PORTLAND

Complaint Department

Letters to the Portland Editor, January 1, 2010
Can we have a benefit show or something in the coming year to save up enough money to buy three ghosts (preferably the ghosts of local rock's past, present, and future) to visit Sam Pfeifle in his dreams to tell him the following.

By PORTLAND PHOENIX LETTERS | December 30, 2009

Happy New Year 2010

Hoopleville
Hey, ya know what's great?

By DAVID KISH | December 30, 2009

Growing Maine culture

A look back at the highlights of the decade
As the first decade of the millennium winds up (and as we mark the first decade of the Portland Phoenix 's existence), it's worth a look back to see where we came from. We asked our sharpest minds — our arts writers — to consider the last 10 years and pick out the high points that still stick in their minds, in many cases almost an entire decade later.

By PORTLAND PHOENIX CONTRIBUTORS | December 22, 2009

Ten years of great sports

Boston's road from Loserville to Title Town
Moments after Adam Vinatieri's field goal split the uprights as the clock expired in the Louisiana Superdome on February 3, 2002, the streets of Boston were in bedlam. Drunk people dangled from trees and hung off lampposts. Motorists leaned on their horns. I saw a guy hug a cop

By MIKE MILIARD | December 22, 2009

Call for health-care reform

Letters to the Portland Editor, December 25, 2009
The November 7 passage of health-care reform, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, in the House of Representatives was a very important and exciting moment for everyone who is dedicated to the idea that all Americans need and deserve access to high quality, affordable health care.

By PORTLAND PHOENIX LETTERS | December 22, 2009

A special Maine feel

Exhibitions to remember from 2009
This may be remembered as the year that the Center for Maine Contemporary Art smashed headlong into a fiscal brick wall, and at this writing it is not clear if, after its current show closes this week, it will open again in the spring.

By KEN GREENLEAF | December 22, 2009

Faltering steps forward

Going Green
As in many other sectors, the green world in 2009 was marked as much by bluster as by tangible positive action.

By DEIRDRE FULTON | December 22, 2009

Gifts of the magi

Who's on the naughty list?
OK, so math isn't Poliquin's strong point. And he's a little shaky on consistency. But are those minor flaws enough to convince Santa to leave coal in his stocking?

By AL DIAMON | December 22, 2009

Albums of the decade

10 discs you should own
I somehow stumbled into a radio gig playing local music at the beginning of this decade and subsequently had a ringside seat for a lot of what transpired.

By CHARLIE GAYLORD | December 23, 2009

Review: Out on the town

Music Seen
Bars and clubs everywhere, 2009

By JEFF INGLIS | December 22, 2009

Hit the Ground

Portland's (and 6gig's) song of the decade
How do you pick a song of the decade?

By SAM PFEIFLE | December 22, 2009

Big starts

2009 was full of newness + energy
I kick off my highlights of 2009 with praise for a theater company that has just finished its inaugural season: The Legacy Theater Company, founded by former City Theater artistic director Steve Burnette.

By MEGAN GRUMBLING | December 22, 2009

2009 had some redeeming qualities - really

Don’t look back in anger
Let's get serious: For many Portlanders, 2009 was a crap year.

By DEIRDRE FULTON AND JEFF INGLIS | December 22, 2009

2009: The year in books

True stories - fact and fiction
Here, listed alphabetically by author, are 10 of the best books the Phoenix reviewed in 2009.

By JON GARELICK | December 22, 2009

2009: Year in video games

Swimming the mainstream
At the end of each year, there's the temptation to identify a common theme among the games that were released.

By MITCH KRPATA | December 22, 2009

Review: Sherlock Holmes

Boys will be boys
In its own way an ideal holiday blockbuster for the moderately educated, the new light-footed overhaul of Sherlock Holmes is three parts self-satisfied mixer to one part hard storytelling, and if anything, the film's popular trailers should have deterred you from expecting strong drink.

By MICHAEL ATKINSON | December 22, 2009