Arts festival draws students from four islands

June 4 brought a dramatic increase in the student population of Vinalhaven as the school hosted the first Inter-Island Arts Festival. Students and teachers from North Haven, Islesboro and Islesford joined Vinalhaven staff and students in a day of art exhibits, workshops and performances. Artwork by students from all four schools was exhibited throughout the

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Killer fog for birds is not that unusual

The CBC headline on June 2 was, “Fog kills songbirds in Bay of Fundy.” and the reporter added that the count was “thousands” of birds. All in all, it conjured up the movie, “The Day After Tomorrow.” But Dan Busby, wildlife biologist for the Canadian Wildlife Service, based in Sackville, New Brunswick, said that such

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LNG, Again

Last month we called for state leadership on the thorny question of siting a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility on the Maine coast. At that time we’d been hearing from developers who wanted to bring LNG to Casco Bay and Sears Island; we complained that the existing siting process was allowing towns to compete for

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Without Walls

When Islesboro residents set out to create an island community center back in 2000, they were thinking in terms of a building, and in fact, two years later, they were given a site to work with. When that didn’t work out, the community center committee did what looks like the right thing: they regrouped and

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Twenty Years

This month the Island Institute celebrates its 20th anniversary as an organization. A handful of individuals have made a difference in a unique region, helping islanders and residents of isolated mainland communities come together to achieve common goals. This newspaper has been part of the effort, as have Island Fellows, the Penobscot Bay lobster research

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Honoring the Veterans of World War II

On May 29, 117,000 ticket-holding veterans and their families gathered under sunny skies on the Mall in Washington, D.C. to witness the dedication of the long awaited National World War II Memorial. Over a five-year period I interviewed over 600 World War II veterans and their families on the Boothbay peninsula for my books Southport:

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New Yorker humor

To the editor: I think you should send the back page – “Mainland Security” – in the June issue to The New Yorker. I can see it as their inside back page humor section. Obviously, I enjoyed it – written, no doubt, by a Vinalhaven person. Cecily Clark Ossipee, New Hampshire

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