January –
• The Cape Elizabeth Town Council unanimously approved an agreement with the city of South Portland to designate South Portland as the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for Cape Elizabeth, effective Jan. 30. Councilors made clear their distaste for the agreement was not directed at city of South Portland, which they praised. Their derision was directed at the mandate itself, which, according to Councilor Anne Swift-Kayatta will cost Cape Elizabeth roughly $20,000 in additional costs during the first year of implementation and $11,000 in additional costs in following years.
• The Cape Elizabeth Town Council voted 6-0 to accept as public rights-of-way several roads associated with the Blueberry Ridge subdivision on the border between the town and the city of South Portland that had been the subject of animosity between the neighboring communities.
• Attorney General Steven Rowe announced two South Portland police officers, Theodore Sargent and Jeffrey Cogswell, were legally justified when they used deadly force against Donald H. Gray, 40, during the late evening of Nov. 29, 2006. According to a statement released by Rowe’s office, the investigation focused on the issue of whether the use of deadly force by the officers in the particular situation was legally justified.
• After months of hold-ups and intense opposition from Knightville neighbors, Southport Marina has received the city of South Portland’s go-ahead to expand their docks.  While residents of the cove beside the marina believe the expansion will exacerbate problems with parking, garbage collection and noise that they say are caused by the marina, the marina owners say the expansion will serve the public good by providing a place for transient boaters to dock while they patronize local businesses.  The expansion will provide 400-feet of new floating dockage at the end of B Street that will be designated for smaller motorized boats as well as crafts like kayaks or rowboats.
• After 20 months of meetings, hearings, and reviewing correspondence, the Cape Elizabeth Comprehensive Plan Committee is nearing the end of what Town Planner Maureen O’Meara described as the “first step” in bringing the plan to fruition. The Committee will host a final public forum to hear citizens’ comments and concerns about the 145-page draft plan before submitting it to the town council. The last Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 1993.
• The fates of two buildings owned by the city of South Portland are up in the air. Both the South Portland Armory and the Mary Marsh School were built in the early 1940s and currently sit in abandoned disrepair. While the school building, in the city’s west end Redbank neighborhood, is up for sale and expected to eventually be demolished, what will happen to the Armory is far less certain. A committee established by the city council to recommend a use for the Armory is expected to explore options ranging from converting the old Army National Guard center into a new city hall to selling it outright. Other uses that have generated interest include transforming the 35,000-square-foot building into an arts center, a library, an eventual expansion of the public safety facilities or a business incubator. City Councilor Jim Soule, who co-chairs the committee, says it’s too early to make any guesses at the path the city will eventually follow.
• The South Portland City Council is considering the creation of three proposed tax increment financing districts (TIFs) that would allow property taxes otherwise destined for Augusta to be directed towards a wide range of projects throughout South Portland. The creation of a Maine Mall TIF, a Rigby Railyard TIF and a Knightville-Mill Creek TIF would be the crux of an ambitious economic development program intended to eventually result in the creation of an economic development committee and the funding of numerous projects designed to address ongoing challenges facing the city.

February –
• South Portland Police Chief Edward J. Googins announced Officer Steven Connors has been named the South Portland Police Department’s Officer of the Year for 2006. Connors joined the South Portland Police Department in 1995 and is presently assigned to the Selective Enforcement Unit. Connors made headlines this past October when he was shot multiple times during a gun battle with Terrel Dubois, who was wanted on outstanding warrants. While attempting to arrest Dubois with several Portland Police Officers, Dubois opened fire, striking Connors in the head, shoulder, chest and hand. After being shot he returned fire, striking Dubois. Connors has recovered and he returned to full duty seven weeks later.
• South Portland leaders have a message for two state education officials: South Portland is contributing more than it’s fair share of revenues to the state, they said, while the city is getting far less than its fair share of funding in return. City officials are planning a series of meetings with state officials to explore possible ways to address concerns about funding inequities. Mayor Claude Morgan said the city’s state delegation is fully engaged with the effort.
