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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April 10
Ferry service proposes higher fares
Inflation cited for revisiting 2019 fare hike
The Maine State Ferry Service is proposing a 18.3% hike in ferry passenger and vehicle fares, citing inflation’s impact on wages, fuel, and vessel repairs. A fare hike was adopted in 2019, finalized only after significant opposition from residents of some the islands that faced especially high fare adjustments. The final rates were amended and won acceptance from most island…
April 2
What will we do with the water?
Adaptation to rising seas raises questions
The ocean is knocking at our door. Since the torrential, monsoon-like rain in October, the island has been battered by four additional significant storms. In January, a devastating combination of…
April 2
Maine’s lighthouses face troubling recovery
Damage from storms not easily repaired
Back-to-back storms slammed into the coast of Maine on Jan. 10 and Jan. 13, breaking state records for the highest tides since 1978 and delivering extensive damage along the entire…
April 2
Beavers helping create wetlands in Acadia
Park staff identify where they have worked
To a beaver, the flow emanating from a culvert is a “leak” in the water-retaining complex of dams and channels that must be repaired.
March 26
Down the drain, and then what?
Casco Bay’s runoff problems exacerbated by storms
After the weather Maine experienced in December and January, even the staunchest climate change skeptic had to admit that something is up. Three powerful storms—a rainstorm in December and two…
March 26
Offshore wind threatens centuries of fishing
Proposal creates more problems than it solves
The New England electric grid—ISO New England—has a website that includes a display featuring two pie charts that show where our electricity is coming from, updated in real time. Right…
March 18
Islesboro’s Olivia Britton serving on UMaine board
Second-year student represents other students
“The decisions that happen at the board level, even though they are sometimes complicated and a little bit confusing, affect our everyday lives,” Britton said
March 18
Newfoundland, Maine share maritime past
But Canadian province’s story diverges from ours
Today’s Newfoundland seems prosperous in comparison to Maine. There are no mobile homes and every house, every shed, and even every doghouse is clad in vinyl siding.
March 12
Waterfront access jeopardized by storms
Lost piers may not be replaced, properties may be sold
The challenges of maintaining working waterfront access was the topic of a discussion at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum on March 2, scheduled well before the January storms that pummeled the…
March 11
Finding the essence of the Lost Kitchen
Erin French’s latest gets at the heart of food
Big Heart Little Stove: Bringing Home Meals & Moments From The Lost Kitchen By Erin French (with Rachel Holtzman); Celadon Books, 2023. I think it’s safe to say, at least…
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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