Wine expert mingles edgy and educational in 'Wine Maniacs'
Written by Timothy Gillis
A wine expert and the author of a new book on the fermented grape will speak at the Portland Public Library at noon Friday. Layne Witherell's book "Wine Maniacs: Life in the Wine Biz" offers an insider's account of the four main personality types who populate the industry: the maniac, the amateur, the nepotist and the guru.
Witherell says all four varieties can be found on either coast, and most of the wine venues in between, and that reading his book can be a great guide for falling in with or avoiding them accordingly.
"There isn't a wine memoir like it," Witherell said. "Most are tasting notes. The only tell-all memoirs are 'Kitchen Confidential' and 'Fresh Off the Boat.' These, and mine, are what I call 'delicious, hard-boiled food memoirs,' the real world. I have tasted somewhere around 100,000 wines in 35 years from most grapes and places. The book is about the people in the biz, mingled with travels and adventures, some good and some bad."
"Wine Maniacs" is Witherell's first book, although he has written 300 to 400 articles, chiming in on wine each week for six years for the Richmond Times Dispatch in Virginia. He also wrote a wine column for a local weekly newspaper.
"The thing that got a bug in my ear about a book was the weekly column," he said. "You get up Sunday, lay out your notes. 'Kitchen Confidential' had just come out, Anthony Bourdain's first book, the killer memoir of all chef memoirs. I wanted to write the killer memoir of all wine memoirs." The book took five years to complete.
Witherell and his wife, Judy, a physical therapist at Maine Medical Center, have lived in Portland for the past eight years, and he considers this more of a food town than a wine town.
"A restaurant opens every five seconds, but there could be more work done here on wine," he said, "And there's no school for it, no culinary institute. You have tastings, which are well and good, but when I was in Portland, Oregon, there was a school for it."
Witherell taught a basic wine course at the University of Virginia for 15 years, and taught at Virginia Commonwealth University for eight years.
"The students at UVA were fabulous. Not novices," he said. "The only thing I would like to impart to them is to not be afraid to try different wines. It's always a scary subject, and has been forever. The Romans had a position for a person to go to the Imperial Cellar and pick a wine. It's good and bad that's it's a mystical thing. But you have to not be afraid and look stuff up."
His book references several other works on the topic, culling from his own collection of more than 1,000 books on wine.
"When I got in the business in the 1970s, it wasn't fashionable like it is today. At the time, I did it because I was really into wine," Witherell said, adding that geography played a role in his life in the wine business — where he has been a wholesaler (both a representative and in management), a retail buyer, an importer, a radio talk show host, a wine journalist, and a wine competition judge.
"I was in the right place at the right time," he said of his San Francisco days.
"I had the luxury of being able to move around, from Oregon to Virginia to Montana — each chapter is me being somewhere else. You could afford to buy a house and sell it and make some money. It's different today. I'm in Portland now and don't see me moving anywhere."
His book is jammed full of information, he advises, but it's also a book that you can take to the beach. "That makes it fun, entertaining, edgy, and exciting," he said.
"Once you feel comfortable about food and wine, when you feel comfortable about ordering something with your meal, you've taken a giant leap. That makes it all interesting and worthwhile. This pairs with that, creates another flavor and experience that didn't exist. That's pretty cool. It goes back to the Romans and ancient Egyptians. I'm very fortunate that I've seen this re-emergence in America. I'm lucky to have seen it and participated in it at the same time. It's been very gratifying."
While wine is his passion, he and his wife are also avid art buffs, and love the monthly strolls down Congress Street to take in the art scene.
"There is life beyond wine. That's a good thing," he said. "We support the arts. I don't think in the eight years we've been here we have missed two art walks. It would have to be really snowy and chilly. We really look forward to it. I'm just as big an art fan as a wine fan."
Layne and Judy collect local and Maine art — Laura Fuller, Ben Coombs, Anastasia Weigle, Julie Cyr, Julie Vohs and Sheep Jones.
"The art scene is a big part of our lives. The more layered and complex the work the better," he said, in a commentary that can be applied just as aptly to his taste in wine.
"At the end of the day, 'Wine Maniacs' is not the glossy wine mag view, but the underbelly of this eternally fascinating life. I like to call it a well-informed romp."
Layne Witherell speaks at the Portland Public Library at noon Friday, May 10. He also appears at Graves Memorial Library in Kennebunkport, on Sunday, May 19, at 2 p.m.
Witherell says all four varieties can be found on either coast, and most of the wine venues in between, and that reading his book can be a great guide for falling in with or avoiding them accordingly.
"There isn't a wine memoir like it," Witherell said. "Most are tasting notes. The only tell-all memoirs are 'Kitchen Confidential' and 'Fresh Off the Boat.' These, and mine, are what I call 'delicious, hard-boiled food memoirs,' the real world. I have tasted somewhere around 100,000 wines in 35 years from most grapes and places. The book is about the people in the biz, mingled with travels and adventures, some good and some bad."
"Wine Maniacs" is Witherell's first book, although he has written 300 to 400 articles, chiming in on wine each week for six years for the Richmond Times Dispatch in Virginia. He also wrote a wine column for a local weekly newspaper.
"The thing that got a bug in my ear about a book was the weekly column," he said. "You get up Sunday, lay out your notes. 'Kitchen Confidential' had just come out, Anthony Bourdain's first book, the killer memoir of all chef memoirs. I wanted to write the killer memoir of all wine memoirs." The book took five years to complete.
Witherell and his wife, Judy, a physical therapist at Maine Medical Center, have lived in Portland for the past eight years, and he considers this more of a food town than a wine town.
"A restaurant opens every five seconds, but there could be more work done here on wine," he said, "And there's no school for it, no culinary institute. You have tastings, which are well and good, but when I was in Portland, Oregon, there was a school for it."