• Virtually foot-by-foot, a team of engineers, designers and negotiators from the Maine Department of Transportation reviewed the design of an estimated $1.2 million reconstruction of a 1.4 mile section of Spurwink Avenue in Cape Elizabeth at a public meeting. The meeting attracted a handful of abutters and users of the southernmost portion of the road – extending from the intersection with Route 77 abutting the Spurwink Church north to Deer Run Road near Jordan Farm.
• The South Portland City Council voted unanimously to amend the city’s agreement with the South Portland Police Patrol Association that would change the way injured officers are compensated for absences from work. The agreement will  “cover extraordinary circumstances, such as being shot,” said Jankowski. In each case, the police chief and the city manager must approve the circumstances before the initiative can be applied.
• Contention over the fiscal year 2008 budget has increased among members of the Cape Elizabeth Town Council even as the actual municipal and school budgets are being drafted. Meeting as the finance committee, council members resumed discussion regarding whether to impose spending growth targets for the budget requests and if so, what those targets should be.
• The assets of Mainely Newspapers, Inc., the publishers of six weekly newspapers including the South Portland/ Cape Elizabeth Sentry, have been sold by David and Carolyn Flood to a new Biddeford-based media company, Mainely Media, LLC. Chris P. Miles will lead the new firm which is a sister company to Beacon Press Inc. publisher of The Journal-Tribune, Making it at Home and The Northern Light newspapers. All of the 26 employees of the Mainely Newspapers will be rehired by Mainely Media, LLC.

March –
• A proposal to rehabilitate a shuttered nursing home on Scott Dyer Road in Cape Elizabeth is moving ahead following the town planning board’s decision to recommend two changes to the zoning ordinance sought by developers. Canyon Creek Development, Inc of Salem, Ore. bought the former Viking home located at 126 Scott Dyer Road, just west of the town center in late 2006, according to Ryan Houskeeper, vice president of acquisitions, finance and construction for Canyon Creek. The company has developed a plan to demolish a nearly 30-year-old one-story structure that housed the facility’s skilled nursing and replace it with a two-story building that will house independent-living apartments. Canyon Creek’s plan, according to Houskeeper, calls for the new wing to contain 45 units consisting of studios and one and two-bedroom apartments. It plans only minor alterations to the newer assisted living wing containing 55 units.
• The city of South Portland faces potential lawsuits and legislative action from two Cape Elizabeth residents and the town respectively, after the council’s 5-2 vote to discontinue the final 25 feet of Edgewood Road in South Portland. Over its long history, the issue has stirred up animosity among South Portland Edgewood residents who want the road to be restored to its initial dead end status and the two Cape Elizabeth residents at 59 and 60 Edgewood, who were granted easements. South Portland residents of Edgewood Road said posted signs do nothing to deter motorists from traveling down the road and they cited traffic and safety issues as reasons for its closure.
• A concept for an “empty-nester” oriented condominium complex in a Cape Elizabeth residential neighborhood may soon come before the town’s planning board following unanimous approval by the town council to extend the sewer service area on the town’s zoning map. The developer of the condominium project, Joel Fitzpatrick, sought the approval before proceeding with a proposed design and permitting process. The site is a 30-acre parcel on Eastman Road known as the Jordan Farm and is made up of a farmhouse, fields and woods surrounding a smaller lot located at 60 Eastman Road. Currently, sewer service on Eastman Road stops 1,200 feet short of the site and would need to be extended.
• Organizers for the Cape Elizabeth High School Junior/ Senior Prom were sent scrambling after learning the Pavilion Banquet Hall in Portland is closed. What will become of the $2,500 deposit the children raised to reserve the space is unclear. CEHS is not the only school that has found their spring plans disrupted by the closure. Thornton Academy placed a $2,000 deposit for their May 11 prom and Sanford High School had scheduled a “Project Graduation” event at the Pavilion scheduled to take place at the Middle Street location on June 8. SHS reserved the space with a $1,500 deposit.
