Community organizer and unsuccessful city council candidate Tina Smith was elected chair of the Portland Green-Independent Committee last night. Smith, who made Portland's arts scene and immigrant-rights the two centerpieces of her campaign, had this to say in a press release: "There's still a lot of fresh energy kicking around after the election lending us the opportunity to connect with the community, do define who we are and what we represent."

Newly elected at-large councilor Dory Waxman got back to us today on the pier issue (too late to go in the paper). Basically, she hopes that council finds "a solution to this sooner than later." She thinks that opening up a new request for proposals would be a step backwards after all the work that's been done over the last three years.

Even as WGME News 13 anchor Kim Block introduced a story about an anti-Barack Obama sign in Standish on last night's newscast, she blew the president-elect's name.

"A sign encouraging general store customers in Standish to place a bet on when Barack Osama - when Barack Obama, rather - could be assassinated is sending shock waves across the nation," Block said.

The 2008 WePushButtons Awards ceremony happened over the weekend at SPACE Gallery, honoring members of Maine's electronic, hip-hop, and DJ community.

Spose, it appears, were the big winners, bringing home Best New Artist, Best Hip-Hop Act, and Best New Album honors. Check out the whole list online.

And if you want, check out the nominees, too.

Congratulations to all!

A quick update to this week's "8 Days a Week" column. Empire Dine and Dance's second Carnival of Arts is not postponed, and will indeed be happening on Wednesday, November 19. The event - which will be growing and ongoing - features local musicians, filmmakers, poets, artists, and readers. Head here for updates on the Carnival as they arrive.

In front of journalists and city officials this morning, city councilor and Community Development Committee (CDC) chair Cheryl Leeman and Olympia Companies CEO Kevin Mahaney announced that The Olympia Companies' negotiations with the city to develop the Maine State Pier are ending.

The primary bone of contention is the title to the sumberged lands under and around the Maine State Pier.

Editor's note: Shay Stewart-Bouley wrote this as a possible alternative for her Diverse-City column this week. We ran her first column, but wanted to share this second viewpoint with you as well!

_by Shay Stewart-Bouley

You might be expecting me to gloat over the results of the presidential election. But I'm not going to.

In a couple of hours, The Greening of Southie will screen at SPACE Gallery. The documentary, about tough South Boston construction workers and the green apartment complex they're tasked with building, is the second outing from Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, the stars and producers of King Corn, which we wrote about this spring

In their Veterans Day messages today, Governor John Baldacci and Congresswoman-elect Chellie Pingree appear to disagree on how many veterans there are in Maine.

Baldacci asks Mainers "not to forget the 150,000 veterans" in Maine. But Pingree, for her part, says in a statement that "Congress can do much to improve care and access to care for the 145,000 veterans living in Maine."