Witherell taught a basic wine course at the University of Virginia for 15 years, and taught at Virginia Commonwealth University for eight years.
"The students at UVA were fabulous. Not novices," he said. "The only thing I would like to impart to them is to not be afraid to try different wines. It's always a scary subject, and has been forever. The Romans had a position for a person to go to the Imperial Cellar and pick a wine. It's good and bad that's it's a mystical thing. But you have to not be afraid and look stuff up."
His book references several other works on the topic, culling from his own collection of more than 1,000 books on wine.
"When I got in the business in the 1970s, it wasn't fashionable like it is today. At the time, I did it because I was really into wine," Witherell said, adding that geography played a role in his life in the wine business — where he has been a wholesaler (both a representative and in management), a retail buyer, an importer, a radio talk show host, a wine journalist, and a wine competition judge.
"I was in the right place at the right time," he said of his San Francisco days.
"I had the luxury of being able to move around, from Oregon to Virginia to Montana — each chapter is me being somewhere else. You could afford to buy a house and sell it and make some money. It's different today. I'm in Portland now and don't see me moving anywhere."
His book is jammed full of information, he advises, but it's also a book that you can take to the beach. "That makes it fun, entertaining, edgy, and exciting," he said.
"Once you feel comfortable about food and wine, when you feel comfortable about ordering something with your meal, you've taken a giant leap. That makes it all interesting and worthwhile. This pairs with that, creates another flavor and experience that didn't exist. That's pretty cool. It goes back to the Romans and ancient Egyptians. I'm very fortunate that I've seen this re-emergence in America. I'm lucky to have seen it and participated in it at the same time. It's been very gratifying."
While wine is his passion, he and his wife are also avid art buffs, and love the monthly strolls down Congress Street to take in the art scene.
"There is life beyond wine. That's a good thing," he said. "We support the arts. I don't think in the eight years we've been here we have missed two art walks. It would have to be really snowy and chilly. We really look forward to it. I'm just as big an art fan as a wine fan."
Layne and Judy collect local and Maine art — Laura Fuller, Ben Coombs, Anastasia Weigle, Julie Cyr, Julie Vohs and Sheep Jones.
"The art scene is a big part of our lives. The more layered and complex the work the better," he said, in a commentary that can be applied just as aptly to his taste in wine.
"At the end of the day, 'Wine Maniacs' is not the glossy wine mag view, but the underbelly of this eternally fascinating life. I like to call it a well-informed romp."
Layne Witherell speaks at the Portland Public Library at noon Friday, May 10. He also appears at Graves Memorial Library in Kennebunkport, on Sunday, May 19, at 2 p.m.
Last Updated on Thursday, 09 May 2013 23:49
Hits: 37
Maine Playwrights Festival tests ingenuity of creative teams
Written by Timothy Gillis
Clever wordplay and creative re-imaginings were some of the main offerings at the 12th annual Maine Playwrights Festival, held over the last two weekends at the St. Lawrence Arts Center.
More than just a celebration of locally made plays, the festival helps new and emerging playwrights hone their craft with a variety of formats as well as a special audience talkback featured after the first run of several of the works.
For two consecutive weekends, audiences were treated to one-act plays, longer productions, "Take Two" two-minute skits, and the 24-hour Portland Theater Project.
"Take Two" offered eight short plays, and then, following a brief intermission, the same plays were performed again, with something slightly altered — for example, different actors or a different setting.
The 24-hour Portland Theater Project has all the flavor of the 48-hour Music Festival, but with original work created in half the time.
Last Saturday, the names of writers, directors, actors and actresses were pulled from a jar, and six potential plays were created. Each play had a line of dialogue that had to be used, a prop, and a setting, all offered in a sealed envelope from another writer.
A day later, the plays were performed at St. Lawrence Arts Center, where the two-week festival was housed.
Michael Levine was the artistic director of the festival. He was joined by Keith Powell Beyland and Assunta Kent on a reading committee that sifted through about 70 plays to select this year's representatives.
"We ask them to submit the plays without their names on them," Levine said. "Then we give the selected scripts to six other directors." Levine cast all the plays.
"Once the plays were cast and directors assigned, they were pretty much on their own to direct the plays. They have a few meetings on lighting, sound, costumes. Then they all came together in the last week."
An important part of the festival is the audience talkback session, after the first run of 12 different plays. "It's a really good opportunity to find out what parts of the plays the audience found really compelling, and other parts ... not so much," Levine said. "It's good for playwrights as a vehicle for development of these plays."
Levine, who helped design and construct the space at St. Lawrence in 2000-2001, directed the center's first production there, Shakespeare's "Much Ado about Nothing" in 2001. He had worked at Portland Stage Company in 1992, and ran Oak Street Theater for six years.
Now producing director of Acorn Productions, Levine says their group used to be a traditional theater company, but it has evolved into more of an educational group.
"There are a lot of actors running around town who were trained by Acorn," he said.
The festival, itself, is also an educational vehicle, aimed at helping new playwrights get ready for the next stage.
"Some of these plays are then submitted to national competitions," Levine said of the next step for local writers. "We have had a couple of plays selected over the years, but what's more important: we've helped developed the careers of these playwrights. They come to understand what happens to their play after they write it. Then they realize it's not as much of a solitary art form as they thought."
Jefferson Navicky is one such writer. He took part this year in the 24-hour drama drive, his third time doing it in its four-year history. He described his day last weekend when he wrote "The Artifice of Eternity" and then teamed up with director Dan Burson and players Cory King, Rebecca Cole, Nick Soloway, Pat Mew and Beth Somerville to stage it a day later.
"I worked from 5:30 p.m. until one in the morning. I got up at 5 a.m. and sent it to the director by 6:30 a.m. The director sent it to the actors with a preliminary email about costume options," Navicky said. "We met at 9 a.m. and started working."
