To the editor: …I read the story “Anchor to Windward” by Sally Noble with some passing interest as it is about my competitor. I felt it necessary to pass along several corrections to “facts” contained in the story. Brown Ship Chandlery was not started by anyone in the Poole family. It was started by Mr.
Water from Above How a roof can provide all of a house’s water
Laura Sewall of Phippsburg obtains all of her water from her roof. All of it. No well, no other supply pumped from a pond. Water for the dishwasher, toilets, sinks, showers, radiant floor heating systems, to irrigate her gardens and for drinking and cooking. So far, her catchment system has provided a plentiful supply for
Researchers study climate change’s effects on lobster fishery
Lobsters are more sensitive to the weather than the fishermen who catch them: fishermen are always on the water but the “bugs” aren’t always crawling. Because fishermen are such efficient samplers of the lobster population, they are an excellent source of information on the dynamics of Maine’s most valuable crustacean. Last year the Island Institute,
Veterinary Shortage On the Maine coast, large-animal doctors are few and far between
It’s tough starting a dairy farm in Washington County; it’s tougher without regular veterinary care. Carly Delsignore and her husband, Aaron Bell, have 100 cows at their four-year old organic Tide Mill farm near Route One in Edmunds. Starting a herd hasn’t always been easy. “We’ve lost probably about eight cows,” Delsignore said. Some of
“As Good or Better” New Hampshire firm experiments with farmed cod
The way George Nardi sees it, if the U.S. is going to compete with other countries that farm fish, there will need to be cooperation — partnerships involving industry, all government levels and academia. His GreatBay AquaFarms plans such a trial partnership along with an experimental farm to see if raising cod in Maine will
The Long View: Green Fisheries Are the Future
Two years ago, Maine’s Commissioner of Marine Resources, George Lapointe, addressed a large crowd at Maine’s annual Fisherman’s Forum at the Samoset Resort and made an astonishing admission. The way we manage groundfish in New England is broken, he said, and we need to change it. You might be forgiven for thinking that if a
THAW Fund to hold winter event
When the people at the Washington Hancock Community Agency [WHCA] realized that in addition to the spiraling cost of fuel oil (which by January 9 had reached $3.39 per gallon and kerosene, $3.80 per gallon) this year’s fuel assistance benefit would be less than that of previous years — they knew they had to go
“UROCK”Rockland’s satellite campus brings college courses to the community
It is the first day of the new spring semester and the forecast is for a foot of snow on the Downeast coast. Full time student Tracy Camber is manning the desk as part of her work-study program, answering inquiries and canceling appointments at the University College at Rockland. The phone calls, personal attention, computer
With help from the state, local groups preserve their waterfronts
A pier becomes a vacation home. A wharf is sold to condominium developer. Property changes hands and clammers lose access to flats they’ve harvested for generations. Little by little — wharf by wharf — Maine’s fishermen have lost, literally, a staggering amount of ground. Today, just 20 miles of working waterfront remain on Maine’s 5,300-mile
Rising to the Occasion Islands tackle the problem of respite care
When a person becomes invalided by old age, stroke or dementia, family, spouse or significant other usually take over. But islanders have problems that mainlanders often don’t: family may not live on the island in question. Then, said Deer Isle’s Susan Oliver, “everybody … is like family: you take care of them whether you like