If you have been wondering how the Portland Press Herald plans to provide the same news coverage with few reporters, Editor Jeannine Guttman explains it in today's paper:

Our new beat plan involves all 18 reporters from our local reporting staff, including news, business and features.

We have created four topical teams: Watchdog, Public Safety, Money & Resources and How We Live.

Every reporter will be assigned to a team and each team will cover a portion of our core market area. What does that mean?

In addition to having beats with broad themes, such as the environment or consumers or police or schools, reporters also will cover at least one town in our core counties of York, Cumberland and southern  Sagadahoc.

By connecting each of our reporters to local town coverage, the goal is to sharpen our focus on emerging local news developments. The aim is to get closer to our readership, to understand issues as they first begin to surface.

Some things won't change.

We still will cover the part-time Legislature in Augusta; we will assign a reporter from Portland to that beat. Additionally, we will get reporting help from our sister newspaper in Augusta.

We also will cover our Washington, D.C., delegation, again through a reporter based in Portland.

We aren't trying to do more with less; that would be foolish. Instead, we are trying to do things differently, to reinvent our coverage strategy and to use this unfortunate economic downturn to re-energize our local reporting efforts

Nothing like watching your coworkers lose their jobs to get one re-energized. And while it is hard to imagine that the PPH is going to be able to provide much meaningful coverage from Augusta, I don't see how it is possible for them to provide anything less than press releases and the occasional wire service report from Washington.

An open thread.

The annual 4th of July Parade in Round Pond was not the raucous event it was last year, but fun was still had by all. What began 24 years ago as something that three moms put together to give their children something to do, has grown into one of the most unique Independence Day celebrations anywhere, with visitors to the Pine Tree State easily outnumbering the locals.

This year it was kicked off by the Grand Marshall, who was followed by a giant lobster, one to rival a Chinese Dragon:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Floats, typically homemade creations of wit and statement, were fewer this year, but antique autos and trucks filled the void (and making sure that candy was not in short supply, as those kids that lined the side of the road seemed satisfied with what they left with - at least ours were:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Riding in a canoe on top of a car with a sign that read, "Marriage Hasn't Changed Us," Ellen Peterson and Kyle Westhaver, the couple that were married during last year's parade, were greeted with applause and shouts of, "Happy Anniversery!!" from the crowd.

                                   
                                   ----------------------------------------------------------

Political statements have become a staple of the parade, and this year's had a few:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And some silliness too; the man in the Shriner style small car and trailer was following the full size version driven by his wife:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was yet another glorious day weatherwise too - I've yet to encounter inclement conditions for this great event.

Do you have photos from the parade that you attended, or of your holiday in general? Use this diary to post them, or simply tell us about how you celebrated the 4th.

Enjoy yourselves today, but keep in mind all those that have worked hard, and sacrificed much, to make this nation what it is.

And for those that need a little extra boost, there is A Grand Old Flag.

An open holiday thread. Peace.

As part of it's 3rd Aniversery of its restoration, the Strand Theatre in Rockland is screening West Side Story (1961), one of the greatest musicals to hit the silver screen.

From the Strand's website:

The first weekend in July means only one thing for Strand fans - our big Summer Anniversary Event! This year we mark the third anniversary of the Strand's grand reopening with another in our series of legendary big screen classics - the 1960 film version of Bernstein and Sondheim's monumental musical hit WEST SIDE STORY, shown in all its lavish Technicolor glory, and presented by THE SALTWATER FILM SOCIETY OF MID-COAST MAINE.

And before the show, don't miss our annual OPEN HOUSE & SUMMER BLOCK PARTY, featuring ongoing FREE film screenings of the new series "BETWEEN THE TIDES- Short Films about Midcoast Maine" , free hot dogs and beverages, costumed characters and lots of surprises!

Come as a Shark, come as a Jet, come as Maria or Tony or Officer Krupke - but whatever you do, COME TO THE STRAND on Sunday July 6th!

Open House: 1-4 p.m.

"Between The Tides" Film screenings: 1-3 p.m.

Block Party: 3-5 p.m.

West Side Story Film Screening: 6:00 p.m.

To view the original trailer and/or order advance tickets, follow the link to the Strand above.

We haven't seen anything from "Our Senator", but Collins Watch noticed their recent video of our senator pledging to only serve two terms, unequivocally saying that twelve years is long enough:

After flagging a fresh piece of Collins-friendly astroturf, Gerald wants to know how many pro-Collins letters published in Maine papers over the last couple years were written by unidentified or under-identified members of the Maine GOP apparatus.

Having now looked back through our archives, the answer appears to be no fewer than eleven:

One and two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Six.

Seven.

Eight.

Nine.

Ten.

Eleven.

Wow.

We've long known there was audio of Sen. Collins making her two-term pledge. But until a couple minutes ago, we weren't sure that any video existed:



The language here, it's worth adding, is about as categorical as you can get.

