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Applicants sought for Bike-Ped Committee
Applicants are being sought for the newly established Lewiston-Auburn Bike-Ped Committee. The purpose of the committee is to promote bicycle-pedestrian education and to develop and monitor policy for non-motorized transportation and recreation in Lewiston-Auburn.
The Lewiston and Auburn City Councils both voted to create the committee, and interested individuals may apply at their respective City Clerk’s Office at 27 Pine Street in Lewiston and 60 Court Street in Auburn. Online committee applications can also be found at www.lewistonmaine.gov and www.auburnmaine.org.
The committee was proposed by Lewiston Councilor Craig Saddlemire and Auburn resident Jeremiah Bartlett. They noted that many L-A residents already run, walk and bike for recreation and commuting purposes. They noted that many local efforts to make L-A more walkable and bikeable, such as the pedestrian bridge, LA Riverwalk paths, Lewiston Riverside Trail, bike lanes, parking racks and the Long-Range Bike-Ped Plan (ATRC), are already underway.
Riverfront Island needs critical mass of new housing
The Lewiston Riverfront Island Master Plan Committee and consultants Goody Clancy released a draft of the master plan last week, outlining an ambitious agenda to make Lewiston-Auburn Maine’s premier urban riverfront destination.
The Riverfront Island master plan would be accomplished through four goals:
1. Tap the power of the river—through access to the water’s edge, a more active riverfront and stronger connections to downtown neighborhoods.
2. Attract a vital mix of new uses—including new housing, cultural destinations, workplaces, a new Canal Park, and the parking needed to support these new destinations—through reuse of older buildings and construction of new ones.
AMS’s Odyssey of the Mind team takes third place
Auburn Middle School’s four-person Odyssey of the Mind team took third place in Division III at the OM State Competition in Wells on Saturday, March 24.
The team, made up of eighth-graders Ezra Thomas, Harley Lombard, Matt Grenier and Cam Hutchins, under the direction of their coach, Angela Campbell, offered a successful solution to their chosen problem, “Ooh-Motional Vehicle.”
The team’s problem required them to design, build and drive a vehicle that would travel a course where it would encounter three different situations. The team’s vehicle was required to display a different human emotion for each situation, plus one that would cause it to travel in reverse. The judge’s emphases were on the technical risk-taking and creativity of the vehicle’s engineering for travel and change of emotional appearance.
“We started with a skateboard and ended up with a police car on plywood, which was artistic!” said Hutchins, who portrayed the alien driving the vehicle.
Draft of Riverfront Island Master Plan released
The Lewiston Riverfront Island Master Plan Committee and consultants Goody Clancy released a draft of the plan on Tuesday, outlining an ambitious agenda to make L-A Maine’s premier urban riverfront destination.
Below is an excerpt from the draft, which calls for tapping the power of the river as one of four goals toward revitalizing the historic waterfront. TCT will present other parts of the plan in upcoming editions. See the entire plan at http://www.lewistonmaine.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?aid=193.
Plan Overview. Successful urban centers across the country are shaping their futures guided by a common formula for success: they preserve and reuse and highlight their unique and authentic characteristics, such as historic architecture, waterways, streets and public spaces.
They include a vital and diverse mix of uses, including workplaces, restaurants, entertainment venues, homes and educational, institutional, cultural and recreational uses. They are walkable places with attractive public spaces and amenities.
Great Falls Balloon Festival offers individual sponsorships
This year, the communities of Lewiston and Auburn will celebrate the 20th Annual Great Falls Balloon Festival. For the first time in the history of the festival, individual donors can become sponsors as a “Fan of the Festival.”
As a “thank you” for their support, Fan of the Festival sponsors will receive exclusive merchandise. This merchandise is only available to sponsors and will not be sold at the festival.
For a donation of $20, sponsors will receive a T-shirt with the Fan of the Festival logo on the front and the theme logo from each of the 20 annual festivals on the back.
LePage to speak at Tax Day Rally in Lewiston
April 15—the deadline for our federal income tax returns—has become an occasion to remind all taxpayers that Maine carries one of the heaviest tax burdens in the country.
“Presently, Maine is number six in terms of taxes paid. At the same time, Maine ranks near the bottom at 48th in personal income,” said Jack Wibby of Maine Taxpayers United. “This is the worst of both worlds and is a result of many decades of overspending by politicians in Augusta.
The present administration, headed by Governor Paul LePage, is hard at work to correct this situation, Wibby said.
“Maine Taxpayers United wishes to remind all who work for a living that something can be done to lighten our burden and thus stimulate the Maine economy, creating jobs and encouraging our youth to stay in Maine—instead of fleeing to states where the opportunities are better,” he said.
Lewiston to provide “Clean-up Assistance Week”
Lewiston’s Clean-up Assistance Week will occur from April 21 to 28 at the city’s Solid Waste Facility at 424 River Road. During this week only, the city will waive tip fees and use of the Punch Pass.
In addition to its regular hours of operation (7:15 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., Monday through Friday), the Solid Waste Facility will be open on two Saturdays, April 21 and 28, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The facility will not be open on Sundays.
This assistance is for Lewiston residents only; proof of residency (driver’s license, tax receipt and/or utility bill) will be required. Failure to provide proof of residency may require the customer to pay for disposal of their waste material.
Court rules that “rain tax” is a fee, not a tax
The City of Lewiston received a favorable decision March 27 from the Maine Supreme Judicial Court—Maine’s highest court—concluding that the city’s stormwater utility fee is not an illegal tax, as argued by Robert R. Gladu regarding his property at 475 Pleasant St.
The Supreme Judicial Court decision also upheld a May 18, 2011 Maine Superior Court ruling on the same issue.
In 2011, the City of Lewiston had taken Gladu to Maine Superior Court seeking payment of overdue stormwater utility fees, which are often referred to as a “rain tax.”The court issued a decision in favor of the city.
LHS Cheerleaders show spirit, win big
By Celia McGuckian
TCT Contributor
Lewiston High School’s gym rocked with capacity crowds all day Saturday, March 24 as teams of cheerleaders from the very young to junior high school competed in the 11th Annual Maine Cheer Classic Invitational.
But the greatest excitement and loudest applause came at the very end when the LHS Cheerleaders, fresh from their triumphant, first-place finish at the New England Regional Championships the week before, made a special appearance.
Their win marked the first time ever that a Maine high school had beaten teams from all over New England to take the top prize in the highly competitive event.
As the 22 members of the championship team lined up on the mats Saturday and were officially recognized by the Maine Youth Cheer Coaches Association and the Maine Cheer Coaches Association for their tremendous achievement, the crowd roared and jumped to its feet.
Portland Pirates freeze Lewiston Gladiators out of tryouts
No one ever said that hockey isn’t a rough sport. But a new move by principals of the fledgling Portland Junior Pirates program has left Lewiston Area Youth Hockey League officials crying foul.
The Pirates have already squeezed the existing LAYHL program off of its home ice for next season. Now, the team is barred the Gladiators from holding tryouts later this month.
The LAYHL is a volunteer-driven, not-for-profit youth hockey league with a related travel team, the Maine Gladiators. The Portland Junior Pirates is attempting to create a for-profit youth hockey program in direct competition with LAYHL.
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