The Maine Minute
Everything You Need to Know TodayFebruary 22 2012
Maine Restaurants Up For Major Awards
Petite Jacqueline, Primo, Fore Street, Chase's Daily, Bresca, Francine Bistro, Emilitsa, and Boda have qualified as semi-finalists in 2012 James Beard Awards — widely considered to be the Oscars of the food industry. Petite Jacqueline has been nominated for best new restaurant, while Melissa Kelly of Primo in Rockland is one of twenty semi-finalists for best chef, and Fore Street is up for best restaurant. See the nominations at Jamesbeard.org.
Posted at Wed, 02/22/2012 - 9:51pm.
February 21 2012
World's Greatest Sleigh Ride
Organized by the Pejepscot Sno-Chiefs, the 19th annual World's Greatest Sleigh Ride is held to raise money for the Pine Tree Society's Pine Tree Camp on North Pond in the Belgrade Lakes — a camp for children and adults with physical and developmental disabilities. The horse-drawn sleigh rides through the frozen fields of Lisbon have raised nearly $50,000 for the camp. See photos from the event and read more at the Bangor Daily News.
Bangor Daily NewsPosted at Tue, 02/21/2012 - 8:35am.
February 17 2012
Caucus Results Lost in Spam Folder
According to Politico, while the outcome currently remains the same (Washington County will hold their caucus at a later date, and its votes will count) Maine Republican Party chairman Charlie Webster said there were numerous errors in calculating the final tally. "About half a dozen" towns were left out and e-mails from some municipalities accidentally "went to spam" in the party's e-mail system he said.
PoliticoPosted at Fri, 02/17/2012 - 11:21am.
February 15 2012
Will Barnet Recieves Medal of Arts
Wil Barnet didn't come to Maine until he was 42 years old, but the state played an enormous role in influencing his paintings and prints from the time he spent around Phippsburg. At the age of 100, Barnet was presented with a National Medal of Arts by President Obama in an East Room ceremony at the White House.
Portland Press HeraldPosted at Wed, 02/15/2012 - 5:31pm.
February 14 2012
Bill Richardson to Speak at Camden Conference
The theme of the 25th annual Camden Conference, kicking off Friday the 17th, is "The U.S. in a 21st Century World: Do We Have What it Takes?" To help answer the question will be a series of high-profile speakers that are heavily involved with global affairs. They range from Deborah Amos, who covers the Middle East for NPR, Colonel Mark Mykleby of the Marine Corps, and keynote speaker Bill Richardson, the former governor of New Mexico and presidential candidate. See a list of the speakers here, and see the full schedule here of this Down East sponsored event.
Bangor Daily NewsPosted at Tue, 02/14/2012 - 4:49pm.
February 13 2012
Romney Wins in Maine Amid Controversy
The Maine GOP declared Mitt Romney the winner of the Maine caucus having received 2,190 votes for 39% of the vote. Ron Paul, who spent the most time campaigning in the state, placed a very close second with 1,996 votes. Paul insists the outcome was a "virtual tie" due to the close vote and the fact that some areas Washington and Hancock Counties had to postpone the vote due to weather. Some Paul supporters are calling this disenfranchisement and Washington County GOP Chairman Chris Gardner is urging the state to include the results of their caucus, to be held next weekend, in the final tally. Read more about Mr. Gardner's statement and the controversy here.
Bangor Daily NewsPosted at Mon, 02/13/2012 - 8:52am.
February 12 2012
Obama to Appear in South Portland
Last time President Obama came to Maine he was vacationing in Bar Harbor. Now he's here on business to raise money for the upcoming general election. The event will be held at the Portland Marriott at Sable Oaks on March 30 and tickets will start at $100. Another smaller and higher priced event will be held in the area, but that has not yet been announced.
Portland Press HeraldPosted at Sun, 02/12/2012 - 8:00am.
February 11 2012
Portland is 'Where the Babes Are'
According to the Web site for Men's Health magazine, Portland, Maine tied with Washington D.C. for having the most eligible women out of 100 cities across the country. Both cities received an A+ rating. This is quite a step up for Portland after its poor showing in Men's Health's ratings of the most sex-happy cities. In that study Portland ranked dead last in 100th place.
To determine the rankings, Men's Health used the following data: the ratio of single women to single men, the percentage of college-educated women, the percentage of gainfully employed single women (all from the Census), and the number who work out (Experian Simmons). Using those criteria, the magazine assigned a letter grade to each city. See the list here.
Bangor Daily NewsPosted at Sat, 02/11/2012 - 12:08pm.
February 10 2012
Can Ron Paul Win in Maine?
After Santorum's sweep of Missouri, Minnesota, and Colorado the nation's attention has turned to Maine, whose results will be announced Saturday after a weeklong caucus (also called a "lazy caucus"). It will be the final contest until Arizona and Michigan vote on Feb. 28 and according to the Bangor Daily News, Ron Paul may have his best shot yet at winning a state.
The contest in Maine is widely viewed as being Romney vs. Paul, as both Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have saved their resources for upcoming battles. Paul made a trip two weeks ago, and plans to visit the state again this weekend while Romney will make his first visit this evening at the Portland Yacht Services. The Bangor Daily News points to Romney's lack of ad spending within the state, and says it may cost him the victory. That said, Romney's Massachusetts roots and Maine's moderate tendencies still make the former governor a formidable opponent.
Bangor Daily NewsPosted at Fri, 02/10/2012 - 8:30am.
February 9 2012
Mario Batali vs. Otto Pizza
Chef Mario Batali, known for his critically-acclaimed restaurant Babbo and his numerous appearances on the Food Network's Iron Chef: America, recently used some harsh language and accusations towards Otto Pizza in Portland through Twitter. Batali claims that the Portland based pizza joint stole their name from his Italian restaurant in NYC called Otto Enoteca Pizzera. Otto's owners (who recently opened up a location in Boston) deny any plagiarism and put forward a response. Read the response and Batali's original tweets at Boston Eater.
Posted at Thu, 02/09/2012 - 1:42pm.
