Maine story updates, June 30 edition

Some updates on Maine stories I've been following:

Good news (for once) from Portland's waterfront: Regular readers have gotten an earful about deception, incompetence, and political back-scratching in relation to cruise-ship related development decisions on Portland's Eastern Waterfront. In Parallel 44 - my bi-monthly column over at Working Waterfront -- I've finally got some positive news, as the city makes the first steps towards cleaning up their mess.

Maine. The (understaffed?) Magazine.: A month ago I wrote about eyebrow-raising developments over at the magazine previously known as Port City Life, including the sudden departure of the senior editor Peter Smith and art director Jennifer Muller. Now, with the July issue out, managing editor Chelsea Holden Baker has been reassigned as a contributing editor, which is magazine-speak for "valued contributor." (I have this title at Down East which, I ought to point out, is a competitor.) According to the editorial box, neither Baker nor Smith have been replaced, which makes one wonder who's putting the magazine together. [Update, 4/5/11: Ms. Baker contacted me today to clarify matters: "I resigned as managing editor of my own volition," she wrote, adding she would leave it at that. She's still a regular contributor to the magazine.]

Hiding the Money, Made Harder: The shadowy group that provided most of the funding for the campaign to repeal Maine's same sex marriage law -- the National Organization for Marriage -- has been refusing to disclose its donors as required by Maine's clean elections laws, and even tried to sue out state to avoid playing by the rules. They appear to be running short of options, however, with the Maine Ethics Commission denying yet another request to abandon their investigation and the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling that same-sex marriage opponents have no constitutional right to hide their donors' lists. The attorney on the losing side of the Supreme Court case? NOM legal counsel and spokesman James Bopp, Jr.