• Nearly a week after some South Portland residents received notice of proposed redistricting plans for Skillin Elementary, the school board implied that although redistricting is inevitable, it most likely will not begin next year as parents had feared. When South Portland went through the redistricting two years ago, Houlihan said students living east of Route 1 were diverted to Kaler Elementary, with the exception of the Thornton Heights neighborhood. Under Houlihan’s new recommendation, the 26 children that live on those streets would also attend Kaler. Houlihan said Skillin, the largest elementary school in the district with 22 classrooms, was larger last year than she would have liked it to be.
• Administrators at South Portland schools have yet to receive essential programs and services (EPS) funding for the 2008 fiscal year, however, the school board unanimously approved the $42 million budget on the assumption that when the funding does come in, it will be on the same level as the previous year. The budget currently includes an estimate of EPS funding of $4.4 million.
• In an effort to prevent another controversy, similar to the one that surrounded last year’s Sawyer Marsh development, the city council is considering amendments to the city’s zoning ordinance that would extend the Resource Protection (RP) zoning district and terminate the special exceptions that currently allow for construction on the margins of 100-year flood plains.
• This fiscal year, the city of South Portland will apply for $500,857 in funding from Cumberland County’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to be used for housing, public service, and public improvement projects throughout the city. Although it is the city’s fourth year of receiving funds from the CDBG program, as of July 1, the city will no longer be considered an entitlement community by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and will instead be a “set-a-side allocation” in the county’s CDBG funds. The funds directed to South Portland will be based on 23 percent of the funding the city of Portland receives each year.
• The Cape Elizabeth School Board began the process of dissecting School Supt. Alan Hawkins’s $19 million school budget on Tuesday and will continue that process on Saturday during a workshop. The budget represents a $780,281 or 4.28 percent increase in spending over last year’s budget. The increase is significantly higher than the $456,107 or 2.5 percent spending increase cap several town councilors have pledged to adhere to. According to Hawkins, such a limit would not allow the school department to maintain the current level of service and would not cover the $602,000 increase in salary and benefit increases largely driven by contractual obligations.
• A tense debate about the need to evaluate South Portland City Manager’s six-month tenure has spilled into the public with charges of inappropriate behavior and poor judgment being leveled against the manager, Mayor and the city’s legal counsel. The debate is rooted in differing interpretations of City Manager Ted Jankowski’s employment contract, which stipulates a six-month probationary period, after which the council could evaluate his performance.

April –
• Following a combative special meeting of the city council on Monday night that was announced Sunday evening, the Mayor has been authorized to seek outside legal advice regarding the council’s “legal obligations and responsibilities and options are regarding issues that have arisen” regarding the city’s attorney Mary Kahl.  The 4-2 vote to authorize the Mayor to meet with an outside attorney fell along the same lines reported to have split the council in an executive session over the need to formally review City Manager Ted Jankowski’s six-month tenure. Mayor Claude Morgan, along with councilors Jim Hughes, Ralph Baxter and Maxine Beecher all voted in favor of seeking outside council. Councilors Linda Boudreau and Kay Loring voted against the outside council and have expressed support for a formal review of the city manager. Councilor James Soule, who was not present at the special meeting, also pushed for a formal review process, he has said.
• Sgt. Jason W. Swiger, 25, a self-described “punk” in high school who credited the Army and its storied 82nd Airborne Division for turning his life around, died from wounds sustained when his patrol was attacked with a bomb in Diyala Province, Iraq on Sunday, March 25. It was the second time in two weeks and the second time since the war began that South Portland has learned it lost a son in the conflict. Private Angel Rosa, serving with the Marines in Al Anbar Province was killed on March 13.
