About 50 Cranberry Isles voters sacrificed a sunny day to attend a special town meeting on Aug. 9 in the Islesford Neighborhood House. With only 13 items on the warrant, the meeting was intended as a housekeeping event, reaffirming some votes from the annual town meeting while passing some necessary ordinances. However, some money that
Bananas to Beer – Airborne groceries fill island stomachs
Older readers may remember when neighborhood grocery stores delivered your order to your door. For some Penobscot Bay islanders, that service is still available. Residents of Matinicus, North Haven and Vinalhaven regularly place orders to Shaw’s Supermarket at Harbor Plaza in Rockland, and their food is boxed, put on a flight at the county airport
Performing arts camp succeeds despite low enrollment
A goal of the Island Institute’s fellows program is to provide self-sustaining programming with a positive impact on the community. Vinalhaven’s fellow in the performing arts, Karen Burns, took a giant step in that direction this summer as she headed up the island’s first Performing Arts Camp. In association with the Vinalhaven School Enrichment Committee,
Isleboro’s new store finds and binds books
Since we’ve had more then our share of cloudy and foggy days this summer, Islesboro’s newest business, Artisan Books & Bindery, has benefited from visitors looking for something to read while waiting for the weather to improve. The shop is located in the Dark Harbor Village Marketplace, one door down from the Dark Harbor Shop,
LifeFlight Of Maine
LifeFlight of Maine, which provides rescue services on Maine islands, ran started out as a training exercise Aug. 22 on Vinalhaven. The purpose was to familiarize emergency medical services personnel with the procedures for bringing the helicopter to the island. The training portion of the exercise was about over when word came that a pregnant
New lighthouse museum to open on Rockland waterfront
One of Rockland’s many hidden treasures is the valuable collection of lighthouse lenses and artifacts on display at the Shore Village Museum. For more than 25 years, the display (which now includes what may be the world’s largest collection of Fresnel lenses) has been located in an area of low visibility a few blocks from
Conference explores many facets of LNG
A cream pie plastered on the back of a panelist’s head got the press’s attention, but the real value of last month’s LNG conference lay in its sober discussion of a potential fuel source for Maine, and what developing an LNG port would mean for the coast. Participants – mostly experts in energy investment, technology,
“Sustainable Yield” – Alaskan wild salmon fishery survives global competition, low prices
Although Alaska can claim one of the world’s largest remaining wild salmon runs, the state’s harvest now represents only 3.5 percent of the world supply since farmed Atlantic salmon began flooding world markets in the late 1980s. The ensuing glut of farmed salmon caused a crisis in the wild salmon fishery – not a resource
“Green” Marketing Sells Salmon
An important part of the marketing campaign for wild Alaska salmon is its certification by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) as a fishery that uses sustainable fishing methods. The certification allows purveyors of Alaskan salmon to use the MSC logo in their promotions, which helps sales to consumers who are concerned about where their fish
Mega-Confusion – Homeland Security rules ensnare foreign-flagged yachts, Maine marinas
Chris DiMillo, owner of DiMillo’s Marina in Portland, had an unpleasant surprise this past July 15. His upscale operation, which caters to pleasure boats and yachts, learned from the Coast Guard that a new arrival was not authorized to stay at the port facility. The boat, PERFECT PRESCRIPTION, fell under a section of new maritime