Electricity customers on Matinicus Island say, “We’re not off the grid, we are the grid.” The ratepayers, and the diesel generators, on Matinicus Island, are among the few Mainers who are not part of the New England power grid system by which most electricity users and generators are interconnected. The Matinicus power company (its legal
Three island towns weather economic storm
How has the economic downturn affected the municipal budgets of three Penobscot Bay island communities? So far, not badly, say town managers in Vinalhaven, North Haven, and Islesboro. Housing starts, excise taxes, property tax payment, appeals for general assistance, and local business activity are all indicators of economic weakness, and so far, nothing dramatic has
Maritime books for the midwinter
Several people who either write for, read, or have been the subject of stories in the Working Waterfront have shared some of their favorite maritime books, both fiction and non-fiction, to read in the midwinter. A combination of recently published books (a few already reviewed in Working Waterfront) and those that have withstood the test
River causes dramatic changes at Popham Beach
For many people who enjoy Popham Beach in the summer, riding the Morse River is almost as thrilling as riding the waves. Timed right, it is possible to float at a good clip past the western beach in the warmish water of the outgoing tide. It’s the sort of journey that prompts kids of all
A Maine Summer Island: The Story of Bustins
Islandport Press, 2008 Softcover, 171 pages, $16.95 A summer idyll Once upon a time, many years ago, I visited an island, a small rise of sand and palm trees off the east coast of Panama. At high tide the island barely measured two acres. I had not known how small it was before we got
Article does a disservice to herring fishery, public
In creating an impression of massive amounts of haddock bycatch by midwater trawlers, Jennifer Litteral’s article “Haddock bycatch upsets groundfishermen” (Working Waterfront, November) does a disservice to the public, the herring fishery and those who rely upon it for their bait supply. Frankly, the complaint by groundfishermen is baseless. Here are the facts. Haddock is
Obama nearly sweeps islands
President-elect Barak Obama nearly swept the year-round unbridged islands, winning everywhere except Swan’s Island. Statewide, Obama won with 421,497 votes to McCain’s 296,215. Sen. John McCain won Swan’s Island by 134 to 105 votes. Obama won every other island, often by very large margins. The results in Casco Bay, were: Peaks Island: Obama 417, McCain
Vinalhaven overwhelmingly supports revisions to wind power rules
Changes to the rules governing wind power sites were overwhelmingly approved at a Vinalhaven Special Town Meeting held on December 15. The revisions defined small, medium and large wind power projects and set up different engineering reporting requirements based on the size of the project, according to Marjorie Stratton, Vinalhaven town manager. Modifications were also
Maine books to give (or receive) during the holidays
Somebody not terribly famous once said: “After love, book collecting is the most exhilarating sport of all.” I ponder this old adage wistfully glancing around my small house. What I need are more walls. I suffer from an incurable disease – bibliomania. About 5,000 books of all sizes, shapes and subjects rise up the walls
It could have been any of us: The search for missing Matinicus lobstermen
This is not an easy story to tell. Sometime on Monday, October 27, 2008 a young lobsterman went missing in the waters near Matinicus Island. Christopher Whitaker, 24, of Matinicus was last seen hauling from his open boat that day to the northeast of the island. Later the same day, floating objects such as a