•  The South Portland City Council unanimously voted to commission a law firm to handle a standing Freedom of Access Act request for the City Manager Ted Jankowski’s incoming and outgoing emails from Feb. 1 to March 21. With noticeably frustrated tones, however, the council amended the order to divert as much of the associated legal costs away from taxpayers and on to the individual or group making the FOAA request.
• The city of South Portland has received the much-anticipated response to the council’s decision to discontinue the final 25 feet of Edgewood Road from the Cape Elizabeth residents living at 59 and 60 Edgewood. On March 21, Bruce McGlauflin, attorney for Debra Sampson of 59 Edgewood and Chris and Jayne Boulos of 60 Edgewood, sent a letter to city attorney Mary Kahl stating his clients would not be appealing the city’s decision because they believe it is invalid.
• The South Portland City Council is considering a new Anti-Graffiti Ordinance that will address what Police Chief Edward Googins identified as a growing problem in the city. He said the current laws are ineffective because they require the individual be caught in the act. As Googins presented the draft to the council along with Officer Jeffrey Caldwell, a member of the Graffiti Task Force, the council expressed concern over the ordinance’s treatment of property owners.
• Beginning this summer and continuing into next winter, the Cape Elizabeth Assessing Department will be busy updating the assessed values assigned to each property in the town. It is the first such update since a major revaluation project was undertaken in 2003. According to Town Assessor Matthew Sturgis, in the four years between the 2003 revaluation and now, home sale prices have increased to the point where the assessed value of the average home in Cape Elizabeth represents only 66 percent of the fair market value.
•The City of South Portland is currently holding discussions with the City of Portland regarding the consolidation of Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP), a plan that according to the Maine Public Utilities Commission mandate must be completed by Oct. 1. South Portland City Manager Ted Jankowski said he expects the issue to come before the South Portland City Council at the April 23 workshop. Jankowski said because South Portland already works closely with Portland on various issues and because future consolidations may be required in the future, the move makes sense for the city.
• The Patriots Day storm that brought snow and more than four inches of rain to the greater Portland area, slowly loosened its grip on the Northeast on Tuesday, allowing citizens and municipal officials to get to the task of cleaning up.  Although it was too early for an accurate assessment of damages, public officials from South Portland and Cape Elizabeth said they would be dealing with the storm’s aftermath for weeks to come.
• The South Portland City Council moved forward with a bond proposal for the high school renovations to allow the school board and school administrators ample time to educate the public on the need for the project and the associated costs. The total project cost was estimated at $55.6 million. With $29.4 million in interest, the total annual cost will be $85 million. The annual total average home impact will be $5,181 over more than 20 years. At least three crews would be needed, as three wings will be constructed simultaneously and the initial addition of 12 classrooms would reduce the number of portable classes needed as construction progresses. In the second year of construction there would probably be a need for six portable classrooms. The project budget includes funds for a year’s worth of trailers.
May –
• South Portland High School was among 51 high schools the Maine Department of Education identified as not meeting Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for two or more years, as required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act. 2006 was the first year that the SAT reasoning test was used as the state high school assessment for NCLB. Previously the grade 11 MEA was used as the state assessment for this purpose. For this year’s reporting Maine used only one year of assessment data because of the use of the new test. Previously, years two years of data were used.
• The controversy over a South Portland ordinance prohibiting the display of yellow ribbons on city property may soon play out once again. In 2003, Valorie Swiger, was outraged when South Portland officials removed hundreds of ribbons she had placed throughout the city in honor of troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Swiger led a movement to change the ordinance to allow for displays of public support of the troops. When Valorie’s son Sgt. Jason W. Swiger was killed March 25, the city council unanimously approved a suspension of the ordinance for 30 days. The council called for yellow ribbons to be displayed on all city property as a tribute to Swiger and Private Angel Rosa, who was killed within the same two-week period.
