The report “Made in Maine: A State Report Card on Public Higher Education,” released jointly by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni and the Maine Heritage Policy Center on Wednesday, gave the University of Maine System failing grades in four out of five categories ranging from intellectual diversity to governance.

“If the University of Maine System were itself a student, it would be repeating the semester. That’s because of a series of failing grade in areas critical to providing a high quality public higher education in Maine.” Chris Cinquemani, director of communications for the Maine Heritage Policy Center, a Portland-based conservative advocacy group, said at a press conference at the University of Maine’s Buchanan Alumni House on Wednesday.

“Lax course requirements, roadblocks to academic freedom, a rubberstamping board of trustees, rising tuition costs — clearly the University of Maine System needs improvement. Maine taxpayers are funding failure,” he continued.

All campuses within the system earned failing grades concerning tuition increases, which were higher than the national average across a five year period.

Between the 2004-2005 and 2009-2010 academic years, tuition increased an average of 35 percent across the seven campuses, with Farmington taking the top spot at nearly 50 percent.

While the University of Maine System still maintains the lowest in-state tuition rate among public land-grant institutions in New England, ACTA Policy Director Michael Poliakoff said the increases become problematic when compared to the average income of Maine families.

“When we’re dealing with in-state constituents … it should be calibrated to Maine per capita income,” Poliakoff said. “We keep a serious eye on that.”

The report also found faults in the way three campuses spend that money, failing system campuses in Augusta, Machias and Orono for increasing administrative budgets more rapidly than instruction funding.

The system overall, however, received a passing grade in this category.

At UMaine, money allocated to instruction increased by 13.2 percent from fiscal year 2002-2003 to 2007-2008. Administrative budgets rose by 38.9 percent during that same period.

Poliakoff said occasionally factors like the creation of new positions to bring growing online education programs into compliance with federal law will spike administrative spending.

“But that would not account for — that just doesn’t cover — a 10 percent differential in growth as we see on the Orono campus,” he said. “More often than not, it does signal growth in, essentially, the apparatus of administration.”

The report also calls the system board of trustees a “rubber-stamping” agency. In a press release following the conference, it said that in the 27-month period studied, trustees unanimously approved “every construction project, real estate transaction and purchasing contract put before it, and, in most cases, authorizing spending decisions made during sub-committee meetings less than 24 hours later.”

System spokesperson Peggy Markson said Wednesday afternoon that the system office was not consulted or interviewed for the report and that she took issue with much of the report, including the trustee characterization.

“The trustees have sub-committees … that review everything and ask questions and go back and forth,” Markson said. “They’re absolutely not rubber-stamping. They’re a very productive and involved board that are concerned about the well-being of Maine students.”

When it comes to instruction, the system’s general education program was given a failing grade due to the absence of required courses in areas like language, government, economics and literature at some campuses.

Out of the seven areas of study examined under the general education curriculum, the system only received passing grades across the seven campuses in two categories — English composition and science.

“Not a single campus requires an American history survey course or a survey of institutions of American government. Not a single one has a requirement for a basic course in economics. Not a single one requires even intermediate levels in foreign languages, a topic that has been of concern to business and industry,” Poliakoff said. “As core curricula go, this is not adequate prep for the challenges of a job market in which most young people will change jobs nearly a dozen times before the age of 42.”

A statement released through Markson said system Chancellor Richard Pattenaude “appreciates” such reports on the system’s well-being, but that the main focus of the system and its trustees in a tough economic climate has been on balancing budgets.

“Like every other public higher education institution, our trustees have been very focused on financial sustainability in these challenging economic times,” he said. “However, our trustees also place great emphasis on making academic outcomes a priority.  I’m pleased to note that work is already under way to improve retention rates, graduation rates, and to align academic programs to best meet Maine’s workforce needs.”

The wait is over.

Indie staples My Morning Jacket will be headlining, alongside electro duo Chromeo, New England’s own Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, legendary rap act Atmosphere and fan favorites The Gay Blades. The initial lineup also includes a few more up-and-comers in rock and hip-hop, with many more local and national acts to soon be announced.

Once again, the festival will last for nine days and span across Downtown Bangor. According to a press release, the final lineup will feature around 40 bands for the weekend music festival and KahBang @ Night performances in local venues. Early-bird tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. April 29 through the festival’s website.

