Working Waterfront

Alcohol and fishing don’t have to be partners

Fishermen have long been stereotyped as heavy drinkers, a perception reinforced in media, pop culture, and even within their own communities. This assumption creates a damaging cycle. When people expect fishermen to drink, it normalizes excessive alcohol use... SEE MORE

A view of the shore of Peaks Island. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Smart housing: focus on density and character

The state faces a decision—how can we maintain the character of non-urban life while encouraging the building necessary to house the working- and middle-class people struggling to find consistent housing? SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A better way to do highway commerce

It was a sad, maybe even pathetic sight, but it caught my eye. I was driving through the busy commercial strip on Route 3, just west of Route 1 in Belfast, and I saw an excavator, its arm resting in a partially demolished building. It took me a moment, but… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A home for all

I had the opportunity recently to join a 20th anniversary celebration of North Haven Sustainable Housing (NHSH), one of the leading models of housing solutions along the coast. Since 2005, NHSH has demonstrated that the people who make island communities thrive can, in fact, have beautiful homes that are affordable… SEE MORE

A passenger disembarks the ferry on Islesboro. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Ferry rates proposed to increase… again

Just a year after raising its fares, the Maine State Ferry Service is proposing another rate hike to meet what it says are unanticipated rising costs. Ticket prices for walk-on passengers and vehicles would rise by about 13.5%, the service reports, in its proposal aired at a public hearing on… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Our View: Maine’s marine future must include aquaculture

You have recently read several articles and op-eds in The Working Waterfront debating the role of aquaculture in Maine. As the publisher of this newspaper, Island Institute takes pride in providing a virtual, open “town square” where people can come together for hard conversations on controversial topics. As a trusted voice on the issues that affect Maine’s coast, we are also keenly aware of our responsibility to share accurate and timely information based on our own programmatic experience and expertise. SEE MORE

Where To?, by Rebecca Goodale and Arlene Morris, 2024, edition of five, 17 x 15 x 2¼ inches. PHOTO: COURTESY OF ARTISTS

Working Waterfront

Rebecca Goodale, Arlene Morris ‘build’ a clam shack

Goodale and Morris invite the reader to assemble the panels “to create a specific place during this climate crisis.” The panels can be arranged, they note, “to suit [the reader’s] aesthetic preferences..." SEE MORE

Jeff Frank speaks at the Maine Fishermen's Forum. PHOTO: JACK SULLIVAN

Working Waterfront

Jeff Frank and the ‘Future of Fishing’

Name: Jeff Frank Title: Senior community development officer in Island Institute’s Center for Marine Economy Focus: I lead the business support work for the Future of Fishing program. This initiative is designed to help Maine’s fishing families and coastal communities navigate the economic uncertainty facing the lobster industry. My work… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The magic of municipal planning

I remind myself that I’m lucky to have a wealth of information available to me. I can find planning board minutes from 2017 on the town of St. George website. I can instantly generate a map of car accidents in town over the past 20 years... SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

How nature steps up when waves get rough

There are thousands of examples from around the world, but what practitioners have found works best to show landowners the benefits of nature-based solutions is social proof—a project in your neighbor’s yard. SEE MORE