The old saw, “They’re not making any new shorefront” cuts in several directions. With limited waterfront land, and increased development pressure, the value and cost go up. And value and cost are not the same things. Here in Maine, we are blessed with 3,000-plus miles of shorefront, thanks to the long, finger-like peninsulas that reach
A vision born on the wings of eagle… and fog
CAMDEN — The 1980s were a turning point for Maine. Fifty years after the Great Depression, an influx of people and money began to bring change. And most of it was good. Philip Conkling, founder and president of the Rockland-based Island Institute notes that in 1980, Maine’s population hit 1 million, recovering from a century
New moorings double as lobster bunkhouses
HAMPDEN — The traditional mooring has never been a plus to a harbor’s eco-system; it has few nooks and crannies for sea creatures to hide, and its granite surface isn’t hospitable for colonizing microorganisms. But a Maine company has a new take on the mooring it says offers enhanced habitat for lobster and other sea
The breakfast bakery just north of Times Square
NORTH HAVEN — It’s a rather incongruous pair of facts, but the islander who knows how to make a New York-style bagel grew up in Vienna, a tiny rural town near Farmington. But Courtney Naliboff, 32, owner and operator of Little Urchin Bakery, comes by her boiled-bagel skills legitimately. Her Jewish family has roots in
Seattle seawall hurting business
KUSI-TV’s website marked National Maritime Day, which was designated by Congress in 1933, by featuring San Diego Bay’s working waterfront. The waterfront is home to the port’s “two marine terminals, where food for the region, such as bananas and melons, one in 10 imported automobiles in the nation, and other goods, including wind turbine blades
Marketing Maine lobster–oil pants optional
My husband Bruce and I combined a recent trip to Portland with a celebration of my 60th birthday on May 4 and a meeting of lobster fishermen and buyers on May 5. No trip to Portland is complete, for me, without a stop to stock up at Trader Joe’s. Consequently, that’s where I spent my
‘Lab in a can’ helps state monitor red tide
The Massachusetts-based Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has introduced a new device for monitoring and predicting “red tide events” in New England. Red tide is a harmful algal bloom which can color ocean water red. Toxins released by the blooms may be ingested by shellfish and cause humans who eat toxic shellfish to develop paralytic
Lobster industry leaders eye the future
Leaders in Maine’s lobster industry come from a variety of backgrounds but have a common vision. Despite challenges facing the industry today, they see a strong, enduring product, sustained by a conservation-minded industry and loved by consumers. And they work on many different tacks to keep it that way. Patrice McCarron joined the Maine Lobstermen’s
Little Maine wind, big bad wind
Ben Polito grew up on an island—bridged to the mainland—but at the remote end of Georgetown Island beyond the reach of CMP’s utility poles for the first seven years of his life. “Electricity was this cool thing that I saw in kindergarten and the neighbors had,” he recalled. So he got interested in how electricity
No man an island, but islands imposed deep impact on this man
I will step down officially on July 1from my role at the Island Institute, but I won’t be going far—12 miles out to Lanes Island on Vinalhaven for starters. Ever since my first visit to a Maine island in 1975, islands have never been far from my mind and will not be far away in