Working Waterfront

Letters to the editor: Family leave, Portland and kayaking

Congrats on family leave To the editor: The more I know of the Island Institute, the more I respect and appreciate your work. One small part of that work, The Working Waterfront, is by far my favorite publication. A wonderful variety of important issues, delightful columns, photos and more. What… SEE MORE

Tourists enjoy a stroll on Rockland's breakwater in late July.

Working Waterfront

Linda Bean goes coop, St. Croix Island erodes

It's close to 90 degrees in the Midcoast as this is being written, tourists are strolling the streets of Rockland and for most of them, it’s cooler than the air they left at home. Last week, the Maine Lobster Festival returned to town for its 59th year, and the U.S.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A dozen years of work on ocean acidification paid off

There’s something about the timeframe of 10 to 12 years. I’ve read that you can master something new in this amount of time—and ultimately, if you are brave enough, have four different careers in a lifetime. The field of sustainability studies has shown that system-level changes take an average of 10 to 12 years. At… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

New England climate could become predictably problematic

You won’t hear too many Mainers complain about this summer’s weather. It’s been hot, sunny and dry. Gardeners have had to work to keep their flowers and vegetables watered, but for those not in the agricultural business, it’s been ideal—a time to be outside to savor what we love about… SEE MORE

A fishing boat heads out at dawn in December from Eastport.

Working Waterfront

In the depths of grief, kindness shines through

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. Tarah Waters works in Eastport creating an arts-based internship program for local students. Tarah Waters It… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

What happens after the centennial?

By Aimee Beal Church With some relatives in town this summer, my family and I swam at Echo Lake in Acadia National Park almost every day for a week. On a typical afternoon we’d stake out a little spot with our towels on the granite ledges at the bluffs, sharing… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Surprising facts about the ocean

By Heather Deese, Ph. D. Looking for that fascinating tidbit to liven up the VHF radio chatter or cocktail party conversation this summer? Here are four facts about the ocean—on scales from global to local—that might surprise you and will definitely wow most of your friends and neighbors. #1: Ice sheets exert… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

‘Paris of the ’70s’: Portland emerges

This is the second of a three-part series recollecting the look and feel of Portland in the 1960s, '70s and '80s by a Maine writer who spent his youth there. In the 1970s, Portland grew up. That's one way, anyway, of describing the transition the whole city, and especially the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The triumph of the unpredictable

American Character: A History of the Epic Struggle Between Individual Liberty and the Common Good By Colin Woodard New York: Viking, 2016 A humorous New Yorker magazine cover from mid-2015 depicts the then-Republican field of would-be presidents suiting up in a genteel locker room as Hillary Clinton looks in the window:… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Why the Island Institute offers 12-week paid parental leave

Nonprofit organizations like the Island Institute are not exempt from the pressures of the bottom line. In fact, we are just as mindful of budgets as for-profit businesses because we are funded by finite sources—grants and donations—and can't count on an uptick in sales to provide a cushion. But despite… SEE MORE