The Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront, spends much of its time working to network Maine’s 15 year-round island communities. Institute staff help islanders share education resources, replicate home weatherization projects from island to island, and create opportunities for island entrepreneurs to sharpen their business plans by working together. Such togetherness isn’t always appropriate,
Talkin’ boats, and a Beatle aboard
EAST ORLAND — It’s not surprising that a Beatle would figure in a radio show. But on this day at WERU-FM, coastal Maine’s community radio station, the Beatle makes an appearance not in song but in a seafaring yarn. And it’s quite a yarn, one that reveals a pivotable moment in this Beatle’s life. It’s
Hindsight, mercury and tomorrow
At what point do people collectively realize that a common practice, like dumping municipal sewerage in a river or burying trash over an aquifer, must end? Sometimes, the timing is about right. Getting lead out of gasoline and paint in the 1970s came relatively soon on the heels of the science demonstrating their health threats.
Confidence comes in crossing over
If you were to ask me a year ago today how I felt about boats, open water and the use of ferries as a regular form of public transportation, I would have begun shaking my head, gesturing with my hands, and saying “Nope. No. ABSOLUTELY NOT.” To say I wasn’t their greatest fan is an
‘Sea & Sky’ show opens at Archipelago Fine Arts Gallery
ROCKLAND — The thermometer may not reflect it, but spring is finally here, and Archipelago Fine Arts Gallery at 386 Main Street in Rockland will celebrate the season with “Sea & Sky,” a new show of work by Maine artist Betty Heselton, from April 4 to June 20. There will be two free events: the
Uneven development: lobster landings giveth, taketh
The annual Maine Fishermen’s Forum was packed this year. For the first time in a long time, the Samoset Resort’s 178 guest rooms were sold out. It was as if fishermen, state agency folks and non-profit staff staged a reenactment of the green crab plague facing the lobster industry. The Rockport Conference Room was similarly
Catamaran fishing boats ready for trials
ROCKPORT — When catamaran boats first came on the scene in the early 1960s, they must have looked as strange as recumbent bicycles did a decade ago. But now, few people look twice at the vessels that have become commonly used as high-speed ferries, sailboats and even whale-watching boats. So if the design, in which
True north: Wanderbird explores Labrador, Greenland
BELFAST — It was their curiosity about polar bears that first led Rick and Karen Miles to explore the coast of Labrador and Greenland. But it’s been the friendships they’ve established in the small remote villages there that drive them to return there each year. The Miles are owners of Wanderbird Expeditions, a Belfast-based tour
Flyer recalls 1970s island air service
STONINGTON — Maine island airstrips are still notoriously rudimentary—think cow pasture or gravel road—but transportation by airplane today is at least considered routine. Islanders owe some gratitude for that improvement to Herb Jones, a World War II veteran, who was one of the earliest providers of air service to Maine islands. Jones expanded a service
Green crabs as lobster bait working in Nova Scotia
It’s a fishing version of the old “If life gives you lemons…” adage. Instead of passively watching invasive green crabs devour native species, fishermen and scientists in Nova Scotia have acted, turning the invader into an asset. At the Maine Green Crab Summit in Orono in December, Chris McCarthy, ecologist with the province’s Kejimkujik National