The Blotter

PDF of the Free Press from Monday, Sept. 13

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 16:40:20 -0400

This week in the news

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 14:30:27 -0400

Here’s our news budget for the week, guys. Got any ideas for stories or know of any cool things going on? E-mail the news editor, Paul at paul@usmfreepress.org.

Paul Koenig is doing a Q&A with Aleksandra Derikonja who came in second place in the Miss Maine United States pageant over the summer in Vegas. We did a feature on her before and now we’re checking in to see how the pageant went for her.
Noah Hurowitz will be going to the Gorham planning board meeting tonight at 7 p.m. so you don’t have to. And also to find out any updates on the proposal to ban future fraternities in Gorham.
Nikki Horton will be looking into the problem of suicide on college campus, specifically at USM. University counseling services have started an outreach program to help more students and Nikki will be finding out how they’re doing with it.
Meagan Maguire is going to be learning about the Student Conduct Council, a group of students who make rulings on students who violated the student conduct code. This will be an informative look into a group of students who most people don’t know much about.

News budget — week of Sept. 13

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:41:00 -0400

Hey guys, here’s the story budget for next week’s news section. Got any ideas? E-mail tips@usmfreepress.org. If you’re a student and want to cover something, e-mail paul@usmfreepress.org.

A student, Brian Spigel, has been taking “adventures” which cost no more than $1,000 dollars. So far, he has gone to St. John in the Virgin Islands and Alaska. This story needs a reporter still. Contact paul@usmfreepress.org to claim it.

Students organized and started a community garden on the Portland campus over the summer at the site of the former playground. Sounds like it took some doing, too. This story needs a reporter still. Contact paul@usmfreepress.org to claim it.

Staff photographer Jeff Ferland is working on a story about the group of students from USM’s toxicology lab who sailed down to the Gulf Coast to examine the biological impact of the Deepwater Horizon explosion.

Brendan Morse is doing a story on The Campaign for Liberty, a libertarian group that has been trying to drum up support on campus.

Now that the three new colleges have deans, apparently they need new names. (The current names are pretty long.) Look into the process of naming a college. This story needs a reporter still. Contact paul@usmfreepress.org to claim it.

This week in the arts

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 16:15:43 -0400

The first issue is in the can, but we’re already working on stories for the next one. As always e-mail Dylan Martin at dylan@usmfreepress.org for any pitches or assignments.

Here’s the Arts budget for the week:

Moody Lords is a new boutique store on Congress Street above Strange Maine. Much like Time-Lag that once occupied the space, they sell vintage clothing, local vinyl, and vintage electronics. Man, that’s a lot of vintage. We will be doing a Q&A with one of the owners. The story is unassigned as of now, so if you want it e-mail dylan@usmfreepress.org

Song Battle is a new concert series at Geno’s Rock Club, pitting local musicians against each other as they have to write new songs based on a theme for the night. We’re looking for someone to attend the show on Saturday night, interview those involved and have the story ready for next Tuesday. If you want it, you know who to reach. (event link: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=148231861865213)

We hear that Matt Becker is big into pop culture, and this week he’ll be offering a recommendation for the new Commuting Introvert section. Somehow we expect a zine or podcast, but we’ll just have to wait and see!

Dylan Martin is writing a travel piece about Gorham. Seeing as it’s a small college town, he’ll do his best to compile a comprehensive list of things to do. If you have any tips, e-mail him at dylan@usmfreepress.org.

John Finison will be writing about the new art display by Thorpe Feidt in the Woodbury Campus Center. You can find more information here: http://www.usm.maine.edu/gallery/cal.html

We’ll be cranking out more album reviews in the weeks to come. Expect more reviews from Matt Becker and Nikki Horton. We’ll also be reading about local music from Dylan Martin and John Finison. We still have one more album to review, so if you’re interested e-mail dylan@usmfreepress.org

Anatomy of a FOIA

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 05:26:00 -0400

We published a story online Monday morning about the resignation of Kate Forhan and the contract she signed with the university.

Here’s a copy of the e-mail of our Freedom of Information Act request to Bob Caswell, the executive director of Public Affairs for the university.

June 14, 2010

Robert Caswell
Office of Public Affairs
Room 601 The Law Building
University of Southern Maine, Portland, ME, 04103

Dear Mr. Caswell,

Pursuant to the state open records law, Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. Tit. 1,
Secs. 401 to 434, I write to request access to and a copy of any and
all public information regarding former Provost Kate Forhan’s
resignation. These documents include, but are not limited to, Forhan’s
resignation letter; any and all e-mail correspondence from May 1 to
May 30 between USM President Selma Botman and the former provost
regarding her resignation; any and all notes and minutes from meetings
regarding Forhan’s resignation. If your agency does not maintain these
public records, please let me know who does and include the proper
custodian’s name and address.

I agree to pay any reasonable copying and postage fees of not more
than $10.00. If the cost would be greater than this amount, please
notify me. Please provide a receipt indicating the charges for each
document.

As provided by the open records law, I will expect your response
within five (5) business days. See Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 1, Sec.
409(1).

If you choose to deny this request, please provide a written
explanation for the denial including a reference to the specific
statutory exemption(s) upon which you rely. Also, please provide all
segregable portions of otherwise exempt material.

