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

Those with eyes to see

Imagine emerging from a modest cataract (left eye) removal procedure and discovering, for the first time in 81 years, that you could see, from that eye only, admittedly, but still—you could really see. You’d known, for most of those 81 years, that there were trees of course, and often branches,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A letter from an island in winter

Dear friend—How was your winter? It wasn’t too bad staying here on the island, but February was kind of rough. Days and days of temperatures below 20 degrees and a lot of wind. Ferries seemed to be canceled one or two days every week. That was hard on everyone; both… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Seasonal eating as an extreme sport

As an experiment one year, I vowed not to buy, cook, or eat any out-of-season vegetables. No eggplant in December. No asparagus in January. No broccoli in March. Sort of eating by pre-Civil War era standards. (You’d be surprised how quickly fresh produce found its way north after the hostilities… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

What sports should be

Over my two decades at North Haven Community School, I've developed a fondness for basketball. Not televised basketball (although I, too, was swept up in the women's NCAA excitement last year) or any basketball where I haven't known the players since birth, or at least kindergarten. Just the North Haven… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Mystery hidden in island fog

Suspicions fall on Jon, who has an uneasy relationship with his father, not to mention a serious drinking problem. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Imagine island EMS at night… without the ferry

You’re cold, you’re uncomfortable, and you’re frightened. While the EMTs have been performing their assessments and interventions, the driver has been trying to arrange transportation. It’s essential that you are taken to a hospital for imaging as quickly as possible. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Twice to the island for Jon Bolduc

Islesboro has a personal and professional hold on Jon Bolduc, and for good reason, as he explains. Bolduc, 31, moved with his family to the Penobscot Bay island when he was a child. “My mom and dad were both teachers,” he explains. “They got positions the same year,” at the… SEE MORE

David Lunt in his later years. PHOTO: NICOLE WOLF

Working Waterfront

Remembering David Lunt, my father

He was blessed with a sharp mind and operated on instinct (he was not fond of “process”) to help pull his hometown into a more modern world. And he worked tirelessly with state agencies and organizations, such as Island Institute, to push new ideas in a constant struggle to keep it alive. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Listening for leadership

I don’t see many leaders. I see individuals running organizations and businesses, chairing committees and boards of directors, but just because they sit in the chair at the head of the table doesn’t make them leaders. Not only do we need leaders, but we need compassionate leaders who can hold… SEE MORE