Articles
Ocean acidification panel urges strong response
Ocean acidification (OA), the phrase used to describe the conditions causing the drop in the pH levels in the sea and the damaging increase in acidity that follows, is a problem identified only in the last ten years or so. But if action isn’t taken immediately, say members of a legislative commission, Maine shellfish could
Island life seeps into Judy Weber’s poems
MONHEGAN PLANTATION — It’s a cliché fantasy we’ve all heard, maybe even indulged in ourselves—move to an island year-round, soak up the rhythm of the seasons, the quiet, the isolation, and write the great American novel. Judy Weber—who writes under the name Judith Ponturo, her maiden name—moved to Monhegan year-round in 2006 after visiting the
Chebeague to study uses of Sunset Landing site
CHEBEAGUE ISLAND — A parcel of land that attracted housing developers in the early 20th century may, a hundred years later, serve the town as a new ferry landing site. The town will use a $20,000 grant from the Maine Coastal Program to study and assess possible uses for the parcel, known locally as Sunset
Rockland plans for public, fish pier improvements
ROCKLAND — Though undeniably a working waterfront town, Rockland has become home to a busy recreational boating scene, a boom fueled by its large harbor, protected by a nearly mile-long breakwater, and by the more recent development of a tourist-friendly downtown. City officials want to keep both the working and recreational waterfronts vibrant, and thanks
Offshore aquaculture offers new promise
Aquaculture, once seen as a viable alternative to chasing declining wild fish stocks, is rebounding. But fish farming is taking shape in locations and using technology far different from the floating pens seen just off the coast back in the early 1990s. One new area entrepreneurs are exploring is in waters three-plus miles off the
Bristol says no to power lines, caffeine grows business
The few weeks before Election Day are ripe with expectation and prediction. The leaves fall and cover the sidewalks, while political signs compete in color and volume. It’s somehow appropriate, too, that elections coincide with the World Series. One group will celebrate with champagne, the other will mope, in both. Those who care about the
Lobster union considers suing feds on whale rules
The Maine Lobstering Union has filed a notice of its intent to sue the National Marine Fisheries Service, seeking to roll back rules that require fishermen here to use sinking rope and to run up to 15 traps on just two vertical lines in some offshore waters. But the Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) argues such
Whose beach is it?
PORTLAND — Beach goers would urinate in the limited privacy provided by the seawall. A few times, they tore pieces of the wooden stairs that led from the beach to the yard to feed a bonfire. And sometimes, they would climb the wall to the yard, use the home’s outdoor shower and peer into the
Monhegan tourism survey reveals low worry about wind project
MONHEGAN PLANTATION — Visitors to Monhegan island are usually the ones asking the questions. Which way to the Monhegan House? Where is the nearest bathroom? Where can I get a cup of coffee? But this past summer, some 180 visitors were asked their views on the issue that has dominated island debate for the last
Business as usual is no day at the beach
Hers was a family owned business. But not LL Bean, Cianbro or Renys. No, the woman who sat beside me during lunch at July’s Sustain ME conference on Chebeague Island helps run her family’s small earthworks business. She schedules the work, does the billing, timesheets, payroll, workers comp, taxes. You know, all those little details