On Dec. 1, Peaks Island Elementary School celebrated the end of a semester-long mapping unit with an evening exhibition of student work. Teachers Wendy Litchfield and Roberta Deane designed a creative mapping unit for their third, fourth, and fifth grade students last fall. The goal was to increase students’ knowledge of Peaks Island’s natural environment
No Balmy Breezes for Portland’s Cruise Ship
Far from the hot sun and warm waters of Florida and Mexico, M/V SCOTIA PRINCE, last year’s “Yucatan Express,” is hibernating in chilly Portland. Scotia Prince Cruises’ car ferry/ cruise ship carried passengers and vehicles last winter between Tampa and two Yucatan Peninsula ports, Progreso and Morelos, until channel problems at Morelos forced suspension of
Farmed Salmon Report Causes Uproar
World media from Maine to Singapore leaped on a story in January that linked farmed salmon to much higher levels of suspected carcinogens than wild salmon. The report, which appeared in the latest issue of Science Magazine released Jan. 8, recommended consumers restrict their intake of wild salmon according to its region of origin and
Report Draws Canadian Fire
Not surprisingly, Nell Halse, general manager of the New Brunswick Salmon Growers Association (NBSGA), took issue with the Science report. (see related article) “Ignoring for the moment that institutions as disparate as Health Canada and the American Health Association maintain that eating salmon is healthy for you, I question the reasoning behind going after just
One Man’s Year: Dana Rice Reflects on the New England Council
“It’s the damnedest mess I ever got into,” declared Dana Rice, 57, of Birch Harbor, referring to his first year on the New England Fisheries Management Council [NEFMC]. The Gouldsboro harbormaster, selectman and lobster buyer had spent the morning on the dock in zero-degree (more like minus 30 counting the wind chill) weather, unloading bait
At Riverside Boat, Past is Present
At the foot of a steep dirt driveway on the Newcastle shore of the Damariscotta River sits a cluster of graying sheds, surrounded by shapely boats in cradles. This is Riverside Boat Company, where graceful wooden sailboats and the skills to build and repair them are the rule. It’s where customers are so regular, so
New Canadian Government Could Shift Fisheries Regulation
The swearing in of a new Canadian Prime Minister in December had all the appearance of an orderly succession – one Liberal to another – but it brought a new Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Minister, Geoff Regan, a Member of Parliament whose riding (district) is Halifax West in Nova Scotia. Regan has not yet laid
History, Technology and Consequences
Every day, it seems, technology’s role in our lives grows larger. In Maine the global positioning system (GPS) allows island students to map their neighborhoods and watersheds. Integrated into a geographic information system (GIS), this technology helps students create realistic electronic models that will enable their communities plan for the future. Websites and the Internet,
Right Skirt, Wrong Movie
To the editor: Although Vinalhaven’s Phil Crossman is possibly your best columnist, and certainly the most amusing, you should put a fact checker to work on his stuff. In his “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” (Dec.-Jan.) he refers to a figure whose skirt “blew up a little like Marilyn Monroe’s in ‘Some Like it
Vinalhaven Students Rebuild a Blue Water Vessel
When Vinalhaven High School marine technology teacher Mark Jackson took his family sailing for a year in a 30-foot steel sloop back in 1982, he never thought he’d be offering up their former home for parts salvage. But that’s just what he is doing now as he leads his students in a complete rebuild of