YORK — Residents have sent a strong message to a pair of landowners who have blocked access to a historic seaside trail, voting 2,314-722 in May to establish a $50,000 legal fund to protect the town’s access to the Cliff Walk, a picturesque beach-to-beach trail that traverses the land of 44 waterfront property owners. In
Today’s pirates are no Jack Sparrow
Much as it makes me feel as though I’m telling a small child the truth about Santa Claus, piracy in today’s merchant service is no gang of grizzly Geoffery Rush types eating apples and running about with daggers between their teeth. The romantic notion of piracy that Disney and others have built into our minds
Catch limits and propane problems
The limits facing New England fishermen on May 1 are being reported and discussed around the nation. In particular, efforts by those in Congress to compensate fishing families for their projected loss of income are dominating the news. The Patriot Ledger in Quincy, Mass. reports that Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Alaska Republican Sen.
Restoring Maine-China trade link is on-ramp to prosperity
The old sea captain homes that line downtown streets in places like Thomaston and Searsport were the trophy homes of their day. In the 19th century, when mariners and ship masters lived in those homes, they displayed the spoils of the success they achieved by sailing to trade in far away lands. And so it’s
Slow, gentle spring mirrors island experience
Spring has taken its opening shots across our bow — ice is out, the crocuses are clustered around houses, and gardeners are shaking off the winter woolies to get seeds planted on windowsills and start turning over the soil in south-facing beds. At Chebeague Island School, the students love tucking lettuce and marigold seeds under
Lobster union effort ignorant of history
The Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) has been proudly and effectively representing Maine lobstermen for 59 years. The MLA was organized in 1954 by lobstermen who had the foresight to understand that they would be better off working together than on their own. Over the years, the MLA has established a track record of being effective
The Alcatraz of the willing
Through the hurricane season of late summer and fall, the long Maine winter and the exaggerated, shameless, Wellie-sucking mud of March and April — at least some years — we who live on islands are interrogated regularly by telephone, by text, by Internet, by single-sideband, by any other available means and asked the same question,
Chebeague islanders reassess after ferry bill is withdrawn
CHEBEAGUE — This winter, Chebeague Transportation Company stakeholders thought they had found a promising way to raise funds for a new ferry. The private company recently applied for non-profit status and then began collaborating with Rep. Stephen Moriarty, D-Cumberland, on legislation that would have reorganized the ferry service as a public transit district. The goal,
A few of our favorite (kitchen) things
The house is on fire. You grab the baby and chase the dogs and cats outside, but what in the kitchen do you dive back into the flames to rescue? Or you have to flee to a foreign country, like the mainland, and you grab the baby, put the cats and dogs into a crate
Oil pants optional for lobster promotion
My husband Bruce and I combined a recent trip to Portland with a celebration of my 60th birthday on May 4 and a meeting of lobster fishermen and buyers on May 5. No trip to Portland is complete, for me, without a stop to stock up at Trader Joe’s. Consequently, that’s where I spent my