Cruise Ship Presentation, MDI news, Lab news, Library news, Island Explorer, FOA, COA and more
JUN 16, 2024
BAR HARBOR—The Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce wants you to be in its Fourth of July parade.
Completed forms are due back by June 28th.
Link to the application: https://www.visitbarharbor.com/july-4th
SOUTHWEST HARBOR SOLID WASTE CONTRACT
After months of work, the Southwest Harbor Select Board approved a solid waste contract with Eastern Maine Recycling (EMR). The discussion in front of a standing-room-only and action did not reflect the hours of thought, meetings, and input.
The contract runs from July 1, 2023 through to June 30, 2029. If the contract had not been passed, residents would have had to pay for disposal. The last contract had been terminated in February.
For a more intricate rundown of the EMR contract and steps leading to it, check Jess Cummings’ piece in the Islander.
PEEKY TOE NEWEST LOCATION
As they wait for their Bar Harbor building’s construction to be completed, PeekyTow has been given the opportunity to occupy the space at 18 Village Green Way in Southwest Harbor (formerly Bub’s Burritos / Coda) behind the Southwest Harbor Library.)
They are currently accepting online preorders for fresh fish! Pick up will be Friday or Saturday from 1:00-5:00 at 18 Village Green Way in Southwest Harbor. Orders must be in by 10:00 pm Wednesday night.
LIBRARY EVENTS
TRENTON
In Trenton on Tuesday, citizens concerned about large-scale solar arrays presented their ordinance changes to the town’s select board.
TREMONT
Per the town,
Per the town, “RJD Appraisal has completed their town wide property tax revaluation for the 2024 (FY25) tax year. The Select Board authorized the town wide revaluation in the fall of 2021 to comply with state law that, All taxes upon real and personal estates, assessed by authority of this State, shall be apportioned and assessed equally according to the just value thereof. The equalized just value must be uniformly assessed in each municipality and unorganized place and be based on 100% of the current market value. The last town wide revaluation in Tremont was completed in 2015. Revaluation notices will be mailed out June 7th, and will include an “Estimated 2024 Tax Amount”. RJD will be conducting one on one appointments with anyone who would like to come in and discuss their valuation. These are by appointment only and can be arranged by calling the Town Office the week of June 17th to scheduled your appointment. Appointments will be scheduled for the week of June 24th.”
Revaluation Mailing in ALPHA Order Click here
FUNDRAISER FOR THE AMBULANCE SERVICE
SEAWALL ROAD MEETING
Please note the location change due to anticipated attendance. This meeting will now be held at the Pemetic School Gym – 327 Main Street. Southwest Harbor.
MaineDOT has scheduled a public meeting for the Towns of Tremont and Southwest Harbor, to discuss the Seawall Road closure, for Thursday, June 27 at 6 p.m.
BAR HARBOR
On Saturday afternoon, the town uploaded the cruise ship presentation into the agenda/minutes section of its website. The six-page presentation is below. It outlines the Town Council’s Thursday presentation of the cruise ship history from 2008 onward and then a visual representation of its current dual track approach to cruise ship passenger management. An earlier story on that presentation is here.
TRENTON
Trenton Volunteer Fire Department – Monthly Call Summary
In the month of May, the dedicated team responded to a total of 13 calls. Here’s a breakdown of the incidents:
- 2 Unpermitted Burns
- 1 Medical Assist
- 4 Alarm Activations
- 3 Wildland Fires
- 3 Structure Fires
From the department, “We are proud to serve and protect our community. Thank you for your continued support! Stay safe, everyone.”
BAR HARBOR
Cottage Street Section Traffic/Parking Impact – Monday, June 17, 2024
On Monday, June 17, contractors will be completing the subsurface boring exploration work along Cottage Street from Maple Avenue to Eden Street. Work will be in progress from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM. Parking and traffic will be impacted by alternating one-lane traffic through the job site. Travel delays are to be expected. Thank you for your patience
COA Dedicates Newest Residence Hall
BAR HARBOR—The Collins House, a new, 46-bed, ecologically designed residence hall on College of the Atlantic campus, was officially dedicated to outgoing president Dr. Darron Collins ‘92 and his family at an on-site ceremony June 9.
COA Board of Directors Chair Beth Gardiner was joined at the speaker’s podium by donors Andrew and Kate Davis, architect Timothy Lock of OPAL Architecture, and Collins himself. Scores of trustees, staff, faculty, and friends of the college gathered for the event.
“One thing that always excites me about College of the Atlantic… is that you ask for the world when it comes to ecological design,” Lock said. “The buildings that we make might be our single greatest human-ecological artifacts that we have… but they’re also our single biggest impact on that world that we try to live in. They take a ton of resources. And we had this dream, first with the COA Center for Human Ecology, and here with Collins House, to try to see how low we could make that impact.”
Collins House is designed for peak ecological performance while providing a homey, inviting space for students with a large common area and multi-functional kitchen. Built from a biogenic mass timber structure, paired with wood infill walls and wood fiber insulation, the Collins House all-wood assembly sequesters biogenic carbon while performing at Passive House energy levels, upholding the highest standards of sustainability.
The design process for the building, Lock said, occurred concurrently with his work with the Biden/Harris administration to set national standards for zero emissions buildings, which were just released June 6 by The White House’s Climate Policy Office.
“This building is one of a handful of buildings that already meets that definition of zero emissions,” Lock said. “This has become this petri dish in our office that allows us to test all the things that we know are possible.”
Andrew Davis spoke about his family’s history of supporting COA — beginning with his grandmother, for whom the school’s ecologically designed Kathryn W. Davis Residence Village is named — and said how important it was for him to continue that work.
“COA isn’t for every student. But for those students for whom it fits, it’s perfect. And that’s very, very difficult to find in most any university or academic, academic college,” Davis said. “It’s really a very, very, very special place.”
