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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June 20
The summer game, as played offshore
When my son was 8, he asked me to stop coaching him in baseball. I didn’t ask him why. Instead, I swallowed my pride and simply informed the head coach of his minor league team that I could no longer help out. The coach took it well. In fact, in the next breath he asked if I wouldn’t mind calling…
June 20
Forecasting the Maine coast’s future
Data now includes environmental DNA
Dinosaurs never knew the coast of Maine. As rugged and timeless as it appears, our coast is a relatively new feature, formed and revealed as ice sheets melted away, roughly…
June 20
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,…
June 20
Machias is on the move
Cooperation, optimism accompany recent growth
[caption id="attachment_36197" align="alignright" width="560"] Bill Kitchen, Machias town manager.[/caption] If you ask Bill Kitchen what’s going well in Machias, you’ll need to sit back because you’ll be listening for a…
June 13
Grindle Point Lighthouse: A beacon still shining
Islesboro’s history illuminated through light
From the top deck of the Margaret Chase Smith ferry, the first thing that can be seen approaching Islesboro is the Grindle Point Lighthouse. Standing at the northern edge of…
June 7
Stephen and David Etnier: A legacy of place
Father and son dedicated to the working waterfront
In his autobiography Overworked Guardian Angel, published posthumously in 2009, the painter Stephen Etnier (1903-1984) paid homage to the stretch of the Maine coast around South Harpswell where he lived…
June 7
Letters: 'Cogent,' public spaces, and fog
Cogent newspaper To the editor: I read virtually every word of the April issue of The Working Waterfront and am so impressed with the quality and pith of the contents.…
June 7
‘Here we go!’ time
Was the poet right about April?
In mid-March, the early afternoon sun was streaming through my kitchen window as I caught up with my friend Mary over a cup of tea. The warmth was appreciated but…
June 7
The community born of kitchens
Gathering with food across island’s public spaces
Kitchens make a house a home. Kitchens create community. Our island has at least ten non-domestic kitchens in public gathering places. Stoves, sinks, fridges, counters, pots and pans, coffee makers,…
June 7
The care that backs up caretaking
Illness shines a light on island support
My husband Bill went off-island to visit family during Vinalhaven’s two-week March break, so naturally Penrose and I both got sick. Pen came down with it first, an upper-respiratory crud…
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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