THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2011
VOL. 3 NO. 21
PORTLAND, ME
PORTLAND’S DAILY NEWSPAPER
699-5801
FREE
New tack for homeless panhandling: Honesty? BY DAVID CARKHUFF THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN
The man on Exchange Street who calls himself Joshua is trying something different in the world of homeless panhandling. He holds a sign that reads: “Why lie? Need whiskey. Anything helps.” “It works,” he said, “most people just laugh about it. Who knows? There are probably people who are like, ‘I love your honesty, so here you go.’” Throughout Portland, it’s not uncom- The sign reads: “Why lie? Need whiskey. mon to see men and women, usually stand- Anything helps.” The ing at busy intersections, who hold homeless artist callcardboard signs that ing himself Joshua appeal for money says, “Who knows? because they’re homeThere are probably less and hungry. But what’s to be made of people who are like, ‘I Joshua’s “honesty” love your honesty, so approach? here you go.’” “I’m serious, I need to get warm, so whiskey helps,” he said, laughing but demonstrating candor about his sincerity. “I am pretty much homeless right now,” he explained. “I stay at the shelters, as of right now I sell art, I barely skim by. It’s definitely see PANHANDLING page 3
A self-described homeless man who called himself Joshua holds a sign reading, “Why lie? Need whiskey. Anything helps.” He said he raised $2 in an hour of sitting on Exchange Street. (DAVID CARKHUFF PHOTO)
Chief: Police calls, crime drop in 2010 BY MATT DODGE THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN
Don’t want to become Portland’s next crime victim? According to Police Chief James Craig, you improve your odds by staying out of the western half of the peninsula between the hours of 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. “Police Beat Three,” encompassing most of the Old Port along Commercial Street, overtook Parskide
last year for the dubious honor of most calls for service to police, with 11,720 calls in 2010, up from 9,288 in 2009. But overall, calls for service were down from every month last year and the city saw a 3 percent reduction in property crime and 2 percent reduction in violent crime over last year. These statistics and others were presented as
part of a the Portland Police Department’s annual “year in review presentation, held Wednesday at the Wishcamper Center on the campus of the University of Southern Maine. “Is [Portland] a dangerous place? No, it’s a very safe city, even safer if you look at stats compared see CRIME page 9
Facing layoffs, schools encourage retirement BY CASEY CONLEY THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN
Portland Schools Superintendent James Morse has extended the deadline for an early-retirement incentive program, hoping to reduce the number of layoffs in the district’s 2011-2012 budget.
He’s hoping more school district employees will take advantage of the program, which promises up to $20,000 for eligible retirees. “The more staff we have who retire, the fewer staff lose their jobs,” he said in an interview with reporters yesterday at the school district’s admin-
istrative offices. As proposed, the $92.7 million budget would eliminate 81 jobs, including more than two-dozen teachers, but still increase spending by 3.9 percent over this year. see SCHOOLS page 6
Oops, Portland did it again
Who knew? GOP loves voter-reg parties!
On the move at Saddleback
See Bob Higgins on page 4
See Curtis Robinson’s column on page 5
See Marty Basch in Sports, page 7