This week’s edition!
Events
LETTER: Gun law won’t deter violent crime
To the Editor:
This is in response to Mayor Larry Gilbert’s cry for politicians to enact more gun safety laws. (“Mayor’s Corner: How many more tragedies before politicians enact gun safety laws?” TCT, Feb. 3, 2011, page 5.)
Mayor Gilbert must believe that misguided individuals are not smart enough to get around this initiative. If a handgun is limited to a 10-round capacity, then someone could use two or more guns to accomplish what one gun cannot.
Lewiston Casino Initiative heads to Legislature
Secretary of State Charles Summers announced on February 4 that enough valid signatures have been submitted to place “An Act Regarding Establishing a Slot Machine Facility” before the Maine State Legislature.
“After an exhaustive review, we have determined that 59,095 signatures on the petition have been determined valid,” Summers said. “I know what a difficult task this was for the organizers to meet the required threshold and I commend them on their efforts. I also want to thank Deputy Secretary of State Julie Flynn and her dedicated staff for all of their hard work in ensuring that the integrity of the process was preserved and the statutory deadline for the determination was met.”
Public meeting on L-A/Montreal Passenger Rail Study
| The Maine Department of Transportation and Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments invites the public to attend a meeting on the Lewiston/Auburn/Montreal Passenger Rail Feasibility Study.
The meeting is at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 16 at the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments, 125 Manley Road, Auburn. All members of the public are invited to attend. The purpose of the meeting is to present the findings of the study. The meeting will include a formal presentation followed by an opportunity for public comment on the information presented. |
A look behind the scenes of “To Kill a Mockingbird”
The performers may get all the glory, but it’s the backstage folks who make it happen!
(See photos in Digital Edition)
By Rachel Morin
TCT Columnist
Lewiston/Auburn Community Little Theatre presents the final weekend of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” the powerful Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Harper Lee, adapted for the stage by Christopher Sergel.
Directed by Linda Britt, the timeless story of “Mockingbird,” as relevant today as it was over 50 years ago, is especially meaningful to her, having grown up in the South and seeing and hearing the language of the times—not so long ago. Britt is recognized for directing plays that have a message.
A dramatic play she directed at CLT a few years ago about a young gay man brutally murdered received excellent reviews. Two dramatic plays Britt directed for Out of the Box Theater achieved the coveted Moss Hart Award in 2009 and 2010.
Chamber awards honor business achievement
Peter Murphy of Neokraft Signs (center) was awarded the prestigious Ray Geiger Award. (Photo by David Sysko)
(See photos in Feb. 3, 2011 Digital Edition. Click on the front page of Digital Edition at top left, then click on the Archive tab at top right to find the Feb. 3 edition.)
The Androscoggin Chamber of Commerce presented its esteemed annual awards to local businesses large and small during its 2011 Annual Meeting, held Thursday, January 27 at the Ramada Conference Center in Lewiston.
The awards recognize the innovation, achievement and business excellence demonstrated by these individuals and businesses during the past year.
The Business Leadership Award for a larger company was presented to The Wal-Mart Distribution Center and General Manager Cathlin Foster. The distribution center has been one of the largest development projects in Maine in the last decade, and its impact on the Lewiston-Auburn employment has been monumental, bringing hundreds of good-paying jobs in the transportation/logistics sector.
Mayor’s Corner: What political legacy did The Cutler Files leave on Maine?
By Laurent F. Gilbert Sr.
Mayor of Lewiston
“The Cutler Files,” a website created by former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rosa Scarcelli’s husband and her political advisor, marked a new low in Maine campaigns. Is this the future of Maine politics?
In the spirit of full disclosure, I have been and continue to be a staunch Democrat, although I have deviated on a few occasions and voted for a Republican and an Independent candidate. It this latest gubernatorial election, I supported former Maine Attorney General Steve Rowe in the primary election, having worked with him in my capacity as the Associate Director of the Maine Community Policing Institute at the University of Maine at Augusta.
At the time of the Democratic Party campaign, both Democrats Rowe and Rosa Scarcelli visited me. Libby Mitchell and Pat McGowan both called me to meet; I was honest with them, telling them I was supporting Rowe.
Mayor’s Corner: How many more tragedies before politicians enact gun safety laws?
By Laurent F. Gilbert Sr.
Mayor of Lewiston
For the readers of this column who were wondering when I would be writing about the need to enact gun safety laws after the Tucson massacre, well, here goes!
On January 20, 2011 the United States Conference of Mayors adopted the following resolution in the aftermath of the massacre in Tucson, Arizona. Here it is:
In Support of Gun Safety Legislation to Ban the Use of Large Capacity Magazines and Strengthen the National Background Check System
WHEREAS, on the morning of January 8, 2011, gunshots fired in one of our nation’s great cities reverberated through all of our cities; and
WHEREAS, a federal judge and a nine-year-old girl were among the six people killed that day in Tucson, and Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, the target of the shooting rampage, was among the 13 more who were wounded; and
Weekly Review: Business as usual; paid snow days
By Glenn E. Aho
Auburn City Manager
Former NBC nightly news anchor Tom Brokaw used to say that it’s easier to make a buck than to make a difference. Wanting to make a difference in this world is perhaps the single-most important inspiration people pursue—at least I know it was for Gail Phoenix.
Gail spent her entire life working to make a difference, and she started to share that inspiration with the City of Auburn in 1986, when she was hired in the Community Development Block Grant office. Gail worked tirelessly to help low-income individuals purchase homes and to make critical upgrades to their existing homes. She even worked with others with commercial loans to start businesses.
Weekly Review: “Can’t you find the budget cuts elsewhere?”
By Glenn E. Aho
Auburn City Manager
“Can’t you find the budget cuts elsewhere?” That’s a question I hear in response to any budget cuts the city has made in effort to reduce the property tax burden.
The problem is that no matter what is cut—or is proposed to be cut—the same question is asked. No one wants their service cut: they just want to cut the other person’s service. But to reduce the size of local government, we need to change one service at a time until it’s affordable.
There are three ways to reduce the size of government: Reduce convenience, such as reducing city hours or programs—like Christmas tree pickup; increase risk, such as reducing street lights; or manage government resources better. The City of Auburn has focused upon all three. But most of its efforts have been to manage its resources better because no one likes to see governmental inefficiencies, even during the best of times.
LETTER: Early intervention needed for English Language Learners
To the Editor:
In Lewiston’s Longley School, nearly two-thirds of the students don’t speak English. Still, and although it will be difficult, we have a responsibility to provide them with a public K-to-12 education. To do this, we must teach them spoken English.
However, the way we have chosen is puzzling: we meld them into classrooms with native, English-speaking children. When we attempt to teach classroom lessons, we must at the same time teach English to the non-native speakers and require them to simultaneously learn both the language and their lessons.
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