By late July, the blueberry barrens surrounding Whitneyville hum with activity. This year, however, the noise consisted of much more than the chat of rakers and the drone of enthused bees. The first Downeast Country Fest was held on July 24 at the Whitneyville fairgrounds. Bands from as far as Los Angeles and as near
Long View: Remembering Matt Simmons
Matt Simmons, a long time friend of the Maine coast and its islands and a student of the winds and waters of the Gulf of Maine, loved to tell the story of his first trip to Maine, courtesy of a labor strike while he worked construction one summer as a college student in his home
A tour behind the shipyard gates
A group of twenty people of varying ages climb aboard a trolley parked at the entrance of the Maine Maritime Museum. We’re headed down Washington Street to the naval shipyard at Bath Iron Works, which occupies 50 acres along the Kennebec River. For security purposes, we showed identification at the reception desk, signed our names,
Where are the herring?
Landings of herring from inshore waters known as Area 1A are dramatically less than in years past, causing scientists, seine fishermen and lobstermen to shake their heads in confusion. According to the National Marine Fisheries Service, Fisheries Statistics Division, herring landed from Area 1A comprised just 1,394 metric tons by July 31. Last year at
Parallel 44: Origins of the Mass Effect
Fellow Mainers: ever wonder why it is that if a car cuts you off on the highway and it just happens to have Massachusetts plates our reaction is so much more intense than if they’d been from Ohio or Vermont? And why is it that, in an effort to upset southern Mainers, Northern Maine secessionist
Gubernatorial candidates discuss island issues
On Friday, August 13, gubernatorial candidates gathered at the Strand Theatre in Rockland for the first forum since the primaries. Candidates who attended include Senator Elizabeth (Libby) Mitchell (D), Eliot Cutler (I), Shawn Moody (I) and Kevin Scott (I). Mayor Paul LePage (R) was unable to attend due to a scheduling conflict. Don Carrigan of
Peaks Island wind testing initiative moving forward
For the past two years, the Peaks Environmental Action Team’s (PEAT) wind group has worked toward testing the wind resource on Peaks Island. The group has hosted community meetings and informational talks for island residents. Lead by Sam Saltonstall, this volunteer group spent hours exploring the issue, considering a variety of test options and looking
Cranberry Report: Recipe Fallback
In the middle of the end of summer I almost forgot to write the Cranberry Report. My deadline snuck up on me, and I started grasping for ideas. The frenetic pace of August in the Cranberry Isles can cause one’s memory to lapse. With so much going on we are bound to forget a dinner
Not just another pot pie
Local seasonal seafood, a community in search of a way to add value to traditional fishing, and few good ideas from an educational and socially oriented non-profit are the basic ingredients of Cobscook Bay Company’s Maine Fresh seafood pies. But it would be just another pot pie in search of an appetite if it were
Changing Times
Like most changes on Portland’s historic waterfront, this change won’t happen without a fight-or at least protracted negotiations and a certain amount of politics. The change, if it happens, would be a liberalization of the working-waterfront zoning that has controlled the ways the piers along Commercial Street are used. Today and for the past 25