Working Waterfront

Is the fear about the ‘if, when’ virus unprecedented?

By Dana Wilde “This is like an atomic bomb, or worse,” Xiao Xingzheng wrote to me from his home in the island-city of Xiamen, China. This was in late March, when the covid-19 pandemic was subsiding there and intensifying here. He and his own family had, luckily, escaped illness so… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Which is more accurate—a mirror or a painting?

By Meghan Grabill When I moved here over a year ago, people asked me what connection I had to Maine. What brought me here? My response: I had visited once as a teenager on a family trip and when a job opportunity presented itself on the coast of Maine I… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

From March madness to marathon: seeing possibility within pandemic

By Rob Snyder Along the coast, March madness is a state of mind linked to living off diminishing savings from last summer, the uncertainty of livelihoods linked to the next tourism and lobstering seasons, isolation, and bracing for a few final snowstorms. Most years, this lasts through April. During an… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Island complexity explained by four islanders

By Tom Groening Consider the extremes in how islands are portrayed in literature, film, and on TV. The island setting often is used to show how the very best of community values can thrive, or how the very worst of human nature can fester. In Richard Russo’s Empire Falls, the protagonist’s… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Focus and action during the pandemic

My recent conversations with local leaders reinforce the urgency with which I believe towns must act to secure the health, economic viability, and social fabric of their communities. One of the highest priorities is to ensure that children’s needs are met. In addition, there is a range of scenarios that… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

What ‘resilient leadership in times of crisis’ means

By Rob Snyder Island and coastal communities, and the people who care about them near and far, must pull together right now. Tourism and lobstering, our key economic drivers, are in peril. The islands and coast rely on an annual influx of $4 billion in tourism revenue, earned primarily between… SEE MORE

A lobsterman and his young helper in the Fox Islands Thorofare.

Working Waterfront

Lobster science—last year was indeed strange

By Susie Arnold It was a strange year for the lobster fishery. In 2019, the scarcity of bait was a concern, and lobster landings were incredibly slow through the summer months. The July catch was the lowest recorded since at least 2008, the year the Department of Marine Resources began… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Turning the island fundraiser upside down

By Phil Crossman Lest any feel we on these islands, largely isolated during our long Maine winters, might endure a less than inspiring existence, consider a recent proposal for the winter of 2020. Like any small town, we on Vinalhaven all share in the successes and misfortunes of our fellow… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The census is coming… and why you should be counted

By Meghan Grabill It’s that time again. Ten years in the making. Data nerds, college students, genealogists, and trivia buffs everywhere are starting the countdown. The countdown to what? To the 2020 Decennial Census! For people who do not work with social and economic data, the census may seem dull. … SEE MORE

One fishermen uses a skiff to tow a skiff with another fisherman in the Fox Islands Thorofare.

Working Waterfront

Our readers write about…

Editor’s note: The guest column published in the December/January issue—“Media is responsible for ‘eco anxiety,’” by Mark Preston—generated reader reaction ranging from outrage to support. For the record, the newspaper and its publisher, the Island Institute, believe climate change is human-induced, but we were willing to print an argument contrary… SEE MORE