An aerial view of West Street in Bar Harbor shows the prominence of the West Street Hotel

Working Waterfront

Spiffed up or over-developed?

BAR HARBOR — Artist and business owner Sherry Rasmussen remembers, in the 1970s, taking her puppy for a romp at the sand bar off Bar Harbor. A 20-something traveling by VW van, she was new in town, proudly sporting a pair of L.L. Bean boat shoes. On this nice day,… SEE MORE

The Morris Yachts yard in Bass Harbor is up for sale. The old Sim Davis building is on the right.

Working Waterfront

Developer ponders new uses for old Bass Harbor boatyard

TREMONT — A waterfront boatyard dating back at least to the 1940s could face transformation and be split into residential and mixed-use maritime uses, with a developer from Southern Maine exploring options. It could be a return, of sorts, to the original mix of uses on the property, which was… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Propane on ferries remains a balancing act

ROCKLAND — Trucks carrying propane in bulk or in 100-pound cylinders can travel to islands on the state ferry service, but not without restrictions on the number of passengers on the vessels. That's the compromise solution offered to the Maine State Ferry Service by the U.S. Coast Guard, after… SEE MORE

Business

Working Waterfront

CMP working on second line to Islesboro

Central Maine Power is planning to install a second underwater electric cable to Islesboro to provide back-up service should the existing cable fail, said Gail Rice, the company spokeswoman. The project, for which the utility is still seeking permits, is expected to cost between $1.5 million and $2 million, Rice… SEE MORE

Business

Working Waterfront

Record lobster landings in 2014: 123 million pounds, $456 million in value

For the third year in a row and only the third time ever, Maine lobster fishermen landed over 120 million pounds with a record overall value of $456,935,346, according to preliminary landings data reported by the Maine Department of Marine Resources. At $3.69 per pound, the 123,676,100 pounds landed represented… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Islesboro voters to consider $3 million for broadband

ISLESBORO — Voters will be asked at their May 9 annual town meeting to authorize borrowing $3 million to build a broadband Internet network for the island. In a front-page opinion piece in the January/February edition of the Islesboro Island News, Arch Gillies, chairman of the board of selectmen, argued in… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Marketing lobster, restoring old ships and the winter of 1914

Waterfronts and those coastal towns that bustle with visitors in the summer tend to go quiet after the new year dawns. But that doesn't mean decisions affecting those waterfronts and towns aren't being made. In banks, in local and state government meeting rooms, and around conference tables at nonprofits, things… SEE MORE

A smoker approaches the "Buttler" in Monument Square.

Working Waterfront

Portland promotes cigarette butt recycling to make downtown friendlier

PORTLAND — Mike Roylos is old enough to remember when offices, restaurants and other businesses featured strategically placed ashtrays. Though they were filthy and smelly, often holding a still-smoldering cigarette, they served a purpose. Today, ashtrays are long gone. Smoking rates are down, and those who do smoke, must do… SEE MORE

A map showing the ports at which Eimskip calls.

Working Waterfront

Portland steamships link to lucrative European market

PORTLAND — One of the best business opportunities Maine has seen in years could begin with a single pallet-load of goods. That opportunity is now available through Eimskip, the Icelandic company that in the last two years has established a shipping facility at the west end of Commercial Street. Eimskip… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

On the Record: Front Street Shipyard’s JB Turner

BELFAST, Maine – The Front Street Shipyard has been the biggest thing to happen to the city's waterfront since the poultry plant was demolished in the late 1990s. JB Turner, president of the yard, is the most visible of the company's six partners, and though he bears a prestigious title,… SEE MORE