Crime/Public Safety/Drugs

One Injured at Blue Hill Fair 

(Blue Hill)  Remaining performances of The Grand in Ellsworth’s production of Charlotte’s Web at the Blue Hill Fair were canceled Saturday after the set apparently collapsed, injuring a performer.  Sources told Downeast Digest Sarah Mislang and her daughter, Clementine, were in the process of setting up when the hut collapsed, injuring Sarah.  Clementine called 9-1-1, and an ambulance transported Sarah to Northern Light Blue Hill Hospital where she was treated and released.  Sarah’s Mom is keeping us updated and says while she didn’t suffer any broken bones, she’s in a good deal of pain and still being treated for her injuries.

Deer Isle Ambulance Corps Director Honored

(Deer Isle)  A big shout out to Memorial Ambulance Corps Director Walter Reed. Reed was honored recently with an award from Maine EMS for his decades of service to the island’s volunteer ambulance service.  Island Ad-Vantages reports Reed retired to Deer Isle in 2000 and quickly joined the service as a driver.  Since then, he’s helped organize placement and service of more than 30 lifesaving AED’s across the island and oversaw MAC’s recent capital campaign, which allowed the service to purchase a second ambulance for the first time in its 59-year history.  Reed now helps run the organization and respond to emergencies alongside longtime service chief Wilda Eaton.  

ICE Plans to Open Facility in Newport

(Newport)  Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, is planning to open a new facility in Newport, Maine.  State lawmakers announced this month the federal agency has secured a lease to convert the former Newport District Courthouse at 12 Water Street into an office space. The building was closed in 2025 due to a mold infestation, which we’re told has since been remediated.  WGME reports the location is expected to be used primarily as an administrative office, rather than as a detention or processing center, due to its smaller size.  The announcement drew mixed reactions, especially in light of ICE’s killing of an innocent man in Biddeford earlier this summer by an agent with a reported history of mental health challenges and violent behavior (AP News).    

Local Politics

Jackson Campaigns at Union Hall on Labor Day

(AP)  Troy Jackson, long time labor activist and Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in Maine, on Monday returned to a union hall to tell a packed crowd workers need to hit the polls this fall to raise the minimum wage, expand family medical leave, and show support for one another.  The Associated Press reports Jackson was among candidates in key November races who spent Labor Day weekend stumping at festivals, halls, and parades as the midterms enter the final weeks … with control of the House and Senate on the line.  Jackson is up against longtime Republican Senator Susan Collins.  Dems need to flip four seats and hold on in competitive states where they hold seats in order to take back the chamber.

Economy

Passamaquoddy Consider Purchase of Eastport Grocery

(Eastport)  Eastport’s only full-service grocery closed last Thursday, after the owner retired without finding a buyer.  But sources say The Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point is mulling purchase of the R&M IGA Foodliner.  The Portland Press Herald reports the closure has created a food desert on the peninsula, forcing residents and locals on the Sipayik reservation to make a 35-40 minute drive to Calais or Perry for fresh produce.  The Tribal government has scheduled a referendum vote for today that will allow voters to decide whether to formally authorize the tribal chief and council to purchase and operate the grocery.  

Veterinary Hospital Reopens on Deer Isle

(Deer Isle)  Maine Coast Veterinary Hospital has reopened its clinic on Deer Isle.  Island Ad-Vantages reports the clinic has been closed for four years, and will now welcome four-legged patients on Thursdays between 8 and 5:30.  The facility closed in 2022 after COVID forced a drop-off in the number of patients making appointments on the island.  Before reopening, the clinic underwent extensive renovations, including the addition of a laboratory they say can produce bloodwork results within 20 minutes. MCVH Deer Isle will offer routine checkups and minor procedures, while surgeries and more complicated cases will continue at Blue Hill or an emergency clinic.  

Home Port Accepting Apartment Applications

(Deer Isle)  Home Port, a housing community for seniors 55-plus and essential workers on Deer Isle, is now accepting apartment applications.  The nonprofit launched a $1.5M capital campaign to tackle the affordable housing crisis on the island by transforming the former Island Nursing Home into 23 apartments, along with spacious common areas and gathering spaces, a laundromat, and garden and patio areas for residents.  If you’re employed on Deer Isle and/or are 55-plus, apply or learn more at homeportmaine.org.

Kingfish Plans Again on Hold in Jonesport

(Jonesport)  Plans for Kingfish Maine’s aquaculture facility in Jonesport are once again on hold after the company raised less than 60% of the money it hoped to secure in order to move the project forward.  The company, whose project has been delayed by years of pushback and legal issues from environmental and other groups, told the Maine Monitor it will not proceed with the Jonesport project until legal, commercial, and financing conditions are more favorable, with no work now expected for at least another year.  Meanwhile, the Department of Environmental Protection is reviewing recent changes to town ordinances that could restart the clock for Kingfish should they decide to revisit the project.

