Articles
Development leads to hotter temperatures in Ellsworth
This summer in Ellsworth, Lindsay Moon worked two jobs in the city’s expanding commercial district of High Street, splitting time between Mr. Paperback in the Mill Mall and the UPS store across the busy four-lane street. She said the parking lots at both locations were often unbearably hot. “There’s so much asphalt and no trees
Part-time help is hard to come by at some island schools
It’s a perennial sign of the school year to come: a School Union #98 ad in the Ellsworth American seeking a part-time music teacher and a part-time physical education teacher at the Islesford school. There usually isn’t fierce competition for either position. Selena Dunbar, administrative assistant at the Union #98 Superintendent’s office, said a part-time
Steel pan music finds a home on the Blue Hill peninsula
There’s island music in the air in Blue Hill this summer, the kind of island music that seems more at home among palm trees than spruces. Since 1974, the Blue Hill peninsula has been Maine’s center for steel pan music. There are at least five active steel pan groups on the Downeast coast, and more
CLEANER DIESEL FUEL COMING TO LOBSTER BOATS
In what’s being hailed as the most important environmental improvement to fuel since the banning of leaded gasoline, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has mandated the production of a cleaner diesel fuel with 97 percent less sulfur. The switch from current diesel fuel to Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) will reduce the amount of
Small World In a small community, what’s a conflict of interest?
As one-half of the Beechland Corporation, brothers Robert and Larry King plan to sell a parcel of land in Ellsworth to the home improvement chain, Lowe’s. Lowe’s wants to build a 170,000 square foot superstore there that would easily be the largest structure in town. The King Brothers also co-own a construction firm, Associated Builders,
Downeast volunteers keep jail residents connected
Judy Garvey spends a lot of her free time in jail. Since 2001, the Blue Hill resident has coordinated Volunteers for Hancock Jail Residents (VHJR), a program that offers classes and programs to residents of Ellsworth’s Hancock County Jail. Garvey founded VHJR after watching a family member go through the jail system. Since then, she’s
Intertwined with the Internet Highspeed access becomes a reality on some islands, remains a problem elsewhere
In the 1980s, Frenchboro residents gained the ability to make off-island phone calls. Today, they’re looking into wireless Internet. New technology has made Internet access quicker and more affordable for Maine islanders to use. In turn, faster Internet service often makes year-round living more feasible for new island residents. Frenchboro’s New Net Families On Frenchboro,
State, coastal towns ponder Route 1’s future
Screaming matches, protests, people chaining themselves to trees — it wasn’t a pretty picture when the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) came to Warren to widen a stretch of Route 1 two years ago. The conflict left deep scars on both sides and garnered national press coverage. It’s not a situation either MDOT or coastal
Governer nixes protest time limit
Maine Gov. John Baldacci pocket-vetoed a bill that would have limited the time citizens could vote to overturn land-use decisions. Under the proposed legislation, Maine municipalities would have had only 75 days after a project permit was issued to hold a referendum to overturn that project. Proponents of the bill argued it would streamline the
Wal-Mart
A new Wal-Mart policy may change the way Maine lobstermen do business. The retail giant recently announced a goal to buy all wild-caught fresh and frozen fish for its North American stores from Marine Stewardship Council-certified fisheries within the next three to five years. Certain brand-name seafood products will be exempt. The Marine Stewardship Council