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May 30
Addiction tidal wave crashing over our coast
Island Institute working to understand and respond
The Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront, is working to understand the opioid epidemic on the coast of Maine, and to learn more about the issue, we recently hosted a presentation by Dr. Ira Mandel, founder of the Knox County Recovery Coalition. One comment from a staffer summed up the reason for our interest: “It will impact our work…
May 30
Flying just for fun
Invitation to a fly-in can be a mixed bag
Because I go back and forth between Matinicus and Rockland a lot, and because our island doesn’t have a daily ferry or mail boat, and because the pilots who fly…
May 30
Fresh recruits take on first-responder charge
Ten folks study, train and practice to become EMTs
On an island with a more-or-less fixed population of fewer that 400 people, burn-out is an all-too-common phenomenon. After so many years on a board or in a volunteer position,…
May 30
Hawaiians find work and new life in Stonington
Dressing for cold weather a challenge, but men adjusted
When Ryan Woolsey and Kealii Mano moved from the year-round tropical warmth of Hawaii to Stonington, where they’d experience their first cold winter and snow, they had no regrets. They…
May 30
Help on the way from island caretakers
Memorial Day deadline looms, but island has its own calendar
As May began with limited sunshine and two weeks of showers in the forecast, I said to Bruce, “Remember that one year when we had 23 days of rain in…
May 30
Islands of the South Atlantic tell stories of people, nature
Writer visited Antarctic archipelago, learned history
By Dwight Gertz Strung between Antarctica and the Equator, a thin chain of islands in the South Atlantic Ocean lies almost abandoned by commerce. Once valued for whaling or as…
May 30
Matches, the half-life of cake, and other kitchen observations
Columnist wonders about old and new ways
Where are the kitchen matches of yesteryear? I’m not looking for something that existed 50 or 100 years ago—just maybe ten or so, the wonderful red-tipped, strike-anywhere Diamond matches that…
May 30
Portland kicks off first Schoonerfest
Regatta scheduled June 24-26
The group Tall Ships Portland has scheduled a sailing regatta for traditional craft for June 24-26. Portland SchoonerFest and Regatta will feature five, large traditional schooners racing and parading under…
May 30
The fall and rise of the Great Lakes is a cautionary tale
Next chapter may be written by Trump administration
The Death and Life of the Great Lakes, by Dan Egan; W.W. Norton & Co., New York, 2017; 280 pages, hardcover, $27.95. The federal budget that President Trump proposed to…
May 26
Confronting a simple truth, a word at a time
Columnist acknowledges a passage without choking on the number
I’ve been struggling with a simple truth visited on me recently, something that came much sooner than anticipated. It’s been suggested that writing about it might help me cope. I’ll…
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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