For his play, he had to incorporate the word "Abracadabra," a doll as a prop, and the beach as a setting. "None of these was particularly inspiring," he said. "I had five actors to use, which is a lot. I spent the first three hours worrying about how I was going to use five actors. I had pulled a couple things I thought might be interesting in a play, that I had in my head. I had the song 'Satisfaction' by the Rolling Stones in my head. I had an image of a guy with his back to audience, peeing on something. He was peeing on a doll, which was an oracle. This woman had hired a 'mate detective' who used the doll to find the mate. He had to pee on it to activate it. The oracle went awry, and summoned the woman's ex-husband."
He was pleased with their production, and similarly propped up by the other five: "On the Road to Castellon" (written by Harlan Baker and directed by Reba Short), "Playa Del Doro" (written by Charlie Cole and directed by Ann Tracy), "Be Sure Your Sin Will Find You Out" (written by Michael Tooher and directed by Ella Wrenn), "The Great Fire," (written by Carolyn Gage and directed by Stephanie Ross), and "50 Shades of Tan" (by written by Cullen McGough and directed by Michael Toth).
"The other plays were pretty amazing; they all pulled together," Navicky said. "Vast variety — some quite serious, dark. One was a border dispute in Spain in the '20s, one was a mob scene where someone got shot, one was a period piece set in Bar Harbor, there was a racial tension piece, and a grand musical with four pieces of original music."
What happens next for a young playwright, with a day's worth of work or a more crafted script that still needs some editing?
"Certainly sometimes you make some changes, depending on audience talkback. Sometimes you keep sending it out, submitting it to other festivals, perhaps expanding it," said Navicky, who has augmented his last five years as a playwright by teaching English at Southern Maine Community College in South Portland. For six years, he has taught creative writing there as an adjunct professor, another surefire way to stay in character. "Part of that is we work on fiction, poetry, the personal essay," he said, "and, of course, drama."
More than just a celebration of locally made plays, the festival helps new and emerging playwrights hone their craft with a variety of formats as well as a special audience talkback featured after the first run of several of the works.
For two consecutive weekends, audiences were treated to one-act plays, longer productions, "Take Two" two-minute skits, and the 24-hour Portland Theater Project.
"Take Two" offered eight short plays, and then, following a brief intermission, the same plays were performed again, with something slightly altered — for example, different actors or a different setting.
The 24-hour Portland Theater Project has all the flavor of the 48-hour Music Festival, but with original work created in half the time.
Last Saturday, the names of writers, directors, actors and actresses were pulled from a jar, and six potential plays were created. Each play had a line of dialogue that had to be used, a prop, and a setting, all offered in a sealed envelope from another writer.
A day later, the plays were performed at St. Lawrence Arts Center, where the two-week festival was housed.
Michael Levine was the artistic director of the festival. He was joined by Keith Powell Beyland and Assunta Kent on a reading committee that sifted through about 70 plays to select this year's representatives.
"We ask them to submit the plays without their names on them," Levine said. "Then we give the selected scripts to six other directors." Levine cast all the plays.
"Once the plays were cast and directors assigned, they were pretty much on their own to direct the plays. They have a few meetings on lighting, sound, costumes. Then they all came together in the last week."
An important part of the festival is the audience talkback session, after the first run of 12 different plays. "It's a really good opportunity to find out what parts of the plays the audience found really compelling, and other parts ... not so much," Levine said. "It's good for playwrights as a vehicle for development of these plays."
Levine, who helped design and construct the space at St. Lawrence in 2000-2001, directed the center's first production there, Shakespeare's "Much Ado about Nothing" in 2001. He had worked at Portland Stage Company in 1992, and ran Oak Street Theater for six years.
Now producing director of Acorn Productions, Levine says their group used to be a traditional theater company, but it has evolved into more of an educational group.
"There are a lot of actors running around town who were trained by Acorn," he said.
The festival, itself, is also an educational vehicle, aimed at helping new playwrights get ready for the next stage.
"Some of these plays are then submitted to national competitions," Levine said of the next step for local writers. "We have had a couple of plays selected over the years, but what's more important: we've helped developed the careers of these playwrights. They come to understand what happens to their play after they write it. Then they realize it's not as much of a solitary art form as they thought."
Jefferson Navicky is one such writer. He took part this year in the 24-hour drama drive, his third time doing it in its four-year history. He described his day last weekend when he wrote "The Artifice of Eternity" and then teamed up with director Dan Burson and players Cory King, Rebecca Cole, Nick Soloway, Pat Mew and Beth Somerville to stage it a day later.
"I worked from 5:30 p.m. until one in the morning. I got up at 5 a.m. and sent it to the director by 6:30 a.m. The director sent it to the actors with a preliminary email about costume options," Navicky said. "We met at 9 a.m. and started working."
For his play, he had to incorporate the word "Abracadabra," a doll as a prop, and the beach as a setting. "None of these was particularly inspiring," he said. "I had five actors to use, which is a lot. I spent the first three hours worrying about how I was going to use five actors. I had pulled a couple things I thought might be interesting in a play, that I had in my head. I had the song 'Satisfaction' by the Rolling Stones in my head. I had an image of a guy with his back to audience, peeing on something. He was peeing on a doll, which was an oracle. This woman had hired a 'mate detective' who used the doll to find the mate. He had to pee on it to activate it. The oracle went awry, and summoned the woman's ex-husband."
He was pleased with their production, and similarly propped up by the other five: "On the Road to Castellon" (written by Harlan Baker and directed by Reba Short), "Playa Del Doro" (written by Charlie Cole and directed by Ann Tracy), "Be Sure Your Sin Will Find You Out" (written by Michael Tooher and directed by Ella Wrenn), "The Great Fire," (written by Carolyn Gage and directed by Stephanie Ross), and "50 Shades of Tan" (by written by Cullen McGough and directed by Michael Toth).
