Mainebiz editorial staffers share 2020 story favorites
Photos/Tim Greenway, Jason Paige Smith and Fred Field
Mainebiz print edition covers are designed by Art Director Matt Selva, whose 2020 favorites are shown here.
Every Mainebiz Weekly Report features a section on "What We're Reading" by editorial staff members. Today as we close the chapter on 2020, we each would like to share favorite stories we covered this year, and what made an impression from the writer's point of view.
Music makers strike a chord
Music makers: These small Maine manufacturers now serve a global market
This was a wonderful chance to talk with makers of musical instruments — Dana Bourgeois at Bourgeois Guitars in Lewiston; Toby Rzepka, who makes classical guitars and violas da gamba in Portland; John Slobod of Circa Guitars in South Portland; and Nathan Slobodkin if Slobodkin Violins in Bangor. Handcrafted acoustic instruments are seeing a renaissance. Some credited baby boomers, nostalgic for the Beatles and Joni Mitchell. Said Rzepka, “The better and more successful the player, the less they care about the branding and even the look of the guitar. They just want to sit down and play.”
- Laurie Schreiber, senior writer
Diversity more than numbers
Maine looks beyond the numbers in search of a fair employment playing field
Report: Policies boosting race equity in Maine would add jobs, income
I usually like, personally, anything that has to do with historic preservation or my hometown of Augusta. But, bigger picture since it’s not just about me, I like the stories that open my eyes. That’s what I found when I talked to Liz Greason and Deb Breiting, of Maine Intercultural Communications Consulting, for a feature that ran in our Dec. 14 edition. It’s easy to think “diversity” means just hiring more diversely, but this story opened my eyes to the nuances of looking at it from the other angle — what it means to truly embrace diversity. The article was spurred by another favorite, a report from the Maine Economic Policy Council, authored by James Myall, that I covered for our Daily Report on Nov. 13, about how systemic racism in Maine is a huge hit to the state’s economy. Both articles brought forward issues that are easy for a lot of us to ignore, even if we think we’re not. So, those were my one-two favorites this year.
- Maureen Milliken, senior writer
Crossing the finish line
Scarborough track closes chapter on live harness racing
Covering the last day of live harness racing at Scarborough Downs was both surreal and sad, but I was glad to be there, two and a half years after my print feature about harness racing in Maine. Being there was all the more special as a rare place to see live sports during the pandemic, and where I learned a few weeks earlier of Joseph Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential race — from a fellow (masked) customer at the outdoor food truck. Since coming to Maine four years ago, my photographer husband and I had been to the Downs several times, both as journalists and as spectators, relishing the faded-glory ambiance, the horses and chatty spectators. Any similarities to other race tracks we had visited ended this past Nov. 28, the last day of racing at Scarborough Downs after 70 years. As “Auld Lang Syne” played on the speaker system after the final race and people flocked to the winner's circle, I couldn’t help but think of the last scene of “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
Protests and a mural with a message
Tale of two cities: How some Maine businesses have reacted to civil unrest
While COVID-19 dominated news coverage for much of 2020, the country also grappled with another crisis — the racism many people experience in their day-to-day lives, and which inspired protests in the wake of George Floyd’s killing. Maine is not immune from racist behavior, and was not immune from the response. So I felt compelled to report on both in this story, published June 8. Writing it was both inspiring and troubling. In Sanford, just before a peaceful protest, I saw a lot of storefront windows boarded up and painted “BLM” — to appease Black Lives Matter demonstrators and prevent riot damage, I was told. But at one Portland shop, where windows had already been broken, the plywood covering had been converted into a mural titled “Peace and Unity.” A handwritten message there read: “It’s always been like this. But it doesn’t have to be like this.”
- William Hall, digital editor
Icon of the islands
Kevin Waters, whose air service connects Maine's islands, dies unexpectedly
The story that resonated with me this year was this obituary I wrote about Kevin Waters, founder of Penobscot Island Air. I interviewed Suzanne Rankin of Matinicus, who summed up the impact one person can have on a remote island community. Waters and Penobscot Island Air connected the islands like Matinicus — 20 miles from the mainland — by delivering U.S. mail, food, medicine and Amazon packages, Rankin told me by phone. Rankin was one of five women who, in the wake of Maine Aviation's December 2004 closing, sat down at a kitchen table looking for a way to restore air service to the island. Residents raised $17,000 to help Waters, who had worked for Maine Aviation, lease a plane so he could continue to run flights to the island. “We’re the most remote island on the Eastern Seaboard,” Rankin said. “Without air service, you can’t get groceries, you can’t get medicines. When the previous owner closed, it wasn’t just that we weren’t getting Christmas cards. You weren’t getting your heart medication.” Over the years, Waters became a part of the island community. “He flew everything, from babies to goats,” Rankin said. “He flew UPS, FedEx, U.S. mail. He came to people’s graduations. He knew the babies. He knew who got married. He came to the island’s annual solstice party in December.”
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