The University of Maine DigitalCommons@UMaine General University of Maine Publications University of Maine Publications 2011 2011, UMaine News Press Releases Division of Marketing and Communications George Manlove University of Maine Margaret Nagle University of Maine Joe Carr University of Maine Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/univ_publications Part of the Higher Education Commons, and the History Commons Repository Citation Division of Marketing and Communications; Manlove, George; Nagle, Margaret; and Carr, Joe, "2011, UMaine News Press Releases" (2011). General University of Maine Publications. 1097. https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/univ_publications/1097 This Monograph is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UMaine. It has been accepted for inclusion in General University of Maine Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UMaine. For more information, please contact [email protected]. UMaine News Press Releases from Word Press XML export 2011 Brewer Comments in Election Retrospective 03 Jan 2011 Comments from Mark Brewer of the UMaine political science faculty were included in a Maine Today Media story recounting 2010 developments in Maine politics. Brewer noted that the biggest surprise was the Republican takeover of the Maine House of Representatives. Hutchinson Death Noted in Year-End Story 03 Jan 2011 The April death of UMaine President Emeritus Fred Hutchinson was noted in an Associated Press report on prominent Maine people who died in 2010. Hutchinson, a UMaine graduate who served as president from 1992-1997, was 79 years old when he died. Extension Master Gardener Program Highlighted 03 Jan 2011 The Jan. 2 Maine Sunday Telegram included a story describing UMaine Cooperative Extension's Master Gardener volunteer program. Classes begin at various locations around Maine in January, February and March. The story includes comments from Extension's Tori Jackson, who teaches the classes in Androscoggin and Sagadahoc counties. UMaine Senior Headed to New Zealand for Student Teaching 03 Jan 2011 UMaine education major Megan Nichols of Wiscasset will leave Maine on Feb. 24 for student teaching in New Zealand. As Monday's Bangor Daily News reports, she is one of the first UMaine students to take advantage of a new partnership between UMaine's College of Education and Human Development and AustraLearn, an organization that places students in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. The story includes comments from Karen Boucias, director of UMaine's Office of International Programs along with her colleague Orlina Boteva and Pam Kimball, the College of Education and Human Development's field experiences and certification program director. Household Finance Expert Provides Budget Tips 03 Jan 2011 A front-page Monday Bangor Daily News story features UMaine economics graduate student Sarah Morehead providing practical budgeting advice in the context of new year's resolutions. Morehead who writes a personal finances blog and conducts workshops on that same subject. Peace Studies Class Highlighted in Yankee Magazine Profile 03 Jan 2011 The January/February issue of Yankee magazine includes a story on Jon Wilson, founder of WoodenBoat Publications and a national facilitator of victim-offender dialogues for restorative justice. A segment of the story focuses on Wilson's presentation on his work in a UMaine peace studies class. Graduate Student Named A Person To Watch In 2011 03 Jan 2011 UMaine graduate student Allison Melton was named by the Bangor Daily News one of 11 people to watch on the cultural scene in the Bangor area. Melton, who is pursuing a master's degree in fine arts, has organized several public art events including an undergraduate art exhibit that was held in a vacant former hair salon in downtown Bangor. Melton is also a singer in a local band. Dagher Named A 2011 Newsmaker 03 Jan 2011 The Bangor Daily News named Habib Dagher, the director of UMaine's AEWC Advanced Structures and Composites Center, one of its 11 people to watch in 2011. Dagher has led a $25 million effort to research the future of deepwater offshore wind power, an effort which will include the opening later this year of a wind turbine testing facility on the UMaine campus. In addition, the center is working with officials from a Russian construction company considering for the 2014 Winter Olympics use of composite bridge technology developed at the center. Accounting Professor Addresses New Tax Law for 2010 Filers 03 Jan 2011 Contact: Steve Colburn, 581-1982; George Manlove, (207) 581-3756 ORONO -- University of Maine accounting professor Steve Colburn is available to discuss how some recent tax law changes will affect taxpayers filing 2010 returns. Overall, individuals and business will pay much less in income taxes for 2010 and beyond