Island Journal

Boosting our Small Businesses

When the pandemic shut down the state in March of last year, the impact on small businesses was immediate. The Island Institute knew it had to offer expanded support. For many years, the Institute has offered a professional development grant that helped small business owners get training—things like Quickbooks and… SEE MORE

Island Journal

Stonington Siblings Modernize Lobster Business

In the early 2000s, Travis Fifield left his hometown of Stonington for college and then a lucrative career with General Electric’s power plant construction division in Windsor, Conn. Funny thing: He chose to live and work within a day’s driving distance of Stonington because a little voice in his head… SEE MORE

Island Journal

Southwest Harbor Works to Navigate Change

photos by jack sullivan Many in Southwest Harbor remember when tourists were rare in town. The small village on the south side of Mount Desert Island has long been shielded from the forces of large scale tourism, with Somes Sound and much of Acadia National Park between it and the… SEE MORE

Business

Island Journal

Kristan Porter Remains Grounded as Fisheries Shift

Photos by Leslie Bowman Anyone who’s been to any confab in the various Maine fisheries over the past couple of decades will likely recognize Kristan Porter—a steadfast presence and an articulate voice in the thorny world of management and policy. That’s true now more than ever, since he took over… SEE MORE

Island Journal

Taking Stock of a Downeast River

Five degrees above zero and the wind peels northwest. Sky and river both black dark. Headlights shine in the small parking lot. The wind howls, rocks the truck. Out there in the headlight shine lies a slick mud bank and a river of churning brown water. Bobby Beal’s at the… SEE MORE

A view down Bucksport's Main Street, with the paper mill's smokestacks in view.

Island Journal

Bucksport: Life After the Mill

Bucksport: Life After the Mill Town at top of Penobscot Bay searches for its (new) heart and soul. By Jim Baumer Photos by Linda Coan O’Kresik Maine has endured a litany of paper mill closures in recent years. These have been devastating to the communities that leaned heavily on the… SEE MORE

Luke Holden, left, and Ben Conniff photographed in front of restaurant

Island Journal

Luke Holden’s ‘Vertical Lobster’ Adventure

Luke Holden’s ‘Vertical Lobster’ Adventure Luke’s Lobster chain of restaurants is reinventing the fishing business BY STEPHANIE BOUCHARD You hear a lot of horror stories associated with Craigslist ads, but this is not one of them. You could say it’s a business success story that has big implications, maybe… SEE MORE

Business

An aerial view of the Front Street Shipyard in Belfast.

Island Journal

From Sardines to Yachts, Belfast Transforms Its Waterfront

From Sardines to Yachts, Belfast Transforms Its Waterfront City, Front Street Shipyard collaborated to create a thriving working waterfront with public access. By Tom Groening It may have been inevitable. A part of Belfast’s waterfront characterized by graffiti-covered, decrepit industrial buildings wouldn’t remain so for long, given the safe… SEE MORE

Business

Island Journal

Grabbing the Digital Future

Grabbing the Digital Future Islands explore ways to bring fast internet to boost economies, support health care and education, and sustain population By Jennifer Van Allen Malcolm Fernald’s internet service has been just fast enough to maintain a web site for his family business, the Islesford Artists Gallery. But if… SEE MORE

Island Journal

Island Golf Courses

Island Golf Courses Rougher Roughs, Tidal Hazards and Gin and Tonics By SELBY FRAME PHOTOS BY GABE SOUZA AND SETH MACY The sixth hole of the Great Chebeague Golf Club’s course, a 110-yard par 3, is ranked the easiest of its nine holes. That is, unless you fail to admire… SEE MORE

Business