University of Maine

Latest Articles

Fraud isn't killing Maine's welfare system — conservative misunderstanding is

Barely hanging on
Last week in Ellsworth, Governor Paul LePage renewed his efforts to change Maine's welfare system, calling for increased restrictions on benefits for people seeking taxpayer support to get health coverage through the state's Medicaid program.
By JEFF INGLIS | November 16, 2011

Blues beyond pie

A closer look at Maine's most famous fruit
Here, a look at some blueberry characters and concerns.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | August 31, 2011

Spreading Maine ideas

Talking TED
"Innovation is part of Maine's legacy and DNA." So says Adam Burk, executive director of TEDxDirigo, the independent group working to create a local TED conference for Mainers.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | August 25, 2011

Richard Nelson's big deal

In cool Pursuit
While it's seemingly becoming commonplace for one musician to play 13 different parts or instruments on a studio album, it's getting pretty rare to hear an album featuring 13 musicians all playing at the same time.
By SAM PFEIFLE | June 08, 2011

Urban beekeeping is on the rise

Backyard buzz
The cold, rainy weather enveloping Portland has led meteorologists to apologize daily for the lack of sunshine in their seven-day forecasts, but it's the bees that are really suffering.
By LEISCHEN STELTER | May 25, 2011

Letting our imaginations run wild

Patent pending
There was a priceless article in last week's Portland Press Herald about the "Platter Ensemble," a new "invention" — a slotted plate that fits over a deep-dish platter in order to catch the juices that sometimes squirt out of a freshly cracked lobster.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | May 18, 2011

Odd year ahead for museums and galleries

2011 brings the Biennial and much more
Remember, for every droopy tarp stalactite that makes it into a museum lobby installation, there are dozens of similar (and similarly impressive) creatures that never leave a studio wall.
By NICHOLAS SCHROEDER | December 29, 2010

Referendum questions

June Election
All Maine voters — whether you are registered as a member of a particular party or not — get to vote on five questions on June 8.
By JEFF INGLIS | May 19, 2010

The way robots should be

Maine’s burgeoning automaton population
While Ray Kurzweil pursues the Nanotech Revolution, robotics researchers in Maine are chasing their own futuristic outcomes. Here’s what’s new on the local robot scene (didn’t know we had one of those, didja?).
By DEIRDRE FULTON | April 28, 2010

Say what you mean

Aaarrgghh!

Balls, Pucks, & Monster Trucks
There is Pirate news, and not just that Penelope Cruz will star in the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie as Blackbeard’s daughter. No, there is Portland Pirate news.
By RICK WORMWOOD | March 24, 2010

From deli to concert hall

Crossing, and expanding, boundaries with Brooklyn Rider
If you're a young (or youngish) music fan looking to become a little bit more engaged with classical music, there is truly no better time than right now, particularly if you'll find yourself in Portland this weekend.
By CHRISTOPHER GRAY | February 24, 2010

Don't make promises

Paul LePage's disastrous mistake
In writing a weekly political column, you learn not to use the first paragraph to make extravagant claims you can't possibly deliver on.
By AL DIAMON | February 24, 2010

Back to school

Coloring outside the educational lines
Some of us know (or think we know) our paths from a young age. We follow those trails through 12 years of school, and then four (plus) more. Some of us don't. We flounder, we search, we know what we want but we don't know how to achieve it. The crucial component in all these scenarios? Education.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | January 20, 2010

Faltering steps forward

Going Green
As in many other sectors, the green world in 2009 was marked as much by bluster as by tangible positive action.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | December 22, 2009

2009 had some redeeming qualities - really

Don’t look back in anger
Let's get serious: For many Portlanders, 2009 was a crap year.
By DEIRDRE FULTON AND JEFF INGLIS | December 22, 2009

Camera crazy

Local filmmakers show off their talents in our fourth Short-Film Festival
With a large number of new entrants, and several returning filmmakers, the fourth annual Portland Phoenix Maine Short Film Festival was a rousing success.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | November 25, 2009

Three-hour tours

Lessons from a cruise-ship trip to Portland
They crowd our sidewalks, wearing lobster hats and carrying LL Bean bags, from August through October. We’re told about how their presence is vital to our economy.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | November 04, 2009

Inside out

Charlie Kohlhase's Explorer's Club, Lee Konitz + Minsarah, and Steve Swallow recanting
Charlie Kohlhase's love affair with jazz began with the avant-garde. As a high-school kid in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, he found that it was Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy, and the Art Ensemble of Chicago who rocked his world.
By JON GARELICK | July 06, 2009

Crossword: ''That's B. S.''

At least it's broken up
At least it's broken up
By MATT JONES | May 29, 2009

Drafting the city's constitution

Charter Commission
Nineteen people are running to serve in nine open seats on the city's 12-member Charter Commission.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | April 30, 2009

Play-by-play

On the front lines at the gay-marriage hearing
On the front lines at the gay-marriage hearing
By DEIRDRE FULTON + EMILY PARKHURST | April 30, 2009

The way they tell stories

Local film
Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly's documentary The Way We Get By has its official Maine premiere in Orono this weekend with an unusual amount of fanfare.
By CHRISTOPHER GRAY | April 08, 2009

Official propaganda

Why pay for the governor's publicity machine?
Isn't it sinister or at least creepy in a democracy for citizens to foot the bill for politicians and high officials to propagandize them?
By LANCE TAPLEY | March 18, 2009

Curiouser and curiouser

Sara Hallie Richardson says hello, to say goodbye
Sara Hallie Richardson, we hardly knew ye.
By SAM PFEIFLE | February 19, 2009

Transmission troubles

We're all about wind power — but do we have a way to harness green energy?
Late last month, Maine's second large commercial wind farm officially opened at Stetson Mountain in the eastern part of the state. But for all this potential, both in terms of the power source itself, and the brainpower behind it, Maine risks losing a lot of money.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | February 11, 2009

What's so funny 'bout peace, love, and understanding?

Politics and other mistakes
Bipartisanship.
By AL DIAMON | December 17, 2008

UMaine feels the economic pinch

Tuition pressure
The University of Maine system is being asked by the state to describe how it would cut $10.6 million from its budget — the equivalent of 5.3 percent of the state money it gets — on top of the $19.1 million in cuts imposed earlier this year.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | November 19, 2008

Endorsements, or lack thereof

The Phoenix ’s picks for this election
The Phoenix makes no endorsement for the United States Senate. Neither Republican Susan Collins, the incumbent, nor Democratic challenger Tom Allen would agree to talk with this paper.
By PHOENIX EDITORIAL STAFF | October 31, 2008

Maine House candidates

Who wants to go to Augusta?
As with the candidates for Maine Senate, we compiled some biographical information on each candidate and then asked each person what they would take action on right up front, if they were elected.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | October 29, 2008