The Falmouth Forecaster, a community paper in Portland, Maine, reports that Face -- owned by the publishers of Portland Phoenix, Providence Phoenix and Boston Phoenix -- regularly runs articles by writers using pseudonyms. Among them is Sam Pfeifle, editor of both Face and Portland Phoenix, who has written numerous articles as "Simon Peterson." He explains: "It's meant to be a way to have some fun and allow ourselves creative outlets." The report also notes that Face's "masthead offers few clues to who is real and who is make-believe," with job titles "arranged as if the writers and ad reps are members of a band." (Chris Busby, the author of the piece, is the former editor of the now-defunct Casco Bay Weekly, which competed against Portland Phoenix.)
In 1999, when Debra DeCarlo became principal of a Providence, R.I., high school, she was faced with problems common to many urban school districts. State and local budget cuts had reduced or completely eliminated resources once deemed essential. Confused curriculum standards made it daunting for teachers to create lesson plans. Truancy and disciplinary problems turned class time into a discouraging, even life-threatening experience. There were more dropouts than graduates. The building itself was coming apart. It still is. Marion Davis reports for The Providence Phoenix on how educators like DeCarlo are addressing such challenges by taking chances and making a difference, not so much in test scores, but in how their students feel about learning.
A court has ordered Mindich to release his private emails concerning a rape case in which his wife Maria Lopez was judge. Friends and family of the victim say the sentence Lopez gave the defendant was too lenient and claim Mindich’s emails are part of a “whisper campaign” to discredit the victim. Mindich says the content of the emails is irrelevant and that he’s ready to go to the Supreme Court if necessary to prove his private correspondence is private.