"The other plays were pretty amazing; they all pulled together," Navicky said. "Vast variety — some quite serious, dark. One was a border dispute in Spain in the '20s, one was a mob scene where someone got shot, one was a period piece set in Bar Harbor, there was a racial tension piece, and a grand musical with four pieces of original music."
What happens next for a young playwright, with a day's worth of work or a more crafted script that still needs some editing?
"Certainly sometimes you make some changes, depending on audience talkback. Sometimes you keep sending it out, submitting it to other festivals, perhaps expanding it," said Navicky, who has augmented his last five years as a playwright by teaching English at Southern Maine Community College in South Portland. For six years, he has taught creative writing there as an adjunct professor, another surefire way to stay in character. "Part of that is we work on fiction, poetry, the personal essay," he said, "and, of course, drama."
Last Updated on Thursday, 09 May 2013 01:23
Hits: 159
Police hold active shooter training
Written by Craig Lyons
Portland police officers broke through doors and charged down smoke-filled halls to find a man with a gun as a part of training exercises to help them react in "active shooter" incidents.
The Portland Police Department held "active shooter" training at the Portland Ocean Terminal on the Maine State Pier on Tuesday, with funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and support from the Maine Emergency Management Agency. The Tuesday exercises were the last in a string of 10 active shooter trainings conducted by the PPD that included all the department's officers.
"It's been very, very successful," said Chief Mike Sauschuck. " ... It's something we want to continue to do in the future."
The training exercises included hostage situations, individual shooter incidents and a host of other mock incidents.
As officers work through the various scenarios, Sauschuck said, they don't know what they might be up against, much like in a real-world active shooter incident.
"I think that is key," he said.
The training applies to situations that might involve a shooter in schools, businesses and government buildings, according to the chief, and uses "simunitions" to play out the different scenarios.
The 10-hour on-site training follows five hours of classroom time, according to the chief, and starts with a door breach, a search through smoke-filled corridors to find any victims or the shooter.
Active shooter training continues to evolve over time as incidents occur and the law enforcement community finds better ways to handle those situations, Sauschuck said.
"It changes all the time," he said.
After the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, Sauschuck said training focused on a more methodical approach to incidents where officers would set up a perimeter and work their way into a building but the focus now is on immediacy.
In active shooter incidents, he said, the first steps are to engage and the new training tactics are for the first two officers on the scene to enter a building and do the requisite search.
"They're going in immediately to address that threat," he said.
Along with the training for police officers, Sauschuck said people can also be aware of what to do during an active shooter incident.
Sauschuck said the best thing for people to do is ride, hide or fight.
The chief said the best way to avoid a situation is if something happens to simply get out of the area. If that isn't possible, he said, the next options are to hide or to fight, which can mean screaming or attempting a defensive tactic.
"Those are things we tell people on a regular basis," he said.
The Portland Police Department held "active shooter" training at the Portland Ocean Terminal on the Maine State Pier on Tuesday, with funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and support from the Maine Emergency Management Agency. The Tuesday exercises were the last in a string of 10 active shooter trainings conducted by the PPD that included all the department's officers.
"It's been very, very successful," said Chief Mike Sauschuck. " ... It's something we want to continue to do in the future."
The training exercises included hostage situations, individual shooter incidents and a host of other mock incidents.
As officers work through the various scenarios, Sauschuck said, they don't know what they might be up against, much like in a real-world active shooter incident.
"I think that is key," he said.
The training applies to situations that might involve a shooter in schools, businesses and government buildings, according to the chief, and uses "simunitions" to play out the different scenarios.
The 10-hour on-site training follows five hours of classroom time, according to the chief, and starts with a door breach, a search through smoke-filled corridors to find any victims or the shooter.
Active shooter training continues to evolve over time as incidents occur and the law enforcement community finds better ways to handle those situations, Sauschuck said.
"It changes all the time," he said.
After the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, Sauschuck said training focused on a more methodical approach to incidents where officers would set up a perimeter and work their way into a building but the focus now is on immediacy.
In active shooter incidents, he said, the first steps are to engage and the new training tactics are for the first two officers on the scene to enter a building and do the requisite search.
"They're going in immediately to address that threat," he said.
Along with the training for police officers, Sauschuck said people can also be aware of what to do during an active shooter incident.
Sauschuck said the best thing for people to do is ride, hide or fight.
The chief said the best way to avoid a situation is if something happens to simply get out of the area. If that isn't possible, he said, the next options are to hide or to fight, which can mean screaming or attempting a defensive tactic.
"Those are things we tell people on a regular basis," he said.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 08 May 2013 00:43
Hits: 97
Maine children hit their stride with bicycling, walking initiatives
Written by David Carkhuff
Wednesday is National Bike to School Day, but leave it to Maine to pedal harder and faster than the rest of the nation.
"In Maine we've gone to looking at the whole month of May as walking and biking to school month," said Darcy Whittemore, program manager for the Maine Safe Routes to School program. "We're hoping that people get in the habit and like the idea of walking and biking to school daily."
A first-in-the-state Walking School Bus program in Portland has hit the ground running, evidence that kids and exercise do mix, even if it's in the morning en route to school.
Officials with Maine's federally funded Safe Routes to School Program are promoting a raft of biking- and walking-related activities at local schools.
And Wednesday afternoon at City Hall, the city hopes to attract residents to a meeting about a proposed Bikeshare initiative, a program in which bicycles are made available for shared use for short-distance trips as an alternative to motorized public transit or private vehicles.
There are other signs that young and old alike are open to stretching their legs rather than riding in cars. The Bicycle Coalition of Maine reported one of its most successful Great Maine Bike Swaps ever. Held April 28 at the University of Southern Maine, the swap attracted more than 2,000 people; and 700 cyclists walked away with new bicycles, the coalition reported.
