Newly hatched tern chicks on Petit Manan Island on June 23, 2011. Petit Manan is one of the 50 islands that make up the Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge. Photo courtesy Beth Goettel, USFWS.
The islands off the coast of Maine are still remote. There are over 3,000 of them, but they are largely craggy and uninhabited, except for wailing seabirds and barking seals, and the occasional whale. Even Mainers tend to think of them as scenery; mostly wild, almost mythical, just out of reach. Wilderness is often an illusion. Just over a century ago, the islands were booming with steamer ships and cargo, sheep farms and granite quarries. Thursday, May 10, 2012
Rockland residents who hope to find a way to save the Lincoln Street Center for Arts and Education from closing and being sold plan to meet on Tuesday, May 15, at 6:30 p.m. at Lincoln Street Center to discuss the options. The Lincoln Street Center, which is housed in the historic Rockland High School, is scheduled to close June 30 due to financial problems.
For many Maine bird watchers, spring is personified by the arrival of two dozen or so species of wood warblers. Adorned in their brightest breeding plumage, these small active creatures have been aptly described as feathered jewels. At springtime hotspots, such as Evergreen Cemetery in Portland and Monhegan Island, warblers should be swarming by mid- to late May.
Drawings and watercolors of Newcastle artist Kerry Hallgren Rodriguez are on display at Miles Memorial Hospital Hall Gallery in Damariscotta now through Friday, June 22. All work is for sale and a part of the proceeds will benefit the hospital.
Jesse Henry snapped this historic photo of the line in Rockland at Wasses Hot Dogs' 40th anniversary celebration. Customers were offered coupons to purchase up to three of the famous dogs for 30 cents each - the price 40 years ago - and the crowds snaked the length of the parking lot all day long.
At the 2012 Energy Fair held at the University of Maine's Hutchinson Center in Belfast on Friday, May 4, dozens of Maine students from coastal and remote island communities made biodiesel fuel, built floating wind turbines and constructed interior storm windows as part of a national initiative to increase science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills.
Maine's Favorite Birds, written by Jeffrey and Allison Wells and beautifully illustrated with Evan Barbour's watercolors, has just been published by Tilbury House Publishers in Gardiner. The slim, 72-page guide is dedicated to the beginning and intermediate birder who simply wants to identify the birds that they most often see or are most likely to encounter in Maine.
Gospel, jazz and soul singer Francine Reed will perform in concert with her band at Boothbay Harbor's Opera House on Saturday, May 19, at 8 p.m. Reed has appeared on stage with Miles Davis, Smokey Robinson, Etta James, The Crusaders and Lyle Lovett, with whom she continues as his duet and back-up vocalist.
Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay offers opportunities for volunteering. New docents will complete a three-day training course from Monday through Wednesday, June 11 through 13, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.
Last week, more than 3,000 midcoast students from eight schools watched the documentary "Bullied" and responded firsthand as they heard from Jamie Nabozny, who urged them to take personal responsibility to end bullying. "Bullied," which was made by the Southern Poverty Law Center, chronicles the near-fatal harassment of Nabozny, a gay teenager from rural Wisconsin, and his suit against the school administrations that failed to protect him.
In May the Belfast Free Library's film series Friday Night Flicks will present four films that defy easy categorization. All of the films will be shown at 7 p.m. and are free of charge. On May 25, in "To Die For," Nicole Kidman plays an ambitious TV "weather girl" who seduces a young man and convinces him to murder her husband.
Lincoln County Fish & Game Association and Medomak Valley Land Trust will be hosting their annual Hooked on Fishing Day for kids under the age of 16 on Saturday, May 19, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Quarry Hill in Waldoboro. Donations of unwanted fishing gear to be used at the event are needed - poles and youth life jackets are especially appreciated.
Care Net Pregnancy Center of Rockland will hold its annual Walk for Life fundraiser on Saturday, May 19, at the First Baptist Church of Rockland, 215 Limerock Street. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m., and the walk starts at 9 a.m.
