Category: Blog

During the summer of 2019, I took the Casco Bay Lines ferry to Cliff Island. Upon arrival, I noticed small trenches dug up on the sides of roads and properties, with thin fiber-optic cable laid out on the ground next to the trenches. This was part of an effort to bring reliable high-speed internet to… Read more »

Last Friday, Governor Janet Mills announced a $200 million program that will provide grants to Maine businesses with less than 50 employees that have been deeply impacted by the ongoing pandemic. There is a tight window for applications, so we wanted to take this opportunity to tell you a little bit more about the grant. 

Last August we shared our first Business Podcast round-up, so it felt like a good time to update the list.

First of all, a lot has changed in the world and the business landscape, and there are some great podcasts to help you make sense of the current climate. And second, we are about to re-launch our own Commercial Currents podcast, and our series “Business in Uncertain Times.”

The Maine Climate Council needs your help! Whether you’re a municipal official, a volunteer on a local sea level rise committee, or a resident concerned about sea level rise in your own town, your feedback is valued, and we invite you to have your voices heard.

About 20 years ago, a family friend from California told me while she was visiting northern Michigan that she didn’t bother to eat seafood in the Midwest, because being able to enjoy the freshness and taste of seafood in her home state—a state that sits on the ocean—meant her palate didn’t appreciate the lesser quality that us land-locked citizens were forced to accept. At the time, I thought her comment was rude and pretentious, but then I started thinking about the fresh food I had access to. 

For the past 37 years, the Island Institute has worked in, and become a part of, Maine’s island and coastal communities. Once you’ve lived in a small community for a period of time, the interconnectedness of everything and everyone begins to be revealed. If you grew up there, it’s simply in your DNA. If you move there from “away” like many of us, it takes some time to begin to understand. I’m a firm believer in the theory that those who understand it stay, and those who don’t leave.

The Maine Primary Election for several state and local offices is now on Tuesday, July 14, 2020. This election—originally scheduled for June 9, but delayed due to the COVID-19 crisis—is about choosing nominees for U.S. Senate and U.S. House seats, as well as seats in the Maine state legislature and local offices. If you don’t vote, you are leaving it up to others to make these choices for you.