AUGUSTA — New name, new group, more money. That’s the headline coming from the Legislature’s Marine Resources Committee in the session that ended this early summer. LD 486, which creates and funds a new Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative, replacing the Maine Lobster Promotion Council won final passage and was signed by Gov. Paul LePage. The
What happened on Boon Island didn’t stay on Boon Island
True survivor horror stories torment the imagination and fill library shelves. Those that include that most morally repugnant taboo, cannibalism, are in a league of their own. There’s the tale of the Donner party, crossing the Sierra Nevada mountains, getting caught in early winter snows and resorting to eating their dead. The true story that
Portland council OKs Shucks expansion on waterfront
PORTLAND — The city’s working waterfront is poised to welcome a major new player for the 2014 lobstering season. The city council voted July 15 to lease a 19,000-square-foot space on the Maine State Pier to Shucks Maine Lobster for lobster processing. In June, the council’s Housing and Community Development Committee voted unanimously to approve
Vinalhaven updates its comprehensive plan
VINALHAVEN — The small group working for nearly two years to update the town’s comprehensive plan is nearing the finish line. Town officials hope soon to submit the draft of the plan, which inventories assets and identifies threats and opportunities, to the state for it to review for compliance with statutes. Andrew Dorr, the Vinalhaven
What Maine can learn from Superstorm Sandy
SOUTH PORTLAND — Last October, “Superstorm Sandy” hit the U.S. East Coast, killing 72 people and leaving 8.5 million people without power. Several factors made Sandy a “super”storm, according to Jay Tanski, a coastal processes and facilities specialist with New York Sea Grant and John Cannon of the National Weather Service, who presented at the
Island tourism thriving — but can it grow?
While everyone knows that Maine’s year-round island communities couldn’t exist without the lobster industry, summer tourism is also vital to the economic well-being of the islands. According to the Island Institute’s most recent Island Indicators report, restaurant and lodging sales represent 35 percent of all island taxable sales. According to the report, Maine’s islands are
Lobster Fest’s early years
Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of stories culled from a collection of Maine Coast Fisherman newspapers from the late 1940s through the early 1960s donated to The Working Waterfront. Dora Thompson is a recent Oceanside High School graduate who is a participant in The Working Waterfront/Island Institute’s student journalism program. She
Summer mind games on Swan’s Island
Seeing as the rain’s let up, I thought I’d provide a helpful guide to summer recreation on Swan’s Island. We offer something for everyone: sailing, strolling, beachcombing, kayaking, jogging, swimming and even (a personal favorite) sitting around just looking at things. The trick to really enjoying Swan’s Island is to befriend someone who lives here.
Taking the plunge on Peaks
Islands are filled with random, slightly wacky traditions. Each island has its own unique traditions, but certain traditions happen only because you live on an island. For instance, I was told it’s an island tradition that on the last day of school students go dock jumping, marking the end of the school year and the
No ‘go slow’ on Chebeague
CHEBEAGUE ISLAND — It may go down as one of the quickest thefts of a roadway sign in island history. Deborah Bowman, director of the Chebeague Island Library, received a package of cones and signs reading “SLOW” to put in front of the Chebeague Island Hall Community Center on Friday, May 31. She assembled them