The woking waterfront on Islesford (Little Cranberry Island) is busy

Working Waterfront

Decorum in D.C., as seen from inside (and above) the room

I’ve learned a trick that helps me move through high-pressure situations. I wish I’d been able to use this trick when I was competing in piano recitals as a kid. Now, when I walk into a room in one of these situations, I imagine zooming out and standing above myself—actually,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Two new cookbooks tied to our Midcoast

Full Moon Suppers at Salt Water Farm by Annemarie Ahearn (Roost Books, 2017) The Lost Kitchen: Recipes and a Good Life Found in Freedom, Maine by Erin French (Clarkson Potter, 2017) Two new cookbooks from Midcoast chefs—Full Moon Suppers at Salt Water Farm in Lincolnville by Annemarie Ahearn and The… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Caught: the reality behind the first fishermen’s co-op

Caught: time. place. fish. By Glen Libby and Antonia Small; Wrack Line Books, Port Clyde, Maine, 2016; 120 pages, large format paperback, $40. By design, Caught, with text by by Glen Libby and photos by Antonia Small, is a book you can keep on your coffee table both for casual… SEE MORE

The remnants of boats destroyed during the Oct. 30 storm washed ashore near Belfast's breakwater.

Working Waterfront

‘Bomb cyclone’ explodes over Maine coast

Those of us who endured the Ice Storm of 1998, which knocked out power for days and even weeks for many, take a certain pride in having survived the ordeal. All other extended power outages were measured against that mother of “inconveniences,” as former (Belfast) Republican Journal columnist Doug Hufnagel… SEE MORE

The Bar Harbor Inn at center on a cloudy autumn day.

Working Waterfront

Tourism industry wrestles with disruptive influences

Social media and new technology are driving change in the tourism industry at an unprecedented rate. Those changes are driving marketplace innovations, as tourism interests strive to reach new demographic groups on the latter’s own terms. That was the message from Paul Ouimet, managing director of DestinationNEXT, a research and… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

On Vinalhaven, business hopes kelp will help fishermen

Making ends meet from season to season is a challenge for many islanders. Finding additional avenues of income can be difficult in an isolated community with limited resources. It is, in part, to that end that Vinalhaven Kelp, Inc. was established. The business is a new venture seeking to prove… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Letters to the editor: Nantucket thoughts

Nantucket native remains islander To the editor: What a delightful surprise to open November’s issue of The Working Waterfront to see a story and pictures of my native Nantucket Island. It was a fine article and so vividly portrays what has happened to it in the past half century. Unfortunately,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

On The Water In Maine offers more than lists

When Justin and Tiffany Ford launched their vacation rental management business in 2006, there were about 8,000 residential units available in the state. That number included houses whose owners rented them by the week or month in summer, as well as cabins, cottages, and condominiums near ski resorts like Sugarloaf… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Pingree’s working waterfront bill would provide grants

A proposal by Maine’s Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, to protect working waterfronts and the jobs and economic activity they support, was aired at a congressional subcommittee hearing on Nov. 2. The bill, HR 1176, is co-sponsored by Rep. Rob Wittman, a Republican from Virginia. The bill… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Obama climate advisor tells Mainers he’s ‘optimistic’

Despite the Trump administration’s sharp turn away from working to slow climate change, Brian Deese remains optimistic. Deese, who had been President Barack Obama’s senior advisor on climate, conservation, and energy policies, was the keynote speaker at an Oct. 25 event in Portland hosted by the Maine Conservation Voters advocacy… SEE MORE