Please be advised that I am prepared to pursue whatever legal remedy
necessary to obtain access to the requested records. I would note that
willful violation of the open records law can result in a fine of up
to $500. See Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 1, Sec. 410.

Thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely,

Daniel S MacLeod
Executive Editor
The Free Press
University of Southern Maine

Portland, ME
04103

Here’s Bob’s response:

Hi Dan:

Thank you for the formal request. We certainly will compile any available information, and make sure you have it within five business days.

Sincerely,
Bob

Here’s the documents we got back. Sorry they’re a little grubby. Dan spills coffee a lot.

Memorandum of Understanding and General Release between Kate Forhan and the University of Maine System

Are you a closer? Come sell ads for the Free Press. Call (207)...

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:48:50 -0400

Are you a closer? Come sell ads for the Free Press. Call (207) 780-4084 x8, or e-mail dan@usmfreepress.org.

Stepfather of student collapses on Move In Day, later dies

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 06:45:12 -0400

Stepfather of student collapses on Move In Day, later dies

Free Press launches new blog

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:12:41 -0400

Free Press launches new blog

Health and Counseling Services makes changes after closing Portland location

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:12:41 -0400

Health and Counseling Services makes changes after closing Portland location

This week in the arts

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:04:00 -0400

Here’s the budget for the Arts & Entertainment section. If you would like to contribute, e-mail dylan@usmfreepress.org.

The First Friday Art Walk of the school year is upon us, and we want to find some of the more unique happenings in the streets of Portland. If you’re interested in doing some artsy detective work, e-mail dylan@usmfreepress.org.

David Wm. Sims of The Jesus Lizard will be playing under the moniker UnFact at the Apohadion Thursday night, joined with Animal Hospital, Instant Animals and Noveller. According to Allmusic.com, The Jesus Lizard “emerged in the early ’90s as a leading noise rock band in the American independent underground.” It’s in a small DIY venue, but we couldn’t let this show off our radar. If you’re interested in covering it, e-mail dylan@usmfreepress.org.

We’re starting a weekly feature titled “The Commuting Introvert,” which will highlight digestible alternative entertainment for your short commute to campus. This can include podcasts, graphic novels, art books, Tumblr blogs — you name it. As long as it can take up an entire bus ride to USM, it’s fit to print.

Dylan Martin is writing about Professor Ed Collom, chair of the Sociology department, and his past life as a drum technician for composer Danny Elfman’s old band, Oingo Boingo.

Matt Becker will be covering Gorham Event Board’s first Thirsty Thursday event of the year: a performance by comedian/magician Frank Deville. Deville’s website says that he’s “Your Girlfriend’s Favorite Magician.” We’ll find out the truth Thursday night.

Matt will also be reviewing Grand Hotel’s self-titled, debut album in the first of many local CD reviews to come. In addition, Nikki Horton is reviewing a CD from Milled Pavement Records. If you’re interesting in writing CD reviews, please contact dylan@usmfreepress.org.

This week in the news

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:12:47 -0400

Here’s our news budget for the week, guys. Got any ideas? E-mail paul@usmfreepress.org.

First off, we’re going to take a look at some creative ways people have set up their dorm rooms. We’re planning on doing a sidebar on essential stuff to buy for your dorm and how to make your room awesome on a budget. (This story hasn’t been taken yet. E-mail Paul if you want to take it.)

Charlie Albert is taking a look at this year’s enrollment figures. How have they changed? What is USM doing differently to attract and retain students?

Noah Hurowitz is following up on the story that broke this summer about the fraternity house in Gorham that was seized by the town for failure to pay taxes. Gorham is now debating a ban on all new fraternities. Noah is looking at how this ban could impact existing fraternities.

Paul Koenig is doing a story on the implementation of the restructuring plan. The deans for the three new colleges have been named. He’s looking into who the new deans are and how they were chosen as well as taking a step back to look at how the implementation is going in general.

Isaac Raymond is doing a followup on the breach of two University of Maine system servers over the summer. The breach exposed 4,585 students’ sensitive personal information. Raymond will take a look at what USM has done to safeguard against similar breaches.

Brendon Morse is looking at how our transportation fee is used, and whether USM will strike a deal similar to that of SMCC and the Portland Metro, where students ride the bus for free.

Welcome to The Blotter

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:23:00 -0400

Hey guys,

As the student newspaper of the University of Southern Maine, we are independent of the administration; no one ‘signs off’ on what we write. Our only duty is to report news of note to the students who, in part, fund our operations.

This blog is for them.

We set up The Blotter to be a public forum about the Free Press. Have a gripe or a question for one of our editors or reporters? This is the place to sound off.

We’ll also be posting our budget (the list of stories we’re working on for the next edition) on this blog. If you have any leads or ideas, or if you’re a student and want to report something, comment here or send one of the editors an e-mail.

The purpose of this blog is really to provide a way for our readers to interact with our staff and become part of the news-gathering process. You can still write a letter to the editor, if you’re so inclined, but consider The Blotter a place for discussion.

We have plenty of room at the Free Press if you’re interested in writing, taking photos, shooting and editing video or designing content for the Web. E-mail dan@usmfreepress.org if you’re interested.

I look forward to working with you.

Dan MacLeod

Executive Editor

The Free Press

(207) 615-6652 (cell)

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