One of the tubs Steve and Miranda Batiste craft at their Swan's Island business.

Working Waterfront

The lap of luxury is water in a wooden tub

In Steve and Miranda Batiste’s home in Vermont was an old claw-foot, cast iron bathtub. It was something to look at but when in use left much to be desired. The heat radiated right out of the cast iron. Tired of chilly baths, the couple decided to resurrect an idea… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Salmon as witness—and victim—of Maine’s development struggles

The President’s Salmon: Restoring the King of Fish and Its Home Waters Catherine Schmitt Down East Books 2015, hardcover, $22.95 The title of Catherine Schmitt's latest book, The President's Salmon, had me wondering where she was going to take readers. Schmitt cleverly structures the history of Atlantic salmon in the… SEE MORE

The site of a former plumbing supply house is vacant after the building sustained a fire. City officials are hoping to lure new investment in the area.

Working Waterfront

Rockland’s former industrial peninsula poised for redevelopment

There are no safe bets in real estate speculation. But what may be close to a safe bet is investing in the 8-acre area on and adjacent to Rockland's Tillson Avenue. City officials are confident that some key, undeveloped or under-developed parcels in that area—which forms a peninsula just east… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Cape Air links Maine coast with Boston and beyond

Maine has been a growing market for the small regional airline Cape Air, which has operated out of Owls Head, Trenton and Augusta for the last eight years, providing connections to Boston's Logan Airport. Cape Air, based in Hyannis, Mass., won the right to serve the three small airports (Knox… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Islands lag in Internet speeds, hampering economic growth

Internet speeds for Maine's year-round island communities are hampering economic growth and even threatening their long-term viability, a report issued Dec. 9 asserts. The 200-page report by Tilson Technology followed extensive study of current Internet speeds on 14 islands: the Cranberry Isles (Islesford, Great Cranberry and Sutton), Vinalhaven, North Haven,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Science shedders: Lobster studies yield new understanding

By Susie Arnold, Ph. D. and Heather Deese, Ph. D. The lobster fishery is a critical part of the United States and Canadian economies. In 2013, the U.S. fishery landed $463 million worth of lobsters ($385 million of which were landed in Maine) and the Canadian fishery brought in approximately… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Turning development theory upside down

What if the premise guiding most municipal economic development schemes were wrong? So wrong, in fact, that this basic assumption is to blame for much of the gap between tax revenue and infrastructure repair? That's the idea Chuck Marohn of Strong Towns, a Minnesota-based consulting firm, asserted during a session… SEE MORE

Richard Aroneau at Planet Toys in Rockland.

Working Waterfront

Rockland retailer shares downtown lessons

Walk into Planet Toys on Main Street in Rockland and it's what you don't see and hear that makes an impression. The stock is aimed mostly at pre-teen kids, yet there is nothing blinking or buzzing. Most of the toys do not require batteries. There are familiar games like Clue… SEE MORE

The November light at dusk brings out unusual colors on this Stonington shore.

Working Waterfront

Stonington tops in lobster again, hitting $60 million mark

Maine's top lobster landing port each year is Stonington, and according to the Island Ad-Vantages newspaper, the value of landings in 2014 exceeded the previous year by $11 million, hitting a total value of $60 million. The port saw five million more pounds of lobster landed than in 2013. Given… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The sea continues to lure Linda Greenlaw

The witty and colorful Linda Greenlaw was the featured attraction that night, but a pall hung over the Maine Maritime Academy campus on the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 21. It had been just three weeks since the El Faro, a container ship traveling from Jacksonville, Fla., bound for Puerto Rico,… SEE MORE