Working Waterfront

Letters to the editor: Arts, memory, and enthusiasm

Arts Downeast To the editor: Thank you for the Field Notes column by Lisa Mossel on Passamaquoddy Bay communities (“Eastport, Lubec banking on the arts,” The Working Waterfront’s September issue). Your column is a touchpoint of the necessity of the arts in our lives: encouraging creativity, stimulating, and a meeting… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Hosting a lobster party for a cause

On July 8 I received an e-mail from the Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) asking if Bruce and I knew someone who would be interested in hosting an informative fundraising cocktail party on Islesford in August. The federal government is threatening the Maine lobster fishing industry with escalating regulations that will… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Convenience may be the enemy of connection

Seeking convenience almost always sacrifices connection, something pointed out to me by my wise niece, Sarah. By that standard, I have a very connected kitchen. For instance, no dishwasher occupies space here. Sarah, and occasionally our young friend and occasional co-habitant Brynn and I wash dishes. I love being connected… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Growth, fear, and ferry line anxiety

By the time you read this, it’ll be pretty close to October, or as some people call it, spooky season. Fear and anxiety are part of my day-to-day life, so I tend to say “no thank you” to recreational fear. Those fears gave way to anxiety around air travel and… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Beyond the illusion

The Midcoast By Adam White (Random House Books, 2022) Review by Tina Cohen Adam White’s debut novel, The Midcoast, is set in Damariscotta, a town familiar to him from his childhood. This is contemporary Maine, with a close-up look at several families, including Andrew’s, who is the book’s narrator, and… SEE MORE

Lobster landing in Vinalhaven. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Pay attention to women-owned businesses

I daydream about becoming a farmer. My vegetable garden last year would warn against it, and this year I didn’t even try to grow a tomato plant in a pot. Instead, I daydream of working on the water, farming scallops. I want to be an aquaculturist in my next life… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A better way to do tourism

Historically, the Office of Tourism focused its attention on advertising and marketing, enticing people to fill our hotels and enjoy everything Maine had to offer. This strategy has worked very successfully, spurring growth in visitation and spending and one of the nation’s most robust tourism recoveries following the pandemic. But… SEE MORE

From left, Curt Brown, Casco Bay lobsterman Steve Train, Sen. Angus King, Luke Holden of Luke’s Lobster, Gov. Janet Mills, and Department of Marine Resources Commission Patrick Keliher. PHOTO: SAM BELKNAP

Working Waterfront

Officials, industry respond to lobster red listing

Luke Holden, founder and CEO of Luke’s Lobster was joined by Sen. Angus King, Gov. Janet Mills, Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher, Casco Bay lobsterman Steve Train, and Curt Brown of Ready Seafood at Luke’s Lobster’s Portland restaurant on Friday, Sept. 10 to respond to the recent “red… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Will innovation save lobstering?

The concept of innovation tends to inspire images of bio-geneticists tinkering with DNA to create cancer-resistant cells. But sometimes, innovation comes in decidedly low-tech form. I attended the every-other-year Beaches Conference in June, and one of the presenters showed slides of how the town of York dealt with perennial ocean… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The perils of love and lobstering

Maiden Cove: A Novel By Roy Knight (2020) Review by Dana Wilde Roy Knight grew up just about a stone’s throw from Maiden Cove, right on the channel into Portland Harbor between Cape Elizabeth and Cushing Island. As a teenager in the mid-1960s, he learned lobstering in that channel from… SEE MORE