Working Waterfront

Oil price dip is Alaska’s pain

Sitka, Alaska is firmly anchored to the western shore of snow-capped Baranof Island. At just under 9,000 people, it is the fifth largest city in a state of 750,000. Alaska's rural libertarian character echoes Maine's. A welcome dinner invitation immersed me among community members who had come together to share… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Stranded by choice

When lobster scientist Diane Cowan heard that friends planned to airlift a box of goodies to her on Friendship Long Island, where she's been stranded since Jan. 30 due to extreme ice conditions, she broke into laughter. "I thought it was hilarious," said Cowan in a cellphone interview from the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Fishing boat adrift in Boothbay Harbor

The Westward was towed off rocks on Jan. 9 and was headed to Portland, the Boothbay Register newspaper reported. The vessel has been a problem for the town, repeatedly breaking loose. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Going to see the snow in SoCal

Just about every other year my husband and I travel to Southern California to visit his family for Christmas. We leave the island, which is often covered in snow, or if we're less lucky rain, ice or slush, and take the boat to the mainland and drive to Boston and… SEE MORE

Students who are part of the Outer-Islands Teaching and Learning Collaborative play outside during an inter-island field trip.

Working Waterfront

Small island schools get creative for phys ed

OK, now squats with our arms up! Let's count down… 20…19...18...17… Straight arms! Pretend like you're sitting in a chair. Early on Tuesday and Thursday mornings in a few island schools along the coast, the video conference meeting ring comes through, lights flicker on, and faces showing varying degrees of… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

No need for selfies: Photographer captures islanders in ‘We Are Swan’s Island’ project

SWAN'S ISLAND — Whether it's a wedding, reunion or holiday celebration, photographers often struggle to get all the key family members in their shots. Imagine how hard it was for Miranda Battiste to capture the family that is the island's year-round population. By most measures, Batiste succeeded. Not only are… 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

Remembering Chandler “Blackie” Blackington

My relationship with Chandler "Blackie" Blackington began about a decade ago when I traveled to Vinalhaven to visit the community's medical center and eldercare home, exploring the possibilities for Swan's Island. Blackie was my tour guide. He picked me up at the ferry terminal on Vinalhaven and showed me around… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Small-world routine documented for bigger world

Ian Watkins is an Island Fellow, a participant in a two-year service program operated by AmeriCorps and the Island Institute, doing community development work on islands and remote coastal communities. Watkins works on Deer Isle and the Downeast coast with high school students. Living on an island, it can be… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Ticks are winning in invasion of Maine

Ticks. Even now, with snow, ice and frigid temperatures holding them in abeyance, the very mention of the little critters can make your skin crawl. But it gets worse, because those critters carry diseases like Lyme, anaplasmosis and babesiosis, illnesses that are debilitating as they are, at times, baffling to… SEE MORE