Working Waterfront

Displaced people finding a home in Middle East crossroads

ROB SNYDER Sand and sky as seen in the Wadi Rum Desert in Jordan. By Rob Snyder I recently spent a week with a Jordanian friend touring his country. I learned that Jordanians have lived at the center of waves of people and commerce, of politics and art, religions, deserts… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Cape Cod’s housing crisis informs Maine coast

By Tom Groening For many New Englanders, Cape Cod is a beach-rimmed vacation destination. But it also may be understood as a canary in the coal mine. The Maine coast and Cape Cod differ in many ways, but one thing they share is a housing market pressured by seasonal residency… SEE MORE

Swan's Island Donnie Carlson builds a lobster trap.

Working Waterfront

Donnie Carlson found his niche on Swan’s Island

DALE JOYCE/HARBORVIEW STUDIO Donnie Carlson By Jennifer Helman/Photos By Dale Joyce Many people in the lobster industry see fishing as a birthright. They fish because their father fished, and maybe his father before him. Donnie Carlson started on that familiar path, but took an unexpected turn 30-plus years ago. As… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

And they might make good Christmas presents, too

By Sandy Oliver Whole stores are dedicated to helping cooks do their job. Right after bookstores, and just before yarn shops, kitchen stores are my favorite places to browse, though goodness knows there is not much time for that these days, what with taking fewer mainland trips and many more… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Trip to Southwest inspires visions of natives

By Phil Crossman Our most recent road trip took us out to Utah and Colorado. It was so stunning that when it was time to return, we left the Eurovan in Denver and flew home so we can fly back and explore further without having to drive across the country… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Whale skeleton work brings school, community together

By Courtney Naliboff It could have been a ghoulish scene: hole saws cut into vertebrae, hammers whacking chisels, loosening chunks of marrow. Small children swept bone and sawdust from the floor. Rather than a scene from a horror movie, this was a community work day on North Haven’s minke whale… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Missing islander ripples worry, hope through community

By Barbara Fernald In October, many of us in the Cranberry Isles were badly shaken by the untimely death of Courtney Chaplin, an Islesford community member. When he didn’t show up at home, after a day of work on the island, his wife Kate made some phone calls and a… SEE MORE

Carley Mayhew and Mott Feibusch of Monhegan Coffee Roasters.

Working Waterfront

The Monhegan trifecta: beer, coffee, chocolate

KELLI PARK Dylan and Mandy Metrano, owners of La Nef Chocolate. KELLI PARK Matt Weber of Monhegan Brewing Company. Story and Photos by Kelli Park What’s the word on Monhegan? The answer, offered this summer by an island businesswoman, was to the point—beer, coffee, and chocolate. In recent months, an… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Court rules DOT erred in ferry rate hike

The Maine Superior Court has ruled the Department of Transportation failed to follow the correct procedure when it raised fares on the Maine State Ferry Service earlier this year. The ruling came after the town of Islesboro filed suit against DOT. The new rates, which went into effect May 21,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Thoughts about leaving… way before it’s time

Reflections is written by Island Fellows, recent college grads who do community service work on Maine islands and in remote coastal communities through the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront. ByStevie Kowalczyk My first draft of this piece was terrible. I wrote a nondescript, short essay about projects I was working… SEE MORE