Articles
A late summer Saturday on Vinalhaven
It was cloudy on the mainland, but by mid-morning, the sun ruled the day on the island. The sky periodically had that dark, dramatic, brooding look, with slate-gray clouds sliding along the horizon, only to disappear out to sea. By midday, temperatures climbed over 70 degrees, but there was no denying it—summer’s days are numbered.
The Forts of Maine–Silent Sentinels of the Pine Tree State
After lobster (and maybe L.L. Bean), the icon most associated with the coast of Maine is the lighthouse. There have been scores and scores of books, paintings, photographs and trinkets devoted to these towers that dot the coast, rising up above the low-slung Cape Cod houses that characterize the man-made landscape. Lighthouses speak to our
Deep roots on land and water on Swan’s Island
SWAN’S ISLAND — To an outsider, it might seem odd that an educated, active, bubbly 29-year-old would happily embrace the dream of living the rest of her life on an island. But spend some time with Leah Joy Staples and her husband Eric, and you begin to see it through her eyes. And it looks
Counting the working waterfronts
How many working waterfronts does it take to keep a coast vital? It’s not a riddle or a joke, but rather an important first step. That’s what a story in the Chesapeake region’s Bay Journal reports. With funding from Virginia’s Sea Grant, NOAA and Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources, a pilot program has undertaken an
Gasoline on the ferry — training ensures safety
ROCKLAND — John Anders had barely organized his desk after taking over in mid-June as chief of the Maine State Ferry Service when an explosive problem landed on it—transporting gasoline in large quantities. It began with a routine U.S. Coast Guard inspection of the Capt. Henry Lee, the state ferry that runs from Bass Harbor
At the UN, she made sure children counted
CHEBEAGUE ISLAND — She’s been all over the world in her work with the United Nations, grew up in the shadow of Princeton University in New Jersey where her father was a professor, but it is on this Casco Bay island that Leila Bisharat’s roots are deepest. In a relaxed conversation in the yard of
Abandon ship!
SEARSPORT — At 2 a.m., 35 miles out to sea, with winter winds howling and water temperatures around 40 degrees, there can be no two more frightening words. On a perfect summer day off the town dock, though, “Abandon ship!” was more educational than terrifying. Sponsored by the Penobscot Marine Museum, the demonstration by Don
For our kids, we need to be pro-choice
It was a Monday morning in June a few years back. I was commuting at the time from Belfast to Bangor, and as I hurried north on my familiar route, I spotted some fresh graffiti on the back of a sign. Then on the next sign. And the next. On each sign were the letters
The Working Waterfront is 20 years old
ROCKLAND — The more things change, the more the news stays the same. In the first issue of The Working Waterfront, published in April 1993, the cover story examined the possibility of an oil spill along Maine’s coast. On July 6 of this year, crude oil in railroad tank cars ignited, causing a horrific explosion
Oil, aquaculture, ‘pier’ pressure dominated first issue of newspaper
ROCKLAND — The more things change, the more the news stays the same. In the first issue of The Working Waterfront, published in April 1993, the cover story examined the possibility of an oil spill along Maine’s coast. On July 6 of this year, crude oil in railroad tank cars ignited, causing a horrific explosion