The Working Waterfront newspaper reports on the people and forces that shape Maine’s coastal and island communities. As publisher, Island Institute’s premise is that the cultural, environmental, and community assets here are rare and valuable, and are worth fighting for.
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January 21
Jeremiah Hacker, Portland’s ‘genuine homegrown radical’
Crusading journalist navigated 19th century’s pressing issues
By Tom Groening Jeremiah Hacker is not more than a footnote in Portland’s history, let alone Maine’s history. But examining his work as a crusading journalist through the middle of the 19th century opens a window on a world wrestling with slavery, brutal prisons, poverty without social safety nets, a rising but ruthless industrial economy, and the decline of the…
January 21
Portland shipper offers ‘first pallet free’
Eimskip vessels provide European markets for Maine products
Story/Photos by Kelli Park The Maine Port Authority and Icelandic shipping company Eimskip are collaborating on a new initiative to put Maine on the international map, one pallet-load at a…
January 16
‘Maine in the Movies’ film festival March 6-15
How we are seen, and how we see ourselves celebrated at 15 venues
By Tom Groening No, Mainers were not watching movies in 1820 when the state was established. But celebrating Maine’s role in film is an appropriate facet of the bicentennial celebration,…
January 16
The Gulf of Maine, 30 years out
Warmer, less salty, and devoid of several species
By Catherine Schmitt Animated maps show currents flowing in, around, and out of the Gulf of Maine, this sea within a sea, a counterclockwise gyre from the edge of vanishing…
January 15
2019 was Eastport’s ‘year of pulp’
Deep-water terminal continues to support Maine mills
By Tom Walsh It’s been nearly 40 years since Eastport’s then new, deepwater-import/export terminal opened for business. In 1981, the cargo vessel MV Ravenswood set out from Downeast Maine to…
January 15
Taking stock of a Downeast river
History, heritage, and commercial viability of last smelt run hang in the balance
By Jon Keller Five degrees above zero and the wind peels northwest. Sky and river both black dark. Headlights shine in the small parking lot. The wind howls, rocks the…
January 8
Our readers write about...
Gratitude, electrons, and radicals
Giving thanks works To the editor: I really connected with Barbara Fernald's piece on “tacking toward the positives” in life (Cranberry Report, November issue). Her physiological explanation for the seasonal…
January 8
The Secret Soul of an Island Shoe
Was it a talisman warding off evil spirits? A replicated ritual from across the Atlantic?
By Christina Marsden Gillis Its sole gouged with holes, the leather top cracked and ripped, the shoe, a woman's, had been hidden in the west wall of an upstairs bedroom…
January 2
How we get here: A history of Maine's ferry service
Private boats were displaced as recently as 1960
The SS Governor Bodwell, seen here, was launched at Rockland on May 27, 1892, by the Vinalhaven & Rockland Steamboat Company. It ran between the island and Rockland from 1892…
December 5
Water harvesting as a solution for island communities
Lessons offered by islands in the Pacific Northwest
By Robert Glennon As Maine’s island communities and coastal residents address water supply problems created by rising sea levels (see "Monhegan's water supply threatened," December/January issue, they may want to borrow…
Island Postcards
EPISODE 10: Keep the Light Shining
Two ambitious young women swam around the entire Island of Isle au Haut during the summer of 2019 to raise money for crucial renovations to the lighthouse.
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