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.
Please join us to support this important nonprofit journalism.
- Community
- People
- Opinion
- Environment
- Marine
- Inter-island News
- Business
- Columns
- Arts
- Education
- Climate Change
- Book Review
- Cranberry Report
- Journal of an Island Kitchen
- Salt Water Cure
- Op Ed
- Reflections
- Observer
- Fathoming
- Field Notes
- Rockbound
- Essay
- Energy
- Editorial
- In Plain Sight
- Letters to the Editor
- Wrack Line
- From The Helm
- Dispatches from World Ocean Observatory
- Sweetest in the Gale
May 21
Guest column: Bar Harbor vote is chance to save Frenchman Bay
Town ownership of ferry terminal can protect island from cruise ships
By Renata Moise Early in the season, we carry our kayaks over the thick layer of rotten seaweed at the high tide line. Living by the sea, this slippery, smelly refuse makes me think of gardening soon, that I must remember to return with buckets. Since I was tiny I have come to this beach on Frenchman Bay. In those…
May 21
Islesboro’s Annika Rogers a two-sport standout
Snowshoeing and sailing have kept this high school senior competing and winning
Annika Rogers has spent most of her life working hard to excel, both in school and in sport, competing locally in sailing and internationally in snowshoeing. The Islesboro Central School…
May 21
Mastering the art of persuasion
Convincing a skeptical public to support a new idea is important skill
I have long been fascinated by the art of persuasion. Well, maybe it’s more skill than art. I’m thinking of the public version, not trying to talk someone into hiring…
May 21
Penobscot Marine Museum brings Kosti home
Ruohomaa was one of Maine's best photojournalists in the mid-20th century
COURTESY PENOBSCOT MARINE MUSEUM In the summer of 1951, Ruohomaa received a call from his friend Andrew Wyeth inviting him to join in fetching an antique hearse from Loud’s Island.…
May 21
Remembering the ‘improbable’ Harbor Gawker
Family-run restaurant called it quits last year, but new one opens soon
On Oct. 1 of last year, a man with no legs and just a few fingers put together one of several final meals at one of coastal Maine’s iconic—and most improbable—seafood…
May 21
Sisters in recovery
Aquaculture operation for women recovering from addiction is Colleen Francke’s dream
By Kelli Park Planting and maintaining a garden can help those recovering from addiction. The recovering person learns responsibility while cultivating, nurturing, and investing time and effort, during which the…
May 21
Swan’s Island fights ticks with fire
Traditional burning of fields revived as pest control
By Jennifer Helman There is no shortage of information about the trouble ticks bring into our lives. They lay thousands of eggs at a time, live parasitically off animals, spread…
May 21
Swan’s Island motel has new owners
Jennifer Helman, Dale Joyce purchase Harbor Watch Inn
If you visit Swan’s Island for a weekend getaway, don’t expect much nightlife. Unless, that is, your idea of night life is a peaceful early evening stroll down a quiet…
May 21
The history of Maine’s income tax, and why it matters
Current climate couldn’t bring bold policy changes wrought in 1960s
Maine’s current governor spent his second term trying to repeal the income tax, and while he didn’t succeed, the top rate was reduced from 8.5 percent to 7.1 percent during…
May 21
Two views of what Europeans did to Native New England
Barkskins and Our Beloved Kin examine colonial exploitation and dominance of our region
Reviewed By Tom Walsh Engraved in granite near the Pennsylvania Avenue entrance to The National Archives in Washington D.C. is this enduring insight: What is Past is Prologue. It’s a…
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.
SIGN UP FOR OUR
E-WEEKLY
Get the latest articles from the Working Waterfront delivered to your inbox every week.
SIGN UP NOWTHE WORKING WATERFRONT
LATEST ISSUE
A nonprofit publication of the Island Institute which has been published for over 20 years.
LEARN MORE