Working Waterfront

A paddling partner remembered

A friend, Jack Waterbury, was a former military pilot and had retired to the island a few years earlier. Charming but woefully disorganized and chaotic, he continually misplaced things. Many years ago, when in his 50s, he was my date on a canoeing trip with two other couples on Lobster… SEE MORE

Elementary school students who participate in the Maine Seacoast Mission’s EdGE programs. PHOTO: COURTESY MAINE SEACOAST MISSION

Working Waterfront

On the edge—Seacoast Mission sails into Washington County

Since the early 20th century, the Maine Seacoast Mission’s Sunbeam has called at the state’s easterly islands, providing health care, food, spiritual counsel, and fellowship. More recently, the nonprofit has dropped anchor in Washington County. In fact, 90% of the people the Mission serves are in Washington County, a region… SEE MORE

A view of Johnson Bay in Lubec from between two houses.

Working Waterfront

Lubec’s Safe Harbor project back on track

[caption id="attachment_35660" align="aligncenter" width="875"] A panoramic view of Johnson Bay in Lubec. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING[/caption] Lubec's Safe Harbor project, which has been in the works for more than five years and recently stalled for lack of funding, has taken a significant step forward with an additional $10 million expected… SEE MORE

A photo from about 1900 shows what was once Winnegance Tide Mills, near where a bridge today carries Route 209 over Winnegance Creek. PHOTO: MAINE MARITIME MUSEUM

Working Waterfront

Tidal power is not new to Maine

Prior to advances in transportation and energy production, industry and commerce across civilizations often relied on proximity to water. In the case of the lumber industry, one of Maine’s largest industries to date, the reliance was three-fold: inland timber harvests floated down-river to mills via log drives, saw mills used… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Multiple approaches to addressing worker shortage

The days of finding large numbers of pre-trained and experienced workers are fast fading. Businesses across Maine—and the nation—have had trouble finding the available, qualified workers they need to operate at full capacity. In fact, there are currently about two open jobs for every unemployed job seeker in the state… SEE MORE

From left, the Island Institute's Eastport Island Fellow Paige Atkinson; Institute staff Alex Zipparo; Mount Desert Island Fellow Brianna Cunliffe; and Institute staffer Abby Roche.

Working Waterfront

Resilience is the response

I was on Great Cranberry Island for a community event recently and encountered a sight that will not be easily forgotten. As I stood on the dock awaiting the mailboat back to mainland, I looked to the west and saw several gravestones on a grassy enclave that were dangerously close… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The radical idea of public parks

I was walking recently along Belfast’s Harbor Walk, a paved trail that follows the shore along a large lawn area where a shuttered poultry plant once stood, past a boat dealer and marina, across Main Street and, amazingly, through the Front Street Shipyard, offering views of yachts, ocean-going fishing vessels,… SEE MORE

The Machigonne II on its way to Peaks Island. FILE PHOTO: MICHELE STAPLETON

Working Waterfront

New ferries on the way for Maine

[caption id="attachment_35572" align="alignnone" width="700"] The Margaret Chase Smith on Islesboro. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING[/caption] New ferries, the vital link between Maine islands and the mainland, are in the pipeline. In recent months, construction has started on ferries to serve Peaks Island in Casco Bay and Matinicus off Penobsot Bay, and… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Defying authority in a Maine mill town

And Poison Fell From the Sky: A Memoir of Life, Death, and Survival in Maine’s Cancer Valley By Marie Therese Martin (Islandport Press, 2022) The poison in Marie Therese Martin’s And Poison Fell From the Sky: A Memoir of Life, Death, and Survival in Maine’s Cancer Valley is the toxins… SEE MORE

Gov. Janet Mill, left, poses with Paul Coulombe in front of TV cameras at the Governor’s Tourism Conference in Bangor on March 28. Coulombe was honored with the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Tourism for his philanthropy and commercial development work in Boothbay Harbor. PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Another good year for Maine tourism

Maine’s tourism economy rarely seems to enjoy a normal year. Factors such as fluctuating gas prices and airline fares, terrorist attacks, and pandemics play their part in either inflating or deflating visitation. But despite these variables, the numbers make the case that tourism remains a major economic sector in the… SEE MORE