The release also stated that more information on artists and tickets will be made available in the coming weeks. Now in its third year, KahBang is only getting bigger. The complete initial lineup is listed below, according a press release. Visit kahbang.com for more information and to keep updated.

KahBang 2011 Initial Lineup

My Morning Jacket

Chromeo

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

Atmosphere

Surfer Blood

Atomic Tom

Dom

Evidence

Blueprint

Prof

The Gay Blades

Information from an unnamed student helped the university determine the identity of the two individuals. Dean of Students Robert Dana will give the student the promised $500 reward for providing information about the incident.

According to a press release, the students admit to stealing the flag, they claim to have “draped it over an exterior sign at a UMaine fraternity, but it has not been seen since.” The two males deny vandalizing the flagpole during the same incident, which occurred overnight on either April 11 or 12.

As of yet, neither has been charged with any crime but both have been referred to Judicial Affairs. A University of Maine Police Department investigation is ongoing to determine who is responsible for the flagpole damage.

“Based on the investigation and evidence, we are comfortable that this incident was not motivated in any way by hate bias,” UMPD Detective Bill Flagg said, according to the release.

Dana said in the release that the students’ punishment will “be commensurate with the serious nature of this incident.”

“These students failed to consider the ways in which their actions would affect others,” he said. “UMaine rightfully prides itself on mutual respect and there is no tolerance for behavior that makes others feel threatened or disrespected.”

The rally was one in a nationwide trend of assemblies coinciding with the anniversary of King’s assassination 43 years ago in Memphis, designed to bring attention to what is perceived as government opposition to organized labor.

Students and professors mingled with unionized workers to hear speeches at the “We Are One Rally for Human Dignity,” coordinated by the Eastern Maine Labor Council and Food AND Medicine.

The labor council is a collective group representing 36 unions and approximately 6,000 workers. Food AND Medicine, based in Brewer, strives to ensure “economic and social justice,” according to its mission statement.

Demonstrators denounced bills in the state legislature sponsored by Rep. David Burns, R-Whiting, and Sen. Debra Plowman, R-Hampden.

Burns’ bill, LD 1346, suggests the implementation of a “training wage” of $5.25 an hour for 180 days for workers under the age of 20. Maine state minimum wage is $7.50 an hour, 25 cents more than federal minimum wage.

Under Burns’ bill, young Mainers would be earning $2.25 less an hour than state minimum wage.

Plowman’s bill, LD 516, would increase the number of hours 16- and 17-year-olds could work weekly from 20 to 24 and would allow them to work until 11 p.m. Originally, the bill would have allowed them to work 32 hours a week.

“King talked about how we are all interrelated. What unifies us is more fundamental than what divides us,” said Doug Allen, professor of philosophy at UMaine. “Divided, we feel overwhelmed. We feel we have no power and we feel demoralized. When we come together in solidarity as we are in this rally then, in fact, we have a strong voice. It is said throughout the world that people united, in fact, can never be defeated.”

Emery Deabay, a member of the United Steelworkers union and an employee at the Verso Paper Bucksport Mill, attended the rally, signs in hand proclaiming a need to “Protect workers’ rights.”

“Like the signs say,” he said, motioning toward a cluster of signs with a common theme, “we need to stand as one in solidarity against greed and corruption to make sure [workers] are protected.”

Deabay has attended rallies in Augusta and Portland in the past to spread the same message. Peering through the crowd, he pointed out friends who had come from as far as Skowhegan and Baileyville. Deabay came to the Orono demonstration, he said, in order to honor King.

“He was shot and murdered years ago when he was standing up for workers,” he said. “We’re under attack again by corporations and CEOs that want to line their pockets with our money.”

Loren Snow, a former Maine Department of Transportation worker who has been retired since 2008, was handed the microphone and told the crowd his story.

“I gave them 28 years. I was on-call 24/7, 365 days a year,” he said.

Snow spoke of the strain the economy has put on income from his pension.

“I’m going to have to go back to work because I won’t get a check. I’ll get a bill,” he said.

