Columbus-era  

tall ships to visit

South Port Marine in Knightville will become the New World next week as replicas of the Nina and Pinta dock for a visit at the South Portland Marina.

The replica ships, built and operated by the Columbus Foundation, will be docked from June 23 through 27 and be open for visits 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Portuguese caravel-type sailing ships were two of three used by Christopher Columbus on his first voyage to North America in 1492.

The foundation, based in the British Virgin Islands, uses the ships as museums and also rents them for charter, according to thenina.com.

Marina co-owner Kip Reynolds said South Port Marine may have been chosen because it has space for parking and as many as 3,000 visitors are expected to tour the ships.

South Port Marine is located at 14 Ocean St.

Woman expected to plead guilty 

A 62-year old woman who faces drug distribution charges in South Portland is expected to enter a guilty plea June 27 in Cumberland County Superior Court in Portland.

Randolph, Mass., resident Mattie Mae Brown will make an “open” plea, said Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office Spokesman Tamara Getchell.

Getchell said the plea process allows prosecution and defense attorneys to present sentencing recommendations before a superior court justice, who then decides the sentence.

Brown was indicted last December by a Cumberland County grand jury on a Class A aggravated trafficking charge and two Class B unlawful trafficking charges.

The charges stem from an Oct. 10, 2010, traffic stop on Western Avenue made by South Portland police and agents from the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency. Police said they found five bags of cocaine and heroin concealed in Brown’s body.

A further search at a nearby hotel where Brown, her son, Robert Brown, and several other guests were staying turned up more than $3,000 in cash, about 50 grams of heroin, 25 grams of cocaine and more than 50 oxycodone tablets, according to court records.

Police said they acted on an anonymous tip about Robert Brown’s presence in the city as a known drug dealer. Brown was charged with failure to submit to arrest and later released on bail.

Cape officials talk library funding

Thomas Memorial Library Director Jay Scherma said he hopes a feasibility study on raising private funding for a new library in Cape Elizabeth will be completed by Thanksgiving.

Scherma said the town and library foundation received six requests for proposals from companies to conduct a study about whether a campaign to privately raise about $2.64 million would be successful.

A new library is expected to cost about $8 million, and town officials have targeted the November 2012 elections as the time to have a referendum for a $5.36 million construction bond.

Scherma said the requests for proposals will be submitted to library trustees and then forwarded to Town Manager Michael McGovern, perhaps by the end of July.

The feasibility study will seek residents’ opinions on the need for a new library, possible locations and try to determine best sources of private funding for the project

Councilors reject park fee idea

Bus and streetcar tourists will continue to visit Fort Williams at no cost after Cape Elizabeth town councilors on Monday tabled a proposed fee recommendation.

The ordinance proposed by the seven-member Fort Williams Advisory Commission was intended to raise at least $35,000 in revenue for park maintenance and repair. However it lacked details of how fees would be collected and the cost of collecting them, Town Manager Michael McGovern said.

The commission recommended charging tour operators $40 per visit and streetcar or “trolley” operators a seasonal, $1,500 fee to visit the 92-acre park beginning next year. The commission anticipated three streetcar companies would be affected and an annual 784 bus trips, often scheduled by cruise ship lines that dock in Portland.

The recommendation was criticized by South Portland tour operator Jeanne McGurn as inequitable because it levied fees on a more fuel-efficient form of travel that could lead to fewer bus trips.

Councilors, including Anne Swift-Kayatta and Chairman David Sherman, said they opposed the recommendation in part because two recent votes show Cape Elizabeth residents favor keeping admission free at the park.

Tabling the recommendation means councilors may not discuss the idea until September and fees could not be instituted for the 2012 season, McGovern said.

Council will take up smoking issue at next meeting 

Lighting up and dipping snuff at city parks, recreational areas and beaches could soon be banned if South Portland city councilors approve an ordinance to ban tobacco use.

Mayor Rosemarie De Angelis said the five councilors who attended a workshop Monday evening decided to move forward with the ordinance. A first reading will be heard next Monday at city hall.

The proposed ordinance bans smoking within 25 feet of city-owned playgrounds, beaches and recreational areas and imposes a maximum $250 fine. 

The proposed  ordinance will face two council votes and a public hearing, meaning it could not be enacted until at least July 6.

The workshop presentation was made by twin brothers Jackson and Conor Beck and Elisa Martin, who are South Portland High School sophomores. The three developed the proposed ordinance with assistance from De Angelis and representatives from Healthy Maine Partnerships.

Thirty artists to participate in wet paint auction

The Cape Elizabeth Land Trust will hold its fourth annual Paint for Preservation Wet Paint auction fundraiser July 17. 

Throughout the day people will be able to view artists painting en plein air at designated public and private locations. That evening, the newly created artwork will be auctioned live at a reception hosted by John Higgins and Nano Chatfield at Ram Island Farm. 

Tickets for the reception and auction are limited and reservations are required. Visit the land trust office at 330 Ocean House Road, go to www.capelandtrust.org/paintforpreservation/2011 or call 767-6054 to make reservations or to buy raffle tickets to win an oil painting by artist Don Stone.

– Compiled by Staff Writer David Harry.