For years now, Vinalhaven High School senior Brianna Osgood – who goes by Anna – has made music a priority in her life. She sings, plays piano and even writes music and lyrics. Her hard work and dedication paid off in February when Anna was invited to participate in the Cedarville University Honor Band and
Casco Bay schools meet, share ideas
On April 6, teachers, staff, parents, and community members from four Casco Bay islands came together to discuss issues facing island schools. The meeting, organized by the Island Institute and held at the Portland offices of Casco Bay Lines, brought together representatives from the schools on Cliff, Chebeague, Long and Peaks. The idea was to
Submarines in the Bay!
One summer morning in the 1940s, Edith Quinn was washing dishes in her kitchen on Eagle Island in Penobscot Bay. (Eagle is two miles northeast of North Haven and two miles west of Deer Isle). Edith and her husband, Jim, had been living on Eagle since they were married in 1935. At one point Edith
Proposed Customs changes prompt concern in the cruise industry
An imminent change in the way U.S. Customs officials plan to clear cruise ship passengers this summer continues to inspire anxious meetings, strongly worded e-mails and logistic-laden telephone calls. The nightmare everyone is trying to avoid is the one where Maine’s float-in tourists, faced with long lines resulting from new disembarkment procedures, might never leave
Famed Nova Scotia Shipyard to close
A significant chapter of Canada’s seafaring history ended in March with the announcement that the Smith & Rhuland shipyard in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, will close. The yard was most famous for building the legendary fishing schooner BLUENOSE, which dominated American competition at the International Fishermen’s Races held during the 1920s. The yard also built the
The debate over sea lice and wild stocks clouds the farmed-salmon picture
A new study from British Columbia linking farmed salmon to dangerously high sea lice infections in wild juvenile stocks has refueled an intense, decade-long debate in Canada and Europe. Similar disagreements about the study exist in Maine, but the debate seems overshadowed by a drop in active salmon farming, continued declines in wild Atlantic salmon
High fuel prices trickle through the entire lobster industry
Everyone is being hit hard by the high cost of petroleum, noted Clive Farrin, President of the Downeast Lobstermen’s Association. “Just look at the number of things you touch with your fingers every day that are made with petroleum,” he said. Fishermen, with their reliance on boat and truck fuel, as well as traps, buoys,
The Rising Price of Fuel
It should come as no surprise that rising fuel prices are beginning to pinch the fishing industry. There are the direct costs – costlier trips to lobster grounds, for example – as well as indirect ones, such as higher prices for oil-based products and bait. Taken together, these increases can be counted on to stress
Rich and Famous
I am ready for the big time. Sales of Away Happens (www.upne.com) are brisk, among the top ten this month at University Press of New England, and I am readying myself for fame, notoriety and wealth. I presented this rosy forecast to my wife, to whom the appeal of elevated notoriety is (I keep forgetting)
Legislature OKs another current-use tax referendum
Heeding the need to maintain fishermen’s access to the water, both houses of the Maine Legislature voted this session to pass a resolution to tax their property at current use. Because the resolution is to change the constitution to assess at current use “waterfront land used for or that supports commercial fishing activities,” both houses