Snow talked about the discrepancy between pay for private and public sector jobs, saying he earned 21.65 percent less with his job in the MDOT than he could have with a different job. He stayed in the public sector because of the promise of a pension.

“There’s a lot of state employees out here that are a lot worse off than I am. So, when they start telling how well-off state employees are when they retire, you should know the whole facts about it. We do the kind of work we do because we are proud serving the taxpayers. We take great pride in it,” he said. “Now all we’re asking for is for them to leave our retirement system alone.

“We don’t want to have to sign up for food stamps,” Snow continued.

Recent events, such as Wisconsin’s Democratic diaspora over labor issues, have brought labor issues to the forefront of national consciousness.

Gov. Paul LePage’s praise for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and vocal support of a “right to work” law of Maine, under which he said workers could not be forced to join a labor union, also ignited tempers at Monday’s rally.

“There are many misconceptions about right-to-work laws, and the term itself is highly misleading and deliberately misleading,” said Bill Murphy, director of UMaine’s Bureau of Labor Education. “‘Right to work’ does not empower workers. It does not guarantee a job, equitable wages and decent working conditions, nor does it prevent against unfair firings and terminations.”

Murphy said unions’ collective bargaining rights have created a union security clause to ensure those things right-to-work laws cannot provide.

Later, he elaborated on what he perceived as the state of Maine’s labor climate.

“No health insurance, no pension, no days off, no sick leave — that’s what a lot of you are looking at because of what has happened with the American economy,” Murphy said. “There’s no statutory obligation for those benefits to be provided. The only reason why they even exist is because of labor unions and the fact that they exist at all in the unorganized work sector is because of the precedent unions set.”

Jim Snow, the Northeast regional director of the AFL / CIO, a national federation of labor organizations, was also a scheduled speaker at the rally.

“We’re here to defend the right of working people to defend themselves,” he said, earning murmurs of agreement from the audience.

“Our voices have been saying ‘no’ to their effort to make working people pay for the wreckage that Wall Street left behind — the foreclosures, the plant closings, the outsourcing, the budget cuts … after they plundered the United States’ economy and, in fact, the world economy,” Jim Snow said. “Our voices have been saying ‘no’ to the un-American idea that the law of economic jungles should always rule.

“Our voices are saying that in a Democratic society, 1 percent of the population should never have more wealth then the remaining 99 percent combined,” he said.

Jim Snow denounced right-to-work laws, asserting that “in short, they will mean more poverty” for Mainers.

“For almost all people in Maine, they’ll mean lower wages,” he said. “They’ll lead to more unsafe workplaces, more workplace injuries and fatalities. They’ll mean lower investment in education and they’ll mean fewer new small businesses.”

He finished his speech by citing LePage’s controversial removal of a mural from the Department of Labor building due to what he perceived as a one-sided history of labor relations in Maine.

“On January 17, in Waterville, [LePage] said in part, ‘The journey continues to make Dr. King’s dreams a reality.’ Well, Governor, you’re certainly right about that. But taking down that mural, which is a chronicle of the history of that very journey in Maine, was wrong,” Jim Snow said. “It was divisive and it clearly demonstrated how far he has to go to get back to the real task he has at hand, which is creating jobs for the citizens of this state.

“The black wall at the labor department is symbolic of how little he is doing in this regard,” he said.

He ended his speech by shouting the rally’s slogan of “We are one.” Crowd members latched on to his repetition of the slogan, which swelled into a chant.

The rally lasted approximately one hour. University of Maine Police Department Sgt. Bob Norman visited briefly to check on the crowd, but the demonstration remained civil and did not disrupt the daily flow of campus traffic. He said proper notice for the rally was given and all permits were obtained.

The offer came from “Angelo Santos,” who purported to be the recruiting head for Aaron’s, Inc, a rent-to-own franchise specializing in furniture and electronics. According to Marquez, the email directs the reader to deposit checks from buyers and to send 10 percent of the money to Santos.

Text of the email was posted online at 800notes.com, a website designed to debunk this type of scam, on March 22. The email offers a consignment position with Aaron’s and Santos claims to have obtained the recipient’s email address from a career center. Santos promises 10 percent of checks from buyers to the student, as long as the student deposits them in his or her own bank account first.