"We hear all this stuff about how it's hard to get kids outdoors, but there's tons of kids who still want bikes, and it's just magical just watching them jump on," said Nancy Grant, executive director of the Bicycle Coalition of Maine.
"We had absolutely every type of bike imaginable at this event," Grant said in the final hours of the swap, noting that "lots of families with kids" attended.
Clark reported "as many bikes as ever, we sold almost everything," with roughly 1,000 bikes on the floor.
For the first time, anybody who wanted to sell a bike could register the bike online, a "huge improvement," Clark added.
Walking School Bus program
A pilot program started with Reiche School and East End Community School, the Walking School Bus program is "growing in interest every day," according to Whittemore. Maine Safe Routes to School program is one of the partners who launched this walk-rather-than-ride alternative for school children last month.
Portland became the first city in Maine to have a coordinated and regularly operating Walking School Bus program, and with strong response, the plan is to expand to additional Portland elementary schools beginning next fall, organizers noted. The program, a collaboration between the Portland Public Schools and the Maine Safe Routes to School program, is funded through a federal Safe Routes to School grant and closely involves the Portland Police Department and the Healthy Portland Let's Go! program.
The idea is simple: A Walking School Bus is a group of students, supervised by a trained adult volunteer, who walk along a designated route to and/or from school on a daily basis. Children can join the Walking School Bus at stops along the route near their homes. Families can also drop off their children at a collection point, such as a nearby park, to join the procession.
Program director Betsy Critchfield said response since the program started on April 24 has been "fabulous," and she said the benefits have extended beyond exercise.
"I've had parents tell me this has been life-changing," Critchfield said, pointing to "touching and sincere emails and phone messages" she has received from parents at both schools "who have expressed what a great difference this has made in their children's lives."
"We've got close to 60 kids walking now from the East End alone. Reiche, it's a smaller group, it's just as consistent," Critchfield said Monday.
"We're running five days a week in the morning, which to start out is quite a success. We've got lots more volunteers trickling in, and we're gearing up to hopefully start offering some afternoon routes as well," she said.
Participating children "look forward to waking up and going to school," and they are able to connect with neighbors along the route, Critchfield noted.
Whittemore said volunteers are key to the program's success since many supervisors can assure the children's safety.
"We really emphasize safety first," she said.
"Our main goal is to offer a safe form of transportation to school for kids, that's active," Whittemore said.
"Thirty kids coming from Kennedy Park and crossing Washington Avenue" requires attention of motorists as well, a common element to all of the state's bicycling and walking initiatives. Drivers need to pay attention, organizers noted.
"One of our routes started with 10 kids and it's grown to almost 30," Whittemore said.
Leaders will follow a route of up to one mile, picking up children along the way at designated stops. "The program offers volunteers a way to get regular exercise and to interact with young people in the neighborhood," Whittemore noted.
Parents benefit as well, she agreed.
"It relieves a big burden for people who are juggling multiple kids and early work, it's a benefit to the parents that their kids are getting to school safely, but also the people who have volunteered say it's a wonderful thing for them," she said.
"Hopefully it's a model that we can replicate and adapt to different neighborhoods," Whittemore said, noting that Lyseth Elementary and Riverton Elementary are candidates to start in the fall.
The program continues to welcome volunteers this spring. All volunteers receive an hour of training, and a criminal background check is required, at no cost to the volunteers. To learn more, visit www.portlandwalkingschoolbus.org, or contact Critchfield, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 200-5287.
Maine Safe Routes to School grants
Mini-grants for up to $250 can give a nudge for healthier transportation options, Whittemore said.
"It just adds enough of a carrot so that a teacher or maybe a school nurse or someone who is working with the Healthy Maine Partnerships, as long as they put a team together and plan several activities for biking or walking to school, it's a fairly easy thing to accomplish in a short amount of time," she said.
Maine's federally funded Safe Routes to School Program is a program of the Maine Department of Transportation, the Bicycle Coalition of Maine and communities throughout the state.
This spring, 15 schools, municipalities and organizations from across the state were picked to receive up to $250 to support projects designed to encourage students and their families to safely walk and bicycle to school and after-school activities. The mini-grant activities, some led by students, will occur this spring.
Those include, in Portland, Lincoln Middle School, which plans: Walk and Bike to School Week; the start of a year-round, student-led Safe Routes to School group with adult facilitator; and Student Travel Tally.
Portland's Lyseth Elementary School, which plans: Bike rodeo; distribution of new helmets and used bikes to students in need, with assistance of the Multilingual Center and a local bike shop; Bike to School Day on May 8; installation of a much-needed bike rack for upper elementary wing; and Student Travel Tally.
"For not a lot of money, you get a lot of things happening," Whittemore noted.
"It brings more awareness to the program and to safety," she said, noting that children can buy reflective zipper-pulls and vests among the accessories.
"We've seen, beyond Portland, there are more and more schools who are developing in-school fleets of bicycles so they can teach biking during P.E. class," Whittemore said.
Kennebunk Elementary School is one example of a school with a bike fleet. After-school bike clubs also are popular.
"I think more and more parents are understanding that they would like their children to be more active, and walking and biking to school is one way to accomplish that," Whittemore said.
For more information, visit MaineSafeRoutes.org.
How to get involved
Wednesday, May 8
Lincoln Middle School — Walk and Bike to School Week, May 6-10; Lyseth School — National Bike to School Day on May 8; Walk to School Day and Bike Rodeo; Ocean Avenue Elementary — Monthly Walk and Roll to School Days all year, Bike Rodeo in June.
Communities already registered to participate in walk and bike activities this spring include: Bangor, Bath, Biddeford, Bridgton, Camden, Fort Kent, Gray, Hampden, Kennebunk, Lewiston, Lincolnville, Madawaska, Madison, Milford, Monmouth, Naples, New Gloucester, North Berwick, Oakland, Pittsfield, Portland, Rangeley, Raymond, Saco, Scarborough, Sebago, South Portland, Topsham, Winterport and York. For events across Maine, visit www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/index.php?topic=DOT_bikeped_news&id=519541&v=full.
