Portland

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Female poets step up to the mic

Could be verse
While down in Cambridge last August with a team of Portland poets for the semi-finals of the National Poetry Slam, Tricia Henley Pryce says, she never saw more than one woman up on stage at a time.
By MEGAN GRUMBLING | February 08, 2012

The Making of Paul LePage, Part 1

Escaping Poverty; or, the Horatio Alger Years
Governor Paul LePage generated more controversy and negative press in his first year in office than most Maine politicians do in their entire careers.
By COLIN WOODARD | January 18, 2012

10 fun things in the OccupyMaine-Portland lawsuit

Legal ease
OccupyMaine sued Portland late last year, seeking a court's permission to stay in Lincoln Park, given that the City Council has refused to brook any possibility of anyone remaining overnight in a city park for any reason (including free speech, expression, or assembly).
By JEFF INGLIS | January 11, 2012

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2012 could see a resurgence in Portland's food scene

Fortune's return
It was four years ago — the beginning of 2008 — that Portland prepared to get its moment at the center of the nation's food consciousness.
By BRIAN DUFF | December 28, 2011

Looking back on 2011

Portland's year in progressive politics, the Press Herald , and pop-up shopping
If it seems like the year of the Occupy movement, that's a huge testament to the power of the effort that arose in New York on September 17, and had its Maine debut on October 1, spreading from Portland through the entire state over the course of that month and into the fall.
By DEIRDRE FULTON, JEFF INGLIS, AND NICHOLAS SCHROEDER | December 21, 2011

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Portland’s Occupiers express their holiday wishes

Many people in the mainstream media are still running around asking “What does Occupy want?” And they’re dragging their zoned-out, tuned-out audiences along with them. It’s very simple: Occupy wants what Occupy wants.
By JEFF INGLIS | December 07, 2011

You know you need it

If you’re reading this, you’re the 99 percent. Here’s what people should get you — and what you should get all your friends.
There are a lot of things that the 99 percent need.
By JEFF INGLIS | December 07, 2011

Holiday treasure hunt

We search high and low for great gifts at thrift and secondhand shops
Is it trash or treasure? The editorial team here at the Portland Phoenix compiled this year's incarnation of our annual local gift guide by searching for diamonds in the rough.
By DEIRDRE FULTON, NICHOLAS SCHROEDER, AND JEFF INGLIS | December 07, 2011

Portland group asks city to create free-speech zone

Occupy Watch
As officials continue to pressure Maine's Occupy campsites in Portland, Augusta, and Bangor, the Portland Occupation is pushing back.
By JEFF INGLIS | November 30, 2011

Portland’s Occupation preps for winter

Occupy Watch
OccupyMaine's Portland branch has a plan for winter survival and overall camp safety that includes using the people's mic for emergency warnings, round-the-clock warming huts, and shifting to hotels or other dwellings in times of extreme cold.
By JEFF INGLIS | November 16, 2011

What we learned from the race

Mayoral Aftermath
As of last Tuesday, Portland has its first elected mayor in many decades; Michael Brennan will take office December 5 and serve a four-year term.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | November 16, 2011

The enduring evolution of Lovers

Full-fledged fling
Lovers, the chamber-folk-turned-synth-pop project helmed by Boston-born Carolyn Berk, has seen plenty of critical acclaim since its first release, 2002's Starlit Sunken Ship (Orange Twin).
By THOMAS PAGE MCBEE | November 09, 2011

Who bankrolled Portland’s mayoral candidates?

Following the money
Friday afternoon, Portland's 15 mayoral candidates disclosed how much money they'd raised and who gave it to them.
By COLIN WOODARD | November 02, 2011

Who will be mayor?

Q&A with the 15 candidates looking for your vote
A Portland Election Special.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | October 26, 2011

Mayoral endorsements + State and county referenda

Endorsements
Portland's mayoral election is being handled by ranked-choice voting.
By PHOENIX STAFF | October 26, 2011

Mayors, media, masses

Press Releases
Portland's 15 mayoral candidates are missing an opportunity to connect with the people, both directly and through the media, by failing to publicize their support for OccupyMaine.
By JEFF INGLIS | October 19, 2011

Getting our sh%& straight

Portland 101
For the second week in a row, as part of the League of Young Voters' Portland 101 program, I got to visit a smelly and treacherous location, all in the name of getting (and sharing with you, reader!) a behind-the-scenes glimpse of our city's inner-workings.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | October 05, 2011

Consistently inconsistent

Gubernatorial Scorecard
One of Governor Paul LePage's most impressive performances, to date, has been his consistency.
By PORTLAND PHOENIX STAFF | October 05, 2011

Talking trash with the League

Portland 101
The second site visit of the League of Young Voters' Portland 101 program, which Jeff Inglis outlined last week (see " Young Activists Explore Police Department ," September 23), took the group to ecomaine, the non-profit waste management facility located off outer Congress Street.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | September 28, 2011

Arts-related mayoral forum coming up

Leading Portland
With six weeks to go before Portland's first mayoral election in modern history, the field remains crowded and confusing.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | September 28, 2011

Portland planking

Hoopleville
Memes on wheels.
By DAVID KISH | September 14, 2011

Where to go with what's in your pocket (or couch, or car)

Cheap eats
After about two weeks of being back in school and eating every meal — day after day after day — in the cafeteria, it's going to start sucking. It's actually written in the student handbook.
By LEISCHEN STELTER | August 31, 2011

Playing tourist

Experiencing Portland like a visitor — and liking it
Last weekend, more than 2300 people stepped off cruise ships into the Old Port seeking all things Maine: lobster, anything blueberry, and a taste of the way life should be (some probably hoped to spot a moose on the corner of Fore and Exchange).
By LEISCHEN STELTER | August 17, 2011

20 questions about Portland's upcoming mayoral election

Rising from the masses
With three months until Portland's first mayoral election in more than 80 years, and two weeks until candidates are required to hand in the 300 signatures that will reserve them each a place on the ballot, a whopping 19 people have thrown their hats into the ring by taking out nominating-petition papers.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | August 11, 2011

Portland's chefs play with mushrooms

Tasting the fruit of the spore
Being a chef is a risky business.
By BRIAN DUFF | August 03, 2011

Ash Borer | Ash Borer

Flenser (2011)
NorCal black-metal trio Ash Borer's debut full-length is as diminutive as their namesake (limited to a 150-cassette run) but no less destructive or striking as they hurtle through three tracks in 40 minutes.
By JANSSEN McCORMICK | July 12, 2011

The secret's out

Toontime
Need free health care? Why not just go to prison?
By MATT BORS | July 13, 2011

Business-led Haiti-aid group shuts down

Seeking relief
What happens when lawyers, public-relations experts, bankers and accountants, construction contractors, insurance brokers, and manufacturers join forces to get involved in emergency disaster relief in one of the most underdeveloped countries in the Western Hemisphere? Much less than they hoped, it turns out.
By JEFF INGLIS | June 22, 2011