Articles
In Franklin, small is beautiful
Fifty-seven hundred square feet — the size of a recently-built house in Utah for a family of four, as reported in The Bangor Daily News. MDI architect John Gordon thinks such a home might be a tad big. “Just insane,” Gordon said. Gordon could be said to work at the opposite end of the spectrum
Audubon study finds bird decline
Leslie Clapp only began birding in 1999, too little time, she says, to see trends in local bird populations. But as president of the Downeast chapter of the Maine Audubon Society, she’s heard from other members that once-common birds, like the evening grosbeak, have vanished. “Decks…would be full of 30 to 50 [evening grosbeaks],” Clapp
Varying Shades of Green: Avoiding a Burlap Sack Future
Doom, gloom, doom, gloom, doom, gloom, doom. Sounds like the start of a morbid Dr. Seuss book or another environmental group’s report on global warming. Earnest reports on our heating planet seem to come out every week, and while they’re all absolutely true, they’re also completely depressing. Each one is chock full of dire predictions
Increasingly-Popular Water Disinfectant Raises Concerns
In order to meet EPA water safety guidelines, North Haven recently constructed an ultra-modern water treatment plant that cost the island’s ratepayers $2.2 million. But shortly afterwards, the EPA tightened regulations to lower the allowable level of disinfection byproducts in drinking water. North Haven’s water didn’t pass the new standards. “It was kind of frustrating,”
On islands, trash talk is serious business
When the mailboat between Isle au Haut and Stonington docks on the mainland, it’s common to see passengers carting away some not-so-precious cargo. A recent island family reunion ended on the mainland with hugs, kisses, and a load of recyclables put into someone’s trunk. It’s the old island rule of physics: anything that goes onto
World-class garden proposed for Brunswick
Swords into ploughshares: the Brunswick Park and Gardens Project proposes to convert an undeveloped section of the soon-to-be decommissioned Brunswick Naval Air Station into a 500 acre world-class garden. The garden, according to the group’s estimates, would create more than 200 year-round jobs, attract more than a million visitors every year and pump some $30
A Sleepless Holiday
It was noon on July 4th and Frances and I no longer wanted to celebrate. We had decided earlier to go to the parade because we hadn’t seen one in years and had leftover images of music, clowns and marching bands. Neither of us was prepared for the sonic onslaught of Shriners and their miniature
Bath revives its community garden
Brenda Nelson, an avid gardener, discovered a problem when she moved into her new home in Bath. “My little house had too tiny of a yard,” Nelson said. Like many Bath residents, Nelson lives in a densely-populated neighborhood Her little home is sandwiched so close to neighboring houses that when friends phone her, they can
The Methadone Debate – Downeast communities struggle with drug addiction, treatment
Judging from reactions in Ellsworth and Surry, methadone may be as unwelcome Downeast as heroin. This spring, Ellsworth city councilors approved a six-month moratorium on any new clinic offering methadone treatment, with an option to extend the moratorium an additional six months. Shortly thereafter, Surry residents voted to enact a similar measure. And recently, Cherryfield
Bar Harbor approves Mount Desert’s first skate park
Bar Harbor police Officer Soren Sundberg often deals with skateboarding teenagers on the town’s village green. Skateboarding isn’t legal there and it can be especially hazardous during tourist season. “There isn’t space for all the foot traffic and the skateboarders,” Sundberg said. But he said he never has a good answer when skaters ask where