It isn’t just for the sake of doing business that architect Steve Blatt wishes there were lots of island schools off the coast of Maine. After designing the North Haven Community School, which opened this fall, he is now planning the renovations and new construction for the Islesboro Central School. That experience is making him
Art for the Sky project brings together Vinalhaven students
All dressed in blue and black, and giggling, the entire student body of Vinalhaven School huddled together on the baseball outfield on the morning of October 1. To an average bystander the students and staff may have looked like a disorganized mass, but from above one could see they formed the shape of a blue
Cranberry Report
When David Thomas came to Little Cranberry Island to teach in the Islesford School in August 1973, he rented a room from Cathy and Lucien Poulin before he rented Peter Bently’s house. He then lived in the Gifford house, moving to David and Audrey Mill’s little cottage on the ledges for the summer. After his
Peaks Island couple transform ledgy backyard into bountiful garden
On Peaks Island, Jenny Yasi plants a campaign sign in her front yard, scratching at the ground with the sign’s measly metal posts, only to have it immediately fall over on the dirt. “See that? Peaks Island soil right there,” she jokes. Pebbles scatter the ground leading to Jenny’s house and a hand-constructed stone wall
Is “green” certification an answer?
Maine’s lobster industry, facing a “Perfect Storm” of economic and regulatory challenges, is partway through the process of achieving certification as a sustainable fishery, led by an enthusiastic group of processors and harvesters. Not everyone in the lobstering business is sure it’s a good idea. Some believe Maine lobster shouldn’t need to prove its sustainability
The Long View: The Maine lobster business model is broken
The second half of the 20th century ended a little late in calendar terms the first week of October 2008. That was the week that everyone from Iceland’s international depositors to Maine lobstermen and from Wall Street financiers to Russian oligarchs began to recognize that our intricately inter-dependent and globally profligate indebtedness will extract a
Hundreds come out to support Stonington-area lobstermen
As the price of lobster suddenly dropped in October, a Stonington nonprofit held a lobster sale to bring community members together and raise awareness about the crisis and how it impacts local lobstermen Around 350 people lined up at the fish pier in Stonington, Maine on Sunday, October 12 and bought 4,441 pounds of lobster.
Island farms make a comeback
When North Haven farmer Doug Record brought his first harvest of island-produced honey to the local farmers’ market this summer, he sold all twenty pounds of the liquid gold in as many minutes. The next time he brought it to market, the same thing happened. There was no third time; customers came to his house
Canadian election raises concerns about Newfoundland fishery, outports
Will our future include outports?” is the title of a report presented to the Newfoundland/Labrador government by the Fish, Food and Allied Workers (FFAW) in September. Subtitled “Strengthening and sustaining rural communities through fisheries restructuring,” the report by the union both raises concerns about the future of outports but also offers steps that should be
What’s in a picture? Uncovering the hidden stories in Vintage Maine photographs
Down East Books, 2008 Softcover, 112 pages, 50 photos, $14.95 Unlocking the secrets hidden in historic photos I was 19, watching them for the umpteenth-early-Sunday morning, this time with camera in hand. Two longtime friends sitting in our shore-to-ship dinghy (The Tender Behind, as all our dinghies were named) in obvious debating attitude, smiling, each