Working Waterfront

Cake and catastrophe

Hot muggy weather is hell on buttercream. Still, a lot of island-destination weddings and other grand events are planned for summer. Special cakes to mark nuptials, anniversaries, and birthdays, carefully constructed, decorated and set out to be admired before being carved up for consumption, are so vulnerable this time of… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Tick… tick… boom

I had spent the day online, taking a necessary but predictably dull class. As soon as we logged out for the day, I gathered my shoes, my hat, and my kid, and we went for a walk. First, we walked down the hill to check on the vernal pool I'd… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Good policy comes from informed policy makers

Those of us who work in coastal communities understand the vital role working waterfronts play in supporting jobs in our communities… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The power of big dreams

My home on Chebeague Island entered a new age last year—we finally connected to high-speed internet. Honestly, it’s so simple now that it’s difficult to remember being on the wrong side of the digital divide, where telehealth, telecommuting, and tele-anything was out of reach. The opportunities on the other side… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Camping adventures and misadventures

This issue of The Working Waterfront features a story about the emerging trend of “glamping,” a term coined to describe a version of camping that’s a bit more glamorous. I’ve had some camping experiences, most of which weren’t glamorous. My father, being a schoolteacher, had summers off, and after several… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Maine seafood is a ‘green’ choice

Make no mistake—our access to healthy seafood from fishermen and aquaculturists is under threat, along with the thousands of jobs and iconic heritage that bring it to your table. But there are available solutions that can both reduce the seafood sector’s GHG emissions and assist businesses on the financial side. SEE MORE

Stephen Pace’s “Loading Bait No. 6,” (1996), oil on canvas, 46 x 68 inches. PHOTO: COURTESY DOWLING WALSH GALLERY

Working Waterfront

Stephen Pace visits the Stonington Co-op

Faced with a vibrant island world, this celebrated abstract expressionist shifted his sights from inner visions to coastal subjects without losing the drive of his previous work. Wielding a wide and swift brush, Pace captured Stonington scenes with gestural bravado, the paint seemingly swept across the surface. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Thanking a senator for her help

Name: Erin Quetell Title: Policy director Focus: I lead on critical policy issues, such as clean energy and municipal resiliency. I work closely with staff across the organization to support their on-the-ground work through relationship building, coalition development, and policy awareness and advocacy. In This Photo: On March 12, I… SEE MORE

The taped-fingers of sardine packers reveals the cost of the work.

Working Waterfront

‘Put your scissors where your mouth is!’

It was the summer of 1970 when Rita Willey won the first sardine packing contest at the Maine Lobster & Seafood Festival in Rockland. She was 31 years old and had been packing sardines for 14 years. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A rescue at sea

Last March, Avrum and Michelle and their newly acquired catamaran, the Write Now, found themselves driven to seek shelter from a windstorm in a remote cove on the Abaco archipelago. While trying to turn hard upwind as increasingly threatening winds pushed their bow toward shore, the steering failed, unresponsive. An… SEE MORE