The newest coffeehouse in Portland is Acoustic Coffee, and their mic is open all the time. Proprietors Mark Lembo and Margaret Lyons opened their doors at 32 Danforth Street the first week of September. Besides offering a wide range of food and beverages, they also offer a voice in the community for anyone who seeks one, through their “open stage all the time” ethos.
Letter from the Editor
Lately my early morning routine of turning on newsradio WMTW has had me shaking my head in disbelief. It’s those gross pro-casino ads. They attempt to appeal to consumer/voter emotion by urging Mainers to support their fellow citizens. If you care for other Mainers, they insinuate, you’ll vote yes on question three, because if there’s one thing Maine needs it’s more jobs.
Student committee considers raising activity fee.
Tyler Stanley
Contributing Writer
An ad-hoc committee formed by the Student Senate in recent weeks has been looking for a way to raise USM’s student activity fee. Ultimately, this will require a vote by the student body next spring. The committee is made up of Student Senators and other students involved in groups that are currently funded by the student activity fee.
Citizen-initiated referenda dominate ballot.
On November 4 registered voters in Maine will be asked to decide three citizen initiated statewide referendum questions. In addition, voters in Portland and Gorham will be asked to approve statewide and local bond issues, decide town and city council elections, approve the creation of a new Cumberland Country Charter, and fill school committee seats.
Monday Night Football
I do not like the Miami Dolphins. They are a shabby, poor man’s football team, coddled by Miami’s warm climate and perpetually unable to win late season games. The city of Miami is made of recycled plastic. The people of Miami are fabricated from used sports car parts and silicone.
Audience lets Toots down at Colby show
The veteran Jamaican band Toots and the Maytals, credited with coining the term “reggae,” played the final show of their six-month “The World is Turning” tour at Colby College on Saturday, October 4. They opened for hip-hop group The Roots, a band with far less experience and acclaim.
Footprint
One of the countless blessings I know in this life is the ability to put my feet to the ground and propel my body over the earth. It was not until an accident temporarily took away my ability to walk that I fully realized that my legs and their movements were not promises but blessings.
Health Beat
Mononucleosis, often referred to as “mono”, is a very common viral illness often caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). About 90 percent of people over age 35 have antibodies to mono in their blood, which means that they have been infected with it, probably during early childhood.
Gov’t Mule brays at the State
Gov’t Mule and Chris Robinson played to a loaded audience October 12 at the State Theater in Portland. The show was a routine triumph for the former and a partial disappointment for the latter.
Robinson, formerly of the Black Crowes, opened the show with his band New Earth Mud, a four-piece that plays basic rock with an appealing loose swing.
Staffer Talks
I usually look forward to my turn on the Staffer Speaks column but I’ve been trying to track down my schoolwork all week and now I have a few hours to finish editing my stories and write this column. Usually I can cobble together some kind of amusing, scatological rant in an hour or so, but this time I’m coming up blank.
USM-SMCC agreement eases transfer between schools
On October 17, University of Southern Maine President Richard Pattenaude and Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) President James Ortiz signed an agreement that guarantees admission at USM to SMCC students with associate’s degrees. The ceremony, held at SMCC’s McKernan Center, made official the first of several identical agreements that USM intends to form with York County (YCCC) and Central Maine Community Colleges (CMCC).
WMPG holds bi-annual fundraising drive
Two times per year, for one week in mid-October and another week in mid-April, WMPG hosts its pledge drive, called Begathon. This year’s fall Begathon was held from October 20 to the 26. John Joyce, WMPG office manager, who has been working for the station for seven years, said it has been at least 10 years since WMPG started holding the Begathon.
Sports for the Layperson / Sports Trivia
Sports Trivia
Question:
Which Southern Maine Field Hockey Player was recently featured in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd” column?
Answer:
Senior goaltender Jessie Superchi of Campton, New Hampshire was featured in the October 20 issue of Sports Illustrated.
Assembly of Dust play knockout show
It is a pleasant surprise when a band can totally, unexpectedly blow you away, especially when you have never heard of them before. I walked into the State Theater expecting a run of the mill Phish-esque jam band, but got so much more.
Three years ago Reid Genauer received an almost career-ending slap in the face when Mammoth Records signed the band he fronted, Strangefolk, and then dropped them right before their breakthrough album was set to be released.
Down with SCHLOCK & AWFUL
The political gun control scene has been tied up for years in a constant succession of tie votes and the lengthy recount votes that follow. You are fed up and decide that this time you are going to make a difference just to finally end this grim ordeal.
–If you vote to pass “Gun Control” legislations, progress to paragraph -C-
–If you vote to ban “Gun Control” legislations, progress to paragraph -D-
B- The gun homicide rate grows so large that law enforcement becomes irrelevant.
Red Sox rouse riot in Gorham dorm
Shortly after midnight on Friday, October 17, 2003, at the conclusion of Game 7 of the American League Championship, disappointed Red Sox fans on the Gorham Campus filled the area between Philippi Hall and the Towers. There is debate over whether they proceeded to riot or if they were an ordinary crowd of unhappy sports fans.
Question of the Week
Kelly Coyne
Freshman
Environmental Science
“I believe that a casino will economically benefit Maine as well as giving Mainers more job opportunities. However, most of the profit will go to Las Vegas and I think Maine should get more of the benefits if the casino is allowed.
Task force examines Maine’s brain drain.
Chris Jovenelli is a senior at USM, and hopes to someday become an executive producer for large scale video productions and produce his own documentaries. He will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in media studies, which in most states would be enough to launch a promising video production career.
Jonathan Lethem to read at USM
“It was entirely possible that one song could destroy your life. Yes, musical doom could fall on a lone human form and crush it like a bug. The song, that song, was sent from somewhere else to find you, to pick the scab of your whole existence. The song was your personal shitty fate, manifest as a throb of pop floating out of radios everywhere.
Scores & Athletics Schedule for the Week
Schedule
TUESDAY, OCT. 28
Field Hockey at St. Joseph’s at 3:00 p.m.
WEDNESDAY OCT. 29
Women’s Soccer at Colby at 3:00 p.m.
Men’s Soccer at Salem State at 6:00 p.m.
Women’s Volleyball vs. Colby at 7:00 p.m.
SATURDAY NOV. 1
Women’s cross-country at Little East Championships, Westfield, Mass at 11:00 a.
Crime on Campus
Oct. 17
Matthew J. O’Brien, age 20 of Gorham was arrested obstructing a public way after blocking an emergency vehicle near Philippi Hall.
Oct. 17
Michael Hamilton, age 19 was arrested near Wood Hall for failure to comply with a request from USM Police to disperse.
Briefly…
The Annnual Elie Wiesel Prize in Ethics Essay Contest is open to all full-time college Juniors and Seniors and offers rewards of up to $5000. The deadline for submission is Dec. 5, 2003 and winners will be announced in Apr. 2004. Author Elie Wiesel is on the panel judging the contest.
WANT TO MAKE $100?
Are you free on Mondays and have your own vehicle? If you answered yes you could be in the running for The Free Press circulation manager position. For more info, call, write, or stop by The Free Press at 92 Bedford St., 780-4084×1, [email protected].