Maine, Indian nation, Nature Conservancy, others help to restore a Maine river and way of life
http://www.nature.org/magazine/summer2010/features/art31630.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nu0v8oyLqA&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EigUpRiKdTU&feature=player_embedded
Posted in Economy, Energy, Environment, Maine, Politics and government
Tagged Conference of the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers, Darrell Dexter, Gov. John Baldacci, Maine, Nova Scotia, offshore wind energy, renewable ocean electricity generation, tidal energy, Tidal Energy Symposium, turbines, wind energy, wind power
The educational system in this country is letting down a lot of people. A guy in empresso just now commented on my hat – Boston Red Sox cap – and I said that I had grown up in New England.
“Oh, really! I’ve heard there’s a lot of great music in the UK.”
“No, I grew up in NEW England. Not the UK.”
“What’s the difference?”
“New England. It’s made up of the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.”
“Oh …”
For crying out loud, people! New England and the Atlantic states are the R&D labs for this experiment called the United States of America. It is a hugely important part of this country.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
The hot temperatures mean I’ve switched to iced green tea. Doesn’t have the same punch as coffee. Ah, well. …
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Posted in Coffeehouse Observer
Tagged barista, brew, caffeinated, caffeine, coffee, coffeehouse, coffeehouse observation, Coffeehouse Observer, cup o’ joe, espresso, iced green tea, java, joe, pastries, tea
You gotta love today’s DownEast.com trivia question.
Who was the only United States governor to declare war on a foreign power?
Maine Gov. John Fairfield declared war on Great Britain on March 18, 1840, opening the bloodless Aroostook War over Maine’s northern boundary with Canada.
Given the independent nature of Mainers, this shouldn’t surprise anyone.
I’m not sure if it was after this “war” that surveyors went down the Saint John River to establish a boundary when locals invited them to a party, got them drunk, and sent the surveyors down a wrong tributary to the north of where they were supposed to go.
Eventually, the surveyors realized what had happened and the made two surveyor’s lines in order to meet up again with their intended route. The result was that Maine ended up with a bunch more land than it was supposed to have and Canada a bit less.
Posted in Maine trivia
Tagged Aroostook War, Canada, declare war, DownEast.com, Great Britain, John Fairfield, Saint John River
[The newspaper where I worked for more than 13 years and where I served as the opinion page editor for several years was gracious enough to publish a commentary I wrote in the paper’s Sunday Op-Ed section. There is a typo at the beginning of the second sentence of the online version of the piece, which I’m guessing happened when they converted it for the website. Please ignore the X. Thanks. — KM]
Unemployment takes a toll – The Reporter, July 11, 2010.
PORTLAND, Maine — A University of Southern Maine professor and a crew of students are embarking on an expedition to learn how the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is affecting the health of whales.
The research vessel, Odyssey, a 93-foot, two-masted sailboat packed with laboratory equipment, is now berthed at DiMillo’s Marina. The vessel is scheduled to depart Portland next Friday.
John Wise, a professor of toxicology and molecular epidemiology at the University of Southern Maine, is the lead scientist. At least 10 USM students will be on board for some portion of the three-month expedition.
The vessel is carrying Wise’s cellular molecular laboratory – the only laboratory of its kind at sea, according to Iain Kerr, chief executive officer of Ocean Alliance, the Massachusetts nonprofit that owns the $1.5 million ketch.
Wise and the crew will be hunting for cell samples of sperm, humpback and Bryde’s whales. Wise will study DNA extracted from the cells to examine the effects of pollution.
He will use his lab to grow additional cells, which in effect become a permanent living sample for further study.
The creation of new cell lines from wild marine animals is difficult if not impossible to do because the cells degrade within hours, Wise said. That’s why it’s important to have a floating laboratory.
Click on the link for the rest of this story by Tom Bell in the Portland Press Herald.
Posted in Economy, Education and Schools, Energy, Environment, Food and Drink, Maine, Outdoors, Politics and government
Tagged Gulf of Mexico, laboratory, molecular epidemiology, Ocean Alliance, Odyssey, oil spill, pollution, Portland, students, toxicology, U.S. Coast Guard, University of Southern Maine, USM, whales
Ad campaign of the time included a war hero who happened to be a sports hero, too.
The Moxie Boy wants to make sure you drink Moxie.
To tell you the truth, I was not big on Moxie as a kid. It is an acquired taste.
Posted in Food and Drink, Maine
Tagged canoe race, carnival, Lisbon, Moxie, Moxie chugging, Moxie Festival, Moxie memorabilia, official state beverage, parade, soda
First time campers relish home comforts | Lewiston Sun Journal
Raffle winner pitches first camp in Camden Hills | Bangor Daily News
To learn more about the state parks, visit the Maine Department of Conservation website at: www.maine.gov/doc.
I had to grin about the DownEast.com trivia question for today, especially since I posted the other day about the Maine craft beers I am able to find here in California. Here’s the question.
What was the “Maine Law”?
Answer
Maine pioneered the prohibition of alcohol, adopting a ban on the sale of liquor on June 2, 1851. The law became the model for prohibition laws in other states.
Posted in Food and Drink, Law and Order, Maine, Maine trivia, Politics and government
Tagged alcohol, crafted beers, DownEast.com, Maine law, prohibition
AUBURN — Spring and Rich Gouette have three kids, an 11-year-old boy and two young girls. Louise and Brian Johnson have three boys; the oldest is 6. Each family considered adoption last fall, yearning to add to their young broods, but the time didn’t feel right for either. The Gouettes had their house up for sale. Moving invited uncertainty. The Johnsons prayed about adoption, leaving the decision with God. They weren’t yet feeling called.
And then, an earthquake struck Haiti in January.
The sale of their house had fallen through and the Gouettes couldn’t see waiting any longer. They connected with a Haitian orphanage through friends and immediately fell in love with a 9-year-old boy named Augenson. He was the one.
Then came news that he wasn’t alone.
Augenson had brothers, 6-year-old Wisler and 2-year-old Wisly.
“We were just in agony: ‘How do we separate the brothers?’” Spring Gouette said. “I put the word out on Facebook, ‘Here’s the deal …’”
Click on the link for the rest of this story by Kathryn Skelton in the Lewiston Sun Journal.
Posted in Disaster, Economy, Education and Schools, Maine, Politics and government
Tagged adoption, Auburn, disaster, earthquake, Haiti, Haitian, Maine, mud pies, Port-au-Prince, quake, UN, United Nations, Wayom Timoun Orphanage
Letters From Away 