Every spring, a growing number of Seacoast residents have ditched their cars in favor of bikes. With gas prices climbing, celebrating Bike to Work Day makes more sense than ever. This year, New Hampshire’s sixth annual Bike/Walk to Work Day falls on Friday, May 16.

In addition to saving money, getting some exercise and doing right by the environment, participants can also take advantage of free commuter breakfasts. This year, three new locations have been added to the regionally coordinated event. Rochester, Milton and Lee will offer free breakfasts, bringing the total number of participating communities to nine.

marijuana decriminalization bill fails

The N.H. State Senate voted down a bill on May 1 that would have reduced possession of small quantities of marijuana to a violation level offense. The N.H. House passed HB 1623 in March, but the Senate Judiciary Committee roundly rejected the legislation in April and the full Senate voted it down shortly thereafter.

Sponsored by Rep. Jeffrey Fontas (D-Nashua), HB 1623 would have reduced the offense of possessing up to a quarter-ounce of marijuana from a misdemeanor to a violation punishable by a fine of no more than $200. Although the bill ultimately failed, some advocates feel it represented a big step toward marijuana reform in the state. Matt Simon, executive director of the N.H. Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy, said he was not discouraged by the Senate’s vote.

Christine Gagliano and her friends devised a plan to meet Snoop Dogg on Friday, May 2, while dodging a light drizzle at the entrance to the Whittemore Center.

“We’re going through the doors, get patted down and running for the stage,” said junior Gagliano amid a crowd of eager Snoop fans. “We’re going to take off our heels and run. These people behind us think they’re getting in first—they’re not. I’ve been here since 2.”

court rules against construction of a recreation center on Emery Field, town considers its next move

A battle over the location of a proposed Community Center in Kittery has been raging for more than three years now, with both sides alternately cheering and sulking. The latest cheers have come from members of Save the Village, a group that opposes construction of a new Community Center on Emery Field. That’s because a York County Superior Court justice recently sided with the group, effectively rejecting the town’s application for the construction.

“I think they are very happy. It’s been a lot of hard work for them,” said attorney Alan Shepard, who represents Save the Village. “It’s not that easy to be dedicated to something when it takes several years to be resolved.”

In many respects, Superfrog is like a live, retro jukebox filled with records hand selected by stoner hippies of the late 1960s. During the band’s two sets at The Blue Mermaid in Portsmouth last Friday, the six members covered songs by Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Led Zeppelin, to name but a few. The only thing that keeps Frog outside the realm of a “cover band” is a smattering of original tunes, which the group will soon convert into its first full-length album.

In a demonstration of its musical training, Superfrog tuned its instruments and loosened up with “So What,” off of Miles Davis’ classic “Kind of Blue.” Once the band members were satisfied with the sound, they kicked off the show with “Badfish,” the first of two Sublime covers of the night. Midway through the song, guitarists Andy Mendola and Jeremy “Fuzzy” Grob dueled playfully on their six-strings, the former on electric and the latter on acoustic. Meanwhile, bassist Nate Proper and drummer Shane Comer maintained the beat, while trumpeter Tony DiBurto ornamented the tune with his horn. 

It’s not Woodstock, but an upcoming event at The Music Hall also celebrates peace with a big concert. Guests this weekend will commemorate the historic signing of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty with an evening of music fit for presidents. The Music Hall will host the second annual Portsmouth Peace Treaty Commemorative Concert on Saturday, May 17. The Seacoast Wind Ensemble will be on hand to perform a musical program titled “Peace & The Presidency: Music for George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt.”

The RPM Jukebox is home to more than 16,000 songs from independent musicians all around the world. The music spans every genre and style imaginable, and anyone can log on, browse, and listen at www.rpmchallenge.com/jukebox. To give you a head start in your exploration of this new world of music, here’s a sample album that caught our ear!

‘Ashen Sea’
by The Governess, 2008, Portsmouth

If Portisheady was a real adjective, we’d throw it down as one of the descriptive words for this album. It’s full of low, drawn vocals and melodies, as well as the comforting scratches and hisses we know so well from early Portishead albums.

“Speed Racer” is a candy-coated acid trip, a string of surreal, hard-to-follow visuals wrapped up in a palette of bright, blinding colors with a storyline so sweet that your teeth may start to hurt. Anyone over the age of 16 will probably have a hard time making sense of “Speed Racer” and might wind up with cinematic diabetes and a bad seizure after watching. But “Speed Racer” is a kids’ movie through and through, and any sort of concern for adult viewers is lost among the car races (which are exciting, although a bit too much like Mario Kart), kung fu fights and monkey-related antics.

