Soil Ordinance Rework Continues as Tensions Surface at Southwest Harbor Meeting.
Changes Will Not Likely Go Before the Voters Until November. Carrie Jones Apr 01, 2026 The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Choco-Latté Café. SOUTHWEST HARBOR — Discussion over how to revise the town’s new soil testing ordinance continued this week, as officials acknowledged they will likely miss the deadline to put changes on the June ballot. The town needs to finalize the language and … Continue reading Soil Ordinance Rework Continues as Tensions Surface at Southwest Harbor Meeting.
Maine’s Pool of Money from Taxes on Home Sales Is Growing.
How Is It Being Used? Apr 01, 2026 By Caitlin Andrews of the Maine Monitor MAINE—A tax generated by property sales helps power Maine’s various affordable housing initiatives, including a program that assists first-time home buyers and another to prevent foreclosures. Lawmakers are considering adding a new initiative to the list: funding homeless shelters. But deciding how to allocate the money is complicated. The real estate transfer … Continue reading Maine’s Pool of Money from Taxes on Home Sales Is Growing.
MDI High School Budget Vote April 1: What Residents Need to Know.
Public Meeting Will Decide $19.6M MDI High School Budget. Shaun Farrar Mar 31, 2026 The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by First National Bank. MOUNT DESERT ISLAND REGION—Local school budgets make up a large portion of the town budgets for all four towns on Mount Desert Island. Every year, these budgets are proposed and then scrutinized by warrant committees and select boards/councils before being approved … Continue reading MDI High School Budget Vote April 1: What Residents Need to Know.
Elevated E. Coli Found in Northeast Creek Watershed Testing, Town Monitoring Ongoing.
Bar Harbor’s Marine Resources Committee Discusses Last Year’s Testing of Northeast Creek Tributaries. Carrie Jones Mar 31, 2026 The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Paradis Ace Hardware. BAR HARBOR—Without much fanfare, the town’s Marine Resource Committee has been quietly moving forward with its work this winter, much of which deals with the protection and optimum utilization of shellfish resources in Bar Harbor. That means … Continue reading Elevated E. Coli Found in Northeast Creek Watershed Testing, Town Monitoring Ongoing.
Southwest Harbor Resident Reports Bear Sighting to Police.
Police updates for Bar Harbor, Mount Desert, Southwest Harbor, Tremont, State Police and Hancock County Sheriff’s Department. Shaun Farrar Mar 31, 2026 The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Restaurant Barn. SOUTHWEST HARBOR—On March 27, someone walked into the Southwest Harbor Police Department and reported a possible bear sighting near their Southwest Harbor residence. Officer Kristen Roulet passed the possible sighting on to the proper … Continue reading Southwest Harbor Resident Reports Bear Sighting to Police.
Southwest Harbor Moves Toward Paid Parking at Waterfront Docks for Summer 2026
Parking Kiosks, Hazardous Trees Dominate Southwest Harbor Meeting Carrie Jones Mar 30, 2026 The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by The Witham Family Hotels Charitable Fund. SOUTHWEST HARBOR—Paid parking at three sites in town and hazardous trees took up most of the over two-hour Southwest Harbor Select Board meeting, March 24. Multiple parking consultants and business representatives attended via Zoom to answer questions as the … Continue reading Southwest Harbor Moves Toward Paid Parking at Waterfront Docks for Summer 2026
State Believes Open Hearth Inn Fire Was Accidental.
Guests and dogs escaped early morning blaze in historic inn with some traumatic history. Carrie Jones Mar 30, 2026 The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Acadia Psychiatry. TRENTON—The State Fire Marshal’s Office currently believes that the fire that damaged the Open Hearth Inn at 1147 Bar Harbor Road was not intentional. “Due to the extent of the damage and structural collapse, the origin and cause of … Continue reading State Believes Open Hearth Inn Fire Was Accidental.
THINGS TO DO IN THE MOUNT DESERT ISLAND REGION THIS WEEK.
And in the near future. Carrie Jones Mar 30, 2026 THINGS TO DO It’s our weekly round-up, and we may have missed some things, so apologies! If you have something you’d like in here, please let us know. Also, you may have to click through to see everything. There are so many things that this email is a bit long for a lot of inboxes. … Continue reading THINGS TO DO IN THE MOUNT DESERT ISLAND REGION THIS WEEK.
ON THE AGENDA: Town & School Meetings This Week.
It’s our round up of upcoming government meetings. All are public. That means you can go and be involved. Carrie Jones Mar 30, 2026 Every week we document the Mount Desert Island region’s government and school meetings that we know of. Please let us know if we’ve missed something. Also, sometimes things on the town and school calendars are cancelled or rescheduled, so make sure … Continue reading ON THE AGENDA: Town & School Meetings This Week.
LETTERS FROM OUR READERS
Christina Heiniger, Annlinn Kruger, Mike Reynolds. Mar 29, 2026 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY We always welcome letter submissions to The Bar Harbor Story. For details on our policy, please visit our about page and scroll down or just visit here. As with all newspapers, the beliefs, opinions, and viewpoints expressed by the writers of letters to the editor and included here do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, opinions, … Continue reading LETTERS FROM OUR READERS