Proposed travel changes in Libbytown
5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Long separated by I-295, the Libbytown neighborhood is emerging as an important entryway to the city of Portland and an integral link between the downtown and the Portland Transportation Center. However, multiple highway ramps and side streets confuse travelers, and with Congress Street a major traffic corridor, the area is difficult to navigate, especially for bicyclists and pedestrians. The four proposed sets of changes include various combinations of eliminating exit and entrance ramps to I-295 and making Park and Congress Streets one or two-way. All scenarios include improving the area for bikers and walkers. The study will also make recommendations for better lighting, landscaping and other streetscape elements. To give people more options in terms of opportunity to comment, individual displays illustrating the proposed changes will be available from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. for comments, with staff available to answer questions. A more formal presentation on the neighborhood conditions and the proposed changes will also take place from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. The public is welcome to come to the entire meeting or any portion that is convenient. Portland City Hall, Room 24, 389 Congress St. For more information, visit http://www.portlandmaine.gov/libbytowntrafficcirculation.htm or contact Carol Morris at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Diagrams of the proposals can be seen at http://www.portlandmaine.gov/libbytowntraffic/libbytownalternatives042213.pdf. Public comments can also be made online at the city’s website, http://www.ci.portland.me.us.
Bikeshare Public Forum
5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. The city of Portland will host a Bikeshare Public Forum at City Hall. The public is invited to participate in the conversation about establishing a Bikeshare program in the city, share their thoughts and ideas and ask questions. The meeting is a component of a technical assistance grant the city received in February from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities program. The EPA selected the City of Portland as one of five communities nationwide to receive technical assistance to explore the potential of establishing a Bikeshare program. City Hall, State of Maine Room, 389 Congress St., Portland. Visit http://www.ci.portland.me.us.
Sunday, June 2
Ride for women in Freeport 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ride for women in Freeport, LL Bean's Casco Conference Center, Casco Street, Freeport. This all-female ride is suited for girls and women of all ages and fitness levels, with distances of 10, 25, 50 and 75 miles. The ride offers beautiful views of the countryside and coast. Begin or end the ride with a free massage. The pre-registration fee is $35 (members) and $45 (public rate, including a six-month trial membership in the Bicycle Coalition of Maine), with a $10 discount for children 12-17 and seniors (over 65). Children under 12 ride free. Proceeds benefit the Bicycle Coalition of Maine’s work to improve bicycling in Maine. For more information, a video about the ride and online registration, go to http://www.bikemaine.org/events/womens-ride or call 623-4511.
"In Maine we've gone to looking at the whole month of May as walking and biking to school month," said Darcy Whittemore, program manager for the Maine Safe Routes to School program. "We're hoping that people get in the habit and like the idea of walking and biking to school daily."
A first-in-the-state Walking School Bus program in Portland has hit the ground running, evidence that kids and exercise do mix, even if it's in the morning en route to school.
Officials with Maine's federally funded Safe Routes to School Program are promoting a raft of biking- and walking-related activities at local schools.
And Wednesday afternoon at City Hall, the city hopes to attract residents to a meeting about a proposed Bikeshare initiative, a program in which bicycles are made available for shared use for short-distance trips as an alternative to motorized public transit or private vehicles.
There are other signs that young and old alike are open to stretching their legs rather than riding in cars. The Bicycle Coalition of Maine reported one of its most successful Great Maine Bike Swaps ever. Held April 28 at the University of Southern Maine, the swap attracted more than 2,000 people; and 700 cyclists walked away with new bicycles, the coalition reported.
"We hear all this stuff about how it's hard to get kids outdoors, but there's tons of kids who still want bikes, and it's just magical just watching them jump on," said Nancy Grant, executive director of the Bicycle Coalition of Maine.
"We had absolutely every type of bike imaginable at this event," Grant said in the final hours of the swap, noting that "lots of families with kids" attended.
Clark reported "as many bikes as ever, we sold almost everything," with roughly 1,000 bikes on the floor.
For the first time, anybody who wanted to sell a bike could register the bike online, a "huge improvement," Clark added.
Walking School Bus program
A pilot program started with Reiche School and East End Community School, the Walking School Bus program is "growing in interest every day," according to Whittemore. Maine Safe Routes to School program is one of the partners who launched this walk-rather-than-ride alternative for school children last month.
Portland became the first city in Maine to have a coordinated and regularly operating Walking School Bus program, and with strong response, the plan is to expand to additional Portland elementary schools beginning next fall, organizers noted. The program, a collaboration between the Portland Public Schools and the Maine Safe Routes to School program, is funded through a federal Safe Routes to School grant and closely involves the Portland Police Department and the Healthy Portland Let's Go! program.
The idea is simple: A Walking School Bus is a group of students, supervised by a trained adult volunteer, who walk along a designated route to and/or from school on a daily basis. Children can join the Walking School Bus at stops along the route near their homes. Families can also drop off their children at a collection point, such as a nearby park, to join the procession.
Program director Betsy Critchfield said response since the program started on April 24 has been "fabulous," and she said the benefits have extended beyond exercise.
"I've had parents tell me this has been life-changing," Critchfield said, pointing to "touching and sincere emails and phone messages" she has received from parents at both schools "who have expressed what a great difference this has made in their children's lives."
"We've got close to 60 kids walking now from the East End alone. Reiche, it's a smaller group, it's just as consistent," Critchfield said Monday.
"We're running five days a week in the morning, which to start out is quite a success. We've got lots more volunteers trickling in, and we're gearing up to hopefully start offering some afternoon routes as well," she said.
Participating children "look forward to waking up and going to school," and they are able to connect with neighbors along the route, Critchfield noted.
