The West End NEWS
PO Box 5234, Portland, ME 04101-0934
(207) 828-1403 TheWestEndNews@yahoo.com
TheWestEndNews.blogspot.com
Volume 7, Number 11
July 27- August 8, 2007

IRS Questions WENA’s Non-Profit Application
The Internal Revenue Service has requested additional information in order to process the West End Neighborhood Association’s 501(c)3 (non-profit) application. There is some concern that the wording of WENA’s articles of incorporation and/or by-laws indicate that WENA may be a political organization.

WENA President Leana Goode-Simpson feels that the group needs to be sure their documents make clear that while WENA does advocate for neighborhood interests, the Association strives to present both sides of controversial issues. Simpson met with neighborhood activist Christina Feller to work on making the application acceptable to the IRS.

WENA is also arranging a meeting of members interested in working out the detailed budget for 2008 and 5-year projections that the IRS has requested.

West Ender Brings All-Night Burlary Spree to A Halt
On the morning of July 23rd, Craig Miller, 27, was arrested near Percy Cycles at Bramhall Square and charged with attempted burglary. A neighborhood resident saw Miller tampering with the lock on the door to the store, using a Swiss army knife, at around 8:30 AM. Miller had been acting suspiciously, looking over his shoulder while fiddling with the lock, and there were wood shavings on the ground. The resident approached him and asked whether he knew the hours of the store. Miller said he was trying to help Percy fix the lock. An employee of the store approached at this point, and he and the resident went into the store and called police.

Police say that Percy Cycles was not Miller’s first stop of the day. At around 3 AM of that same morning, the janitor at Bleachers sports pub on Preble Street arrived to clean. He turned on the TV, and then Miller entered the room, coming from the back area of Bleachers. He told the janitor that he was looking for the owner’s son - that he was supposed to meet him there.

Miller sat and watched TV and chatted with the janitor for about an hour, then asked for directions, saying he didn’t want to wait any longer, and left.

The janitor noticed that Miller had left a plastic bag behind containing two bottles of alcohol, and determined something was amiss; the back window was open, and items had been moved around. He realized that a burglary had occurred and notified police, giving a good description of Miller. The video camera at Bleachers had also captured Miller taking things, according to police.

The description of the man at Percy’s matched the Bleachers description and Miller was also charged with the Bleachers burglary. Miller’s backpack contained certain items that are still under investigation, including a credit card and loose cash. Marge Niblock