University of Southern Maine

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Will the next Keystone fight happen in New England?

We may have narrowly avoided Keystone XL (for now), but local environmental activists say that Maine and New England are not safe from "the dirtiest oil on earth," with a huge Canadian oil company seeking other routes to pump crude oil out of Alberta.
Dirty business
By DEIRDRE FULTON | February 10, 2012

The second half of the season brings surprises

Those who missed out on LOREM IPSUM's Threepenny Opera this fall should get in line early for its spring production of Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts, at SPACE Gallery (March 22-April 1).
Comedy and danger
By MEGAN GRUMBLING | December 30, 2011

The poetry of tough decisions

Nationally acclaimed poet Arielle Greenberg and her husband had a marriage license and a death certificate (of a baby that died in utero) from Belfast town hall, but until this summer, they still lived full-time in Chicago, where Greenberg taught poe
Writers talk
By DEIRDRE FULTON | December 02, 2011

USM’s Bridge leads from safety to tragedy

"Justice is very important here," intones Mr. Alfieri (Patrick Molloy), an aged Italian-American lawyer and the sorrowful Greek chorus of Arthur Miller's A View From The Bridge .
Shifting ground
By MEGAN GRUMBLING | October 14, 2011

OccupyMaine sets up camp

After a rain-drenched initial weekend, the folks at OccupyMaine's area in Monument Square have settled in for the long haul.
Activism Watch
By JEFF INGLIS | October 07, 2011

Put your money where your home is

FDIC statistics show that in Cumberland County, more than 80 percent of the market share of deposits is in TD Bank, Key Bank, or Bank of America.
Better Banking Bureau
By DEIRDRE FULTON | September 16, 2011

The LePage Files

Confidential administration dossiers show Governor Paul LePage crafted significant portions of his regulatory reform agenda by literally copying and pasting passages from the memos his staff received from corporate lobbyists and their clients, turning sw
Confidential administration dossiers show governor is skilled at copying corporate and lobbyist wish lists
By COLIN WOODARD | July 22, 2011

A rose for Charlie, in song

On July 7, 1984, three teenagers threw 23-year-old Charlie Howard off of the State Street Bridge in Bangor.
In Memoriam
By DEIRDRE FULTON | July 08, 2011

Wanna get away?

Believe it or not, there are some people who seek to "get" something out of their vacations beyond a sunburn and a souvenir mug.
Maine retreats offer a chance to recharge and reconnect — with yourself, your partner, or the spiritual world
By DEIRDRE FULTON | June 17, 2011

Lock-up lessons

Fixing Maine’s troubled prisons is not an impossible task. In fact, if the state treated adult inmates more along the lines of how it treats juvenile offenders, prison critics — including, surprisingly, the new corrections commissioner, Joseph Ponte — t
The new corrections commissioner wants Maine prisons to learn from the state’s juvenile-treatment model
By LANCE TAPLEY | April 08, 2011

Reaching a new frontier

Shetterly's new memoir, Made for You and Me: Going West, Going Broke, Finding Home is the story of hardships — financial, familial, emotional — not usually the stuff that inspires switching places.
Book of the times
By DEIRDRE FULTON | March 11, 2011

Sarah Braunstein's uncomfortable, beautiful hyperreality

There's an unsettling honesty that spills from Portland author Sarah Braunstein's first novel, The Sweet Relief of Missing Children .
(Bitter)sweet emotion
By DEIRDRE FULTON | February 25, 2011

Review: USM's production of Pinter's Betrayal

For years, married literary agent Jerry (Sage R. Landry) has conducted a love affair with Emma (Meredith Lamothe), the wife of his best friend, Robert (Patrick Molloy), a book publisher.
Affairs of memory
By MEGAN GRUMBLING | November 19, 2010

Says You! live taping at USM

At 1 pm today, the University of Southern Maine hosts a live taping of the popular NPR show Says You!, an unsnobbish program of "wordplay...
By webteam | November 17, 2010

The circus came to town

In the days leading up to November 2, voters here and across the country heard a lot about the Tea Party — what various wins and losses would mean for the staying power of this relatively new political phenomenon, which candidates represented real Tea
Tea Party
By DEIRDRE FULTON | November 05, 2010

[live video] UPDATED: Lady Gaga on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" at Deering Oaks

That's right -- as we reported earlier, Lady Gaga has decided to get up on a soapbox about DADT at a Servicemembers Legal Defense Network...
By Shaula Clark | September 20, 2010

Fall Arts Preview: Not quite Oklahoma!