Whittemore said volunteers are key to the program's success since many supervisors can assure the children's safety.
"We really emphasize safety first," she said.
"Our main goal is to offer a safe form of transportation to school for kids, that's active," Whittemore said.
"Thirty kids coming from Kennedy Park and crossing Washington Avenue" requires attention of motorists as well, a common element to all of the state's bicycling and walking initiatives. Drivers need to pay attention, organizers noted.
"One of our routes started with 10 kids and it's grown to almost 30," Whittemore said.
Leaders will follow a route of up to one mile, picking up children along the way at designated stops. "The program offers volunteers a way to get regular exercise and to interact with young people in the neighborhood," Whittemore noted.
Parents benefit as well, she agreed.
"It relieves a big burden for people who are juggling multiple kids and early work, it's a benefit to the parents that their kids are getting to school safely, but also the people who have volunteered say it's a wonderful thing for them," she said.
"Hopefully it's a model that we can replicate and adapt to different neighborhoods," Whittemore said, noting that Lyseth Elementary and Riverton Elementary are candidates to start in the fall.
The program continues to welcome volunteers this spring. All volunteers receive an hour of training, and a criminal background check is required, at no cost to the volunteers. To learn more, visit www.portlandwalkingschoolbus.org, or contact Critchfield, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 200-5287.
Maine Safe Routes to School grants
Mini-grants for up to $250 can give a nudge for healthier transportation options, Whittemore said.
"It just adds enough of a carrot so that a teacher or maybe a school nurse or someone who is working with the Healthy Maine Partnerships, as long as they put a team together and plan several activities for biking or walking to school, it's a fairly easy thing to accomplish in a short amount of time," she said.
Maine's federally funded Safe Routes to School Program is a program of the Maine Department of Transportation, the Bicycle Coalition of Maine and communities throughout the state.
This spring, 15 schools, municipalities and organizations from across the state were picked to receive up to $250 to support projects designed to encourage students and their families to safely walk and bicycle to school and after-school activities. The mini-grant activities, some led by students, will occur this spring.
Those include, in Portland, Lincoln Middle School, which plans: Walk and Bike to School Week; the start of a year-round, student-led Safe Routes to School group with adult facilitator; and Student Travel Tally.
Portland's Lyseth Elementary School, which plans: Bike rodeo; distribution of new helmets and used bikes to students in need, with assistance of the Multilingual Center and a local bike shop; Bike to School Day on May 8; installation of a much-needed bike rack for upper elementary wing; and Student Travel Tally.
"For not a lot of money, you get a lot of things happening," Whittemore noted.
"It brings more awareness to the program and to safety," she said, noting that children can buy reflective zipper-pulls and vests among the accessories.
"We've seen, beyond Portland, there are more and more schools who are developing in-school fleets of bicycles so they can teach biking during P.E. class," Whittemore said.
Kennebunk Elementary School is one example of a school with a bike fleet. After-school bike clubs also are popular.
"I think more and more parents are understanding that they would like their children to be more active, and walking and biking to school is one way to accomplish that," Whittemore said.
For more information, visit MaineSafeRoutes.org.
How to get involved
Wednesday, May 8
Lincoln Middle School — Walk and Bike to School Week, May 6-10; Lyseth School — National Bike to School Day on May 8; Walk to School Day and Bike Rodeo; Ocean Avenue Elementary — Monthly Walk and Roll to School Days all year, Bike Rodeo in June.
Communities already registered to participate in walk and bike activities this spring include: Bangor, Bath, Biddeford, Bridgton, Camden, Fort Kent, Gray, Hampden, Kennebunk, Lewiston, Lincolnville, Madawaska, Madison, Milford, Monmouth, Naples, New Gloucester, North Berwick, Oakland, Pittsfield, Portland, Rangeley, Raymond, Saco, Scarborough, Sebago, South Portland, Topsham, Winterport and York. For events across Maine, visit www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/index.php?topic=DOT_bikeped_news&id=519541&v=full.
Proposed travel changes in Libbytown
5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Long separated by I-295, the Libbytown neighborhood is emerging as an important entryway to the city of Portland and an integral link between the downtown and the Portland Transportation Center. However, multiple highway ramps and side streets confuse travelers, and with Congress Street a major traffic corridor, the area is difficult to navigate, especially for bicyclists and pedestrians. The four proposed sets of changes include various combinations of eliminating exit and entrance ramps to I-295 and making Park and Congress Streets one or two-way. All scenarios include improving the area for bikers and walkers. The study will also make recommendations for better lighting, landscaping and other streetscape elements. To give people more options in terms of opportunity to comment, individual displays illustrating the proposed changes will be available from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. for comments, with staff available to answer questions. A more formal presentation on the neighborhood conditions and the proposed changes will also take place from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. The public is welcome to come to the entire meeting or any portion that is convenient. Portland City Hall, Room 24, 389 Congress St. For more information, visit http://www.portlandmaine.gov/libbytowntrafficcirculation.htm or contact Carol Morris at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Diagrams of the proposals can be seen at http://www.portlandmaine.gov/libbytowntraffic/libbytownalternatives042213.pdf. Public comments can also be made online at the city’s website, http://www.ci.portland.me.us.
Bikeshare Public Forum
5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. The city of Portland will host a Bikeshare Public Forum at City Hall. The public is invited to participate in the conversation about establishing a Bikeshare program in the city, share their thoughts and ideas and ask questions. The meeting is a component of a technical assistance grant the city received in February from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities program. The EPA selected the City of Portland as one of five communities nationwide to receive technical assistance to explore the potential of establishing a Bikeshare program. City Hall, State of Maine Room, 389 Congress St., Portland. Visit http://www.ci.portland.me.us.
