The skipper had held a six-passenger Coast Guard license for over 50 years and had sailed day parties and cruising parties in his Friendship sloop. In one boat or another, he had cruised from St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands to St. John in the Bay of Fundy. He is now sailing a neat little
Lobster Shell Disease – Rhode Island, L.I. Sound may be a wakeup call for Maine
Lobster Shell Disease has been the buzzword up and down the East Coast these past five years, since its debut off Rhode Island and in Long Island Sound in 1999. Before that time, Long Island Sound was the nation’s third largest lobster producer. The mysterious die-off of lobsters decimated New York’s $100 million industry. The
Industry expert: Is there enough LNG for new facilities?
With proposed Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facilities at Split Rock on the Pleasant Point Reservation and in Robbinston by Quoddy Bay LLC, along with a competing proposal in Robbinston by Downeast LLC, an oil industry investment banker has raised a concern that has nothing to do with safety or danger to the environment — whether
LNG: Trust Us
Word that liquefied natural gas, or LNG, may not be available in sufficient quantities to justify large investments in new terminals should come as sobering news to the Passamaquoddy Indians and other LNG proponents in Maine. With at least three projects at the talking stage for Washington County alone, as well as two others further
Jobs and the Coast – A booming coastal economy can be its own worst enemy
In one 800-foot stretch of waterfront at Spruce Head, on lobster-rich Penobscot Bay, the annual take from the fishery is estimated at $25 million. You might thereby conclude all is well along the working coast, but there is more to the story. In nearby Owls Head, where one of the most photographed lighthouses on the
High taxes, frustration over services drive Peaks secession movement
The Peaks Island secession movement is gaining momentum, with organizers collecting over 400 signatures by Aug. 12 on a petition to start the process. The Island Independence Committee (IIC) on Peaks wants to get 600 signatures before submitting the petition to Portland City Clerk’s office in September. The committee needs over 50 percent of Peaks
Frenchboro’s annual picnic draws a crowd
Frenchboro held its 43rd Annual Lobster Dinner on Aug. 13. As usual, the event attracted a large crowd, drawn by the enticing menu of Maine lobster, chicken salad, hot dogs, cole slaw, homemade pie, potato chips and soda. Proceeds of this traditional island event benefit the 116-year-old Outer Long Island Congregational Church.
Fellows depart, with thanks
At an Aug. 17 dinner, the Island Institute honored several departing Island Fellows, who had completed their service on Vinalhaven, Peaks, Swan’s and Great Cranberry Islands. From left: advisers Art Astarita, Barbara Hoppin and Chris Hoppin, all of Peaks Island; Island Institute Fellow Michele Tranes; adviser Don Stein and Chris Wolff, Fellows Program Officer at
The Yeas and the Nays – Legislature passes some fisheries bills, kills others
The way Dennis Damon sees it, the real story about a season’s lawmaking is the bills that don’t make it out of committee. Senator Damon (D-Swan’s Island) is co-chair of the legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources. In this session more than 3,000 proposed bills never made it. Another story, says Damon, is that
Ted Williams: The Biography of an American Hero
Faithful By Stewart O’Nan and Stephen King 403 pages, Scribner $26.00 Two for Fenway Following a season of euphoria in Red Sox Nation, it seems appropriate to examine Ted Williams, a biography by Leigh Montville and Faithful, by Stewart O’Nan and Stephen King. Many consider Williams to be the greatest of all Boston baseball players,