“On [three] transactions you’re sure of nothing less than $600 weekly,” the email claims. “You have nothing to worry about.”

Searching for the cell phone number listed with the email, 587-333-5142, brings up a post from March 11 using identical text, promising “a very good pay as transactions are steady, continuous and constant.”

This email differs only in the name of the contact person, Richard McLain, and the name of the company he allegedly represents — Allco Finance Group. Allco, an Australia-based financial services company, failed in the fall of 2008, as reported by The Australian.

Marquez reported the scam to the University of Maine Police Department, and Officer Bill Mitchell was assigned to assist any victims.

According to Mitchell, only the student who brought the email to Marquez has been affected by the scam. Mitchell does not believe the student lost any money.

“Hopefully, people are savvy enough now when they see it they say, ‘Yeah, this is a scam,” Mitchell said.

He said artist of scams such as this one are difficult to pin down, since the technology used often leads to dead ends. Awareness is often the best way to protect people, he said.

Marquez alerted the university to the scam through a post to the Announcements & Alerts folder on FirstClass on the morning of March 31. She emphasized that the UMaine Career Center does not release students’ email addresses or résumés unless they have applied for jobs through the Career Center’s website.

She also warned students to be wary of the name Vernon Boozer. In the email, Marquez wrote that Boozer is often named as the individual students should send 90 percent of the checks to.

A barometer left in 206 Barrows Hall, which contains shared space for the electrical engineering department, leaked less than a teaspoonful of mercury. A custodian noticed it and called UMaine Public Safety. They then alerted the Orono Fire Department, which has training in handling hazardous materials.

“Working with UMaine environmental health and safety staff to check for unsafe levels of mercury vapor, they determined that this was not an emergency situation,” Carr wrote in an email.

The spill has been cleaned up and no injuries have been reported. The news of this incident broke on Twitter, with students reporting a spill to The Maine Campus around 5 p.m Thursday.

According to the Washington State Department of Health, “Symptoms of inhaling mercury vapors can include nausea, respiratory problems, tremors, numbness in the fingers and toes, loss of muscle control, memory loss, kidney disease, and heart problems. Some of these effects can be reversible if the exposure stops, however, memory problems can be permanent.”

Less than one year after signing a two-year contract extension, Blodgett was bought out of the final year of her deal for another year’s salary, $109,772.  Money to fund that buyout came from private sources, with no tuition or taxpayer funds used, according to a university press release.

Blodgett, a Clinton native and star in her playing days in the late 1990s at UMaine , said UMaine Athletic Director Steve Abbott asked for her resignation in a meeting last Friday.

“Perhaps I was naive in my thought process that the program I helped build as a player would be willing to commit to me,” Blodgett said Thursday at Paddy Murphy’s, a downtown Bangor pub. “We will not be able to see our first recruited class graduate.”

In an article published today in The Maine Campus, Abbott cited Blodgett’s four-year coaching record of 24-94 as the reason for her firing.

“We all liked and respected her, but as an administrator it’s not my job to make decisions based on those factors rather on what’s best for UMaine. I know it’s disappointing for [the team] and I’m sympathetic, but when it came down to it, she didn’t perform,” Abbott said.

According to Blodgett, she was told by Abbott that there was “a divide” in her locker room. When players rallied behind her, she said he changed his reasoning.

“At 9:10 [a.m.] Friday morning, Steve Abbott asked for my resignation,” Blodgett retorted. “No one spoke to me about wins and losses.”

She said she refused to step down and did not receive communication from any member of UMaine’s administration until her firing Monday afternoon.

When asked if she was fired without case, she said, “Yes, I was.”

As reported in The Maine Campus, Blodgett has hired an attorney, Tom Nale of Waterville, who said she has no plans to sue the university. But, on Thursday, she declined to answer up or down on that subject when asked by a reporter.

“That’s not to discuss at this time,” she said.

Blodgett excelled in her playing days as a Black Bear, scoring 3,005 points and still holds 20 UMaine records. She played professionally in the WNBA and overseas, and was an assistant coach at Brown University and Boston University before getting the UMaine job in 2007.

Former UMaine Athletic Director Blake James, arranged the majority of a two-year contract extension in September 2010, just before Abbott took over the job full-time.

