Christmas is just around the corner. If you need help with your shopping list, here are a few excellent choices for you, your child or grandchild. These offerings, almost all from Maine authors and illustrators, will make someone very happy this season. Ice Harbor Mittens Written by Robin Hansen Illustrated by Jamie Hogan. Downeast Books,
P.E.I. fishermen catch 2010 Atlantic bluefin tuna quota in two days
On one hand a group of Canadian scientists, with an eye to after-effects of the BP oil spill, are reviewing the possibility of such a listing. Data released in November show at least 20 percent of this year’s juvenile bluefin tuna likely died in the spill. In the meantime, Prince Edward Island fishermen caught the
Home
Lindsay and Jason were married in the summer of 2007. They began looking at house plans the following winter. Influenced by the framing chisels Jason received as a wedding present, and with the purchase of a sawmill, the young couple worked on their dream of building a house from island wood. They cut trees in
May E.B. Forgive Us
I knew that the white-footed deer mouse is one of three common small rodents of the Maine islands, along with its close cousins, the meadow vole and the red backed vole, both of which look rather mouse like, but have quite different ecological “niches.” This is a fancy way of saying they divide up resources-
The revitalization of downtown Long Island
Up until recently, “downtown” Long Island (or “down front” as some know it) was dead in the winter. The Spar restaurant was boarded up, with weeds coming through the cracks of the sidewalk, the Long Island Store was closed, except for offering gas at the gas pump a few hours a week, and there were
Penobscot Island Air ramps up for the holidays
“In the summer there is the busy season, then a lull, a build up to Thanksgiving, then after that it’s ‘OH MY GOD’!” says pilot Tim Hodgkins, who has been flying for 45 years, since he was 16. Jim Nichols, pilot and dispatcher, adds, “August and December are pretty similar in terms of freight and
How the Crimes Happened
Dawn Potter’s newest collection of poems, How the Crimes Happened, is filled with brilliant contrasts. Elegant form and literary influence clash and reform up against (post)modern American English. The pope, adorned in Christmas regalia, “looks terrible. / . . . and sags to one side like a cat.” His image flickers from the television at
New regulations for small tanker vessels
By 2015, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, even existing small tankers must have double hulls. The requirement affects Maine firms such as Portland Harbor Fuel, serving Casco Bay, and Maine Coast Petroleum of Tenants Harbor, which operates two tankers, 40 and 60 feet respectively, between Rockland and all the island communities between Monhegan and
Passion in Place
Recently I heard it said that people argue in all communities, but in some communities these arguments are over how to become more vibrant, with an emphasis on more. A place is doing well, and its residents want to do better, and they struggle over what that means. In other communities the tenor of discussion
Shop by Number
In September, Whole Foods launched a color-coded grading system to help customers know whether seafood purchased at the chain’s supermarkets come from sustainable fisheries. Under the grading system, fish species sold at the store with a green rating are considered sustainably caught. A yellow-grade means there are some concerns about the viability of the stock.