Concord, NH: Accompany, 2003 Dissecting Stonington’s Character “It’s all about fishing, but not about fish,” says producer John Gfroerer of his video about Deer Isle and Stonington. Gfroerer, whose video production company, Accompany, is based in Concord, NH, makes documentaries on various New Hampshire and Maine towns, collecting stories about the people and places that
The Long View – Follow the Money
After two years of study, 15 public hearings and months of deliberations, the U.S. Oceans Commission has released its long awaited and much anticipated report on the state of the nation’s oceans. If you are a little confused in believing that this important event had already occurred, you are forgiven. Almost a year ago amid
Tax Cap Proposal Clouds Islands’ Financial Future
Waterfront property owners may not like it, but they’re accustomed to paying higher taxes than their inland counterparts. But when waterfront residents in Portland received revaluation notices from the city last month, their collective gasp was audible throughout Casco Bay. Many saw their valuations double and in some cases triple. Increases like that are adding
Ocean Advocates Plan National Conference
Advocates of a “Blue Movement” plan to convene a national conference of leaders and activists from ocean and coastal citizen groups in Washington, D.C. July 11-13. The Blue Vision Conference will begin unifying various “blue” groups as a political constituency while also educating lawmakers on the need for an American Oceans Act that, like the
In Search of the Glocal
After high school, I left my home in southwestern Maine under the misguided impression that I was headed for the “real” world and leaving a small farm town that had little to do with it. A few years later, at the apartment of a new friend thousands of miles away, I came across a bag
Muscongus Among Us!
One evening in April, a group of midcoast teachers gathered in Waldoboro to sniff the musky odor of a deceased storm petrel, test out a “blubber mitt” and turn a paper plate into a puffin. These were but a few of the activities overseen by Sue Schubel, outreach educator for Audubon, as she handed elementary
Great Diamond Islander to Perform May 14
Timothy Burris, a Great Diamond Island resident who teaches at the Portland Conservatory of Music, will take part in an evening of 17th century music for lute and vocals from the Italian, English, and French traditions. Lutist Timothy Burris and tenor Timothy Neill Johnson will be collaborating on a diverse array of music from these
Retirees Share Maine Lore
Brunswick, Maine: Thornton Oaks Retirement Community, 2004. Paperback, 80 pp. $10. Some very good writing emerges from ordinary experience. When residents of the Thornton Oaks Retirement Community in Brunswick formed a writing group a few years ago, they seem to have decided to focus on personal experiences – observations of nature, local history, remembered places,
Alewives Need Equal Rights, Activist Says
The alewife is a much-misunderstood fish, and some of its life is still a mystery. Each spring, alewives migrate upstream from the sea, in great numbers, to spawn. It’s a huge orgy, “the fish version of creation,” said Naomi Shalit of Alna, an alewife advocate head of a group called Maine Rivers. At a recent
Maritime Artist Loretta Krupinski Colors Rockland’s Past
Classic wooden boats under sail, snug harbors, the open sea – Loretta Krupinski has painted marine scenes for a quarter century. But in the past year, she has discovered a particular focus: Rockland’s once-bustling waterfront. She has painted Maine for years, but began to be bored by ubiquitous renderings of the rocky coast. “I thought,