A drone view of the property the city has dubbed "Belfast Yards."

Working Waterfront

City wants development on waterfront lot

Like that of most coastal towns, Belfast’s commercial waterfront is a finite stretch of real estate. Mike Hurley defines it as the shoreline that extends from the Route 1 bridge south to what is known locally as the Boathouse. “There ain’t no more,” jokes Hurley, a city councilor and long-time… SEE MORE

The church on Isle au Haut as seen across the thoroughfare.

Working Waterfront

Isle au Haut church faces crossroads

By Bob Gerber Isle au Haut’s Union Congregational Church occupies a prominent hilltop overlooking the thoroughfare between Kimball Island and the village at the island’s north end. It was built in 1857 at a cost of $1,649 during a period of fervent evangelistic efforts to bring organized religion to island community… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Music is community… again

The dilemma of the music teacher is that sometimes there aren’t enough hours in the day for the music teacher to also play music. Of course, it’s what we love to do. Music teachers began as music students, playing in recitals and sighing our way through Hanon exercises and scales… SEE MORE

The view from a drone of the Southern Harbor House on North Haven.

Working Waterfront

A vision for our elders comes to fruition

Here’s an idea that most would agree with—our elders should be able to age in place. But making this happen on an island or in a remote community is an altogether more difficult challenge than it is where I grew up on the east side of Cleveland. My Grandpa Frank… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Corea hailed by locals and visitors as ‘the real Maine’

LAURIE SCHREIBER The crew prepares food at Joe Young’s Wharf Grill & Gallery. The tiny fishing village of Corea is easily missed by those traveling on the Schoodic Peninsula. Part of the larger town of Gouldsboro, it’s several miles from the peninsula’s portion of Acadia National Park, a hub… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

‘We Belong Here’ a gift to North Haven

WILLIAM TREVASKIS Charlie Pingree Twenty-three year old Leta Hallowell has been a North Havener since birth. She graduated from North Haven Community School in 2012, studied at Duke University, and taught English in France before returning to her island home. “It’s given me so much, my education, so much of… SEE MORE

Edward French at the offices of The Quoddy Tides.

Working Waterfront

Living in, and telling a community’s story

We journalists are supposed to be objective, but really, the objectivity exists in the work we produce, not in our hearts. The truth is that we tend to be an opinionated bunch. I will admit there are places on the Maine coast I love more than others. One of those… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Gardening as a way of putting down community roots

Eight years ago, as a symbol of our intention to stay on North Haven indefinitely, I bought apple trees and asparagus crowns for Bill as a Chanukah present. I gave him a drawing of the plants then, and in April, a package arrived from Fedco. Two tiny whips with root-balls… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Voters approve Bristol Falls Dam preservation, fish ladder

By Tom Walsh The “Dam Strong” bumper stickers that have recently surfaced throughout the Lincoln County community of Bristol have now given way to a new message: “Dam Right.” A special referendum on July 24 saw nearly 90 percent of Bristol residents who cast paper ballots approve repairs to the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Coastal Cleanup begins Sept. 15

Registration is now open for Maine’s Coastweek Coastal Cleanup which begins Saturday, Sept. 15 and runs through Saturday, Sept. 22. One of Maine’s largest volunteer events, the Coastal Cleanup provides an opportunity for people of all ages to keep Maine’s coastal shoreline and associated waterways clean. Each year over a thousand participants clean… SEE MORE