Penobscot Bay Press

11/14/2025

DEER ISLE—Select board members expressed support for a new policy proposal, one they hope will slow annual increases in so-called third-party requests that go before voters at town meeting. Third-party requests are funding requests by an outside agency or organization presented as an article on the annual town meeting warrant for a vote by residents, either at the meeting or […]

DEER ISLE—Select board members expressed support for a new policy proposal, one they hope will slow annual increases in so-called third-party requests that go before voters at town meeting. Third-party requests are funding requests by an outside agency or organization presented as an article on th...

11/14/2025

BLUE HILL—At the Union 93 school board meeting, Monday night, November 10, members praised the district’s shared office resources yet they admitted they were unsure how to move forward with necessary improvements under the coming 2026 budget. School board chair Nick Noddin, of Surry Elementary School, singled-out the Union 93 office as an excellent resource, vital to supporting all the […]

BLUE HILL—At the Union 93 school board meeting, Monday night, November 10, members praised the district’s shared office resources yet they admitted they were unsure how to move forward with necessary improvements under the coming 2026 budget. School board chair Nick Noddin, of Surry Elementary S...

11/14/2025

DEER ISLE—As temperatures drop and sunlight gets sparse this month, a group of volunteers in Deer Isle spent a week building custom-made window inserts that keep houses warm and cut heating costs. Window Dressers, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, supplies insulating window inserts for homes and businesses across New England. The organization relies on “community builds,” where materials are sent to local […]

DEER ISLE—As temperatures drop and sunlight gets sparse this month, a group of volunteers in Deer Isle spent a week building custom-made window inserts that keep houses warm and cut heating costs. Window Dressers, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, supplies insulating window inserts for homes and businesses a...

11/14/2025

THE ISLAND—When Mallary Reece agreed to help the Stonington Volunteer Fire Department with some paperwork, she never expected that a just few years later she’d be wearing 80 pounds of turnout gear and running into a burning building at the County Fire Training Center in Ellsworth. The training building was made of solid concrete, built to withstand years firefighter training. […]

THE ISLAND—When Mallary Reece agreed to help the Stonington Volunteer Fire Department with some paperwork, she never expected that a just few years later she’d be wearing 80 pounds of turnout gear and running into a burning building at the County Fire Training Center in Ellsworth. The training b...

11/14/2025

From 2012 to 2018, ASMFC records show landings from the Gulf of Maine/ Georges Bank fisheries at an average of nearly 148 million pounds annually, but since then, total landings have been declining.

STONINGTON—The results of the 2025 Lobster Stock Assessment from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission have good and bad news for the local lobster industry. The good news is that lobster stocks in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank fisheries are not depleted and are technically not bein...

11/13/2025

What are "beaver deceivers" you might ask? For Skip Lisle of Vermont, it's much more than a hobby.

STONINGTON—Beaver deceivers are devices that present an alternative to trapping beavers that threaten infrastructure with their enterprising ways. Most of the issues beaver deceivers aim to resolve are plugged culverts, but they also prevent chewing of trees, digging in the bank, and other issues ...

11/13/2025

Happy Launch Day! 🎉

We are thrilled to have the first edition of River Observer out on newsstands! This is a soft launch to give you an idea of what our publication looks like. It features a special "Dear Reader" from Publisher and Editor Nat Barrows.
From all of us at Penobscot Bay Press, thank you for your support. We look forward to serving you!

11/13/2025

The board appointed George MacLeod and Richard Crampton as Toddy Pond Watershed District trustees.

ORLAND—On November 6, the Orland select board appointed members to the watershed management district organizations that will oversee dams on Toddy Pond and Alamoosook Lake. On November 4, voters in Orland approved a measure for the quasi-public district organizations to take control of the dams fr...

11/12/2025

At its monthly meeting at The Reach on November 10, the board held first readings for seven policies, including two that address bullying and hazing.

THE ISLAND—On a night when the Deer Isle-Stonington CSD 13 School Board began a procedural review of its bullying policies, both a parent and an educational tech raised new concerns over the impact of behavioral problems at the elementary and high schools. At its monthly meeting at The Reach on No...

11/12/2025

Tomorrow 📰👇