Man will be sentenced today

A man convicted of manslaughter in the death of South Portland resident Fred Wilson will be sentenced this morning.

Bruce Lavallee-Davidson, 50, was charged with killing Wilson April 18, 2009, in Wilson’s basement. Wilson, 50, lived at 25 Henry St. in South Portland’s Willard Beach Neighborhood.

Lavalle-Davidson, of Skowhegan, is currently free on $10,000 cash bail. He faces a prison term of four to 30 years.

Kim Wilson, Fred Wilson’s sister from Burbank, Calif., is expected to make a victim’s impact statement at the sentencing hearing in Cumberland County Superior Court. She also testified for the state at Lavallee-Davidson’s trial in January.

License plate bill makes progress

A bill regarding the use of automated license plate recognition systems moved one step closer to becoming law Tuesday afternoon when the state Senate approved an amendment introduced by State Sen. Larry Bliss (D-South Portland, Cape Elizabeth).

The measure was approved by voice vote without opposition, according to legislative aide Mike Dunn.

The system includes three cameras mounted atop one cruiser that can photograph license plates and compare them to plate numbers on an established “hot list” from local, state, and national databases.

Proponents support the use of this system because they say it increases public safety and police officer safety. Some opponents think it’s an invasion of privacy.

Currently, South Portland police are the only agency in the state using this technology.

Earlier this month Bliss facilitated a meeting with representatives from the South Portland police department and Maine Civil Liberties Union that paved the way for the amendment. 

“I’m delighted that we have reached a compromise that satisfies the South Portland police as well as the Maine Civil Liberties Union. This new technology greatly expands an officer’s ability to check for automobiles used in unsolved felonies, and also helps locate folks who might have wandered off without the ability to return home,” Bliss said in a prepared statement.

The group agreed during its March 11 meeting to replace the phrase “reasonable articulable suspicion” in the bill. South Portland police objected to the phrase because it made it difficult for the police to determine when they could enter information into the system, according to Lt. Frank Clark.

That section of the bill now says the system may use only information entered by a law enforcement officer based on a concern for safety, wrong doing, a criminal investigation, or an official published law enforcement bulletin.

“This new wording provides the police with the flexibility to add license plate numbers in order to better serve their community, while also providing the MCLU with the guarantee that the new technology will not be abused,” Bliss said.

The bill will now go to the house, come back to the senate for final action and then on to the governor to be signed into law.

Cape public forum is next Thursday

The Cape Elizabeth School Board rescheduled its next public forum to discuss the fiscal year 2011 budget. The meeting will be 7 p.m. March 31 in the high school cafeteria.

School Superintendent Alan Hawkins, school department leaders and school board members will be on hand to answer questions and hear comments from Cape Elizabeth residents.

The school board continues to review three budgets Hawkins proposed March 9. They include a budget with no tax rate increase, an increase of 2.5 percent and one scenario that calls for a 5 percent increase.

The board has conducted three workshops this month to question school officials about the impact of the three budgets.

The final budget’s impact could be softened by the recent addition of $55,000 in state subsidies. Overall, the Cape school system is expected to receive $2.88 million in state funding next year – an increase of $300,000 over this year.

The board will take its final vote on the budget April 13. The town council will vote on it May 25 and the school budget validation vote by Cape Elizabeth residents is scheduled for June 8. 

Plan approved for Cape restaurant

Following a public hearing last week, the Cape Elizabeth Planning Board approved a plan to expand Rudy’s of the Cape to an 80-seat restaurant.

The site plan approval is valid for one year and will expire March 16, 2011 if a building permit is not issued or a request to extend the approval is not forwarded to the planning board, according to a letter from Board Chairman Peter Hatem.

The letter was sent to landscape architect Patrick Carroll of Carroll Associates who presented the plan to the board last month.

 Rudy’s, located at 517 Ocean House Road, currently houses a 15-seat restaurant/convenience store operated by Chuck Barnes.

 The building and land are owned by Mary Page who does business as Two Lights General Store, LLC. Carroll is representing Page on the project.

 As outlined by Carroll, the plan would include two curb cuts, 25 parking spaces and a sidewalk along the front of the one-acre property that will connect to Davis Point Road. It will also include a 100-foot buffer zone between neighbors and Rudy’s and a row of street trees along Route 77.

 The new facility will also include an outdoor dining area designed to hold 30 seats in the summer. Inside, the restaurant will be able to seat 50 in the summer and 80 in the winter. Maximum capacity will be limited to 80 seats.

– Compiled by Rick Wright