Working Waterfront

Be on the lookout for ‘oceans of jelly’

By Nick Record Last summer, beachgoers and mariners along the coast of Maine reported dense aggregations of jellyfish—mostly lion’s mane and moon jellies, with reports of salps later on in the year. The gelatinous critters bothered swimmers, clogged bilge pumps, gummed up lobster traps, and fascinated ocean geeks like me.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Crossing has been essential, symbolic of my experience

Editor's note: Reflections is a monthly column written by Island Fellows, recent college grads who do community service work on Maine islands through the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront, and AmeriCorps. Maddey Gates has been helping with elder care efforts on four islands. To reach an island, you… SEE MORE

Some of the 2015 island students who received college scholarships through the Island Institute.

Working Waterfront

Island identity an important strand

Editor's note: Davis Boardman of Islesboro was the featured speaker at the Island Institute's annual Scholars Luncheon on May 30 at Point Lookout in Northport at which 68 students were awarded scholarships totaling $150,300 through the nonprofit's Island Education Fund. These are her remarks. I started at Barnard College feeling… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Parsing the ‘It’s not bad, it’s different’ sentiment

The comment was poignant, maybe reflecting resignation, maybe reflecting sadness. A native of Lubec, speaking about the changes she's seen since her days working in a sardine packing plant ended years ago, described a community where she no longer knows most everyone. The Lubec of years ago was a place… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Thinking like a banker and a fisherman

By Rob Snyder Fishermen from 15 U.S. fishing communities recently met in Boston to talk fish and fishing. But if you closed your eyes and listened to the discussion, you would have assumed it was a room full of bankers. They talked of valuing new assets and entering new markets,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Birds on the brain, birds at my window

By Barbara Fernald As I sat at my kitchen table attempting to pull something out of my overloaded-by-too-much-to-do brain for this column, I gazed out through the window, taking in the lilac bush where the blossoms were just opening. Birds were flying back and forth between the bush and the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Right price, bad memory, but good time had

By Phil Crossman Last year, having seen the Tidewater Motel featured on the Today show, the producers from the The Price is Right called to ask if I could put together an interesting package the show could offer as a prize. I did. I offered them a week's waterfront lodging,… SEE MORE

A schooner sails past the tanks in South Portland on a late May Saturday.

Working Waterfront

Is a Portland cell tower killing fish?

Complied by Tom Groening Are the radio waves from a cell tower killing fish? As odd as that question sounds, it's being taken seriously by the Portland school system, the Portland Press-Herald reports. The cell tower in question is on the roof of Deering High School, and a biology teacher… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

My June ‘to do’ list

By Sandy Oliver Plant more lettuce. Plant more spinach. Pick the blossoms off the rhubarb so it will keep sending up leaves. Thin calendula. Plant out the dahlias, for pity's sake. Snap sprouts off the potatoes still in the cellar. These and more are on my June "to do" list.… SEE MORE

Approaching the Fox Islands Thoroughfare.

Working Waterfront

Summer on the island, when work fever takes hold

By Courtney Naliboff When I was a kid, out in the woods of central Maine, summers were a real vacation. My sisters and I swam and canoed, got ice cream at Gifford's, tried to dam up the stream in the backyard, and picked peas and green beans out of the… SEE MORE