Three handsome, rascally pigs met their end in January this year, and are now wrapped and frozen or brined, salted and about to be smoked. Visions of Charlotte’s Web are likely to fill some minds upon learning that we butchered these animals, and if someone eschews meat entirely, then I can respect their horror. Meat
Reporters from Away The lens is different; results may vary
A year and a half ago, the New York Times wrote an article praising the architecture and design of a home on Vinalhaven. It seemed the kind of press islanders would enjoy, except for one problem: The home was built in complete violation of Vinalhaven’s building code, according to Phil Crossman, lifelong Vinalhaven resident. Such
Island Journalism
Reporting from islands can be tricky, especially if you live there. Cover the town meeting, the school board or a property dispute and you’re sure to meet one or more of your sources the next day at the store, in church or on the ferry. Island journalism is not conducive to investigative reporting. Nor is
Vinalhaven may renew tidal power station
Vinalhaven was once famous for its export of polished granite, but few folks know today that much of that granite was smoothed in a shop run by tidal power. As fuel prices rise today and islanders look to alternative energy sources, tidal power is again raising interest. A collaborative group is now looking to rebuild
With help from the state, local groups preserve their waterfronts
A pier becomes a vacation home. A wharf is sold to condominium developer. Property changes hands and clammers lose access to flats they’ve harvested for generations. Little by little — wharf by wharf — Maine’s fishermen have lost, literally, a staggering amount of ground. Today, just 20 miles of working waterfront remain on Maine’s 5,300-mile
The Long View: Green Fisheries Are the Future
Two years ago, Maine’s Commissioner of Marine Resources, George Lapointe, addressed a large crowd at Maine’s annual Fisherman’s Forum at the Samoset Resort and made an astonishing admission. The way we manage groundfish in New England is broken, he said, and we need to change it. You might be forgiven for thinking that if a
Researchers study climate change’s effects on lobster fishery
Lobsters are more sensitive to the weather than the fishermen who catch them: fishermen are always on the water but the “bugs” aren’t always crawling. Because fishermen are such efficient samplers of the lobster population, they are an excellent source of information on the dynamics of Maine’s most valuable crustacean. Last year the Island Institute,
To Arms!
The “powers that be” seem to ignore polluters and quite frankly, the raping of our waterways, to say nothing of the people who live and work in a working waterfront neighborhood. We are in a crisis situation in Mayport Village, Florida, a working waterfront area. Jaxport (Jacksonville Port Authority) has bought the lion’s share of
Not Easy
To the editor: As a recent transplant to Maine, and as a contributing writer to the Texas Observer, another small paper in Texas (where my wife and I just moved from), I’m picking up all the local newspapers I can. Yours is now my favorite, and we will probably subscribe for some friends who once
Different Commute, Same Experience
To the editor: I read your interesting story about the Swan’s Island ferry and couldn’t help think about riding our Staten Island Ferry. I feel Molly Bryan would feel very much at home. Yes, people read their books, listen to music with their earphones or just meet their friends to catch up on the latest