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

Phil Crossman sits at the piano at Waterman's Community Center on North Haven as Gov. Janet Mills, vacationing on the island, sings.

Working Waterfront

My singing partner, Janet Mills

Gov. Janet Mills can sing. I don’t mean to imply that simply because she can sing, she should be re-elected and neither do I mean to suggest that the ability to carry a tune be a prerequisite for holding office. However, she can sing, does so enthusiastically and I have… SEE MORE

Eastport celebrates the Fourth of July in 2018.

Working Waterfront

Eastport, Lubec banking on the arts

At the end of June, I was lucky enough to visit Eastport and Lubec. I’ve been meaning to return since my first visit in 1996. Remembering hidden artist studios, downtown galleries, and a dynamic working waterfront drew me to plan a trip. As director of Archipelago, the Island Institute’s Rockland… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Letters to the editor: reading and politics

A new kind of reading To the editor: Writing has always interested me. Ever since I was five years old, strong opinions and emotions in books have made me want to do something. A book about a mermaid: go swimming! Harry Potter: make-up my own fantasy world! But not until… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Sorting out the meaning of summer

It’s the middle of summer on Islesford and while COVID is not yet off our radar, the month of July has been bursting with activity. This hectic pace throws me off balance but there is something reassuring about how normal the discomfort feels. The islands are once again full of… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Farming from the porch

Take a bucket of shell peas you’ve just picked and a basket to heave the pods into, and a bowl to collect the little green wonders, then go sit on the porch where it is cool and shady and shell them all out, eating some as a snack, and anticipating… SEE MORE