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“In-state hires” is a phrase everybody can get behind, and it’s something that’s become a key philosophical practice for South Portland’s Fairchild Semiconductor. The trouble is, as everyone who’s seen Waiting for Superman knows, this country’s education system is facing a dire engineering crisis--Maine (and the country as a whole) simply isn’t producing the sort of science-savvy graduates that Fairchild is looking for. 
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In a city filled with creative people, where do they purchase their supplies? For many artists (and students and parents and kids and teachers), the answer is Artist & Craftsman.
Located not on the peninsula but a short distance away, at Woodford’s Corner, Artist & Craftsman is northern New England’s largest art supplier.
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Portland's most heavily used greenspace (and probably its most loved) is not Deering Oaks. Nor the Eastern Prom nor Evergreen Cemetery.
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"Sous les pavés, la plage"
— Situationist graffiti, 1968
One of the best things about living in Portland in the summer is getting home from work at 5 p. m.
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It wouldn't be much of a stretch to nickname it "North by Northeast": In August, British folk rockers Mumford & Sons will embark on a rare tour to this side of the Atlantic, and their only stopover on the East Coast will be located on the very brim of it, right here in Portland, on the Eastern Promenade overlooking Casco Bay.
With only six performances in all, in unique locations, the "Gentlemen of the Road" tour makes a point of being a unique music festival — one that encourages their audience to enjoy the hosting community as much as they enjoy the music.
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The real estate crowd isn't traditionally known for its creativity. Most of the industry's professionals are people who have spent their careers building anonymous strip malls and office parks — exactly the kinds of places I moved to Portland in order to get away from.
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At the turn of the millennium, sociologist Robert Putnam wrote Bowling Alone, which observed that a successful community relies on successful community organizations and civic participation. "Researchers in such fields as education, urban poverty, unemployment, the control of crime and drug abuse, and even health have discovered that successful outcomes are more likely in civically engaged communities," Putnam wrote.
Portland is a really peaceful city, that's true. But it turns out that of all the States in the U.
