Trump’s proposed cuts to NOAA alarm Maine’s marine community

Posted March 7, 2017 by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.

A Trump administration proposal to slash funding for the federal government’s principal marine agency and eliminate the national Sea Grant program is prompting alarm in Maine’s marine sector. President Trump wants to slash the budget of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – the agency responsible for fisheries management, weather forecasting, nautical surveys and assisting marine industries – by 17 percent, The Washington Post reported Friday, April 4th.

Chebeague Island native’s the driving force behind new aquaculture festival

Posted March 5, 2017 by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.

Former Island Scholar and Island Institute intern, Julia Maine, was recently interviewed about the allure of aquaculture and the opportunities it offers.
The Chebeague Island native and science educator wants to show community members the bounty that can come from sea farms and is the driving force (along with her mom, geologist Carol White) behind the first Chebeague Island Aquaculture Festival, slated for this summer.

Pingree reintroduces bipartisan legislation to protect working waterfronts

Posted February 16, 2017 by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree has reintroduced bipartisan legislation with Republican Congressman Rob Wittman of Virginia to protect the kind of waterfront access and infrastructure that many businesses—and thousands of jobs—depend on in Maine. The objectives of Pingree’s bill, the Keep America’s Waterfronts Working Act (HR 1176), are two-fold.

Island life is hard enough without Maine regulators opposing deals to lower electricity costs

Posted February 2, 2017 by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.

On Jan. 18, the Maine Public Utilities Commission made a decision that raises critical questions about how rural communities across the state receive and pay for electricity.
In a 2-1 vote, the commission denied Emera Maine’s request to acquire the Swan’s Island Electric Cooperative, a deal that would have provided more affordable electricity service to the Swan’s Island and Frenchboro communities.

Regulators Deny Maine Islands’ Attempt to Lower Electric Bills — Among Highest in Nation

Posted January 19, 2017 by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.

The residents of two remote Down East islands, Frenchboro and Swan’s Island, pay some of the highest electric bills in the nation, and they’ve proposed to abandon their local electric cooperative to join with the mainland customers of a large utility who enjoy cheaper distribution rates.

Iconic Maine Photos: An Offbeat Errand, Now a Revered Image

Posted January 18, 2017 by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.

Down East Magazine scoured 175 years worth of images to find the 10 Most Iconic Maine Photos of All Time. Acclaimed to obscure, joyful to haunting, they’re the shots that tell Maine’s story. Peter Ralston’s stories have stories. That’s how it feels, anyway, when you walk into the 66-year-old photographer’s Rockport gallery, intending to talk about a single exquisite image from 1980, but instead you end up — delightedly — following a series of digressions upon digressions, road tales from a decades-long career in photojournalism.

The Chris Wolf Show discusses Weatherize Rockland initiative with the Rockland Energy Committee

Posted January 16, 2017 by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.

Representatives from the Rockland Energy Committee joined The Chris Wolf Show on December 28, 2016 to talk about the Weatherize Rockland initiative, energy efficiency, and energy incentives for the local community.
Guests included committee representatives Larry Pritchett and the Island Institute’s Brooks Winner.

Four films focus on changing coastal climate

Posted January 13, 2017 by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.

The future of fisheries and the changing ocean in the Gulf of Maine and elsewhere are explored in four short films to be screened at College of the Atlantic’s Gates Community Center on Thursday, Jan. 19, at 6:30 p.m.
The free screening of the films, produced by The Island Institute, will be followed by a question-and-answer session with Island Institute marine scientist Susie Arnold and University of Maine doctoral student Sam Belknap.

Weatherize Rockland — Five Reasons to Sign Up

Posted January 5, 2017 by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.

Do you have one of those leaky homes? If so, the Rockland Energy Committee’s Weatherize Rockland initiative can help you. Weatherize Rockland is helping local residents sign up for energy assessments, air sealing, insulation, and other energy services at discounts of up to 95%. Here are five reasons to sign up, or partner with home performance agencies in your area, to save money and make your home more energy efficient year round.

Chebeague Island shoreline attracts new grower of seaweed

Posted December 28, 2016 by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.

The waters off Chebeague Island will be even greener than usual this winter.
Shearwater Ventures is moving in, joining another company, Portland-based Ocean Approved, in growing and harvesting seaweed in Casco Bay.
Nathan Johnson, who started Shearwater last year, just signed a state lease on nearly 4 acres of seabed. Johnson intends to grow sugar kelp, his foray into the $5 billion worldwide kelp industry.