Cummings goes back to school

House Speaker Glenn Cummings, D-Portland, whose term ends in just a couple of weeks, is going back to school to get his doctorate in public policy and higher education. He's nearing the end of his second semester at the University of Pennsylvania, a trek he makes once a month so he can complete his three days of classes. He's got five more semesters of school. Looking forward, Cummings said he will work to get a Democrat elected governor in 2010 (he's not publicly saying which one yet) and eventually, would like to lead one of Maine's universities or colleges. In his spare time, he built a hockey rink in the back yard for his 12-year-old son using Tom Allen campaign signs. And on Jan. 20, he's hoping to attend the inauguration of president-elect Barack Obama. Early on, when other prominent Maine politicians backed Sen. Hillary Clinton, Cummings was already on the Obama bandwagon. "I ended up going with my heart," he said. "His history resonates with a lot of Mainers' stories."