GOULDSBORO — The Island Institute will be working with Gouldsboro, Swan’s Island and Cranberry Isles to oversee implementation of the state’s Community Resilience Partnership (CRP). The CRP, a program of the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, is designed for communities who are considering energy transitions and wish to become more resilient to… Read more »
Category: In the news
Maine Voices: Making Maine’s high-speed internet dreams come true
Posted by Kim Ratner & filed under In the news.
Maine communities have a long history of self-determination. Access to high-speed internet is no different. As local broadband committees, statewide partners and private-sector providers all look to close the digital divide, communities play a central role. An engaged community can fundamentally alter the economics of a broadband project.
Bill Nemitz: Not happy with your internet? Now’s the time to do something about it
Posted by Kim Ratner & filed under In the news.
Looking for a little good news? Here’s some: Thanks to federal and state funding, Maine currently has $150 million to bring high-speed internet to places that don’t have it and improve service to those that do. How do you get a piece of that action? Here’s a hint: You snooze, you lose. “The communities that… Read more »
More people have moved to Maine’s remote islands in the last decade
Posted by Kim Ratner & filed under In the news.
The population of Maine’s offshore islands, which incurred steady declines in the decades after World War II and still face myriad challenges in sustaining their year-round communities, jumped by nearly 8 percent between 2010 and 2020. There are roughly a dozen offshore islands in Maine, reachable only by plane or boat, that have towns with… Read more »
Archipelago celebrates summer in Maine with ‘Currents and Channels exhibit
Posted by Kim Ratner & filed under In the news.
ROCKLAND – Join Archipelago, the Island Institute’s store and gallery, for its summer gallery show, “Currents and Channels: Four Coastal Maine Artists,” on display through Sept. 25. “Currents and Channels” looks at the Maine coast through the art of four local artists — each with unique perspectives, both geographically and conceptually, of the landscape and… Read more »
Rockland mulls impact of proposed three-fer property sale on working waterfront
Posted by Kim Ratner & filed under In the news.
The proposed sale of three commercial waterfront properties in Rockland could bring new development and new tax revenue, but could also put pressure on shrinking working waterfront space, perhaps changing the community forever. The potential sale, announced earlier this month, would package together properties that in total span 8.77 acres of land and waterfront infrastructure, include more than… Read more »
Fisheries in Maine Rally to Reduce Their Carbon Footprint and Increase Sustainability
Posted by Kim Ratner & filed under In the news.
Fishing communities and seafood suppliers in Maine who depend on the ocean for their livelihood have seen the effects of climate change firsthand, as warming ocean temperatures significantly affect their catches. Luke’s Lobster is one supplier who is taking matters into their own hands, transitioning their docks and operations to renewable energy and making energy… Read more »
Island Institute hosts evening of climate-focused films July 28
Posted by Kim Ratner & filed under In the news.
ROCKPORT – The Island Institute, a community development nonprofit based in Rockland, hosts a special, climate-focused film event at the Shotwell Drive-in, 40 West St., Wednesday, July 28, at 8:30 p.m. “The Climate, Our Coast, and Our Communities” features an evening of films highlighting personal stories from those living on the frontlines of climate change… Read more »
From Maine’s warming waters, kelp emerges as a potentially lucrative cash crop
Posted by Kim Ratner & filed under In the news.
FALMOUTH, MAINE — One bright, brisk morning last month, Colleen Francke steered her skiff a mile off the coast of Falmouth and cut the gas. A few white buoys bobbed in straight lines on the water. Francke reached down and hoisted a rope. She has been lobstering for a decade and a half, she says,… Read more »
Grassroots group seeks collaborative solutions for climate adaptations
Posted by Kim Ratner & filed under In the news.
If you’ve noticed milder winters, warmer waters, and a spike in sweltering summer days, you’re not alone. “Many, many people, hundreds of people, told us that they’ve noticed over their lifetimes that Maine is warming up,” said Dr. Cassaundra Rose of the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future. “Climate change is already a… Read more »