American roots music legends Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas will perform at Smith Hokanson Memorial Hall of the Vinalhaven School Tuesday, Aug. 1, in a concert to benefit Partners in Island Education. This is the third in what organizers hope to be an annual celebration of music from far and wide that help support
Coastal hospitality businesses respond to high gas prices
Along Maine’s coastline, where many businesses make the bulk of their annual profit during the summer months, many business owners have been concerned that the rising gasoline prices could cause a big dip in their profits this year. Some, however, have taken proactive measures to help counteract the negative effects of the rising prices. The
Northumberland Strait lobster fishery on verge of collapse
The lobster fishery in the Strait of Northumberland, separating Prince Edward Island from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, is on the verge of collapse. Prince Edward Island fishermen have been saying it, and now the provincial government is saying so as well. Ed Frenette, executive director of the Prince Edward Island Fishermen’s Association, says the
Seamark Community Arts offers programs on Deer Isle
Deer Isle is the place to be in summer for young people interested in the arts. Not that it isn’t year-round without its arts programs, but in 1988, two couples with small children — Holley Mead and her husband, Bruce Bulger, and Fran Eastman and George Lyons — formed Seamark Community Arts to offer arts
The “Hermit of Manana”
Longtime visitors to Monhegan will remember Ray Phillips, the “Hermit of Manana” who lived on that island in a ramshackle dwelling for many years after leaving New York City in the 1920s. Filmmaker Elisabeth B. Harris combines contemporary footage with vintage still photographs, many from the archives of the Monhegan Museum, to explore why Phillips
Airstrips: insurance, length, availability
The $555,000 Small Community Air Service Development Program grant not only subsidizes passenger tickets; it pays the $8,000 per year tab for liability insurance, covering the hodgepodge of island airstrips, many of them privately owned, where PIA routinely lands. PIA still cannot fly passengers to North Haven — the Witherspoon strip, the only available airstrip
Newfoundland cracks down on its largest seafood processor
Provincial lawmakers passed changes to the act governing Newfoundland’s largest seafood company with the intent of limiting the influence of the two major shareholders on the board. Also at the end of May, the provincial fisheries department charged Fishery Products International (FPI) with two unspecified counts of violating the terms and conditions of its fish
“Here’s how scientists study the ocean”
Young people interested in marine science or parents who would like their 12- to 18-year-olds to get a taste of what will be in store for them if they follow this course to the college level, can get that taste at a summer camp on Mount Desert. Acadia Institute of Oceanography (AIO), at Seal Harbor,
An island film makes its screen debut in Rockland
“Islander,” a feature film starring Mainer Tom Hildreth and filmed last summer on Vinalhaven, will have its Maine Coast premiere at Rockland’s Strand Theatre July 15. Not surprisingly, the film and Hildreth’s role in it focus strongly on the lobster fishery and the communities that rely on it; Eben, the island fisherman Hildreth portrays, gets
FLYING HIGH Penobscot Island Air thrives in a difficult environment
As time flies, so grows the story of Penobscot Island Air. Only two years ago last dead of winter, the tale of this feisty new airline began with more chutzpah than capital, more spirit than spreadsheet. Kevin Waters, the former manager of Maine Atlantic Aviation, put up his home and 401K plan as collateral, qualifying