For all my MegaStorm 2007 jokes, guess who ended up manning the phones and chasing power outages yesterday. Sadly, I did not get access to anything with the word Doppler in it.

Oh sweet, sweet irony. So rich and thick, I can’t possibly eat all of this in one sitting, I’ll have to take you home and save some for later.

Since I was in the middle of storm coverage yesterday, I did not get a chance to talk about Monday's column, which featured the always fun topic of the Old Port.

Whenever the topic pops up, the arguments seem to draw down a few familiar lines: Old Port as a dangerous place, Old Port as a magnet for young people, Old Port as an important asset to the city.

In some ways it is a young vs. old argument, because younger people are more likely to spend time in the Old Port after dark. Which is why I had a talk with city councilors Dave Marshall and Kevin Donoghue, who not only fit the profile of people likely to go out on the town, but also are in positions of power.

Both will be part of a panel discussion at Space tomorrow night about young people trying to crack political barriers. State Rep. Bryan Kaenrath, D-South Portand, Portland School Committee member Rebecca Minnick and Jeffery Ferland, who ran for the state Legislature in 2006, round out the group.

The discussion will follow the film, “Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore,” which tells the story of 29-year-old Jeff Smith, who ran in the 2004 Democratic primary to replace former Missouri Congressman Dick Gephardt. The documentary examines the challenges Smith faced as a young unknown trying to operates outside the conventional political system.

The film starts at 7:30 p.m. at Space, it’s $6 to get in. The event is sponsored by The League of Young Voters.

Finally, the housekeeping. Thank you to all the grammarians out there, my editors and professors back at J-School I’m sure support your efforts. But as one commenter noted, the headline from the last blog was taken from “Aqua Teen Hunger Force.” Regardless of how you feel, keep reading, I appreciate it.

What I and this newspaper do not appreciate is comments like this, which I can tell you will be deleted in the future:

“ah doan nee no stinkin ebonics, ya know wha ah sayin??”
Posted by doctor j
April 17, 2007 09:27 AM

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