“In retrospect, [the extension] was unfortunate,” Abbott said Wednesday. “I know Blake had high hopes as did I. We were both optimistic.”

Blodgett’s team went 4-25 this season, the worst in the program’s history.

“I’m sure the record is something you’ve all written about,” Blodgett said to the media in attendance. “But what I can assure is that none of you have built a program.”

The senate’s decision took effect immediately. UMSG Vice President Anthony Ortiz will assume the presidency and a new vice president will be appointed by the senate at the body’s next weekly meeting on April 5.

Sen. Peter Christopher presided over the trial, which began with opening statements from prosecution and defense. Witnesses were called on behalf of the prosecution and were cross-examined by the defense. Both sides then delivered closing statements.

During opening statements, Sen. Sam Helmke, who served as lead prosecutor, outlined the circumstances under which the General Student Senate may remove the president. Helmke said Carson had failed to communicate and fulfill his own goals.

“President Carson, I believe, knows during his term in office thus far he has not met the requirements of his job description and his leadership has been inadequate,” Helmke said. “It is solely his responsibility, and again he has mismanaged this great responsibility.”

UMaine alumnus Andrew Johnson spoke on Carson’s behalf. Johnson said accusations against Carson were “vague” and “paradoxically absurd,” urging senators to protect a “vocal and public advocate of the University of Maine Student Government.”

Johnson said although the primary complaint against Carson was the failed website contract, the fault laid with website developer Ryan Gavin, to whom Student Government has paid almost $1,000 to date.

“Mr. Gavin’s failures being projected as faults of Carson’s administration is laughable if it weren’t so real,” Johnson said.

Johnson also argued that Gavin had lead a “smear campaign” against Caron’s administration.

“This campaign has involved his numerous radio shows, his personal website, newspaper editorials and back-door conservations with active members of Student Government,” he said.

Johnson described what he felt was a public campaign launched to discredit Carson’s presidency. He quoted a Feb. 24 editorial in The Maine Campus that compared Carson to Willy Loman in “Death of a Salesman,” believing such comparisons “are good prep for a literature paper,” but “references to him being nice or friendly are not faults, but proof of the de facto hostile environment that has aligned itself against him.”

Johnson encouraged senators not to believe the accusations, saying, “You’re going to recognize in President Carson someone who gets the job done despite distractions.”

Three members of Carson’s cabinet —Vice President Ortiz, Vice President of Student Entertainment Joseph Nabozny and Vice President of Student Organizations Hannah Hudson — took the stand to say Carson should be removed from office. They all cited experiences when Carson missed executive meetings, failed to attend office hours and acted in a way unbecoming of a president, leading them to say he lacked leadership qualities.

Ortiz said Carson attended only half of his office hours and said he witnessed Carson get in “screaming matches” with Gavin. Ortiz characterized the behavior as “unprofessional.”

Hudson said Carson failed to inform her about executive meetings. She characterized the two meetings she had with him as “unprofessional,” adding she did not believe he could fulfill his duties if allowed to continue as president.

Nabozny said Carson failed to hold cabinet meetings. He agreed the president had not “served effectively and competently” during his time in office and said he warned Carson before spring break that he could face impeachment if he failed meet his goals.

“We all know Nelson is a great person — no one’s questioning that,” Nabozny said. “In my opinion, in the three [presidents] that I have personally seen, by far the worst example of leadership we have seen has been President Carson.”

Nabozny said Carson articulated his goals well but was unable to achieve them.

“It’s easy to come up with ideas and aspirations but to follow up on them is where the hard part starts,” Nabozny said.

Director of External Affairs Jose Roman was also called to testify. Roman thought Carson was involved in work “way outside his job description” and failed to delegate duties. He said the public displays of UMSG problems “centered” around Carson were “embarrassing.”

Roman and members of the executive cabinet were not allowed to vote.

Taking the stand, Carson said he didn’t believe an impeachment trial was the correct route to settle disputes he felt could be addressed in private, saying he felt “blindsided” by the accusations.

“It’s your job to back me up or take my ideas and run with them. Not a single one of you has run with them. My failure is forcing you guys with taking my ideas and passing or failing them,” Carson said.

Responding to Helmke’s question regarding office hours, Carson elaborated that his office hours were listed as “any time I was awake and out of class.”

