Working Waterfront

Going coop—employee ownership sustains business legacy

The effort to sustain our communities and their economic and civic life for future generations scored a significant victory recently on Deer Isle. The employees of three retail businesses—Burnt Cove Market, V&S Variety and Pharmacy, and The Galley market—became concerned when word circulated that the owners were thinking about selling… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Embracing Halloween brings out the best in islanders

Drugstores are already sporting Christmas goods as I write this—or so I hear—but I’m still reeling from North Haven Halloween. There’s something about a holiday that gives us islanders an excuse to dress up that really brings the masses, and this year was perhaps the apex of the North Haven… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Thankful for what we are not

Veteran’s Day was coming as I wrote and has by now gone by. Thanksgiving is nearly here, so I’m going to make an effort to remind myself of how fortunate I am. I do that every year and if it’s not something everyone else looks forward to, well… I do.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

‘Drops,’ the freewill offering of apple trees

In my childhood Octobers, my dad and mom tossed my sister and me plus several bushel baskets into the back of the Studebaker station and we drove to an apple orchard that let its customers pick up apples—drops—that had fallen to the ground. It was a great outing, and the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

From seed to fruit, islands good hosts to apples

Fall has been a season of superlatives in the Cranberry Isles. Along with a November that might turn out to be the warmest on record, in Maine, the foliage has been the brightest we’ve seen in years. A simple walk or trip to the mainland begs one to pull out… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

John Denver: No longer a guilty pleasure

Back in October, I took my dad to see the Portland Symphony's tribute to John Denver. We were celebrating his birthday a little bit early before he went back to California, where I grew up, for the winter. Thanks to my dad, I have been a lifelong John Denver fan,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

What if we’ve been doing ‘growth’ all wrong?

It's always been a double-edged sword. As prosperity works its way up Maine's coast—often in sprints and then strolls—the commercial and residential building that comes with it threatens to taint what attracted that investment in the first place. We've all witnessed the rise of strip malls and big-box stores on… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Arm Maine to fight ocean acidification and other climate challenges

The Portland Press Herald’s recent "Mayday" series on the effects of climate change on the Gulf of Maine called attention to a critical fact at the heart of the Island Institute's work: the economic future of Maine’s island and remote coastal communities depends on a healthy, productive Gulf of Maine. The… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Island home helps me grieve great loss

I keep my cell phone in one corner of the kitchen, touching a window, where it receives a one- to two-bar signal frequently enough that the battery will go for a few days before it needs to be recharged. The signal might not be strong enough or steady enough to maintain… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The world is watching our coast

Stockholm, Sweden, located in the midst of 14 islands, is home to the Resilience Center. Guided by island thinking, the Swedes are considering how to deal with a planet whose resources are overtaxed, and they are taking an approach to this challenge called resilience. What is resilience? It is a… SEE MORE