The Democratic Senate Campaign Committee has released this internet viral ad, one target at the myth of Collins the Moderate. I urge you to send around to all those you know:

What do you think?

This evening, National Public Radio had this report about how high fuel costs are affecting fishermen, and it features those that ply the waters from Maine:

Nobody enjoys filling up his gas tank these days. But it could be worse - you could be a fisherman. The men and women who catch the cod, swordfish and salmon that we eat have to run their engines around the clock when they are at sea. And when they're pushing 60-foot-long steel ships through the water with 500-horsepower diesel motors, fuel prices are a heavy blow.

The expense is driving some fishermen out of business.

At a harbor in Saco, Maine, Craig Pendleton motors his 45-foot commercial fishing boat, the Ocean Spray, up to the pier.

This boat drags big nets for bottom-feeding fish like flounder and cod. And Pendleton says the higher fuel costs are devastating. "It's getting to the point where it's really frustrating," he says. Pendleton says he's not looking to make a fortune, "but I'd like to have something at the end of the week."

That's no exaggeration. Fuel has become such a huge expense that in fishing harbors around New England, fishermen are having trouble making any money at all. Up the coast in Portland, Maine, boat owner Brian Pearce has just unloaded his catch of cod and other bottom-feeding fish from a three-day trip.

It is a complaint that many of us on the coast have heard from our friends and neighbors, and that is echoed but teamsters inland, who have seen diesel prices near five dollars a gallon, making it unprofitable for them to even haul the load.

And higher fuel costs will obviously affect the price of everything that we buy that has been shipped any great distance, whether by boat or truck.

On the heels of Mike Lux putting the race between Rep. Tom Allen and Susan Collins as the 4th most important this cycle and with Collins holding only a 7 point lead in a recent poll (with Collins less than 50% for the first time), the DSCC has released this viral ad:

Knocking down the myth that Susan Collins is a moderate will be the hardest thing about this campaign, especially since the media in Maine seems intent on continuing to promote it. Ads like this help, and I urge you to help circulate it to those you konw with connections to the Pine Tree State. Thanks.

Rep. Tom Allen released this internet viral ad today:

And it is accompanied by a comprehensive energy plan (warning 7.75MG pdf) that deals with both short term high prices and long term solutions to America's energy future. As you can imagine, it isn't easy to explain in a few sohrt sentences, and rather than try to do so, I urge you to read it. Some highlights:

SHORT TERM

1. Home Heating Oil Tax Refund for those that use oil as the primary fuel to heat their homes.

2. Fully funding the LIHEAP Program

3. Low interest loans to better weatherize homes

4. Small Business Fuel Cost Relief

LONG TERM

1. Raising the CAFE Standard

2. Multi-faceted clean fuel technology initiative

3. Federal funding mechanisms to assist the initiative

Check it out. It's our future.

The Bike Coalition of Maine will once again host the Lobster Ride and Roll on 26 July, which features four rides of different lengths: 16 miles, 30, 50, and 100 miles, one to fit most categories.

Not only do riders get to pedal through some of the most scenic areas of coastal Maine, enjoy a lobster roll (and other treats) at the end of the ride, receive a pair of "lobster socks," but they will be supporting the BCM which, since 1994, has been working to improve conditions for bicyclists throughout the state. I'm told that they are expecting over 750 riders this year (some from away) making it the largest single day bike event in the state, and that they hope to top last year's total of over 100 riders who live less than 10 miles of the start line.

So click through to BCM's website, where you'll find links to directions, FAQ's, etc. The exact routes the each loop will take are given to the riders the morning of the event, but I ride many of the roads that will be used, and I can tell you that they offer both beauty and challenge enough for both the casual and competitive cyclist.

BCM will have support vans and crews, and they are in need of volunteers as well.

Mike Lux, a prominent, well-connected progressive blogger (we first encountered him here) thinks Allen-Collins is the fourth most important non-presidential race in the country.

Is this the consensus view inside the beltway? (You wouldn't think so from reading here.) Is this why Sen. Collins is complaining that Mainers are too poor to bankroll her campaign?

In the coming months, can we expect to see the uptick in national party, campaign committee and outsider activity that you'd expect in such a critical race?

Stay tuned.

In a Bangor Daily News article yesterday, Penobscot County Republican Party Chair Lois Bloomer showed an elitist, out-of-touch view that denies the very existence of the tough economic choices Mainers are facing today-unless they brought it on themselves.

"I don't really believe that at this point people are having to choose between food and medicine and housing, and if they are it's because they made poor choices with their mortgages," Bloomer said.

The comments came in a July 1, 2008, story written by Tim Devaney following a press conference at which Eastern Maine Labor Council President Jack McKay harshly criticized President Bush's economic policies for hurting the middle class.

More from Bloomer: "I don't see what's wrong with the unemployment rate.  It's not that bad. I think the unemployment rate is mostly for people who don't want [or can't] work anyways."