• In an effort to move forward with the evaluations of council appointed city employees, an issue that has caused controversy in the last two months, the South Portland city council unanimously agreed it would be the only body to offer input during the evaluations, scheduled for May 14. The council dismissed the 360-degree evaluation, which calls for input from department heads, city employees and community stakeholders in favor of conducting the reviews of City Manager Ted Jankowski, City Clerk Sue Mooney, and City Attorney Mary Kahl, more expeditiously.
• South Portland police officers now have the authority to catch graffiti vandals before they leave their mark on public or private property. The city council unanimously approved the ordinance, which fines vandals up to $250 for their first offense and up to $500 for subsequent offenses.
• The South Portland City Council got its first look at the proposed $56 million bond ordinance for South Portland High School additions and renovations. With $29.4 million in interest, the total annual cost, over a period of more than 20 years, will be $85 million.
• A little more than a month after the South Portland Planning Board recommended a zoning amendment to the Knightville Mill Creek area with a vote of 5-0 to pave the way for a new office condominium building on the site of Beale Street BBQ, the city council took up the issue in a workshop to consider approving the amendment. While noting the neighborhood’s opposition to the four-story office building that would be permitted with the zoning changes, Ingalls focused on potential economic benefits to the area.
• With a 4-3 vote, the Cape Elizabeth Town Council passed a combined $29.2 million budget for municipal, school and country spending, with all but $7.7 million raised through property taxes. The budget, which takes effect July 1, represents a 2.9 percent or $825,000 increase of the current budget and translates to a 1.86 percent or 30-cent increase in the town’s anticipated tax rate from $16.16 per $1,000 of assessed value to $16.46.
•The South Portland Historical Society has announced the planned purchase of a historic building on Madison Street adjacent to Bug Light Park to be used as a permanent home and history museum. After months of planning and negotiation, the Society signed a purchase option agreement with Portland Pipeline Corporation on May 4 to acquire the building within 18 months. The two-story brick historic building known to some as the Captain Nichols House and to others as the Cushing Point House according to Kathy DiPhilippo, South Portland Historical Society historian.
• South Portland Claude Morgan confirmed speculation City Manager Ted Jankowski resigned is position following a rocky eight month tenure. Jankowski’s status was unclear at the Sentry’s press time on Wednesday. Conflicting information circulated in and outside South Portland City Hall beginning at least on May 18, casting doubt on Jankowski’s tenure following Morgan’s call for a special executive session of the City Council.
• Faced with a $43,804 gap in next year’s school budget, the Cape Elizabeth School Board unanimously agreed to forgo program cuts and instead tap the district’s contingency reserve. The board made the decision Tuesday night after hearing from about 10 parents and children who spoke out against a plan floated by Superintendent Alan Hawkins to cut the two-year Latin program. One student, Graham Nichols, distributed a petition signed by 135 students on one day to preserve the program.

June –
• City Manager Ted Jankowski’s resignation goes into effect, leaving Assistant City Manager Jim Gailey to fill the role of interim city manager. In his resignation letter, dated May 24, Jankowski stated he was leaving to “pursue other professional opportunities.” The separation agreement of Jankowski’s departure states the city will pay him $34,664, or four months of his salary at the time of separation; $4,133.33 in accrued vacation time of 77.5 hours; $3,551.72 for four months of insurance coverage; and $1,200 which represents the balance of his moving account. The total gross amount, subject to state and federal deductions, is $43,549.05, according to the document.
• With a 4-3 vote, the South Portland City Council passed an $81.5 million budget for the next fiscal year, which reflects a $2.6 million or 3.3 percent increase from the current year’s budget. With the total needs from taxes at $51 million, an increase of $2.2 million or 4.4 percent from the current year. The median single family home assessed at $212,000 can expect to see an increase of $117 over this year’s tax bill, provided valuation holds said Finance Director Rob Coombs.
