Entrepreneurs start coffee-roasting business on Monhegan

Posted July 24, 2018 by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.

Year-round Monhegan Island residents Carley Mayhew and Mott Feibusch started production at Monhegan Coffee Roasters in June, adding a new business to the island’s economy. Feibusch and Mayhew told the Lincoln County News that starting a business on the island presented unique challenges, including the cost and supply of propane and the logistics of bringing supplies onto the island.

Cranberry Isles get connected with USDA Rural Development grant

Posted July 10, 2018 by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.

A United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development grant has connected three small Maine islands – Great Cranberry, Little Cranberry and Sutton – to the world by helping connect them to high-speed internet. A $1.3 million USDA Rural Development Community Connect grant was used to build a high-speed fiber and wireless connection for residents.

Island Institute awards more than $50,000 in scholarships to island students

Posted June 19, 2018 by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.

The Island Institute has awarded scholarships to 58 island students pursuing post-secondary education at colleges, universities, and technical schools across the United States and Canada. The scholarships, made possible by the Island Education Fund, totaled $50,900. Students from 10 of the 15 year-round, unbridged islands received awards, which are renewable for up to four years of post-secondary education.

Archipelago opens summer gallery show

Posted May 26, 2018 by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.

Archipelago invites the public to celebrate the opening of its new gallery show, “Turning Towards the Sun,” and the start of the summer during the June 1 First Friday Art Walk from 5 to 8 p.m.
The downtown Island Institute’s store and gallery will host two artist receptions for this show; the second is scheduled for the July 6 Art Walk.

As ferry rates go up, Islesboro broadband investments look even better

Posted May 20, 2018 by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.

It’s expensive to live on an island. Energy costs more. Food costs more. Just about everything costs more. Last week, residents of Islesboro found out ferry service will start costing a lot more.
On Monday, new increases in ferry service fees will double the per-trip costs for just about everyone.

Island Institute’s Energy Conference Focuses on Resilience

Posted May 17, 2018 by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.

The Island Institute held its 8th annual Island Energy Conference in South Portland on May 4. This year’s theme, “Resilient Together,” highlighted what islanders are doing to increase the resilience of their energy systems and communities.
The event brought together energy experts and island leaders from Maine, New England, and around the world to discuss common energy challenges and share solutions for addressing resiliency in the face of an increasingly unpredictable world.

Islesboro recognized at eighth Island Energy Conference

Posted May 16, 2018 by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.

The Island Institute held its eighth annual Island Energy Conference in South Portland May 4, bringing together energy experts and island leaders from Maine, New England, and around the world to discuss common energy challenges and solutions.
This year’s theme, “Resilient Together,” highlighted what islanders are doing to increase the resilience of their energy systems and communities in the face of an increasingly unpredictable world.

Maine communities are closing the digital divide to join the global economy

Posted April 23, 2018 by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.

It’s inspiring to see what one small community can do to change its future. The Cranberry Isles, a year-round island community off the coast of Mount Desert Island, has finished the first phase of a fiber-to-home broadband network.Just a year ago, residents had internet that was sometimes too slow to send an email.
Upload and download speeds on the Cranberries now exceed 100 mbps, meaning they are able to join the global economy with faster internet than most of the U.S.’s metropolitan areas. Both the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the ConnectME Authority were clearly impressed with the ambition of this project. The recently awarded $1.3 million in federal funding will help cover almost all of the construction costs.

Peter Korn on ‘what is the nature of a good life?’

Posted April 9, 2018 by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.

Close to 200 people attended the Artists and Makers Conference, Friday, April 6, at Point Lookout in Northport. For artists and crafters in the creative economy, the Archipelago/Island Institute-sponsored event offered a full day of sessions.
Workshops focused on three different tracts of sessions: Foundational, for those just starting a business; Transformational, for those in the process of growing their business; and Inspirational, those who are established but looking for inspiration.

Cranberry Isles’ $1.3M broadband initiative seen as a model for Maine

Posted March 27, 2018 by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.

The town of Cranberry Isles has received a $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Community Connect Grant Program for construction of its broadband network.
With that support, what was once a community-funded project will now be funded by the USDA grant.
The grant will cover most of the cost of the project involving three of the municipality’s five islands — Islesford and Great Cranberry Island as well as seasonal homes on Sutton Island. Axiom Technologies of Machias is building the network under a contract with the town.