In The News

Frustrated by a lack of high-speed internet access, dozens of Maine municipalities are working to build their own networks to attract business and spur economic development. But a bill under consideration in Augusta would make it difficult for them to do so. The bill, introduced by Rep. Nate Wadsworth, a Hiram Republican, would impose stringent conditions that critics say would make it all but impossible for Maine towns and cities to build their own high-speed networks when cable and telephone companies decline to provide upgraded service.

Caroline Moore is a Bowdoin graduate and now works with Maine’s Island Institute in the Mentoring, Access and Persistence Program, which provides scholarships and support to high-school island students looking towards higher education. She discussed many benefits and details of the program in the Island Institute’s article “A new approach to post-secondary achievement,” so we decided to talk to Moore further. Below, she articulates her experience with Bowdoin Teacher Scholars and how this opportunity connected to her current job as an educator and coordinator.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and energy officials from islands throughout New England will highlight a Portland-area conference this week. The Island Institute, a nonprofit based in Rockland, will host its annual Island Energy Conference on April 27-28. The keynote speaker will be Tetsunari Iida, executive director of the Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies. Collins will offer the welcoming address.

The Island Institute and Green Fire Productions will host the Midcoast premiere of “Ocean Frontiers III: Leaders in Ocean Stewardship & the New Blue Economy” Thursday evening, May 4, at 7 p.m. at the Strand Theatre, 345 Main St. Doors will open 6 p.m. for a light reception, followed by the screening at 7 p.m. and a panel discussion featuring regional experts featured in the film at 8 p.m. Admission is free, but seats may be reserved via Eventbrite.

By Staff / Village Soup The Island Institute will hold its annual energy conference at Congregation Bet Ha'am, 81 Westbrook St., South Portland April 27 and 28. The event will bring together 150 island leaders and energy experts from three countries – the United States, Japan and Denmark – and six states – Maine, Alaska, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island – to discuss common energy challenges and the resources available to address them.

The deeper cuts proposed by the Trump administration would slash funding for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund cleanup activities and eliminate its support for monitoring and cleanup efforts in Casco Bay and for beach water testing across Maine. When taken in conjunction with previously reported proposals to eliminate federal funding for the University of Maine’s Sea Grant program and the Wells Reserve at Laudholm Farm via the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, critics say the president’s budget proposals are a serious threat to Maine’s coastal economy, which is dependent on maintaining a clean environment.

On Earth Day — Saturday, April 22 — Belfast Bay Watershed Coalition and Rockland’s Island Institute will host a screening of four short films that show how accelerating climate change dramatically changes the ocean’s environment. The free program will begin 6:30 p.m. in the Abbott Room of Belfast Free Library, 106 High St.

The fourth  annual Artists & Makers Conference will be held Friday, April 7, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the University of Maine's Hutchinson Center, 80 Belmont Ave./Route 3. Hosted by Archipelago and the Island Institute, the one-day event will offer practical tips and strategies to help arts businesses grow. It is open to all artists and makers who live and produce work in Maine.

Residents at the annual Cranberry Isles town meeting on March 11 voted overwhelmingly to borrow up to $1.2 million to build a fiber optic network for broadband internet service. The network would provide broadband internet service to the town’s three inhabited islands: Great Cranberry, Little Cranberry (Islesford) and Sutton. The vote was 52-4.

The Island Institute, based in Rockland, just released the first edition of “Waypoints: Community Indicators for Maine’s Coast and Islands.” The publication presents economic, community and environmental indicators for Maine’s coastal and island communities as they compare to the rest of the state and the nation. Detailed data on each of the 120 island and coastal communities is available online in the supplementary data tables. “Waypoints” is available online at www.islandinstitute.org/waypoints.