On a Thursday afternoon in early February, eight elementary school students grades four through six arrived at the cafeteria and took seats around a circular table. One student read aloud the first few lines of the day’s recipe, “Scallops with Mashed Potatoes and Sautéed Vegetables, Yield: 4 servings.” These students are members of the Deer
Matinicus Student Receives Liver Transplant at Boston Children’s Hospital
At about 10:30 p.m. on February 5—the night of the Super Bowl, after the Patriots had just lost a close game and New England football fans everywhere were shaking their heads in disappointment—a telephone rang at a home in Camden. Natalie Ames answered. “This is Dr. *** calling. I think we’ve found Zeke a liver.”
I Dreaded That First Robin
“I dreaded that first robin,” Emily Dickinson wrote in her exquisite poem, anticipating how quickly each season’s arrival simultaneously forecasts its painful departure. But when a huge flock of hungry robins appeared at the beginning of March in the holly bushes in front of the house, their arrival brought a shock of pleasure, mixed with
Securing Food One Greenhouse at a Time
“Food and energy, these are the things that will continue to rise in price,” according to Sally Erickson who is so convinced that she built a large, year-round green house that does not rely on any additional heating system. The 24×72-foot structure constructed this past fall at her South Street residence in Eastport is already
Frenchboro Residents Stunned by Tax Hike
Residents of Frenchboro received an unwelcome surprise this tax season when they discovered that their property tax bills had increased dramatically. A series of new expenses passed at the 2011 town meeting, plus some unexpected revenue decreases, resulted in the mill rate soaring from $11.90 per $1,000 in assessed value to $26.85. The factors behind
Islesboro, North Haven Selectmen Concerned over Searsport LPG Proposal
In February, the boards of selectmen from Islesboro and North Haven wrote letters to the Maine office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to express concern over the proposed liquid propane gas terminal in Searsport and to request an Environmental Impact Study (EIS) of the project. In letters to Maine Project Officer Jay Clement,
From Maine to Antarctica
In the middle of the ocean, about 60 degrees south of Antarctica, over 25 scientists are finishing up their day and opening up laptops to connect with students back in Maine. The Great Belt Research Cruise is compromised of an international team of researchers studying phytoplankton across the southern ocean. An equally important goal of
Growing Up on an Island off the Coast of Maine
There is something for almost everyone in this delightful collection of short stories from the pen of Carroll Haskell. The author was born in 1927 on isolated Deer Isle in Penobscot Bay, 12 years before the suspension bridge from the mainland was completed. Until 1939, Deer Isle was truly an island. The author introduces us
Casco Bay’s Keeper Celebrates 20 Years
Mary Cerullo, who has worked with Friends of Casco Bay BAYKEEPER Joe Payne for 13 years, says she likes to describe him as “gracious and tenacious.” He has a “work-with” attitude, she says, which has made it possible over the past 20 years for him to maintain connections and respectful communication with people from all
Federal Lobster Permits Likely to be Capped
A final decision on regulations limiting access to lobster fishing in federal waters in the Gulf of Maine is expected this spring. The new rules most likely will restrict lobstering in federal waters in the Gulf of Maine (GoM) to those who have been actively catching lobster during a recent four-year period. It is not