Earlier this fall, I took the train down to New York for a few days to join in on Climate Week—a collection of events organized by the non-profit Climate Group in service of reaching net zero by 2050. The sessions were spread out all over Manhattan, so I spent three days taking the subway uptown, then downtown, and over to…

Maine entered the 2025 legislative session with housing at the top of its policy agenda. For years, Mainers have grappled with unaffordable rents, scarce housing availability for working families, and regulatory barriers…

In hindsight, I wonder if the name I chose for this column was too wishful. I took the phrase “Sweetest in the Gale” from Emily Dickinson’s poem, “‘Hope’ is the…

Many people and organizations in Maine, including the publishers of this paper, have rightfully sounded the alarm about the loss of working waterfront along the coast. What is obvious is…

For years, teachers and guidance counselors at the Charles M. Sumner Learning Campus in Sullivan worked diligently to give students who fish a broader outlook on possible occupations other than…

Most people clearly remember the first time they met Peter Willauer. I certainly do. An imposing 6-foot-2-inch figure, Willauer looked like he walked out of the movie Captains Courageous.  A…

Much like ancient Gaul, Winter Harbor on the Downeast coast is divided into three parts, at least when approached from the water. To the west lies Grindstone Neck, the site…

In my last “From the Helm” column, I wrote about the importance of Maine’s working waterfront—the people, the structures, the boats, and the businesses that sustain Maine’s marine economy. I…

When a giant oak of a man is felled on an island everyone hears it instantly and feels the loss deeply and personally. Phil Crossman, Vinalhaven writer, raconteur, businessman, and…

Longtime Vinalhaven columnist Phil Crossman passed away on Dec. 27. We wanted to run one of his own pieces, one last time. This one first appeared in August 2014. Our…