A crew member cleans balconies on a cruise ship docked at Portland’s Ocean Gateway in 2014.

Working Waterfront

CruiseMaine evaluating potential, impact

The cruise ship industry’s growing interest in visiting Maine’s harbor towns is being hailed as opportunity by some, and branded as threat by others. While communities like Bar Harbor and Rockland are debating the relative merits of this part of the tourism economy, there’s no denying its size and impact.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Strategies sharpened for bringing faster internet

Municipalities have power to control their own destinies. That was one theme to emerge from the Maine Broadband Coalition’s May 31 conference at Thomas College in Waterville. The conference drew representatives from communities around the state hoping to improve internet speed to match 21st century uses of the web. Providers… SEE MORE

Fuel tanks sit close to the water during a high-tide event in Lincolnville Beach.

Working Waterfront

Mounting weather disaster costs make case for preparation

By Susie Arnold, Ph. D. and Heather Deese, Ph. D. There were 16 separate weather and climate disaster events topping $1 billion in recovery costs in the U.S. in 2017, with a cumulative cost exceeding $300 billion. It clear that it’s cheaper to prepare and minimize the clean-up rather than… SEE MORE

A view from Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park.

Working Waterfront

Tourism to Acadia spurred $284 million in economic benefits

A National Park Service report shows that Acadia National Park’s 3.5 million visits in 2017 resulted in $284 million in spending in the local region. That spending supported about 4,163 jobs and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $338 million. Chart shows Acadia-related spending, year by year.… SEE MORE

Jennifer Helman and Dale Joyce are the new owners of the Harbor Watch Inn.

Working Waterfront

Swan’s Island motel has new owners

If you visit Swan’s Island for a weekend getaway, don’t expect much nightlife. Unless, that is, your idea of night life is a peaceful early evening stroll down a quiet road to the shore, or a short drive to the lighthouse to watch the sunset. For one thing, the sale… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Remembering the ‘improbable’ Harbor Gawker

On Oct. 1 of last year, a man with no legs and just a few fingers put together one of several final meals at one of coastal Maine’s iconic—and most improbable—seafood restaurants. It was a haddock and havarti sandwich, which I enjoyed and with a gusto that I’d reserved over the… SEE MORE

Bath residents gathered to discuss their future as a community.

Working Waterfront

Bath’s ‘community check-in’ considers what’s next

On a Saturday morning in March, more than 150 people spent three hours at Bath’s Winter Street Center for the Downtown Tomorrow forum, talking about what they love about their town and where there could be improvements. The forum was sponsored by the city of Bath and Main Street Bath,… SEE MORE

One of Fournier's tugs works alongside Maine Maritime Academy's State of Maine last summer.

Working Waterfront

Fournier family continues tug tradition in Belfast

If Belfast has an icon representing it to the wider world, it’s probably the three red tugboats docked at the foot of Main Street. As pretty as those boats are, with their clean decks and fresh paint, they are not props for tourism marketing. The Penobscot Bay Tractor Tug Co.… SEE MORE

John Cabe and Anne Watson at the bicycle rental store in Bar Harbor.

Working Waterfront

Environment-friendly electric bike finds niche in Bar Harbor

Anne Watson tried out a Pedego electric bicycle one summer and loved it. Watson, a former school superintendent in Connecticut, has visited Great Cranberry Island every summer since she was a baby, and for the past two years has lived there year-round. But with summer rolling around, she can be… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Demystifying the magical internet: how the info flows (or not)

By Susie Arnold, Ph. D. and Heather Deese, Ph. D. If you think you need better broadband speeds at your house, in your neighborhood, or throughout your community, you’re probably correct. Maine currently ranks 49th in the country for internet speeds and reliability, so most of us have a long… SEE MORE