HOUSEKEEPING Comings and goings BY SAM PFEIFLE, MANAGING EDITOR

This week marks the last for Alex Irvine as Portland Phoenix staff writer. He’ll be moving on in the fall to begin his career in academia as a professor at the University of Maine at Orono, and in the meantime he’s working on top-secret stuff I can’t tell you about.

We here at the Phoenix would like to wish him well, as his year and a half here have been marked by some excellent reporting, particularly, in the tradition of Maine’s alternative press, on environmental matters. His work exposing the shady dealings behind the West Old Town landfill was rewarded this past year with an award for Best Investigative Journalism from the New England Press Association, which is the ultimate accomplishment for an alternative journalist working in New England.

Replacing him will be Sara Donnelly, a long-time Phoenix freelancer whose byline loyal readers should recognize from some of our best human-interest features over the past two years. Coming on full-time, she’ll be expanding her scope and looking to tackle anything and everything that might interest you. You can reach her at sdonnelly@phx.com