The following items are from the blog at southportlander.com, written by Current reporter Linda Hersey.

Willard Beach series debuts

The online TV series “Willard Beach, The Real Story 2.8” premiered Wednesday on YouTube and other virtual outlets. The group behind it apparently lives in the neighborhood. So far, there seems to be no geographic references to the real Willard Beach.

The online series may appeal to the ADD generation that is coming of age with PCs. The video is 3 minutes long. The folks who made the show call it “soap opera meets satire meets improv experiment.”

Kate Kaminski is creator, producer and director. She also launched 2point8.tv, an online distributor of short shows.

According to a press release from Kaminski’s company, Gitgo Productions, the cast of 15 includes Denise Poirier, Brent Askari, Keith Anctil, Braden Biddings, Harris Cooley, Franklin McMahon, and Michael Best.

“Working with these actors is so exciting,” Kaminski says. “And you can’t write this stuff – the (improvised) dialogue absolutely sparkles with the cadences of everyday speech.”

The community is getting in on the act as well. The Q St. Diner, Trademark Builders, Empire Dine and Dance, Enterprise Records, and Aucocisco Gallery are just a few of the local businesses loaning their unique style to the show.

“Using real locations is what gives the series its sense of place,” Kaminski says.

The show can be viewed at 2point8.tv, willardbeach.tv, iTunes, YouTube, Facebook, and everywhere video is playing online.

Company picked to design memorial

The Long Creek Air Tragedy Memorial Committee has announced the winning bid for its monument design. It will be fabricated by the Millennium Granite Quarry and Stoneworks of Wells. The committee also announced the commencement of its fund-raising drive.

The memorial will stand on Westbrook Street directly across from the scene of the July 11, 1944, disaster. The land was donated by the city of South Portland. The memorial will include, on one side, the names of those who perished; on the other, an engraving will depict a WWII American pilot holding a boy and a girl by the hand, walking away into the clouds. In addition, a granite bench will be dedicated to the survivors of the disaster.

Anyone wishing to make a donation to the fund-raising drive should send it to South Portland City Hall, 25 Cottage Road,

South Portland 04106. Checks should be made out to City of South Portland c/o Long Creek/Redbank Tragedy.

Mystery mediation

A mediator hired by the city apparently is meeting with workers from several departments, including Parks and Recreation, to identify problems that front-line employees say they are experiencing on the job.

The nature of those concerns and the goal of these meetings is unclear. According to people familiar with the meetings, they have involved closed-door sessions with the mediator and rank-and-file workers.

City Manager Jim Gailey is expected to join the meetings as they progress.

The meetings involve the perception by workers that at least some of the middle-management workers laid off recently were targeted because they had complained about top management in their departments.

It is unclear whether these meetings are related to an upcoming review of complaints by Rec Center Manager Deb Smith after her job was terminated. The Forecaster reported Thursday that Mike Wing, who runs a human resource firm in Yarmouth, will handle the review.

Gailey has pledged to bring in an outside consultant to review Smith’s complaints, which are listed in a letter that the city has declined to disclose to the public.

Meanwhile, a twice-yearly book fair scheduled for Wednesday at the Rec Center did not take place and employees questioned are unsure what happened, since the fair was on the Community Center calendar. The oversight of the book fair, with an outside vendor, was one of Smith’s numerous day-to-day duties.

One employee said that the book fair may have just fallen through the cracks, since Smith was laid off Feb. 24. Part of the proceeds helped raise money for the Community Center. The book fairs have taken place since the Community Center opened eight years ago.

Tax brass

If you have yet to file your taxes and need help, the AARP Tax-Aide Program offers volunteer help at several locations. Here is the schedule for the group, which is working until April 15, when tax filings are due to the IRS:

Monday: Main Branch of the South Portland Public Library, 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday: Portland Exposition Building, 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.; Baxter Memorial Library in Gorham, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Unity Gardens in Windham, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Wednesday: Portland EXPO, 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.

Thursday: AARP office, 1685 Congress St., 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Scarborough Public Library, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Friday: Southern Maine Agency on Aging, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Saturday: Walker Memorial Library, Westbrook, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The South Portland Land Trust invites residents and groups to join the citywide Earth Day cleanup April 18.

More than 20 groups and organizations are committed and more than 200 volunteers are expected, according to a land trust press release.

The cleanup and awareness event will take place from 8:30 a.m. to noon. Groups and individuals interested in taking part can register through the SPLT’s Web site or at Mill Creek Park the morning of the event.

The Earth Day project will include locations throughout the city, including the entire South Portland Greenbelt, Hinckley Park, Mill Creek Park, Bug Light Park, Thomas Knight Park, Sawyer Park, Willard Beach, Mill Cove, Pleasantdale Cove, Clark’s Pond and other areas. Groups are invited to select their own cleanup locations and-or showcase their environment-friendly endeavors in Mill Creek Park.

Participants are asked to contact the SPLT at www.splandtrust.com so logistical arrangements, including trash pickup, can be made. Rain date is Saturday, April 25, during the same hours.

Last year’s citywide cleanup attracted nearly 150 volunteers and the support of many local groups.

New pub on tap

Sea Dog Brewing Co., which has pubs in Topsham and Bangor, will open a brew pub in South Portland in May. The brew pub will open in the building currently occupied by Eggspectation, at the corner of Gorham Road and Western Avenue, next to Outback.

The restaurant plans to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, with hours from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily.

Chris Gordon, the Maine Restaurant Association’s 2009 “Chef of the Year,” will be executive chef.

Sea Dog Brewing also is hiring and taking applications at the restaurant on Tuesdays from 9 to 11 a.m. and Thursdays from 1 to 3 p.m.

Adios to Mexico Lindo

Mexico Lindo, next to the Howard Johnson’s on Main Street, has closed its doors.

Located at 671 Main St., Mexico Lindo was part of a chain that included restaurants in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.