Where is Ram Island light?: Newly sold lighthouse to be added to the tax rolls of Cape Elizabeth or Portland | Portland Press Herald

Ramp Island Ledge Light

Ram Island Ledge Light will move onto the tax rolls because of its pending sale from the federal government to a doctor from Windham.

The question is, which tax rolls?

According to the online auction site set up by the U.S. General Services Administration, the lighthouse is at the entrance to Portland Harbor, off Cape Elizabeth.

The site says its street address is “Cumberland County,” and the city is Cape Elizabeth.

That’s news to Cape Elizabeth's town manager.

“We don’t believe it’s in Cape Elizabeth,” said Mike McGovern. “We believe it’s in the city of Portland.”

Portland’s tax assessor, Richard Blackburn, said McGovern is probably right.

“There have been some questions” about which municipality the lighthouse is in, Blackburn said, and those questions have never been answered.

Click for the rest of this story by Edward D. Murphy in the Portland Press Herald.

Anonymous bidder raises stakes for lighthouse: Bid casts doubt on Maine-based organization’s effort to acquire Ram Island Ledge Light | Portland Press Herald

Ram Island Ledge Lighthouse

An anonymous bidder has raised the stakes in what appears to be a three-way struggle for ownership of a historic lighthouse off the coast of Cape Elizabeth.

The $35,000 bid, made online Thursday by a party known only as “tugdocto,” cast doubt on a Maine-based organization’s effort to acquire Ram Island Ledge Light.

Robert Muller of Brunswick, executive director of the Ram Island Ledge Lighthouse Community, said his group must somehow raise $5,000 to $10,000 in the next day or two “to stay in the game” and put the lighthouse under public, locally based ownership.

“I really need to make up the gap with some large pledges,” he said.

Under federal rules, bidders have until 3 p.m. today to outbid tugdocto. Bids must be made in increments of at least $5,000.

If someone does outbid tugdocto today, the online auction will continue on to the next regular business day – Tuesday.

Click for the rest of the story by Dennis Hoey in the Portland Press Herald.

Anyone who wants to get more information or make a contribution can go to http://www.ramislandlighthouse.com/, call (207) 956-0699 or e-mail Muller at bob@RamIslandLighthouse.com.

‘Who wouldn't want to own a lighthouse in Maine?’ | Portland Press Herald

Bidders drawn by the charm, desire to preserve
Ram Island Ledge Light take a closer look

CASCO BAY – From his home in Cape Elizabeth, Scott Raspa can see Ram Island Ledge Light taking a pounding during nor'easters, or standing sentinel in calmer seas

On Thursday, the software consultant joined others on a Coast Guard vessel for a closer view of the lighthouse, about a mile northeast of Portland Head Light in Cape Elizabeth. The visitors were registered bidders in a federal government auction of the five-story tower, which has helped mark the main channel to Portland Harbor since 1905.

Conserving the lighthouse was a common motive among the bidders. A couple of them also thought ownership of the lighthouse could dovetail with their business plans. One had a notion that it could serve as a bed and breakfast for adventurous types, but wasn’t yet certain what he would do. All seemed charmed by the prospect of owning a wind-swept lighthouse off Maine’s rocky coast.

The Coast Guard doesn’t have the budget to maintain all of the lighthouse towers that house navigational aids, which in this case consists of a light and a foghorn. Under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000, lighthouses are offered to groups such as local governments and nonprofits at no cost before being put up for auction. The Coast Guard continues to maintain the navigational aids in lighthouse towers that are sold.

Raspa likes the idea of being the owner of a nearby lighthouse, with all its mystery and history. He doesn't yet have a concrete plan should that become the case.

“We were thinking about having cocktail parties there. I don’t know if that's possible,” he said.

Click for the rest of the story by Ann S. Kim in the Portland Press Herald.

Scientists search for invasive marine species | Bangor Daily News

Scientists search for invasive marine species - Bangor Daily News

Deadly Portland kayaking trip: Young women die in ‘very cold’ bay | Portland Press Herald

PORTLAND – Two young college friends, one of them a longtime summer resident of Peaks Island, died after setting out for a short kayak trip Sunday and apparently falling into the cold and choppy waters of Casco Bay.

Irina McEntee, 18, and Carissa Ireland, 20, were found about 9 a.m. Monday by Coast Guard helicopter and boat crews about three miles off Cape Elizabeth and seven miles south of the kayakers' original destination, Ram Island.

The women, both wearing life jackets, shorts and light shirts, were severely hypothermic and unresponsive and had no apparent vital signs when they were pulled from the 48-degree water, the Coast Guard said.

A helicopter crew rushed them to Maine Medical Center, where doctors tried to resuscitate them before pronouncing the women dead about 9:30 a.m., according to a hospital spokesman.

Forty-eight degrees “is very, very cold,” said Coast Guard Cmdr. Brian Downey. “Survivability is very short in that type of water condition.”

Click on the link for the rest of this story by John Richardson in the Portland Press Herald.

Lease to last another year at Crescent Beach State Park | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Lease to last another year at Crescent Beach State Park The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Unearthing Fort Williams' past in Cape Elizabeth | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Unearthing Fort Williams' past The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram