A goal of the Island Institute’s fellows program is to provide self-sustaining programming with a positive impact on the community. Vinalhaven’s fellow in the performing arts, Karen Burns, took a giant step in that direction this summer as she headed up the island’s first Performing Arts Camp. In association with the Vinalhaven School Enrichment Committee,
Security?
Set government agencies a-sniffing after terrorist threats nobody can define, and the results seem predictable: delay, confusion, the wrong people caught up in the dragnet, the real threats ignored. This September marks the third anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. We’ve had ample opportunity to learn about the need
Bananas to Beer – Airborne groceries fill island stomachs
Older readers may remember when neighborhood grocery stores delivered your order to your door. For some Penobscot Bay islanders, that service is still available. Residents of Matinicus, North Haven and Vinalhaven regularly place orders to Shaw’s Supermarket at Harbor Plaza in Rockland, and their food is boxed, put on a flight at the county airport
Insectomania
It all started when the grandchildren were visiting in August. “What’s that noise?” Alex asked. We were working in the garden. Ben was cutting down the shasta daisies, which had gone by. He was feeling smug because he had the grown-up, really sharp clippers and Alex had only scissors. Alex was dead-heading the dianthus. Livi
At a special town meeting, Cranberry Isles voters change their minds
About 50 Cranberry Isles voters sacrificed a sunny day to attend a special town meeting on Aug. 9 in the Islesford Neighborhood House. With only 13 items on the warrant, the meeting was intended as a housekeeping event, reaffirming some votes from the annual town meeting while passing some necessary ordinances. However, some money that
City Amends Zoning in Diamond Cove to Allow Golf Carts
At its Aug. 16 meeting, the Portland City Council voted unanimously to amend zoning in the Diamond Cove development on the northern end of Great Diamond Island to allow the use of golf carts. The decision settles a two-year controversy involving the City of Portland and three different homeowner associations on the island, over whether
More islands qualify for lodging fund
The Island Institute is expanding its Island Lodging Fund to include year-round islanders on the Cranberries, Frenchboro, Swan’s and Isle au Haut. The fund will provide a $40 reimbursement for a total of 55 room nights per month to year-round island residents who have special needs that require a night’s stay on the mainland, such
Aboard Eastport’s Pilot Boat – “A bad day on the water is still better than a good day in a cubicle”
It’s 10:35 a.m., July 21, with hazy sun over Eastport and light fog over Campobello. The Eastport pilot boat, MEDRIC II, has left her berth at the Breakwater and is headed up Head Harbour Passage bound for the m/v SAGA MONEL at the pilot station in the Bay of Fundy. Aboard are Eastport harbor pilot
Island Institute Programs Staff
Island Institute Programs Department (from left): Ben Neal, Marine Programs Officer; Ruth Kermush-Allen, Education Outreach Officer; Rob Snyder, Programs Director; Chris Wolff, Fellows Program Officer; Cherie Galyean, Grants Writer; Dana Leath, Community Development Officer; Shey Veditz, GIS Specialist.
Maine oyster growers face challenges, opportunities in equal measure
Oyster growers along the Damariscotta River, who have been in the industry longer than any other oyster farmers in the state, see many opportunities to grow in the future. But they recognize that the road won’t be smooth and presents several identifiable challenges. One of the interesting opportunities, says Bill Mook, owner of Mook Sea