Sunday, June 2
Ride for women in Freeport 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ride for women in Freeport, LL Bean's Casco Conference Center, Casco Street, Freeport. This all-female ride is suited for girls and women of all ages and fitness levels, with distances of 10, 25, 50 and 75 miles. The ride offers beautiful views of the countryside and coast. Begin or end the ride with a free massage. The pre-registration fee is $35 (members) and $45 (public rate, including a six-month trial membership in the Bicycle Coalition of Maine), with a $10 discount for children 12-17 and seniors (over 65). Children under 12 ride free. Proceeds benefit the Bicycle Coalition of Maine’s work to improve bicycling in Maine. For more information, a video about the ride and online registration, go to http://www.bikemaine.org/events/womens-ride or call 623-4511.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 08 May 2013 00:44
Hits: 369
Mukhtar sentenced to eight years for gross sexual assault
Written by Marge Niblock
Mohammed Mukhtar, who climbed into an open window in an apartment building on High Street almost one year ago, on May 26, 2012, and sexually assaulted a "sleeping, helpless victim," was sentenced Tuesday to eight years in prison for gross sexual assault.
Mukhtar pleaded guilty on April 17 to the charges in the four-count indictment against him. Those were: gross sexual assault; burglary; aggravated criminal trespass; and misdemeanor criminal trespass.
Judge Richard Mulhern sentenced Mukhtar in court Tuesday.
Attorney Jonathan Berry successfully argued last July that Mukhtar was only 17 at the time of the crime, not 18, because immigration officials had arbitrarily assigned his birth date. At that point the District Attorney's Office decided to try Mukhtar as an adult, due to the seriousness of his crime. After several court skirmishes involving bind-over hearings related to the issue, Mukhtar agreed to be tried as an adult.
Officer Coreena Behnke, School Resource Officer at Portland High School, stated during a bind-over hearing in January that Mukhtar had a street name of “Africa,” associated with his gang connections. She said that he was involved with drug activity and had affiliations with members of the gang True Somali Bloods. Other testimony described a record of troubling behavior from Mukhtar and an inability of his mother to control him.
The judge stated on Tuesday, "I presided over the bind-over hearing where the victim testified. I had the opportunity to hear her in person." Judge Mulhern also said he'd read the victim's letter that was submitted before the sentencing. He said that in that letter, she testified about the impact of the assault, which caused her to move away from Portland and to suffer from medical problems.
He continued, "This was a terrible assault on a sleeping, helpless victim," who was anally raped in her bed.
Judge Mulhern said he felt the eight-year sentence to be an appropriate one. He referred to it as a "significant sentence," which he felt was warranted by the crime committed. He said he'd also seen the videos of Mukhtar taken by surveillance cameras in the High Street apartment building where the attack occurred. He said the video shows Mukhtar spent some time in the residence going in and out of various doors.
"I see no mitigating factors," said Judge Mulhern, who then mentioned Mukhtar's youth. The judge said, "Based on his pattern of antisocial behavior so far, I think his youth would give him more time for such behavior. I see no remorse for his actions. I see little prospects of rehabilitation."
The judge also considered the effect of this crime on the community and stated, "Society needs to be protected from Mr. Mukhtar for a lengthy period of time. I think eight years will accomplish that."
Mukhtar also must be a lifetime registrant as a sex offender.
When Assistant District Attorney Deborah Chmielewski was asked how she felt as she was exiting the courtroom after the sentencing, she said, "I'm happy. This was good." She also said the victim has no argument with the sentencing terms and that she wants to put this behind her.
Mukhtar pleaded guilty on April 17 to the charges in the four-count indictment against him. Those were: gross sexual assault; burglary; aggravated criminal trespass; and misdemeanor criminal trespass.
Judge Richard Mulhern sentenced Mukhtar in court Tuesday.
Attorney Jonathan Berry successfully argued last July that Mukhtar was only 17 at the time of the crime, not 18, because immigration officials had arbitrarily assigned his birth date. At that point the District Attorney's Office decided to try Mukhtar as an adult, due to the seriousness of his crime. After several court skirmishes involving bind-over hearings related to the issue, Mukhtar agreed to be tried as an adult.
Officer Coreena Behnke, School Resource Officer at Portland High School, stated during a bind-over hearing in January that Mukhtar had a street name of “Africa,” associated with his gang connections. She said that he was involved with drug activity and had affiliations with members of the gang True Somali Bloods. Other testimony described a record of troubling behavior from Mukhtar and an inability of his mother to control him.
The judge stated on Tuesday, "I presided over the bind-over hearing where the victim testified. I had the opportunity to hear her in person." Judge Mulhern also said he'd read the victim's letter that was submitted before the sentencing. He said that in that letter, she testified about the impact of the assault, which caused her to move away from Portland and to suffer from medical problems.
He continued, "This was a terrible assault on a sleeping, helpless victim," who was anally raped in her bed.
Judge Mulhern said he felt the eight-year sentence to be an appropriate one. He referred to it as a "significant sentence," which he felt was warranted by the crime committed. He said he'd also seen the videos of Mukhtar taken by surveillance cameras in the High Street apartment building where the attack occurred. He said the video shows Mukhtar spent some time in the residence going in and out of various doors.
"I see no mitigating factors," said Judge Mulhern, who then mentioned Mukhtar's youth. The judge said, "Based on his pattern of antisocial behavior so far, I think his youth would give him more time for such behavior. I see no remorse for his actions. I see little prospects of rehabilitation."
The judge also considered the effect of this crime on the community and stated, "Society needs to be protected from Mr. Mukhtar for a lengthy period of time. I think eight years will accomplish that."
Mukhtar also must be a lifetime registrant as a sex offender.
When Assistant District Attorney Deborah Chmielewski was asked how she felt as she was exiting the courtroom after the sentencing, she said, "I'm happy. This was good." She also said the victim has no argument with the sentencing terms and that she wants to put this behind her.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 08 May 2013 00:45
Hits: 64