• Ten-year-old Olivia Collins headed before the South Portland City Council in an attempt to convince councilors that she should be allowed to raise chickens on her family’s 5,500-square-foot lot in the city’s Thornton Heights neighborhood. Collins was interested in raising heritage breeds of chickens, which were used for backyard flocks in colonial times. Roosters were not included in her request. Collins’ request to amend the zoning ordinances was met with hesitation from the council and city officials. Planning and Development Director Tex Haeuser also cited concerns regarding property values, health risks, requests for other types of domestic animals and an increased burden on animal control and health officers.
• Residents of South Portland’s Knightville Mill Creek neighborhood were again out in full force to express their opposition to a four-story condominium office building on Waterman Drive, but in the end, the city council cleared the way for developer Andrew Ingalls to construct a 50-foot building.
• The Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) issued another timeline for the construction of a new Interstate-295N on-ramp at Exit 3 and construction is expected to begin in the fall. The project, one of six included in the MDOT’s Maine Mall Area Road Work plan, will widen Broadway and Westbrook Street and create an east bound lane on Westbrook that will allow motorists right-hand turn access to a new Interstate-295 on ramp. MDOT Project Manager Shawn Smith said the $5.2 million project is fully funded under the previous biannual funding through a combination of federal, state, local and developer money from the construction of the U.S. Post Office Distribution Center in Scarborough.
• Faced with a proposal to rezone a small parcel of city property along one of South Portland’s busiest roads, the city council agreed in principal to throw out the land use rules and let private interests propose how the land – as well as neighboring parcels – could be used. The parcel, an undeveloped triangle of woods and scrub, takes up a portion of an island of land separating the Gorham Road extension, Western Avenue and Westbrook Street. It shares the island with several well-known businesses including Mulberry Cottage Interiors and Ricetta’s restaurant. The city took the 1.45-acre parcel by eminent domain in 1986 in order to build a fire station, which was later built further up Western Avenue. The city has been trying to sell the property for several years and even went to court with the former owner over its right to sell.

July –
• Ten-year-old Olivia Collins’ campaign to allow chickens as a permitted pet in South Portland drew a sizable crowd to city council workshop. The normally empty seats were filled with about 50 supporters of Collins’ proposal to allow residents to maintain urban or city chicken coops with about 10 of the audience members a decade or more away from their first opportunity to vote. Several audience held up placards with the now familiar “Give peeps a chance,” motto Collins has used to gather support and more than 260 signatures.
• The Maine Mall’s owner, General Growth Properties, moved forward with a proposal to reconfigure the large retail complex to include a 14-screen, stadium-style theater, an expansion of the JC Penney store, two detached restaurants and fewer parking spaces. The theater would be built on the site currently occupied by the former Filenes Department store. The Planning Board has scheduled the approval process to begin July 24. Palmer said GGP hopes to begin the project by the fall.
• David Cram, owner of Spring Point Tavern, was re-issued a special amusement license for live music by the South Portland city council, but once again that license is contingent on some conditions. The council unanimously approved a one-year license provided music, food and drinks are not allowed on the outdoor patio. Cram appeared before the council in October 2006 after Police Chief Edward Googins failed to approve the license due to noise complaints.
• State and local officials in southern Maine have teamed up to form a violent crimes task force to combat the recent increase in the rate of violent crimes across the state.
The police departments of Biddeford, Scarborough, South Portland and Portland, along with the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office are joining forces with the U.S. Marshal’s Service and the U.S. Attorney to improve coordination in the investigation of crimes, officials from the six enforcement offices announced in a press conference.

August –
• It was announced that the South Portland school system will likely remain an independent entity following the school board’s unanimous decision directing new School Superintendent Suzanne Godin to file a letter of intent with the State Deptartment of Education in line with the new school district reorganization law. South Portland schools qualify for an exception because it has a student population of more than 2,500. Even though it qualified for the exception, the district could have pursued a consolidation with a neighboring district such as Cape Elizabeth. Cape Elizabeth qualifies for a different exception that allows “high performing, highly efficient” school systems to remain independent. Godin who said she keeps in regular contact with Cape Elizabeth Superintendent Alan Hawkins said Cape Elizabeth will likely opt to remain independent.
