Working Waterfront

Dear, yet not-so-dear April

Have you fallen off on writing “thank you” notes? I know I have, and I’m not proud of it. I used to enjoy writing long letters to people before I became a mother. Then computers, the Internet, e-mail and Facebook also came along to lure me away from the handwritten word.… SEE MORE

Bathing suits of the modest variety dry in the sun on Peaks Island.

Working Waterfront

Just two strings attached

A few years ago I went to Florida on vacation. I’d never seen a woman in a thong before. Of course I’d seen pictures of them, but seeing them actually move around close enough to, well, study, is different. I’m glad I waited. At this stage, happily married and with… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Lessons learned from bread-making extend to island work

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. Jessica Duma works on Great Cranberry Island with the historical society. I may be the… SEE MORE

Friends pose for a photo on a visit to Peaks Island.

Working Waterfront

Policy principle: keep dollars in state

You don’t have to be an economist to understand a simple way to make Maine more prosperous: work to have more dollars coming into the state than leaving. But unfortunately, many state policy initiatives are not measured using this scale. We have enjoyed one visible example of this principle over… SEE MORE

The southern half of the Penobscot watershed.

Working Waterfront

Taking the long view means answering tough questions

“We will be the ancestors someday.” This truism came from Penobscot Nation tribal elder Butch Phillips as part of the welcome to over 300 people who attended the Penobscot Watershed Conference on April 9. The statement was a weighty one—when future generations look back, what will they learn from the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Fishermen’s forum includes lobster check-up

By Susie Arnold, Ph. D. and Heather Deese, Ph. D. In addition to the news that lobster fishermen’s landings totaled a record $500 million in 2015, there were several science updates at the annual Maine Fishermen’s Forum that addressed common concerns about the fishery. Where do we stand with shell… SEE MORE

Zain Padamsee collects ballots at a recent chili cook-off event on Frenchboro.

Working Waterfront

My time as a wise man

Editor's note: 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. Zain Padamsee works on Frenchboro with an after-school program and with the town office.… SEE MORE

Waves break on the shore at Roque Bluffs

Working Waterfront

Portland proactive on immigration, Wiscasset to vote on traffic plan

Maine’s role in the major party nomination process has come and gone, with the Democrats picking Bernie Sanders and the Republican faithful choosing Ted Cruz. The GOP frontrunner Donald Trump, who was endorsed by Gov. Paul LePage, had a predictably dismissive remark about Cruz’s victory, saying the Canadian-born Texas senator… SEE MORE

North Haven students competed in the statewide one-act play contest.

Working Waterfront

Curtain call: Why we compete in play contest

March has a lot of signifiers. For some, it heralds the start of baseball season. For others, college basketball’s March Madness is the focus. March is “Music in Our Schools” month, and March is when town meetings convene. For me, March has always been about the Maine Principals’ Association One-Act… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Education was factor in Fukushima disaster

Japan has a complicated relationship with the atomic world. During a trip there in January, I asked many people to reflect on the Fukushima nuclear disaster—what the Japanese refer to as 3/11. The reaction to the event that surfaced most frequently was that, of all the failures associated with Fukushima,… SEE MORE