because of the new tax law changes, according to Colburn, who also oversees the Maine Business School's free public tax-assistance program offered by accounting students each spring. New tax rules are complicated and often difficult to understand, says Colburn, who suggests filers check with a tax professional or the IRS for detailed help. On Dec. 17, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (Tax Act), passed earlier in December by the House and Senate. The procrastination by Congress in passing the law so late in the year will affect when some individuals may file their 2010 tax returns, according to Colburn. Folks who: 1) itemize their deductions by filing Schedule A, or 2) claim tuition and fees deductions (not credits) for higher education, or 3) claim the $250 deduction for out-of-pocket expenses for kindergarten through grade 12 teachers, will have to wait until mid to late February to file because the IRS needs that time to reprogram its computers, he says. The IRS will send out a notice letting affected taxpayers know when to file. The good news is that the Tax Act extended for the 2010 and 2011 tax years certain tax benefits that had expired before the 2010 tax year including: 1) the choice to deduct state and local sales and use taxes instead of state and local income taxes on Schedule A; and 2) the deductions mentioned above for tuition and fees and for teachers. Another benefit for 2011 will reduce payroll (FICA) taxes paid by workers and the self-employed by two percentage points. Typically, employees pay a Social Security tax equal to 6.2 percent of wages (up to $106,800 in wages for 2010). This rate will drop to 4.2 percent for 2011, saving a maximum of $2,136 for 2011. Marginal tax rates also were kept at 2009 levels and not increased by three percentage points, as originally scheduled, for tax years beginning after 2010. The bad news is that some special tax benefits available in 2008 and or 2009 are not available in 2010. These deductions included: 1) the additional standard deduction amount (up to $500 if single or $1,000 if married filing jointly) for property taxes paid to state and local governments by non-itemizers, and 2) the exclusion of up to $2,400 in unemployment benefits. Even though 2010 is over, filers may still do one major thing to reduce their 2010 tax burden: contribute to a conventional IRA by April 15, 2011. Doing so will allow filers to deduct up to $5,000 ($6,000 if over age 50 by Dec. 31, 2010) on 2010 tax returns. The IRS has forms and publications (Publication 17 is very helpful for individuals, but the 2010 version may not be available for a while) at www.irs.gov and at its 324 Harlow St., Bangor office, which has IRS employees available. Colburn can be reached at (207) 581-1982 or at [email protected] for more information. Married Couples Sought for Marriage Compatibility Research 04 Jan 2011 Contact: Laura Yoder at [email protected] A UMaine graduate student studying the relationship between personality type and marital satisfaction is looking for 50 married couples to interview this month or early February, as part of her thesis research. Laura Yoder, a candidate for the Master of Science degree in Human Development, wants to survey couples who have been married at least two years and are at least age 18. Each spouse will be asked to complete three questionnaires in a private or group setting on the University of Maine campus. Surveys will take about one hour. Yoder, or her adviser Robert Milardo, can be contacted at [email protected] or [email protected]. Participants will be eligible for a drawing for a $25 Hannaford gift card. UMaine Graduate Survives First Round Of The Bachelor 04 Jan 2011 Ashley Hebert, a 26-year-old UMaine graduate from Madawaska who is now a University of Pennsylvania dental student, made it through the first cut of the ABC's TV show, "The Bachelor," according to the Portland Press Herald. Former UMaine Researcher Continuing Childhood Depression Study 04 Jan 2011 MPBN has a story about Montreal psychologist William Bukowski, a former UMaine professor, recently published an article about an ongoing study he began in Maine more than 20 years ago. Bukowski told MPBN he worked in the late 1980s with a public school in a small Maine town, which he did not identify for confidentiality reasons, where he surveyed children in grades 3, 4 and 5 and followed them for three years with the help with a guidance counselor. He and found children who had the ability to establish even just one friendship were less likely to be depressed. UMaine Library Teaming Up With Bangor Public Library 04 Jan 2011 The Bangor Daily News reports UMaine's Fogler Library will work with the Bangor Public Library to digitize some 800 World War II posters and make copies available for sale, with funds going to the restoration of the original images.