Working Waterfront

Parsing the ‘It’s not bad, it’s different’ sentiment

The comment was poignant, maybe reflecting resignation, maybe reflecting sadness. A native of Lubec, speaking about the changes she's seen since her days working in a sardine packing plant ended years ago, described a community where she no longer knows most everyone. The Lubec of years ago was a place… SEE MORE

Renovations included refurbished seats and curtains

Working Waterfront

Bar Harbor’s Criterion Theatre gets curtain call

BAR HARBOR — In just eight months, the vintage Criterion Theater has been transformed from a mold-laden derelict into a historic gem, its elegant Art Deco details restored or faithfully reproduced. "One of the most noticeable achievements, of course, is…" said board president Michael Boland, who then took a deep… SEE MORE

Ellen Cohill and Glen Charles outside Cohill's Pub and Inn in Lubec.

Working Waterfront

‘From away’ influx helps pump up Lubec

LUBEC — An accidental migration of people "from away" to this remote coastal town is helping to transform a dilapidated waterfront into a vital center of the community. Located at the end of a peninsula, Lubec is a stone's throw from Canada. Water Street, Lubec's principal commercial waterfront street, is… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Swan’s Island, Frenchboro face choice between coop and Emera

SWAN'S ISLAND — A straw poll in July could determine the future of the island's ratepayer-owned electric cooperative. The approximately 450 ratepayers in the Swan's Island Electric Cooperative will choose between maintaining an island-based grid, which allows a certain amount of local control in responding to outages and bill collection,… SEE MORE

Jon Bolduc votes at Islesboro's annual town meeting on Saturday

Working Waterfront

Islesboro approves step toward building broadband

An earlier version of this story included a wrong first name. ISLESBORO — At their annual town meeting on Saturday, May 30, residents overwhelmingly approved raising and spending $206,830 to begin the process of building a town-owned broadband Internet network. The money will cover the first steps of the project,… SEE MORE

A cruise ship as seen from Cadillac Mountain.

Working Waterfront

Expect record-breaking number of cruise ships in Bar Harbor

The cruise ship business must have been hit by the Great Recession, as were other sectors of the tourism economy. So the news, reported by the Mount Desert Islander, that the schedule for cruise ship visits to Bar Harbor for this spring, summer and fall shows "the town on track… SEE MORE

Chris Warner explains the restoration design with John Hagan setting green crab traps in the background.

Working Waterfront

Beating the green crabs in Georgetown

By Susie Arnold, Ph. D. and Heather Deese, Ph. D. "We believe, yes!" This is Georgetown clammer Chris Warner's answer to the question: Can a single shellfish harvester with a small up-front investment create a viable soft-shell clam farm and beat the green crabs? But you don't need to take… SEE MORE

Aaron Sprague and Karen Roper are adapting the yurt for visitor lodging.

Working Waterfront

Asian lodging goes Acadian

The first time Aaron Sprague and Karen Roper sat down in a yurt, owned by a friend in Maine, they experienced a deep sense of calm. "It was such a cool space and we thought, 'Wow, this is amazing!'" Sprague recalled. "I couldn't get over how nice it felt." Sprague… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Colors from the sea enliven ‘artifact art’

Nine years ago, a man who had no background or any interest in creating art became an artist. Not instantaneously, of course. Swimming along the bottom of Wiscasset harbor, 30 feet under water, bottle hunter Rick Carney, his Kevlar gloves digging in the muck, was hit with an idea that… SEE MORE

Two young adults sit on the grass in front of Maine Maritime Academy's new ABS Center during the dedication ceremony.

Working Waterfront

New Maine Maritime Academy building reflects STEM focus

CASTINE — It's more than a building. That was the point speakers made at the May 1 dedication of Maine Maritime Academy's new ABS Center for Engineering, Science and Research. The center is the first new academic building constructed on campus in the last 30 years. It's attractive and well-integrated… SEE MORE