Carley Mayhew and Mott Feibusch of Monhegan Coffee Roasters.

Working Waterfront

The Monhegan trifecta: beer, coffee, chocolate

KELLI PARK Dylan and Mandy Metrano, owners of La Nef Chocolate. KELLI PARK Matt Weber of Monhegan Brewing Company. Story and Photos by Kelli Park What’s the word on Monhegan? The answer, offered this summer by an island businesswoman, was to the point—beer, coffee, and chocolate. In recent months, an… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Court rules DOT erred in ferry rate hike

The Maine Superior Court has ruled the Department of Transportation failed to follow the correct procedure when it raised fares on the Maine State Ferry Service earlier this year. The ruling came after the town of Islesboro filed suit against DOT. The new rates, which went into effect May 21,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Thoughts about leaving… way before it’s time

Reflections is written by Island Fellows, recent college grads who do community service work on Maine islands and in remote coastal communities through the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront. ByStevie Kowalczyk My first draft of this piece was terrible. I wrote a nondescript, short essay about projects I was working… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Getting from here to there is essential

It’s not the sexiest topic, but transportation policy impact radiates out through many arenas, including economic development, land use planning, population movement, and environmental protection. For part of my tenure at the Bangor Daily News, I covered the legislature’s transportation committee. It was refreshing to hear debates break along lines unrelated to… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Portland development pressures already tight parking

By Susan Olcott Two developments planned for the peninsula part of Portland will add 180,000-square-feet of office space—and more parking pressure. An Oct. 17 business breakfast forum hosted by the Portland Press Herald used the developments as a jumping off point for a wide-ranging discussion about parking and traffic pressures. Wex, a… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A busy time, as island season changes

Columbus Day is the season opener for a very active time of year. A number of people who leave the islands in August return for this long weekend to do a final check on their homes. Steps to prepare for winter, on an island, vary depending on whether you live… SEE MORE

Ken Spinney is the new principal at North Haven Community School.

Working Waterfront

North Haven principal has small-town Maine background

By Courtney Naliboff North Haven Community School’s new principal, Ken Spinney, brings with him a lifetime of leadership experience and a love of small town life. A lifetime Mainer, Spinney grew up in Bangor and moved to Skowhegan with his mother for high school. “I was highly into athletics. I… SEE MORE

Michael Kerr is a psychiatrist on Islesboro who has written a book about his work on Murray Bowen’s family systems theories.

Working Waterfront

Breaking family ties that bind us to bad behavior

By Tom Groening The image of a patient laying on a psychiatrist’s couch, telling the doctor that his mother never loved him and his father was too demanding, is a familiar one in our popular culture. Another image comes to mind after hearing Islesboro’s Dr. Michael Kerr explain the theories… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Waiting with ‘baited’ breath

Reflections is written by Island Fellows, recent college grads who do community service work on Maine islands and in remote coastal communities through the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront. By Dan Debord First, there was the early morning wakeup, lying in bed, wide-awake with anticipation, for an hour until… SEE MORE

A view of Mount Desert Island from Great Cranberry Island

Working Waterfront

National Park Service wades into worker housing issue

By Tom Walsh Maine’s uncounted thousands of seasonal workers on our coast are largely invisible. Nonetheless, they are essential cogs in the machine that makes possible the substantial revenues left behind by millions of visitors to Acadia National Park and other waterfront tourist destinations. Hotels, motels, B&Bs, restaurants, bars, gift… SEE MORE