Thomaston voters saw the future differently than their counterparts in Damariscotta and Ellsworth, voting in May to set a 150,000-square-foot limit on retail development, rejecting a competing 70,000-square-foot measure. The vote was 623 to 436 for the larger limit. The vote means a Lowe’s home improvement project can proceed.
Group appeals ruling on gated beach
The Friends of Martinsville Beach has appealed a judge’s decision that the public has no right to use this broad, sandy crescent at the end of a private road. In late April, Knox County Superior Court judge Joyce Wheeler concluded that beach owners Amy and David Morey and John Hupper had the right to exclude
Heather Pendleton Corson graduates
Heather L. Pendleton Corson obtained a degree in Dental Hygiene from the University College of Bangor on May 13. Corson, along with her sister Carrie, a recent graduate from the Down East School of Massage, are the first members of their family, on their island maternal side, to pursue and complete their higher education goals.
What is a watershed?
A watershed is like a large funnel that carries the water that falls on it into a water body like Casco Bay. The water may flow along the surface in streams or rivulets or move underground, percolating through the soil or squeezing between cracks in rocks as groundwater, until it reaches the sea. The Casco
Two Cities, One Very Big Box Coastal towns take on Wal-Mart
Maine coastal communities are wrestling with big-box proposals that could drastically alter the character of their towns. Retail giant Wal-Mart has proposed building superstores in several towns along the Route 1 corridor; the Super Wal-Marts would be so vast that they would dwarf other big box stores. Local government officials often welcome the additional tax
Sprawl and Future “Listening sessions” draw out new questions, approaches
If the values that Mainers feel best about seem threatened, those same values also represent the very strengths that can recharge community and economic life and send sprawl into remission, according to experts from the Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institution. A major study by Brookings, sponsored by GrowSmart Maine and due for release in September, will
“Beauty and the Beast” succeeds by building illusions
“In order for the theater experience to work for the audience, they must buy into the illusion,” says Karen Burns, director of Vinalhaven’s latest community production, “Beauty and the Beast,” which ran May 12-14. Illusion is a particularly important element in this show. “We are creating a fairy tale, where humans are transformed into objects
“Less is Better” Keep those lawn pesticides out of Maine’s waterways!
The Friends of Casco Bay (FOCB) use the term BayScaping; the Maine Board of Pesticide Control (BPC) coined Yardscaping. Whatever it is called, it is a unified attempt to help Mainers understand that the herbicides, fungicides, pesticides and fertilizers they put on their lawns and in their gardens end up in varying degrees in Maine
Wal-Mart
A new Wal-Mart policy may change the way Maine lobstermen do business. The retail giant recently announced a goal to buy all wild-caught fresh and frozen fish for its North American stores from Marine Stewardship Council-certified fisheries within the next three to five years. Certain brand-name seafood products will be exempt. The Marine Stewardship Council
May Day Celebration at Islesboro Central School
Islesboro Central School held its annual May Day celebration May 6 on the school grounds. The weather cooperated and the day was sunny and warm, perfect for exploring and celebrating the outdoors. Horticulture teacher John Pincince and his students organized the day, which included many exhibits, tours of wooded trails, an exploration of the expanding