Articles
Seafood processing bond goes to voters
AUGUSTA — It hasn’t gotten the publicity of the bear-baiting referendum, but the Nov. 4 ballot also includes some bond proposals, including one that would borrow $7 million to help boost seafood processing and other marine businesses. Question 7 came out of a comprehensive consideration of how state borrowing could boost employment, said Rep. Seth
Offshore sand and gravel extraction boon, threat
When Superstorm Sandy rolled over the Jersey shore, it washed away some 20 million cubic yards of beach sand. Replacing that resource is not optional, many believe, because decimated beaches kill tourism economies and leave coastal areas more vulnerable to damage from the next storm. So where does the sand come from to replenish, or
One-time gubernatorial candidate says targeted ‘story telling’ will work
PORTLAND — If Matt Jacobson’s strategies work, Maine lobsters are going to start showing up on plates in cities like Pittsburgh and Charleston, S.C. And when they do, diners may be handed a small card featuring the name and photo of the Maine fisherman who caught that lobster. The newly formed Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative,
Homeowner’s insurance on the coast–it’s complicated
You finally buy that seasonal or year-round home of your dreams on the beautiful Maine coast or on an island. Then you learn that insuring it against storm damage, fire or burglary can not only be costly, but sometimes, downright impossible. “It’s getting a little more difficult,” admits Denise Hopkins of the J. Edward Knight
What once was modern is now antique
ROCKLAND — Jeremiah Pasternak hadn’t been born when the chairs he sells were standard issue in schools, churches and libraries. The 1960s and 1970s were a kind of golden age of furniture design, the 31-year-old asserts. As he shows off the ample stock of those chairs in Pasternak Antiques’ Main Street building, that argument gains
On the record with… Greenpeace activist Peter Willcox
ISLESBORO — You can’t call what Peter Willcox does country club activism. In his 40 years of environmental work, he’s seen a colleague die at the hands of a foreign power, and—a year ago—spent weeks inside a Russian jail for his commitment to his causes. In late July, Willcox, 61, was relaxing on the island
Downeast laments and identity crises
For almost five years, I edited the letters-to-the-editor section of the Bangor Daily News, and before that, I did the same as editor of The (Belfast) Republican Journal. At its best, the letters column is a lively place where readers can get straight to the point with a sharply worded opinion. The letters column also
Brunswick Landing poised to take off
BRUNSWICK — The gatehouse is still in place, but these days, no one in uniform stops you from driving down the broad, tree-lined road that leads to the 3,200-acre campus. But it’s not “the former Brunswick Naval Air Station,” Ben Sturtevant stresses. In fact, if you call it that around the offices of the Midcoast
‘Sustain ME’ conference exhorts, focuses entrepreneurs
GREAT CHEBEAGUE ISLAND — The theme that emerged at the all-day Sustain ME conference on Saturday, July 12, was that building businesses in remote settings brings undeniable challenges. But that fact was contrasted with first-person success stories, so entrepreneurs may have left more buoyed and inspired than daunted and down. That was the hope of
Towns band together on Route 15, peninsula’s ‘lifeline’
STONINGTON — One way in, one way out. That’s how town and business leaders describe transportation on the Blue Hill Peninsula. And when that way—state highway Route 15—is in rough shape, it affects commerce, health and quality of life. In response, town officials have joined forces to persuade the state Department of Transportation to devote