Infrastructure

MDOT Work Begins in Blue Hill

(Blue Hill)  Work on the storm drain system along Tenney Hill and Main Street in Blue Hill begins today and will continue through the week.  The town reports the work will require temporary “No Parking” areas in order for the Maine Department of Transportation to access catch basins.  MDOT says they hope to avoid needing to close any traffic lanes, but if that becomes necessary, the contractor will have flaggers in place to coordinate alternating traffic.

Human Interest  

FOA Raises Funds for Baker Island Lighthouse Restoration

(ANP)  The Baker Island Lighthouse in Acadia National Park was built in 1828 by order of President John Quincy Adams.  Its remote location on an uninhabited island means the beacon has weathered its share of storms and salt air, landing it on the “doomsday list” of America’s most endangered lighthouses.  Friends of Acadia has come to the rescue of the historic structure, raising $400K for repairs in order to secure the structure. On the agenda, masonry repairs to fix cracking walls and a deteriorating exterior, historic restoration of original window openings, and safety improvements that will adhere to historic preservation standards.  The National Park Service and the volunteer group Keepers of Baker Island previously stabilized the keeper’s house and cleared overgrown brush in order to restore the station’s historic coastal views.

Library Passport Contest

(Maine)  To share the power of libraries, the Maine Library Association and Maine State Library are holding a statewide Library Passport contest.  Now through the end of the year, you can download a library passport brochure or visit a participating local library and ask for one, collect stamps or signatures to verify your visit, and mail them to the MLA, Box 1993 Portland, 04104.  Completed passports will be entered into a drawing for gift cards and prize packages from LL Bean, Shaws, Hannaford, and other sponsors.  Visit mainelibraries.org/passport to learn more.  And don’t forget to sign up for your library card at our own local library in Ellsworth this month for your chance to win one of three $50 gas cards!  Already have an Ellsworth library card?  Get a friend to sign up, and you’ll both get an entry!  ellsworthlibrary.net.

Reception for Longtime Jonesport Businessman

(Jonesport)  Brett Pawlowski is a well-known face in Jonesport – his business has printed many a graduation sign, banner, and more for Washington County locals for more than two decades.  Founded in 2001, Jonesport Type, Print, and Copy built a longstanding reputation for affordable service and fast turnaround times in the local coastal community.  Brett and his partner, Jeff, are moving to North Carolina to be nearer family, but the community is not letting them go without a fond farewell.  Join fans at Stewart’s Takeout in Jonesport this Friday at 6 p.m. for refreshments, mingling, and memories and to remind them “they’ll always have friends waiting for them” no matter how far their next adventure takes them.  

E.B. White’s Poem Now a Children’s Book

(Brooklin)  While Brooklin author E.B. White is best known for that heart tugging story of a pig, a spider, and a rat, the Portland Press Herald reports it was ducks, geese, and other birds that held a special place in his heart.  His granddaughter says as a boy, White was fascinated by loons, ducks, chickens, and geese.  His latest book, published some 40 years after his death, is called The Duck Can’t Sleep, and its text is a poem White wrote for New Yorker Magazine in 1928. Maine artist Melissa Sweet created the illustrations.  The book, published by HarperCollins, is now available at local bookstores.

National News – 09/08/26

Dog Rescued a Week After Being Carried Off by Flash Floods

(Sedona, AZ)  The devastating deluge in the Grand Canyon recently wasn’t the only flash flood to hit that state.  Monsoon rains sent a flash flood tearing through a desert wash outside Sedona, Arizona, where a man was on his morning walk with his Golden Retriever, Rusty.  The flood carried Rusty downstream before his owner could grab his leash.  Rusty’s distraught owner searched the wash for days with no luck; but a group of hikers found the pup a week later, denned up in a rock alcove above the flood line, dehydrated but alive. Rusty was carried down a steep incline on a makeshift sling created by the rescuers’ jackets and was greeted by his giddy owner at the trailhead.  He’s expected to make a full recovery.  

98 Year Old Takes on Summer Reading Challenge

(WaPo)  Speaking of libraries, did you complete your summer reading program this year?  The Washington Post reports a 98-year-old Texas native did!  Albert Gaston, Jr. captured hearts by completing the summer reading challenge at the San Diego Public Library.  An avid reader, Gaston, Jr. spends a few hours reading each day in his favorite chair, and used the challenge to visit the library, stay socially connected, and meet new people.  The Texas Library Association says his story is a wonderful reminder that libraries offer opportunities to read, learn, and connect at each stage of life.  And by the way, Albert plans to take on the summer reading challenge again next year.

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