Carson acknowledged claims that he had missed executive meetings and office hours, though he disagreed that strictly abiding by them was necessary. He explained he was often meeting with administration or engaging students on how to improve campus life.

“I reach out and go have lunch with students or see what clubs on campus are doing,” Carson said. “That’s what I feel the president should be doing — not sitting down and filling out X, Y and Z and then washing my hands of the job afterwards.”

Responding to Carson’s comment that he had never received a message from a student after missing office hours, Helmke asked, “So you’re trying to tell me the voicemail or pad of paper is an effective method of communication? The students are paying you with their money and you find it acceptable to take that money and leave a notepad?”

Carson said he didn’t.

Helmke asked whether the failure to abide by the terms of the website contract constituted a breach in a direct order from GSS. While Carson acknowledged the site remained incomplete, he claimed Gavin should share the blame.

“Where does my responsibility lie?” Carson asked. “Do I have to be on his doorstep to ensure that this gets done? Do I have to walk him through the process? I paid him $1,000 because I am a president that has other things to do.”

Carson said he felt “misunderstood” and accepted that he communicated poorly with his senators during his time as president.

“The biggest failure I think I have made is not creating an atmosphere for you guys to come in and talk to me. Students will come in and talk to me. I can talk to faculty and the administration. But for the 35 senators — that’s where I need to work on,” he said.
Carson said he knew it was impossible for him to fulfill his goals alone and asked senators to move ahead with him.

The defense did not call any witnesses.

Helmke closed his arguments by saying all of the witnesses he had called testified, “Nelson has failed to lead the organization.”

“If you want progress, you need tangible results.” Helmke said. “A vote of guilty is a vote for progress and swift action. This body needs to show it has strength.”

Johnson claimed the prosecution’s arguments were based on “secondhand” information and failed to establish the burden of proof.

“A general sense of professionalism and leadership is exactly what Nelson has been showing in the past months and four years he’s been at the University of Maine campus,” Johnson said. “I don’t think that anyone here has demonstrated an adequate description of what leadership or professional is, or how Nelson has failed that.”

Johnson also read a statement from Carson.

“‘No accusations made against me are strong enough to require my removal,’” Johnson read. “‘Pressing the “next button” to get someone new in my position will only slow us down further and will create a new strong man to attack.’”

Before the trial moved into executive session, Sen. Alex Ortiz moved to suspend the standing rules to allow UMSG faculty representative EJ Roach to witness the deliberation.  Afterward all non-senators, including GSS executives, were excluded from debate.

During deliberation several students criticized the senate.

“One of their essential points was that [Carson] was being unprofessional, and I couldn’t believe they were texting and signaling across the table,” Alex Clark said.

The trial then reopened to the public to hear the verdict.

During the senate’s regularly scheduled meeting before the trial, Gavin rose to read a text message he received from Carson earlier in the day.

“‘I would like you to be around tonight to be witness to these accusations you have made against me if you are man enough to defend yourself in public,’” Gavin read. “Well, I’m here and I’m not going to testify.”

Carson did not deny he sent the message.

In a statement after the meeting, Carson said he felt he had been “robbed” from office.

“I wasn’t able to make any changes that I was told needed to be made and I wasn’t told about these changes until now,” Carson said. “They’re happy, they’re all on the same page now. Hopefully they can move forward as an organization. My plans are still to work, to follow through with the goals I want to create. I didn’t need this position to voice for the students.

“Unfortunately I can’t do it with the backing of the student senate, but I can do it with the backing of the student body,” Carson said.

Helmke said he was saddened with the proceedings.

“I was there when we wrote our new standing rules and I never thought we’d have to use this mechanism, but obviously the vote reflects tonight that it was necessary,” he said.

Helmke noted that Carson wasn’t the only obstacle hindering UMSG, saying “everyone has room for improvement.”

“With new leadership, we hold a better shot at moving forward than what we had with President Carson,” he said.

GSS also granted allocations during its regular meeting before the trial.

The Muslim Student Association was allocated $3,000 to bring two speakers to campus for its Islamic Awareness Week from April 8-23.

$1,731 was allocated to the Animation Club to attend an anime convention in Boston. The funding will cover lodging and travel.

