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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October 3
Stonington launches resilience strategy
Workforce, housing, blue economy among issues
The Hancock County town of Stonington is launching an economic resiliency strategy to complement its 2018 comprehensive plan and to proactively respond to current and future challenges and changes impacting the town’s ability to thrive as a year-round community. The analysis and action plan was commissioned in the spring of 2022 by Town Manager Kathleen Billings and the board of…
October 3
An island’s hold on family
Memoir finds Vinalhaven was home base
High Time TidePool Press (2023) As the state ferry approaches North Haven in the Fox Island Thorofare, my eye goes to the large, sprawling cottage-style mansions that line neighboring Vinalhaven’s…
October 3
Weeded needed in gardening book
Compilation of columns provides ‘cheerleading’
A Maine Garden Almanac: Seasonal Wisdom for Making the Most of Your Garden Space By Martha Fenn King, Down East Books (2023) There are a lot of books I end…
October 3
Vinalhaven takes action on housing
Nonprofit forms to investigate solutions
The Vinalhaven Housing Initiative (VHI) has been established to create year-round affordable, sustainable housing options for decent and safe housing that is affordable to lower- and middle-income individuals and families,…
October 3
Portland to sell building to island group
Affordable Peaks Island apartment plan moves forward
An affordable housing advocacy group has unveiled renderings of a building with three apartments that it plans to have constructed and occupied by next June on Peaks Island. Home Start,…
October 1
On the record with… GrowSmart Maine’s Nancy Smith
Advocacy group asserts that economy is tied to land use
When Nancy Smith first came to Maine in 1981, she was thinking, professionally, about the growth of trees and forests. Today, her work focuses on ensuring that Maine communities retain…
September 22
Legislature, governor pass offshore wind bill
Proponents say ‘guardrails in place’ to protect Gulf of Maine
In what proponents describe as a way to jumpstart a new offshore wind industry for Maine, the legislature passed and Gov. Janet Mills signed into law LD 1895, “An Act…
September 22
A curated coast—stories preserved and amplified
‘First Coast’ collaboration in Stonington through mid-October
If you visit 44 North Coffee’s Stonington location through mid-October, you’ll notice something different about the beloved cafe. This year, 44 North is hosting an exhibit of photographs, audio stories,…
September 22
A delicate dance between sea and land
Salt marshes absorb sea level rise—until they don't
Behind the forested dunes of Popham Beach, where the Kennebec River finally meets the sea, is an extensive salt marsh. Great blue herons hunt for eels amid blooms of sea…
September 22
Electric outboards show their stuff
Island Institute, Pendleton Yacht Yard partner on project
In an effort to “electrify the working waterfront” in Maine, staff from Island Institute (publisher of The Working Waterfront) along with Gabe Pendleton, owner of Pendleton Yacht Yard on Islesboro,…
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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