Articles
The Long View: Democracy Revealed in Island Independence
If you are persuaded by Aristotle’s idea that in small worlds we see the ordering of complex larger worlds — that the microcosm reflects the macrocosm — then you might want to pause to consider the momentous occasion of the official beginning of Chebeague Island’s independence on July 1, just a few days ahead of
The Long View: Houston, We have a problem
The New England Fisheries Management Council is meeting in Portland this month to vote on whether to consider a different approach to managing cod and haddock fishing in the Gulf of Maine. The management of these species has been a disaster since at least 1991 when the first lawsuit was filed to halt overfishing. The
A History of Island Problem-Solving
The Island Institute’s trustees voted in March not to take sides in Peaks Island’s independence effort, but Institute president Philip Conkling spoke at the public hearing, emphasizing all island communities’ ability to solve daunting challenges. Below is a portion of Conkling’s testimony: …We do not pretend to be experts on the complex financial and tax
The Long View: Schools, housing, ferries, lobsters, secession: the legislature is in session
One of the first times I spoke to legislators in Augusta about island issues, I had the disheartening experience of having a representative who should have known better look at me incredulously and ask, “You mean people live on those islands in the winter?” That was long ago and in a different land, politically speaking.
Small Wonder North Haven breaks ground for its new school
While the rest of Maine is in the midst of a wrenching political debate over consolidating school districts into larger, arguably more cost-efficient administrative units, the small year round community of North Haven is trying to build a new $7.5 million high school, middle school and elementary school all rolled into one. Perhaps no other
The Long View: Island Indicators
We are often asked “How are the islands doing?” Lurking behind this question are all sorts of motivations. Islanders want to show how they measure up in the state and the region, and to demonstrate to funders that islands are a sound place to invest in innovative programming. Legislators and policy makers need real data
The Long View: Fish and Chips
The two most important cultural events that celebrate working life along Maine’s coastline both happen in the dead of winter – during the first and third weekends of March. You might think this an odd time to celebrate, but the summer is just too busy to have much time to take a break. Besides, who
Rockport Marine It’s All Based on Trust
The current patients in the iconic red boat sheds at the head of Rockport Harbor are a 65-foot Herreshoff schooner, Mystic Seaport’s 62-foot schooner, Brilliant and a 55-foot P-class sailboat, originally built in 1916. They have all come north to Maine to find new life at Taylor Allen’s wooden boat clinic for reconstructive surgery. Allen
Is community wind a viable option for island energy?
Based on the input of islanders and Trustees, the Island Institute’s new strategic plan commits the organization, among other things, to begin developing information on two significantly inter-related issues will affect island communities in the future: the increasing cost of energy and the increasing risk of climate change. At a recent roundtable meeting of electric
A Concert Review
Although the sun has long since set on the dawning of the Age of Aquarius and a bad moon is on the rise, occasionally the planets still align in the heavens. And so it was that on a trip from Portland to New York and back followed by an early morning breakfast meeting in Boston