Working Waterfront

Building a better candy bar

By Dora Thompson ROCKLAND — "Hold on, I have to grab a coaster. My mom will kill me,” joked Kate McAleer, owner, founder and CEO of Bixby & Co as she put her drink down on one, saving the shining wood table in their office. Gordon and Donna McAleer, her… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Cranberry Isles hopes to coordinate patchwork ferry system

CRANBERRY ISLES — On a sunny summer day, the ferry from Southwest Harbor to the Cranberry Isles is packed with day-trippers and year-round and summer residents. The day-trippers carry sunscreen and cameras, the residents lug groceries. The captain’s mate slings a couple of bikes on the roof of the pilothouse,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Maine’s ‘Boatbuilder Laureate’ wants to sell his waterfront property

SOUTHWEST HARBOR—When wooden boatbuilder Ralph Stanley retired five or six years ago, he was hoping to see his shop converted into a living museum with a teaching component, with Stanley as artist-in-residence. Despite interest from a number of organizations and individuals, the potential cost of endowing and operating such an enterprise… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Portland’s growing Indian population drawn by high-tech jobs

This is the second in a series of stories about how immigration is changing coastal Maine. Jennifer Atkinson is a lawyer based in Friendship who specializes in immigration matters. As Maine’s flagship coastal community, the greater Portland area is home to immigrants from all over the world. In recent months,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Can oysters save New York Harbor?

By Susie Arnold, Ph. D. and Heather Deese, Ph. D. New York, New York is a lot of things to a lot of people. But it isn't a great place to harvest oysters. Eat them, yes. Harvest them, no. Turns out this is a recent phenomenon. In the 1890s, New… SEE MORE

Archipelago's assistant manager Frances Holdgate shows off Richard Robertson's ceramic work.

Working Waterfront

Store serving island artists marks 15th anniversary

The challenges of living on an island are many, but for an island artist, there is one more: getting your work recognized off-island. But a shop and gallery on the mainland has made it its mission to help island artists—and Maine’s mainland artists, too—earn a living from their art. Archipelago,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

New phone app enhances Acadia, national park experiences

How many of us have toiled up a mountain to enjoy the view at the peak in Acadia National Park, only to play the guessing game of what the view is? Even with a paper map, it can be hard to determine which islands or mountains are part of the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Maine Sail Freight offers new way to think about trade

What do we who produce food from the land and sea have in common? For one thing, a changing climate. Changes in the weather have big impacts on the businesses and industries that straddle nature and the market. Another challenge is that farmers and fisher people are getting older, and… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Lobster union approaches three-year anniversary

Formed in the midst of the price crisis during the summer of 2012, the Maine Lobstering Union will mark its third anniversary in September. The prices fishermen get have rebounded, but the union remains strong and growing. The group has over 600 members, and its leaders believe it has become… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Lobster futures uncertain, but efforts underway to boost demand

Bobby Beckman is just 22, but when it comes to the lobster business, he takes the long view. "I figure, lobsters have been here millions of years," he says, foot propped up on the console of his boat in Vinalhaven Harbor. "I think there'll always be lobsters." Some worry about,… SEE MORE