Articles
FLYING HIGH Penobscot Island Air thrives in a difficult environment
As time flies, so grows the story of Penobscot Island Air. Only two years ago last dead of winter, the tale of this feisty new airline began with more chutzpah than capital, more spirit than spreadsheet. Kevin Waters, the former manager of Maine Atlantic Aviation, put up his home and 401K plan as collateral, qualifying
Airstrips: insurance, length, availability
The $555,000 Small Community Air Service Development Program grant not only subsidizes passenger tickets; it pays the $8,000 per year tab for liability insurance, covering the hodgepodge of island airstrips, many of them privately owned, where PIA routinely lands. PIA still cannot fly passengers to North Haven — the Witherspoon strip, the only available airstrip
DirigoChoice: Despite confusion, health care program works for many
The first two harsh-but-true statistics, compiled by Dirigo Health Reform, jump out as both stark and dismaying: Mainers spend more personal income on health care per person than 45 other states and Maine has some of the highest rates of cancer, heart and lung disease and diabetes. The next statistic is another heartbreaker: 130,000 Maine
Web site helps island businesses prosper
With only the purest of civic-minded intentions, Bev Johnson first started her Chebeague Island website back in 1996. “I just wanted to keep islanders informed about the comings and going of people in our community,” says Johnson. Need to know more about the Polar Plunge and the Chili/Chowder/Soup Challenge? Looking for swimming lessons in the
Island airline wins federal subsidy
On a warm evening last August, when Jeff Northgraves, Knox County Regional Airport Manager, first heard the good news that sizeable federal grant money was recently allocated to fledgling Penobscot Island Air, Northgraves kicked himself (just a little) for not having asked for more. Down to the penny, the U.S. Department of Transportation handed out
A Last Few Moments of Quiet and Cooperation
The sleepy stretch of harbor on the Eastern Waterfront of Portland is blasting into construction mode, as the Ocean Gateway cruise ship terminal kicks off. The governor and assorted dignitaries literally shoveled dirt to break ground in a ceremony in early October. Expect lavish buildings to rise soon, out of the haphazard quilt of parking
Ocean Gateway: State selects a contractor, developers spar over rail rights
This September, after years of hand wringing and money wrangling, Maine’s Department of Transportation plans to begin building Ocean Gateway on Portland’s Eastern Waterfront. In July the Portland City Council approved borrowing an additional $1.6 million, bringing the city’s contribution to $4.1 million towards the $20 million project. In late June, a contractor was finally
Portland tackles its eastern waterfront
It takes a little imagination to conjure this picture of imminent change on Portland’s Eastern Waterfront: In the past month, in a somewhat sleepy, largely neglected stretch of town — east of the Old Port and west of Munjoy Hill — developers with visionary dreams have announced plans to pour millions of dollars, not to
The CAT casts its eye on Portland
In the world of leisure travel, as minutes become precious and hours essential, a high-speed ferry service between Portland, Maine and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia seems to be an imminent necessity to 21st century vacationers. With cautious optimism, Bay Ferries plans to dip into this potentially lucrative market. While their CAT is an amazing aluminum catamaran
Proposed Customs changes prompt concern in the cruise industry
An imminent change in the way U.S. Customs officials plan to clear cruise ship passengers this summer continues to inspire anxious meetings, strongly worded e-mails and logistic-laden telephone calls. The nightmare everyone is trying to avoid is the one where Maine’s float-in tourists, faced with long lines resulting from new disembarkment procedures, might never leave