Perhaps the most anticipated Maine premiere this season is the darkly caustic family apocalypse of August: Osage County (October 14-November 7), the much-lauded 2007 tragicomedy by Tracey Letts, to be produced by the GOOD THEATER .
August: Osage County + steampunk robots
By MEGAN GRUMBLING | September 17, 2010

My new excuse

Charlie Colgan isn't to blame for all the mistakes made by . . . uh . . . Charlie Colgan.
Whatever Colgan does, it's not his fault
By AL DIAMON | September 10, 2010

Portland Chamber Music Festival at USM's Abromson Center

The Portland Chamber Music Festival, a star-studded annual concert series devoted to both classics and new and innovative music, wraps up at USM's Abromson Center...
By webteam | August 18, 2010

Beyond the State: What's reopening where

As we enter Portland's busy season, there are several comings-and-goings (we'll focus on the comings and less on the goings) to keep track of as we plan our summer outings and evenings on the town.
Venue Watch
By DEIRDRE FULTON | June 25, 2010

Preparing for June 8

Stuckey vs. Vincent, Capron vs. Sharif, and Barkley vs. Dini
Candidate breakdown for districts 114. 116, and 119
By DEIRDRE FULTON | May 28, 2010

How can those in the box think outside of the box?

I was disgusted on multiple levels with what the article revealed about the Maine State Prison.
Letters to the Portland editor, May 14, 2010
By PORTLAND PHOENIX LETTERS | May 14, 2010

In search of light

Many of us here in Maine are guilty of having at one time or another harangued the forces of spring to hurry it up already, are guilty of cold-month mopery or worse. Imagine, then, living in the Arctic, where the winter is far darker for far longer, and
USM’s dreamlike Inuit storytelling
By MEGAN GRUMBLING | April 30, 2010

Maine women take to the gridiron

Saturday will be a different kind of ladies’ night at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland.
Full Contact
By DEIRDRE FULTON | April 09, 2010

Pot bill progresses in Augusta

At the end of February, Topsham became the latest Maine community to consider moratoriums on medical-marijuana dispensaries in the wake of last November's election.
C'Mon Doc ...
By DEIRDRE FULTON | March 12, 2010

The cost of torture

In the end, whether mass solitary confinement continues at the Maine State Prison supermax may come down to an issue of money rather than right or wrong. And resolving that issue may come down to whether the state wants to pay more now to pay less in the
Solitary Confinement Bill Hearing
By LANCE TAPLEY | February 26, 2010

We are born this way

About 10 years ago, a young man was on his way to becoming a young woman.
Discovering what it means to be transgender
By DEIRDRE FULTON | February 26, 2010

We heart these people

We all know Portland is a busy, exciting place to live. It takes a lot of people's amazing energy to keep it going, though. Who's doing the moving and the shaking?
Meet Portland's most influential
By JEFF INGLIS | February 12, 2010

Ex-USM staffers claim age discrimination

In complaints filed with the University of Southern Maine's Office of Campus Diversity and Equity, a state legislator and five former colleagues allege they were discriminated against in a recent department restructuring because of their ages. The comp
Litigation Watch
By JEFF INGLIS | November 20, 2009

Courthouse bomber to speak about social change

After it was initially canceled, a controversial talk by a radical activist will go on Thursday at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Ray Luc Levasseur, who grew up in Sanford, Maine, and became a radical in part due to his experiences as a soldier
Censorship averted
By RICK WORMWOOD | November 13, 2009

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