Written, directed and produced by “The Matrix” creators Andy and Larry Wachowski, “Speed Racer” is not your average summer movie vehicle, but the quality of the ride depends highly upon your age and, more importantly, love of the original cartoon.

Orion Pictures, 1981
starring: Michael Caine, Andrea Marcovicci, Annie McEnroe and Bruce McGill
written and directed by: Oliver Stone

new restaurants and owners flood Portsmouth

Last year, downtown Portsmouth saw the opening of new restaurants like Rudi’s Portsmouth, Black Trumpet Bistro and Brazo, which settled into the former locations of The Metro, Lindbergh’s Crossing and 43 Degrees North, respectively. Spring 2008 brings a new batch of fresh changes to the Port City’s dining scene. When restaurateur Jay McSharry, who still owns Jumpin’ Jay’s Fish Café, The Red Door and Dos Amigos Burritos, sold The Dunaway Restaurant late last month, it was the latest in a spree of dining developments to hit downtown. New enterprises are quickly filling the spaces recently vacated by Isis, The Mustard Seed, AK’s and Gepetto’s, offering a variety of new lunch and dinner options. Most of these businesses should be up and running by late spring, diversifying the city’s restaurant population in time for summer. What follows is a roundup of the latest restaurant happenings in Portsmouth. Bon appetit.

a chat with author Mark Sarvas, en route to RiverRun Bookstore

For almost five years now, author Mark Sarvas has been keeping tabs on all things literary on his blog, “The Elegant Variation.” In that time, he has managed to garner praise from such sources as The Guardian, National Public Radio and Los Angeles Times Magazine. The blog has also earned Sarvas some … well, since this is the Year of the Superhero, let’s just call them nemeses (Steve Almond, we’re talking about you).
 
Sarvas, who lives in California, has spent some of his time writing for movies and television. He just released his first novel, “Harry, Revised,” the tale of Harry Rent, a man in search of change. Harry has just lost his wife, who died while undergoing an unnecessary surgical procedure. Not having been an ideal husband, Harry feels her death was his fault. Determined to turn his life around, he sets out to gain redemption by helping others.

new art at Three Graces produces motion out of stillness

Shiao-Ping Wang’s paintings are moving. Not just because a thing of beauty stirs emotions, but because the artist is inspired by growth and change, the flow of time, and the transition from her native Taiwan to the United States.

The evolution of several layers of paint expresses these ideas as well as the paint itself. Wang combines two kinds of paint to create the impression of movement. The acrylic is glossy and the flashe, a vinyl paint, is matte.

Her recent work is on display until June 9 at Three Graces Gallery in downtown Portsmouth, complemented by sculpture from Melissa Turner. The two-person art exhibit opened May 9 as part of the city’s monthly Art Round Town event.

In the late 1970s and early ’80s, there were two types of movies: big, wild, Barnum and Bailey, showy-type films, and small, intimate movies. Plenty of people could pull off the quiet films, but when it came to the circus, no one stepped up quite as well as a young director named Steven Speilberg.

Pontine Theatre in Portsmouth will host a community arts workshop from May 20 to June 29, training participants for a series of public performances at Strawbery Banke Museum and West End Studio Theatre. The six-week program will culminate in performances of Pontine’s original stage adaptation of Thomas Bailey Aldrich’s novel, “The Story of a Bad Boy,” on the weekend of June 28.

Presented by Pontine’s artistic directors, Greg Gathers and Marguerite Mathews, the six weekly workshop sessions will educate community members about basic theater skills like stage design, directing, and acting. Participants will gain insights into Pontine’s creative production techniques for storytelling, puppetry, toy theater and masked acting.

When Littlefield Skate Park unveiled its new half pipe and bank last week, close to 50 kids showed up with their boards to test the new equipment. The Exeter Parks and Recreation Department is now looking for volunteers to help add some finishing touches to the newly renovated park on Saturday, May 17.

Located on Lower Court Street in Exeter, John C. Littlefield III Memorial Skate Park was originally installed 10 years ago. But, as the park’s concrete structures became outdated, activity at the site digressed from skateboarding to loitering, according to town officials.