogue.

More locally, her mix and match designs are sold at Foundry Lane at 215 Commercial Street, Portland. “We love selling her pottery. People are always coming in to add to their collections. She has a real following. We even have out of state customers who come to Foundry Lane to collect her work,” said store manager Gail Antos on a recent visit there by MHN. The store carries about 50 pieces of Lacey’s currently and they are prominently displayed at the front of the store.

This fall was a difficult time for Lacey. She almost gave up pottery making entirely. That was because some of the content of the clay she’d been using became unavailable to her. So, she had to “redevelop” her technique which was a struggle for this people-oriented upbeat person. This is not an unusual situation. Artists often have to reinvent themselves. Fortunately for Lacey, she is pleased with the outcome of this process which she had to undergo. In fact, she likes this product better than the previous one.

“Lacey” ware is also in the collection of the Museum of Art and Design and the Folk Art Museum – both in New York City. In the Portland area, you can see Lacey’s work at the Foundry Lane and the phone number there is: (207) 773-2722. Or, please visit www.foundrylane.com.

It’s not too late to do some holiday gift shopping there…

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By Carol McCracken

“Option 1” was adopted yesterday afternoon for consideration by the city council on January 5, 2009. Option 1 recommends that the “City Council authorizes the City Manager to enter into negotiations with Ocean Properties for redevelopment of the Maine State Pier, “ according to a memo prepared by Joe Gray, city manager, at the request of Mayor Jill Duson.

Negotiations with Olympia Cos. were terminated last month by a full council vote in compliance with a recommendation by the Community Development Committee, chaired by Councilor Cheryl Leeman to do so. Olympia Cos. backed out of the negotiations because the issue of the title of the submerged sea beds around the Maine State Pier had not been determined. The State of Maine claims to have title to the sea bed while the City of Portland claims otherwise – that it has title to the property around the MSP. Olympia did not want to proceed without knowing who had clear title to the disputed property. In the past city attorney Gary Wood had vowed to sue the city to resolve the matter, although a member of his staff recently told MHN that there is currently no lawsuit in the works.

At the outset of the workshop newly elected Councilor Dory Waxman read a prepared statement. Waxman said that recently the media has been reporting (not herein) that council members have requested that she recuse herself from deliberations about the Maine State Pier because of conflict of interest concerns. Formerly, she was a contract employee of Ocean Properties. “For the record”, Waxman said, she has only had one conversation about recusing herself and that was with Councilor David Marshall. Marshall supported Olympia Cos. She also said that she has received legal advice that deliberating on the matter is not a conflict of interest, although some believe that just an appearance of a conflict of interest are grounds for her to recuse herself. Waxman said she had received legal guidance from city attorney Gary Wood as well as a private attorney, although she would not reveal the name of that individual.

Waxman narrowly defeated former Mayor Ed Suslovic in last months election. Suslovic supported Olympia Cos. Both are Democrats and some feel that Suslovic was being punished for his independent thinking and support of Olympia Cos.

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