Nevermind that people who can't or don't try to work aren't even counted in an unemployment rate calculation.

"It's pretty unbelievable that anyone living in Maine right now could be so out-of-touch, so disconnected to the financial realities facing families right now. Gas prices, food prices, heating oil prices, health care costs-the list goes on and on and on," said Rebecca Pollard, spokeswoman for the Maine Democratic Party. "For way too many people this winter, these could even be life-and-death realities."

"We've known for a long time that Republican policies are grounded in the belief that people struggling financially are somehow not working hard enough, but to actually hear a party leader say so, and so callously, really floored me actually."

Rebecca Pollard is the Communications Director fo the Maine Democratic Party and the 2008 Coordinated Campaign.  

Since Collins Watch is on the road, I'll take over duties checking on LTE writers, and today we find this another example of a stealth supporter of Susan Collins. The letter from Halsey Frank begins:

Who are letter writers Gary Higginbottom and Philip Prinz trying to fool? They argue that Sen. Susan Collins isn't a moderate centrist (June 24). As if Mainers don't know who Susan Collins is.

For those that don't know, which evidently includes the Portland Press Herald, Mr. Halsey is a long time Maine Republican operative, and recently served on the 2008 Standing Resolutions (Platform) Committee (pdf warning), which was responsible for drafting the 2008 Maine Republican Party Platform.

Why is it that Maine Republicans hide their party affiliations when they write these letters? I'll leave it to CW to leave us know what the tally is at this point, as they have a long record of pointing these out; here is one example.

[UPDATE] CW provides an answer to me query here: no fewer than ELEVEN. Amazing.

Sen. Russ Feingold on FISA and retro-immunity:

To make a further difference, this 4th of July, talk to those that you know about it; convince them about how bad this bill is.  

It's late and we'll be traveling tomorrow, so it'll be a while before we have a chance to get more details. But--trust us--check this out:

Then read about the people behind it here and here.

A few questions that come to mind:

--These guys seem like a lot of fun (and straight out of a Wes Anderson movie). But do they have any track record building battlefield equipment?

--On what basis does the $3 million grant to the Howe brothers make sense as a taxpayer investment?

--What account did the Collins-funneled $3 million grant come out of?

--If the "Rip Saw" (elsewhere spelled "ripsaw") is a really a battlefield prototype--let alone a candidate for use by special operations--does it make sense to publicize it on television and publish detailed photos of it on the web?

--Does Sen. Collins' embrace of the Rip Saw say anything about her commitment to rooting out waste, fraud and abuse in military contracting?

Developing...

Had to visit a project this afternoon, and knew I'd be passing this spot on the way home, so took a towel to dry off after a swim.

An open thread.

Rebecca Pollard, spokeswoman for the Maine Dem's, sent along this press release:

STATEMENT FROM REBECCA POLLARD, SPOKESWOMAN FOR THE MAINE DEMOCRATIC PARTY, ON JOHN KNUTSON'S DECISION TO APPEAL SECRETARY OF STATE'S RULING ON HOFFMAN PETITIONS

We filed an appeal today with the Maine State Superior Court that challenges the validity of Mr. Herb Hoffman's petitions to be on the ballot for U.S. Senate. In his decision last week, Secretary of State Matt Dunlap invalidated 74 of Mr. Hoffman's signatures. In so doing he determined that Mr. Hoffman violated his oath as petition circulator because three witnesses testified that he was not in their presence when they signed petitions on which he was listed as circulator.

The Secretary of State erred, however, when he misapplied the law by only invalidating these three signatures. The law is very clear that these entire petitions must be voided because in these instances Mr. Hoffman's oath is invalid.  

The challenger could not reasonably be required to prove every single name on those petitions was obtained invalidly. The ruling that Mr. Hoffman violated his oath in three instances raises enough doubt about the validity of the entire petitions.

We feel very confident in how the law applies to our challenge, and believe it will be resolved correctly now that it will be reviewed by a court of law.

The court has 20 days from the date of the Secretary of State's decision to render its ruling. That means a decision must be made by July 14th.

The parties will be meeting this week to determine a hearing and briefing schedule. Following the Superior Court decision, the parties have the option to appeal to the Maine Law Court.

The PPH site now seems to be working, and they have this story up on their website (in case you want to comment), including a statement from Mr. Hoffman:

"It's unfortunate that we have this distraction from the real issues of the campaign. I would have thought the Democrats would welcome a debate on single-payer health care, government accountability, and what it will really take to end the war in Iraq. The Democrats know that this is not a big-money campaign and they are trying to divert attention from debating the real issues that Maine voters will face in this fall's election."

Tom Allen is talking about these issues, of course; it is Susan Collins that is trying to avoid talking about them.

Another edition of what Collins Watch said.

[UPDATE]: They have their eye on the ball today at CW, with another example of whack-a-mole the moderate myth.