• The South Portland City Council voted 5-2 in favor of changing the city’s zoning ordinance to allow for keeping of pet hens. If approved, the amendments would require residents who wish to keep hens to pay $25 for an annual permit and a $25 one-time building permit fee for the construction of a henhouse or pen. The amendments also outline standards for the keeping of the chickens to ensure they are kept in a sanitary manner, away from predators and in a way that minimizes any adverse impact on neighbors.
• Construction on Southern Maine Community College’s (SMCC) new 320-bed residence hall was moving along smoothly and school officials said the dorm will likely be finished by the end of the year, months ahead of the anticipated summer 2008 completion date. With a budget of $12.1 million, the SMCC dorm is the largest component of the Maine Community College System’s (MCCS) residential housing expansion project, according to Helen Pelletier, Interim Director of Public Affairs.
• The four story office condominium building proposed for 100 Waterman Drive by Andrew Ingalls now has a name, Fore River Office Park, and likely a future in South Portland as planning board members expressed their support for a structure that can support a variety of uses. As proposed, the Fore River Office Park will be a four-story, 48-feet high building. The 31,668 square feet building will be accessed via two existing curb cuts on B and C Streets.

September –
• With a unanimous vote, the South Portland City Council approved an ordinance that will “give peeps a chance.” The ordinance allows residents to keep up to six hens for personal use, beginning Sept. 25, with no more than 20 issued in the first year. In each subsequent year, 20 more permits may be issued beyond any renewal permits. The code enforcement officer will be charged with reporting to the council about the program’s progress by Dec. 31, 2008.
• As a green lifestyle becomes a priority for more and more people, officials in Cape Elizabeth reviewed town ordinances to create a compromise between aesthetics and alternative energy sources such as solar and wind power. Discussions about alternative energy sources have largely been focused on wind turbines, however, at the direction of the town council, the planning board is working to craft language in the town’s ordinances to allow for wind turbines, solar panels and other devices such as tidal and outdoor wood boilers. The planning board is to submit a final report with recommendations by January 2, 2008. At the same time, a Cape Elizabeth Alternative Energy Committee will explore opportunities to bring alternative energy sources to municipal and school buildings and vehicles.
• Of the 88 recommendations outlined in the Cape Elizabeth draft Comprehensive Plan, residents who spoke at a public hearing on the document seized upon a handful they claim weigh heavily in favor of development that will cost the town its rural character. Following the public hearing, the town council, as expected, tabled a vote on the draft plan in favor of further discussion.
The state-mandated plan, developed over several years by a 12-member committee of town officials, citizens and business owners, will act as the town’s principal guiding document over the next dozen years once it is approved by the town council. Upon approval, town ordinances and other policies, including how land will be used and the nature and intensity of development within the town of Cape Elizabeth will be required to conform to the plan’s conclusions.

October –
• During a surprise school-wide assembly, Maine Department of Education Commissioner Susan Gendron presented South Portland High School English teacher Brian Jandreau with the Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award, which recognizes elementary and secondary school teachers, principals and other education professionals for excellence in education. More than 2,300 educators have been honored since the program began in 1982 and 66 Maine educators have received the award since the state joined the program in 1990.
• Cape residents turned out to a community design workshop to generate ideas about the town center intersection, the crossings of Route 77, Shore Road and Scott Dyer Road. MDOT’s preliminary plans called for a realignment of Scott Dyer Road and Shore Road, which are currently offset by 110 feet. A traffic signal would replace the current blinking yellow and red light. A concrete island would designate a left turn lane onto Scott Dyer Road from Route 77, one inch in elevation, stretching north from the town hall to Jonesy’s service station. Two triangular, slightly raised concrete islands would also be constructed within the intersection to slow traffic.
