Folks enjoy tasty treats at Choco-Latte in downtown Bar Harbor on the first weekend in May, as tourism traffic gradually picks up. PHOTO: EZRA SCHREIBER-MACQUAID

Working Waterfront

‘Revenge travel’ driving Bar Harbor reservations

The tourist season is still gearing up, but by early May, owners of hotels, inns, and campgrounds were seeing strong reservations and looking forward to a busy year. Many owners and operators said the numbers so far were better than 2019, which was already a strong year. They attributed the… SEE MORE
Students rehearsing the play D&D. PHOTO: ALICE GREENWAY

Working Waterfront

It’s play time on North Haven

Spring is taking a particularly “playful” form on North Haven. Twenty playwrights, tapping at their laptops over the winter, have submitted manuscripts. Seven directors are taking time away from boatyards, school, and gardens. And 38 actors of all ages are striding the boards, which this year includes the fields at… SEE MORE
Ready Seafood’s 52,000-square-foot lobster processing facility in Saco, built in 2019, is the largest such operation in Maine. Front row, from left are Curt Brown, Francisco Bumba, and Lori Talbot. Back row, from left, Van Bo, Pamela Lukasa, Lee Stafford, and Korina Costanzo. PHOTO: KELLI PARK

Working Waterfront

‘New Mainers’ are key to seafood industry

Welcoming immigrants to Maine is more than just the polite, hospitable thing to do. It’s critical to the state’s economic future. That’s the view of the authors of Maine’s community development strategy for 2020-2029, who assert that the state will lose 65,000 workers to retirement by 2029 and that to… SEE MORE
Artist rendering of housing complex.

Working Waterfront

Deer Isle, Stonington affordable housing breaks ground

Fundraising is nearly complete and construction will soon start on the first phase of an affordable housing project, called Oliver’s Ridge, that’s designed to serve workforce housing needs in Deer Isle and Stonington. Island Workforce Housing, a nonprofit organization formed in 2018 by Deer Isle and Stonington residents to address… SEE MORE
Long-time Mount Desert Island fishermen Davie Horner and Holly Masterson are launching Acadia Vendors Market in Southwest Harbor.

Working Waterfront

Acadia Vendors: affordable space in high-price area

Long-time Mount Desert Island fishermen Holly Masterson and David Horner were busy recently prepping a site in Southwest Harbor for a completely new endeavor—an outdoor vendors market for entrepreneurs of all stripes. [caption id="attachment_25454" align="alignleft" width="300"] Brown Family Farm had a spot at Acadia Vendors Market last year and will… SEE MORE