Tom Walsh starts work before he gets to work. Walsh works as a science writer at the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor and commutes 80 miles round-trip every day from his home in Gouldsboro. But like a growing number of Jackson Laboratory employees, he takes advantage of a bus service subsidized by the laboratory, leaving
Parallel 44
Bleak future for The Cat Last month, The Cat made her last trips from Maine to Nova Scotia before packing it up for the season. There’s plenty of reason to fear the high-speed catamaran won’t be back next year. Our region’s long-haul ferries had a brutal season. Battered by sky-high fuel prices and a downturn in
Matinicus Post Office finds new home in part of parsonage
Matinicus Island has been without a physical post office since the accidental fire that destroyed the existing historic structure in April 2008. Over the summer, mail has been picked up and delivered by island postal service staff. Since last spring, numerous ideas have been suggested for a post office location, and a couple of island
We can defend you
You caught my attention with the article, “Guns on ferries: balancing safety and rights, Working Waterfront, October 2008). My favorite part of the article was the last sentence: “There were so many guns in the wheelhouse, the captain couldn’t move.” Just before that statement, the article stated that the practice that led to that
The Long View: The Maine lobster business model is broken
The second half of the 20th century ended a little late in calendar terms the first week of October 2008. That was the week that everyone from Iceland’s international depositors to Maine lobstermen and from Wall Street financiers to Russian oligarchs began to recognize that our intricately inter-dependent and globally profligate indebtedness will extract a
Donors, foundations insure future of island fellowships
A named Island Fellows endowment is one that ensures, through the generous support of an individual donor or a foundation, the perpetuity of one of the Island Institute’s most visible and valued resources to island and working-waterfront communities. To date, the Institute has successfully completed four named Island Fellows endowments: The William Bingham Fellow for
Is “green” certification an answer?
Maine’s lobster industry, facing a “Perfect Storm” of economic and regulatory challenges, is partway through the process of achieving certification as a sustainable fishery, led by an enthusiastic group of processors and harvesters. Not everyone in the lobstering business is sure it’s a good idea. Some believe Maine lobster shouldn’t need to prove its sustainability
Help us make our web site better
The process of redesigning the Working Waterfront web site has been underway for over a year. After unveiling a new design in June, we realized that there is more we can do. And we believe the best way to make further changes is to ask for feedback from our readers. We would like our site
Charlottetown builds mega-berth; visited by world’s largest cruise ship
An investment of $15.5 million to build a new pier and welcome center in Charlottetown harbor resulted in visits from the world’s largest cruise ship. The Prince Edward Island port renovated and lengthened its pier so the port could handle mega-cruise ships, something that the new Ocean gateway facility in Portland lacks. Royal Caribbean International’s
Crops thrive, but Chebeague farm’s future uncertain
When Chebeague islanders have a piece of the past they’d like to see conserved- an old wooden cook stove, an antique cider press, ancient tools dug from collapsing barns-they often call their neighbor Chuck Varney. Varney, 46, rebuilds broken parts, removes rust and oils the old machines until they come back, gleaming, to life. A