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

Deflated, but not defeated

Editor's note: Reflections is a monthly column written by Island Fellows, recent college grads who do community service work on Maine islands through the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront. Alana Flanagan is working with the Vinalhaven School and Partners in Island Education to create support systems for parents… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Arts booster finds Eastport ‘stunning, mysterious’

In September, Tarah Waters began work in Eastport as an Island Fellow through the Island Institute (publisher of The Working Waterfront). Waters is a Colorado native and graduate of Salve Regina University in Newport, R.I. with a B.A. in international studies. SEE THE SLIDESHOW Her work is focused on Eastport’s… SEE MORE

Participants at a recent conference on eldercare on Islesboro gather for a photo.

Working Waterfront

Caring for elders focus of island conference

Islanders working on similar problems in isolation is almost always improved when islanders gather to compare notes. That was the idea behind a now-annual retreat for those who care for elderly islanders, inspired by Sharon Daley, an Islesboro resident and Seacoast Mission Island health services director. This year's retreat, the sixth… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Going coop—employee ownership sustains business legacy

The effort to sustain our communities and their economic and civic life for future generations scored a significant victory recently on Deer Isle. The employees of three retail businesses—Burnt Cove Market, V&S Variety and Pharmacy, and The Galley market—became concerned when word circulated that the owners were thinking about selling… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Acadia visitation up, planners address congestion

Visitor numbers at Acadia National Park continue to climb, a positive trend mirrored by the state as a whole. Park visitation as of Oct. 31 was up 8 percent over the same period in 2014, which had 2.56 million visitors overall and was one of the park’s top years ever,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Embracing Halloween brings out the best in islanders

Drugstores are already sporting Christmas goods as I write this—or so I hear—but I’m still reeling from North Haven Halloween. There’s something about a holiday that gives us islanders an excuse to dress up that really brings the masses, and this year was perhaps the apex of the North Haven… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Thankful for what we are not

Veteran’s Day was coming as I wrote and has by now gone by. Thanksgiving is nearly here, so I’m going to make an effort to remind myself of how fortunate I am. I do that every year and if it’s not something everyone else looks forward to, well… I do.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

‘Drops,’ the freewill offering of apple trees

In my childhood Octobers, my dad and mom tossed my sister and me plus several bushel baskets into the back of the Studebaker station and we drove to an apple orchard that let its customers pick up apples—drops—that had fallen to the ground. It was a great outing, and the… SEE MORE