To the editor: According to your published “Sounding Off” section on page 9 of your June, 2004, edition, you state, “libelous or slanderous material will not be published.” Obviously, your have changed this policy as evidenced by your publication of Phil Crossman’s article entitled “Mainland Security.” His tasteless, arrogant and prejudicial abasement of “people from
On the qui vive
To the editor: Watch out for pita bread, tabbouili, baba ganoush, hummus, tahini and baklava. And algebra. And chess. I hope this is of some assistance to those who are bewildered by the injunction to be on the alert, but are not quite sure what they need to be watching for. I myself am on
Clean MarinasMaine boatyards take the pledge
There’s a snappy new flag to watch for this summer. Maine boatyards and marinas who come “clean” will be flying an oversized green, blue and white burgee-shaped banner on their yardarms to publicly announce their newly earned status. Sponsored by the Maine Marine Trade Association, the Maine Clean Boatyards and Marinas Program is, according to
Island Fire Department is really two organizations
Changes are afoot in the Cranberry Isles. While Great Cranberry Island and Islesford (Little Cranberry Island) have had private fire associations for decades, they have had to rely on private donations and local fund-raising efforts to meet their goals. All that changed at Town Meeting in March, when the town voted to create the Cranberry
Congressman presses for “Big Oceans Bill”
Members of the Marine Fisheries Conservation Network discussed the need for big changes in national fisheries management at the group’s fifth annual meeting in Washington, D.C. in early June, then took to Capitol Hill to urge lawmakers to support a major oceans bill. The 97 people representing 61 member groups and 17 states who attended
One family’s commitment enhances Maine’s shad population
When the Waldoboro Shad Hatchery is up and running, the atmosphere in the growout room resembles a hospital intensive care unit. There’s a hum, bubble, click and whir as pipes, tubes and electrical wires that crisscross the room deliver power, nutrients, water and oxygen and remove waste from six 600-gallon tanks. But unlike a modern
Two oceans commissions agree on many points, but propose different approaches
Lee Crockett of the Marine Fisheries Conservation Network said he was “struck by the amount of overlap” when he compared the recommendations of two commissions that recently studied the needs for managing U.S. oceans. Environmentalists worried that the Bush-appointed U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy would come up with vastly different recommendations from those of the
A thinking man’s lobsterboat, Leroy Bridges builds the boat he’s always wanted
A commercial fisherman’s boat is probably the most important thing he owns; his life and his livelihood depend upon it. So, throughout his career, he changes vessels as he changes how and where and in what fisheries he earns his living; and he upgrades and downgrades size and equipment as necessary. Some fishermen own as
Maine LNG conference planned for July 29
Four Maine organizations and a regional advocacy group have organized a multi-faceted conference on LNG and the implications of siting a plant in the state. The conference is planned for Thursday, July 29 at Bowdoin College, starting at 8 a.m. The sponsoring groups are the Island Institute, Bowdoin College, the University of Southern Maine, the
Passamaquoddy LNG project “at the talking stage”
An LNG facility at Sipayik (Pleasant Point Passamaquoddy Reservation) is a long way from being a done deal, according to tribal representative to the state House of Representatives, Fred Moore III. “Nothing has been decided yet,” Moore says. “What has happened is that the [Sipayik tribal] council has signed an exclusivity agreement with Quoddy Bay