It is four a.m. and very calm, no breeze. It feels unseasonably warm for a February night on the coast of Maine. I am walking out on the groundfish wharf in Port Clyde, a dim light from the fish house at the end of the wharf reveals only edges between land and water. Looking out
Groups praise coastal jobs creation bill
The Island Institute and the Midcoast Fishermen’s Association praised a new jobs bill for fishermen. The bill, “The Coastal Jobs Creation Act of 2010 (H.R.4914) was drafted and introduced by U.S. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-1st District) with two co-sponsors, according to a press release from the two groups. This bill is designed to aid economic
Presentation about trip around Cape Horn benefits Camden Snow Bowl
On Sunday, April 11, beginning at 7 p.m., there will be a one-time-only slide-show and video presentation at the Camden Snow Bowl by transatlantic sailor Tom Amory who, with a crew of four friends from Camden and Rockport, made a recent sailing voyage around the legendary region of Cape Horn and the Beagle Channel aboard
Loss of lobster income streses island communities
It’s no secret that times are tough for Maine lobstermen. New figures just came out from the state Department of Marine Resources (DMR) that dramatically show how bad things are. The good news is that the lobster resource is strong: preliminary 2009 lobster landings were the highest ever recorded, at 75,595,534 pounds. The bad news
Island Car: 1986 GMC Fire Truck
Vehicle: 1968 GMC Fire Truck Island: Hurricane Island Owner: James P Gaston “In 1999 my father purchased the first, and probably the last, Hurricane Island fire truck,” writes James R. Gaston, whose father owns the island. “He had the intention of actually using it in the event of a fire on the
Rampaging river will limit numbers at Popham Beach
Brian Murray, manager of Popham Beach State Park for the past 12 years, faces an unusual task this summer. He will try to be scientific about an unstable, ever-shifting, totally unpredictable situation-that is, how much space for visitors will be available during high tides at Popham in June, July, August and September. Murray needs to
Essay: Tweeting island news
The Twitter phenomenon, and the way Twitter “connects the world” is (according to the little magazine supplement that we find in the Sunday paper) one of the past year’s “Big Things.” That technology, closely aligned with thinking out loud, seems hardly equal to the other major news items these days. Some Americans have been neglecting
Carlton Willey: The ace from Cherryfield
Pitcher Carlton Willey was a true Mainer. Tributes to him at the time of his death on July 21, 2009, emphasized how humble a man he was and how deep his hometown roots were. Willey grew up in Cherryfield, Maine and, when his baseball career was over, he returned to Cherryfield, where he died at
Distance learning brings economic promise to Washington County
Coverage of Washington County is made possible by a grant from the Eaton Foundation. Sonja Mingo has lived in Washington County her whole life, but for years she thought the only way she could get a master’s degree was to leave. “I was working full time and had two kids,” she said. She had thought
Vinalhaven students harness the wind
Got wind? It’s a slogan you may have heard lately, or seen on a bumper sticker. For Vinalhaven School’s science classes, the answer is “yes.” Students in the 7th and 8th grades spent six weeks last fall studying wind power and building their own wind turbines, and the 11th and 12th grade physics class is