Articles
Two couples choose life on Isle au Haut
ISLE AU HAUT — Island communities can be as fragile as their ecosystems. Without critical mass and essential human infrastructure—schools, health care facilities, churches and coffee shops—they risk becoming enclaves for wealthy retirees and those who can afford seasonal homes. With those fears in mind, the non-profit group Isle au Haut Community Development Corporation, or
On the record with… Captain Kevin ‘Bub’ Hopkins
ROCKLAND — The Capt. Neal Burgess, the ferry that served the midday Rockland-to-North Haven run, had just arrived and unloaded its dozen passengers and handful of vehicles. The boat was a few minutes late, but that wasn’t a surprise, given the howling October winds. Up in the wheelhouse, Kevin “Bub” Hopkins, the vessel’s captain, takes
Washington County seafood business sets up workers
PEMBROKE — You can’t say Tim Sheehan hasn’t been creative in trying to grow his seafood business, Gulf of Maine Inc. But trying to keep clam diggers working throughout the year—critical for the business, because restaurants want a steady supply—has left him at wit’s end. It also has hurt the business. And it’s ironic, in
Islesboro man held by Russians in Greenpeace protest
ISLESBORO — The voice on the phone sounded weary and laden with worry. Maggy Willcox, whose husband Peter has been detained by Russian authorities since Sept. 19 along with 29 other Greenpeace activists at an oil platform in the Arctic region, has been talking a lot. Along with fielding press inquiries, Willcox, 61, is talking
Pirate role is typecasting for Rockland character
ROCKLAND — When Marcus Carter was hired as a server at the newly opened Chowder House in the Trade Winds Motel in May, he respectfully asked the owners about the dress code. Remembering their answer a few months later—which was vague enough to invite interpretation—he wryly raises an eyebrow and says, “You just said that
Hearing voices on a July evening
People my age have been known to gripe about the dehumanizing effects of technology. There’s some truth to this—communication via phone and email often is limited to a few capital letters that stand in for emotions, and Facebook at times is akin to that Main Street telephone pole papered over with stapled notices. No one
Doggedly focused on a ‘forever’ fishing future
STONINGTON — It’s not pie-in-the-sky optimism that drives Robin Alden. It’s fish-in-the-sea facts. Alden, executive director of the Penobscot East Resource Center, a non-profit organization she formed in 2003, believes passionately and rationally in PERC’s slogan, “Fish Forever.” Focusing geographically on the region of eastern Penobscot Bay, including the Fox Islands, eastward to the Canadian
Searsport’s Mack Point is pivot in Maine’s port strategy
SEARSPORT — In a large warehouse at the Mack Point port facility, hundreds of bags of seaweed the size of desks are stacked on pallets. The warehouse’s translucent roof gives off a soft, yellow light, which seems out of place in this setting. Paul Barrigan, who manages the Sprague portion of the Searsport shipping terminal,
The summer of squid, a new island and crab cannibalism
It’s been the summer of squid in New England, the Salem News reports: “Local fishermen and boaters are seeing a marked increase in long fin squid, a species normally more common south of Cape Cod.” Actually, it’s the second summer of squid, according to Michael Armstrong of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. “Their abundance
‘Catatonk Blues’ now filming on Monhegan
MONHEGAN — Politics, lobstering and love drive the story being filmed on the island this fall. “Catatonk Blues” is an independent production of a script written by Bob Mrazek, a summer resident since 1984, and directed by Mrazek and Jared Martin, also a long-time summer resident. The film features actors Treat Williams (“Hair,” “Once Upon