Working Waterfront

Isle Au Haut receives broadband with new sub-sea cable

Isle Au Haut installed its first subsea telecommunications cable Sunday, Nov. 10, establishing broadband access for the year-round island community. The 10 kilometer submarine cable connects Isle au Haut to Stonington on Deer Isle, which has terrestrial connections to the mainland. Axiom Technologies spearheaded the project and will provide services… SEE MORE

A seasonal house on Vinalhaven. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Vinalhaven nonprofit starts housing project

With the help of a $840,000 Maine Housing grant, the Vinalhaven Housing Initiative begins construction this fall on its first project to create affordable homes for islanders, year-round workers, and elders priced out of the housing market. “It’s a crisis,” said Dylan Jackson, the group’s project director. “Soaring housing costs… SEE MORE

DOT Commissioner Bruce Van Note speaks at the ceremony. PHOTO: ALEX ZIPPARO

Working Waterfront

New Matinicus boat commissioned

The new ferry is named after a heroic Maine veteran and member of the Penobscot Nation who served as a combat medic during the D-Day invasion of France in 1944. Private Shay saved many lives on Omaha Beach and was awarded the Silver Star and French Legion of Honor... SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Confronting post-birth changes led to book

It was April 2017. I had been a parent for almost three years, and I was treating myself to a solo birthday trip to New York City. I slept, luxuriously, with podcasts in my headphones, on the bus from Portland to New York. My sister met me, and we began… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

How to say goodbye to an island

Reflections is written by Island Fellows, recent college grads who do community service work on Maine islands and in coastal communities through the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront. At some point during my final summer of living on Islesboro, the thought of how to say goodbye trickled in.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A hidden pond, an imagined friend

When she was a young girl and way longer than might have been advisable had someone known, Sophie imagined a companion. She’d seen Disney’s Peter Pan in 1956 and from that moment on for several years, shared her life with a miniature version of that elf, a little guy, a… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Summer in a jar

I’ve filled mason jars full; good use for small peaches whose skins slip off easily after being scalded and slide into a jar without argument. A light syrup of two parts water to one of sugar is all that’s needed. I usually leave one pit in the jar to intensify the peach flavor. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Heaven is other people

Another North Haven summer has come, and more or less gone. Most of our friends have departed for points south or west. All but a few boats at the Casino have been stored for the winter. At the time of writing, I am physically, if not emotionally, prepared to begin… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

‘Island girl’ returns to teach on Isle au Haut

Kipp Quinby’s new job is a sort of homecoming. In September, she took over as the teacher of Isle au Haut’s one-room school house, the same room where she attended school as a child. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

We asked, you answered

Earlier this year, Island Institute asked our readers for your thoughts and opinions about The Working Waterfront newspaper and the weekly online digest of Working Waterfront stories. As we consider ways to improve and expand our connections to those who share our deep commitment to the people and places that… SEE MORE