• General Growth Properties (GGP), owners of the Maine Mall, seek to draw more clientele to their property with the construction of new retail space, three restaurants and a 3,200 seat cinema – a project dubbed the Maine Mall Revitilization Project – but perhaps the most significant developments will take place underground.
As the property is located in the Long Creek watershed, identified by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) as an urban impaired stream, the site’s run-off will be treated before it is eventually discharged into the stream. GGP is represented on the Long Creek Watershed Management Convening Committee, which is seeking to work with property owners to develop methods for addressing water quality problems.
• Safety topped a list of concerns voiced by seven Cape Elizabeth residents during a planning board public hearing for the proposed 46-unit condominium subdivision, Eastman Meadows. If approved, Eastman Meadows would be the first of its kind in Cape Elizabeth: a multiplex development marketed toward people 55 and older. Fitzpatrick is proposing to build on a 40-acre site abutting existing open space including Winnock Woods and Sprague Corporation land.

November –
• After a closed meeting, Mayor Claude Morgan said the South Portland City Council has offered the city manager position to Acting City Manager Jim Gailey, after the council interviewed five candidates out of a pool of 10 applicants at the Marriot Hotel. The city was guaranteed a free search when former city manager Ted Jankowski’s tenure fell four months short of a year. Former Assistant City Manager Jim Gailey took on the role of acting city manager following Jankowski’s departure in May. Gailey also filled in after former City Manager Jeff Jordan resigned last year.
• Ensuring the town’s remaining farms stay alive and well was the objective of the newly formed Cape Elizabeth Farm Committee. The committee hopes to submit a report to the town council within a year. Councilor Jim Rowe said the committee also hopes to have some recommendations at that point. The town has three or four produce operations, animal husbandry outfits, tree farms and several peripheral businesses that raise plants, which could be considered farm related.
• Crime in South Portland may be on the rise, but the city’s police department is still operating with the same number of patrol cars that were on the streets in the 1970s. Nearly a year has passed since Mayor Claude Morgan established a Police Department Staffing and Retention Committee to evaluate the department and make recommendations for hiring and retaining qualified officers. Ten officers, or 20 percent of the force, is currently eligible for retirement and that number is expected to increase to 75 percent by 2012.

December–
• Newly appointed South Portland Mayor James Soule brought some attention to his inaugural address by calling for Cumberland, York and Sagadahoc counties to “unite against our common oppressive enemy – The State of Maine” and form a new state.
“We must open dialogue with our neighbors with the potential conclusion being the necessity for a resolve to secede from the state of Maine,” Soule said in a speech during an inaugural ceremony in which city council and school board members were sworn in to their posts. Soule said South Portland’s need for more police officers and the defeat of the high school bond referendum are evidence of “the inequitable and oppressive redistribution of wealth” by the state. With the Maine Mall and other regional retail draws, South Portland generates more than $45 million annually in sales tax, he said. There is a “disincentive,” he said, for communities to bring businesses and higher paying jobs to town.
• After a 35-year tenure as a full-time fire chief, Cape Elizabeth Fire Chief Philip McGouldrick announced he planned to retire on Jan. 21.
As chief, McGouldrick is the only full-time employee in Cape Elizabeth’s all volunteer fire, rescue and water extrication team (WET) companies. During his tenure, McGouldrick oversaw the department’s transition from strictly volunteer to a company of paid on-call firefighters and rescue workers, who respond to calls from their home and are paid for their time on the job. McGouldrick served as Cape Elizabeth’s fire chief since 1992 and previously had served as South Portland’s fire chief from 1972 to 1992. He began his career as a volunteer firefighter for South Portland in 1957 and became a full-time firefighter in 1963.
• Cape Elizabeth and South Portland bid adieu to 2007 shrouded in a blanket of snow as winter settles in.