Working Waterfront

Talking to the tourists

By Tom Groening I was walking to the coffee shop in Rockland last summer, weaving my way through the sidewalk full of tourists, when I saw a short, bald man in his 70s staring across the street at the marquee on The Strand, a theater that shows films and hosts… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The simplicity is seductive, the complexity is the price paid

Complicated Simplicity: Island Life in the Pacific Northwest By Joy Davis (2019) Review by Tina Cohen Author Joy Davis, who directed the museum and heritage programs at the University of Victoria, has written a book jam-packed with useful things to consider if exploring a move to an island residence. It’s… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Mosquito plague has me thinking about the options

By Barbara Fernald On the first of July, activity on the islands is rolling along at a pace that rivals August. After a rainy, cold May and a rainy, cold June, any day with sun and warmth draws us all outside to catch up with gardening, boating, the beach, or… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A new setting gives this parent fresh eyes

By Courtney Naliboff It’s July, and I’m in a hot tub in Sedona, looking at red rocks in the distance, lit by a dry desert sun. My five-year-old daughter is on the steps of the adjacent swimming pool, blue goggles pushed up on her hair, wrapped in a blue foam… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Island-bound on a rainy day, not a bad fate

By Larry McIntosh I wonder if the old adage, “If you don’t like the weather, wait a minute, it’ll change,” works the other way too. If you do like the weather, will it also change? Unfortunately, it did. Even though the forecast was for partly to mostly cloudy, and 60… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A commissioner for changing times

By Rob Snyder When Patrick Keliher assumes his place at the front of the room, he does so humbly. His smile projects calm, his eyes look knowingly from behind wire rimmed glasses, and his jeans and flannel shirt are unassuming. He has the perfect presence to serve as Maine’s commissioner… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

That moment when everyone asks, ‘Who’s next?’

By Rob Snyder Phil Whitney has a lot to say about the history of Great Cranberry Island. He and his wife Karin, along with others from the community who have dedicated thousands of volunteer hours, developed the Cranberry House, a historical society that celebrates the island’s past, and as importantly,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The ‘mostly’ universal allure of water

By Phil Crossman My mother was possessed of a resolute conviction that people were good. Certainly, in spite of mounting evidence to the contrary, she felt my three younger brothers and I were clear examples, obedient youngsters whose first concern was to behave ourselves and do nothing that would meet with… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Everything is someone’s lunch

By Sandy Oliver Everything is someone’s lunch. I wander in the garden looking for spinach to eat as Eggs Florentine and notice that a section of seedlings has been wiped out. I dig around with my fingers and eventually turn up a fat, gray-brown curl of cutworm which, when squished,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Climate change drives writer from skeptic to alarmist

The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming David Wallace-Wells; Tim Duggan Books, New York, 2019 Reviewed by Dana Wilde The question about climate change is not whether it’s happening, but how severe the catastrophe is going to be. This is the central theme of David Wallace-Wells’ The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming, a… SEE MORE