Working Waterfront

Vinalhaven print artist’s work featured at Farnsworth

Vinalhaven artist Chris Clarke is having a fabulous year. Clarke was recently approached by the Farnsworth Art Museum to loan two of his pieces for its current exhibit, "The Art of Disaster," and in August, he celebrated the 10th anniversary of his Engine House Press. "It's thrilling," says Clarke of… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

E.B. White was indeed ‘Some Writer’

E.B. White was a writer’s writer. He wrote poetry, columns for magazines like The New Yorker and Harper’s—essays, really, and in a style that remains in vogue 70 years later—and, of course, children’s books like Stuart Little and Charlotte’s Web. He literally wrote the book on writing, too, building on… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

My new favorite word reflects my new life

Reflections is a monthly column 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. Andrew May is working with the North Haven Community School, Southern Harbor Eldercare Services and Waterman’s… SEE MORE

Artisan vegetables: Sparkplug Farm at the Vinalhaven Farmers Market.

Working Waterfront

Vinalhaven’s Sparkplug Farm seeks new operator

A bright October sun had me squinting at the landscape—almost a mirage with its fields of flourishing vegetation. Like summer, I was thinking. But to farmers John Wright and Sara Hodges, joining me in a long row of arugula, it was perfect weather for harvesting greens at Sparkplug Farm, situated… SEE MORE

Sailboats and people on Chebeague Island shore.

Working Waterfront

Public support needed to preserve public access

As Maine’s coastline changes hands, access to the shore becomes more contentious and litigious. Access is controversial, and this is especially true on islands. What happens when legal claims clash with local traditions? While the Colonial Ordinance—the document on which current law is derived—allows for fishing, fowling and navigating in… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Telecommuting lets transplants be ‘Eastported’

Coleman Brice, an information technology consultant in New Jersey, visited a friend in Eastport a dozen or so years ago. “I was blown away by the intellectual climate, the creative arts culture, the working waterfront, and the beauty and natural ruggedness,” he remembers. Five years ago, Brice and his wife… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

On the record with… WCSH-TV’s meteorologist Keith Carson

In March of 1993, the U.S. East Coast experienced what has been called the Storm of the Century. This category 5 storm created havoc with high winds and coastal flooding, dumping up to 20 inches or more of snow across much of New England, resulting in deaths from Florida to… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Fisheries advocate Alden named White House ‘champion’

Robin Alden, a former commissioner of the state’s Department of Marine Resources (DMR) and current director of the Stonington-based Penobscot East Resource Center (PERC), has been named a White House champion of change for her work on sustainable seafood issues. The honor was bestowed in a ceremony on Friday, Oct. 7.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

UMaine Machias students grows her own coral

Coral reefs make up less than 1 percent of the ocean floor, yet they provide shelter for as much as a quarter of sea life. “They’re a huge keystone ecosystem for the ocean,” explains Clair Aldrich, a senior at the University of Maine at Machias. “They’re so important.” So important—especially… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Guests find motel romantic, fisherman- and mink-friendly

I customarily do an end of year wrap up of the summer’s high points at the Tidewater, the motel on Vinalhaven I own and operate. It’s a great business to be in. Almost without exception, every visitor is delighted to be here, happy to be on vacation, relieved to be… SEE MORE