Working Waterfront

Ferry service considers higher summer, lower winter rates

To meet a state mandate to raise half its operating funds from customers, the Maine State Ferry Service has proposed raising rates during the busy summer months and lowering them in the off season. Rick Dubois, the state Department of Transportation's director of multimodal operations, explained the proposal to the citizen… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

My April Fool’s joke is a believable nightmare

I wrote the following April Fool’s column last month alleging that Gov. Paul LePage had decided to give the largest Vinalhaven ferry, the Capt. Frank Thompson, to Viking Cruise Lines to use as a gambling and pleasure venue: “Gov. LePage, claiming that the Maine State Ferry Service is unprofitable and… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Island flying is different

Eva Murray lives on Matinicus year-round, where she writes, runs a seasonal bakery, volunteers as an EMT, and runs the island’s solid waste/recycling program. She is the author of three books, most recently Island Birthday, an illustrated book for children, which shines a light on the logistics challenges and the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Wulp’s poems prove wit, insight, reflection sharpen with age

Cormorant Time: A Madman’s Journal. Poems Written in a Time of Fever by John Wulp. Camden, Maine: Philip Conkling & Associates, 2016. 190 pp. “Can one man have been a United States Marine Corps honor guard at the White House, a photographer, a producer, a playwright, wait—a short-order cook, an… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The renewal of trust reminds me why I am here

I had a rough winter. A few unrelated events made me question, for the first time in a long time, my comfort level in the community I've called home for over a decade. The political climate didn't help. Things calmed down after a while, and the winter routine of blizzards,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Winter on the islands is unpredictable, and not so quiet

“Predictably unpredictable.” That’s my new answer for people who ask, in the summer, what it is like living on an island in the winter. I used to say “quiet,” which is accurate for much of the time, but it’s not so quiet when the wind is howling. It’s not even quiet… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Island Lyme, tick survey reveals deep concern

A survey aimed at residents of Maine’s 15 unbridged, year-round island communities reveals deep concern about ticks and the diseases they carry, such as Lyme disease. The survey found that 83 percent of those responding “thought Lyme disease was a problem on their island,” a March 3 preliminary report on… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Hooping on the island is a neighborly affair

Reflections is a monthly column 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. There are certain times on Swan’s Island when there are no cars on the road. When a… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Cranberry Isles approves deal to establish broadband

Another Maine island community moved to secure a high-speed internet future when Cranberry Isles voters supported a plan to borrow up to $1.2 million to establish a broadband network at their March 11 annual town meeting. The vote paves the way for the town to contract with the internet provider… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Sellam Circus School coming to Vinalhaven, coast, this summer

A circus arts school recently formed in Biddeford will bring classes to the coast this summer. The Sellam Circus School, founded by Sellam El Ouahabi and Amity Stoddard, will offer its first-ever summer circus arts day camp on Vinalhaven Island in July, part of its Maine Coast Summer Circus Arts… SEE MORE