Articles
The Long View: Triumph of the Commons
Two new books about Maine lobsters about to be released by major New York publishers (and reviewed elsewhere in this issue), remind us of a number of important things about ourselves. First, the Maine lobster is a national icon – right up there with L.L. Bean – and unfortunately way ahead of the Maine potato.
The Long View: Against the Tide
Governor John Baldacci’s Task Force on Aquaculture has circulated its report on how (and whether) to reform an industry that has been at the center of a relentlessly rising tide of criticism for most of the past 5 years. Unlike former Gov. Angus King, who embraced Maine’s aquaculture industry from the first day of his
A Collaboration Worth Considering
Late last December before we all got lost in year-end events, Governor John Baldacci delivered the keynote address for the conference, “Protecting Maine’s Working Waterfronts.” The Governor deserves credit for showing up on an icy day and delivering the straightforward message that he did not arrive with any solutions to this “complex local problem.” But
The Long View: An Open Letter to Governor Baldacci
Dear Governor, One of the good things about being Governor, especially of a small state like Maine, is all the valuable free advice you get, and I’d like to add to your trove. Several otherwise unconnected events of the past month need to be highlighted in the hope that you will see an important connection
The Long View: Where one size doesn’t fit all
Ever since this summer, lobster landings have been substantially down all along the coast of Maine. But prices have been higher, and the usually make-or-break fall lobster run is still in progress, so the net impact of any downturn will not be apparent for several months. Still, any hiccup in this last crucial sector of
The Long View – The Once and Future Island
Verona Island may not look like an island when you cross over the suspension bridge spanning the Penobscot River near Bucksport at the head of Penobscot Bay, but like many other parts of the Maine coast, Verona was once an island. Motorists now get a better look at the island as traffic slows to a
The Long View: University of Turmoil
Scoresby Sound, Greenland – We are at anchor in a deep little bowl near a passing flotilla of icebergs in Scoresby Sound, East Greenland. The expedition vessel, TURMOIL, is on her sixth voyage into Arctic and sub-Arctic waters since being launched in 1996 by its owner, Island Institute member Gary Comer of Somes Sound, Mount
The Long View
The older you get, the shorter the summers are. By the time the Fourth of July rolls round, someone is sure to remind you that the days are already getting shorter. Now that summer is finally here, we can count our blessings. For the past eight months this column has focused on island communities throughout
New hands on the helm
By the time this paper hits the streets, the Island Institute will have begun its new fiscal year – our 20th for those who might be counting. Our cherished bean counters have put their eyeshades on and are tallying up exactly how we ended the year. With a staff of 30, another 12 Island Fellows
The Long View: The parking problem
Approaching the mainland from the Cranberry Isles, one of the great long views of the Maine coast rises up from the shore to greet you. The tonsured peaks of Mount Desert Island beckon you to their contemplative abbeys. But if you’re a Cranberry islander without a contracted parking space in Northeast Harbor, often you can’t