$1,340 was funded to the Cycling Club for an upcoming bike race in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. $520 will be spent on lodging and $820 will cover race fees.

The International Students Association was funded $1,350 for the International Graduation Dinner to be held April 30 in the Buchanan Alumni House.

The UMaine Equestrian team was allocated $135.01 for its regional tournament at Dartmouth College.

The Formula Society for Automotive Engineers and the Photography Club received final recognition.

On Tuesday, one day after being named the UMaine athletic director on a two-year contract, Steve Abbott made a splash on his first decision and let go the women’s basketball coach.

“We all respected and appreciated Cindy,” Abbott said. “She’s our program’s greatest player and has contributions to the UMaine women’s basketball program. But, ultimately, you have to look at performance.”

Blodgett, who excelled in her playing days as a Black Bear, scoring 3,005 points and still holding 20 UMaine records, couldn’t translate that success as a coach, going 24-94 in four years.

Former UMaine Athletic Director Blake James, arranged the majority of a two-year contract extension in September 2010, just before Abbott took over the job full-time.

“In retrospect, [the extension] was unfortunate,” Abbott said. “I know Blake had high hopes as did I. We were both optimistic.”

Unable to improve on a subpar 2009-2010 season where the Black Bears went 8-21, UMaine finished this season 4-25, the worst in the program’s history.

Blodgett declined to comment, as she expects to hold a press conference on Thursday at Paddy Murphy’s, a downtown Bangor pub, at 2 p.m.. Blodgett reportedly has hired an attorney, Tom Nale of Waterville, but has no plans to sue the university.

“She’s making a statement [Thursday] at 2 o’clock in the Bangor area,” Nale said. “I negotiated her WNBA contract a few years ago. She called and asked if I would assist her in working through this issue with the University, which I feel we’ve done and she’s going to make a statement [Thursday] afternoon.”

Blodgett will receive a year’s salary, $109,772, as a part of the termination agreement.

The remaining members of the women’s basketball team were upset with the decision and Abbott said he talked with a few of them.

“I talked to a number of the women’s basketball players and they all worked very hard under Cindy,” Abbott said. “We all liked and respected her, but as an administrator it’s not my job to make decisions based on those factors rather on what’s best for UMaine. I know it’s disappointing for them and I’m sympathetic, but when it came down to it, she didn’t perform.”

Abbott said a national search will begin immediately.

No injuries were reported in the fire, which began on a second-story balcony on the north side of the Stillwater Village Apartments, located off College Avenue. No one was in the apartment at the time of the fire.

Due to high winds, the fire spread to the unit’s living room and upward into a third-story balcony and living room, according to Orono Fire Department Lieutenant Bryan Hardison. No one was home in the second-story unit, he said.

Eyewitnesses said the fire looked controlled at first, like a bonfire, but quickly got out of hand.

“There were sparks everywhere,” said Andrew Beety, a visitor to the complex from Scarborough. “It wasn’t that dramatic. It was just spewing — up and up.”

Hardison said the two apartments were “not gutted by fire” but were “ruined due to fire and smoke damage.” He said fire damage was contained to the balconies and living rooms of the units.

“Above all, we are thankful no one was injured,” Robert Dana, UMaine’s dean of students, said in a statement Sunday morning. “We are currently focused on making sure that the affected students have everything they need to continue their studies uninterrupted.”

The statement said eight students immediately moved into campus housing, while the others made alternate living arrangements. Student Affairs will coordinate other housing and dining assistance, along with the replacement of academic necessities like lost books and computers.

The entire building was evacuated at the time of the fire, which was reported around 9:30 p.m., Hardison said. A long stretch of College Avenue was closed from the time crews arrived until approximately 11 p.m.

The town of Orono and the Salvation Army partnered to temporarily house displaced residents at the Black Bear Inn in Orono, according to Hardison.

Andrea Gifford, director of student and administrative support for Student Affairs at UMaine, was at the scene offering financial support and temporary housing on campus for UMaine students.

Hardison said he did not know the cause of the fire, which the Orono Fire Department is investigating. The Office of the Maine State Fire Marshal would not be assisting, Hardison said.

More details about the fire are expected to be released in the coming days.