Think of those things that matter most to a community: quality education, healthcare, emergency services, places of worship, land and water management, a healthy ocean, history, a library, food, a gathering place”¦ We want communities where we can live, work and educate our children. Each of these essential aspects of a community has advocates. The
Making It Here: Alison Thibault left banking for jewelry business
VINALHAVEN — Alison Thibeau holds a piece of dichroic glass at waist level, tilting it slightly, its rich purple hues looking like the iridescence on a mussel shell. Then she lifts the glass toward the light in the window, and it’s now the color of sun-dappled ferns. That’s the “di” in the dichroic glass; both
A little store, a big deal for Swan’s Island community
SWAN’S ISLAND — In a matter of weeks, Kathy and Brian Krafjack sold their house in Stonington, Conn., moved into their new home on Swan’s Island, and re-opened the former Carrying Place Market as The Island Market & Supply. At mid-morning on a recent Thursday, Kathy was settled in behind the cash register, ringing up
Record set straight–Richard Alley gets Bronze Star
ISLESFORD — Students from the Ashley Bryan School usually go to the Bar Harbor YMCA on Friday afternoons for their swimming lessons. But on Friday, May 2, they changed their schedule so they could return to Islesford on the 11 a.m. boat. Morning talk among island lobster fishermen on the VHF radio was also about
Changing wind direction should not blow Maine off course
The University of Maine’s bid to land $47 million from the Department of Energy to study and develop electric generation from floating turbines off the coast came up short. DOE did give UMaine and its composite R&D center $3 million to continue its work, but there’s no way to spin this as good news. At
Big losers: Diabetes prevention becomes way of life for islanders
SWAN’S ISLAND — Lobster fisherman Chris Sawyer and his wife Emmie had their fourth child recently. The next day, Sawyer, 38, contacted Swan’s Island health provider Donna Wiegle. He wanted to join the type 2 diabetes prevention program to improve his health. “I said, ‘If I don’t do something, I’m not going to be around
Chebeague conference to be ‘marketplace for ideas’
The term “off the grid” conjures up images of survivalists, back-to-the-landers, energy efficiency geeks and on-the-run criminals. But another way to understand the phrase is as a description of those who choose to live and work in out-of-the-way places. Places like Maine, jutting up into the northeast corner of the national map. Places like islands
Passamaquoddy craftsman maintains tribe’s traditions
BAR HARBOR — Master craftsman David Moses Bridges, an award-winning artist receiving national attention for his skill, works with birch bark to make shelters, canoes, traditional containers and adornments as a means of artistic expression and a way to continue the traditions of his Passamaquoddy culture. Originally from the Passamaquoddy Pleasant Point Reservation, also known
Lobster etouffée brings Creole cuisine to island
VINALHAVEN — The summer of 2012 was a dark time for lobstermen, as a glut of product depressed boat prices to historic lows. It was the summer Byron Thomas began his first serious foray into the industry, hauling traps by hand from a skiff. “At a certain point, he couldn’t go,” remembers Yvonne Thomas, his
Fight over Penobscot River polluter continues
Maine People’s Alliance (MPA) returns to U.S. District Court on June 3 to fight the next crucial round in a 14-year legal battle against global health care giant Covidien and its subsidiary Mallinckrodt Corp. for their extensive mercury pollution of the Penobscot River ecosystem and fisheries. More than 26 years ago, the MPA identified the