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Category: Opinion
Working Waterfront
The school bus driver is king
It's a wonder I have a school bus driver's license at all. On the appointed day, my permit in hand, accompanied by Tiny, a fully licensed driver, I drove the bus to a public works depot for my driving test. The man in charge there couldn't have been a greater… SEE MORE
Working Waterfront
Speeding the flow in the workforce pipeline
Visitors to Maine this summer were greeted with signs in storefront windows saying, “Now Hiring,” “Limited Hours due to Staffing Shortages,” or simply “Closed.” From the County to the coast, anyone who has been living in, working in, or visiting Maine could see the acute lack of workforce. A one-size-fits-all… SEE MORE
Working Waterfront
Climate symposium centered on conversation
What if a conference for climate practitioners and problem solvers was based on conversation? We answered this question in September with around 140 gathered in Portland to hear—and discuss—climate-related presentations from a wide variety of those working on such issues. And we learned that it works. Equal time and focus… SEE MORE
Working Waterfront
‘Lawyer’s lunch,’ history reminders
‘Lawyer’s lunch’ To the editor Your article on innovation (November issue, Rock Bound, “Will innovation save lobstering?”) brings to mind one I read recently in The Spectator, wherein the history of the barcode was discussed. It required investment and understanding. The lobster industry as a whole, not just in Maine,… SEE MORE
Working Waterfront
Logistical challenges of shipping off-island
I relish the November energy of the island “getting ready” for winter. On the dock and on the roads visitors from tour boats have been replaced with trucks and trailers loaded with traps as fishermen start to bring in their lobster gear. Caretakers have closed most of the summer houses… SEE MORE
Working Waterfront
Why hide the heart of the home?
Spotted recently in a mainstream national newspaper: the phenomenon of the “back kitchen.” Apparently increasingly common in million-plus dollar homes, the back kitchen accommodates all the messy business of actually preparing food and cleaning up after it, while the other kitchen stays neat and tidy for social events like children’s… SEE MORE
Working Waterfront
How to shrink your seafood footprint
Farmed oysters, along with their cousins the clam and the mussel, are extremely carbon-light. SEE MORE
Working Waterfront
Study: lobster has small carbon footprint
In the spring of 2021, the Island Institute undertook a carbon footprint study with Maine-based seafood company and Island Institute partner Luke’s Lobster. It was the first time greenhouse gas emissions were measured along one company’s supply chain of Gulf of Maine lobster. Both the Institute, publisher of The Working… SEE MORE
Working Waterfront
Op-ed: MDI housing crisis affects much more
The town of Mount Desert asserts in clear terms an underlying problem that radiates out into so many other issues. “The high cost for housing is currently one of the primary driving forces behind many of the issues facing the town of Mount Desert,” the town’s comprehensive plan argues. “An… SEE MORE