Collins House was designed by OPAL Architecture of Belfast and the mass timber structure was installed by affiliated company OPAL Build, while the construction management was undertaken by AlliedCook of Scarborough. The structure is insulated with blown-in wood fiber insulation from Maine company TimberHP, which manufactures high-performing wood fiber insulation that is resistant to moisture liabilities, mold, and fire, and offers superior properties to reduce heating and cooling loads. TimberHP sources Forest Stewardship Council and Sustainable Forestry Initiative certified small diameter pulp trees and residual wood chips from Northern Maine and produces their products in state. They offer rigid insulation, batting, and blown fill.
A piece of rigid insulation from TimberHP was ceremoniously installed in Collins House at the end of the ceremony.
All photos courtesy of COA.
Rising Investigator Appointed to MDI Bio Lab Faculty
BAR HARBOR—Emily Spaulding, Ph.D., is establishing a new research laboratory at MDI Biological Laboratory. After four years doing her post-doctoral work in the research group of MDI Bio Lab’s Dustin Updike, Ph.D., she has now been hired as an Assistant Professor.
“MDI Bio Lab is a special place with state-of-the-art resources, a remarkable history and an incredibly supportive scientific community,” Spaulding says. “It is a privilege to start my laboratory at such an institute and in my home state of Maine.”
The native of Rockland, Maine earned her Ph.D. at the University of Maine while embedded in the Jackson Laboratory. During her post-doc at MDI Bio Lab, she was recognized by the National Institutes of Health as an “Outstanding Scholar in Neuroscience”.
“Dr. Spaulding is an extraordinary young pioneer in biomolecular research, and she is a pleasure to work with” says MDI Bio Lab President Hermann Haller, M.D.
“We are honored to make a scientific home for her here on Mt. Desert Island. We see great things ahead.”
In late 2022, Spaulding published groundbreaking research on a little-studied type of cell structure, called nucleoli, that play a role in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and ALS.
Working with one of MDI Bio Lab’s unique array of models for human health, C. elegans roundworms, Spaulding upended some fundamental assumptions about the
architecture and functionality of the nucleoli, and she continues to pursue that investigative avenue.
“The big idea of my lab is to study how nerve cells (neurons) organize their components into structures like nucleoli and how disrupted organization could lead to neuronal dysfunction and ultimately neurodegeneration,” she says.
Revealing how the normal mechanisms of neuron organization are disrupted can lead the way to therapies that prevent or repair the damage. “It’s really hard to study these dynamic structures in mammals, but it’s much easier in C. elegans,” Spaulding says. “And you can do it in a living animal.”
Updike says Spaulding has a remarkable knack for imaging cells in living organisms at resolutions smaller than one-thousandth of a millimeter. “But more than that” he adds, “she’s integrating the genetic tools she’s developed with her expertise in neurobiology to make some truly captivating discoveries.”
Spaulding says one of the biggest factors in deciding to establish her first laboratory at MDI Bio Lab was being able to stay in Maine. “My family is here, my kids are in school here, I love Maine,” she says. “I can live the life that I want here, and still do amazing research. MDI Bio Lab just fits my life.”
ISLAND CONNECTIONS NEEDS HELP
SHAVING CREAM WIFFLE BALL
On June 27 at the Bar Harbor Congregational Chuch parking lot in Bar Harbor, off Mount Desert Street there will be free shaving cream wiffle ball. The fun begins at 6 p.m. It is free.
Acclaimed Author Kevin Wilson Visits Mount Desert Island for Special Events on June 26th and 27th, 2024
MOUNT DESERT ISLAND—Jesup Memorial Library and Northeast Harbor Library are excited to announce that celebrated author Kevin Wilson will be visiting Mount Desert Island for two special events as part of the NEA Big Read: MDI.
Author Talk at Jesup Memorial Library
On Thursday, June 27th at 7pm, Kevin Wilson will be at the Jesup Memorial Library for an author talk on his book Nothing to See Here. During this event, Wilson will delve into his writing process, share insights from his literary career, and take questions from the audience. Attendees will also have the opportunity to get their books signed by the author. Books will be for sale, courtesy of Sherman’s Maine Coast Books.
Writing Workshop at Northeast Harbor Library
Additionally, Wilson will lead a writing workshop for adults on Wednesday, June 26th from 5pm-7pm at the Northeast Harbor Library. This workshop, focused on writing family stories, is open to writers of both fiction and non-fiction, regardless of their level of experience. Space is limited and registration is required.
About NEA Big Read: MDI
These events are a highlight of the NEA Big Read: MDI, a program which the Jesup Memorial Library was awarded an NEA Big Read grant for 2024. The featured book for this year’s NEA Big Read: MDI is Wilson’s acclaimed novel Nothing to See Here, along with other companion books for young readers. The NEA Big Read aims to broaden our understanding of the world, our communities, and ourselves through the power of a shared reading experience.
From January to June 2024, Jesup Memorial Library, in collaboration with community partners on MDI and across the state, distributed free copies of Nothing to See Here, hosted book discussions, a self-care fair, activities for kids, and other programs. The chosen books explore themes such as non-traditional parenting, homeschooling, the importance of self-care and emotional regulation, and women’s basketball.
About Kevin Wilson
Kevin Wilson lives in Sewanee, Tennessee, with his wife, the poet Leigh Anne Couch, and their sons. There, he writes and teaches as an associate professor in the English Department at Sewanee: The University of the South. He is the author of two other novels, The Family Fang (Ecco, 2011) and Perfect Little World (Ecco, 2017), along with two short story collections: Tunneling to the Center of the Earth (Ecco/Harper Perennial, 2009), which received an Alex Award from the American Library Association and the Shirley Jackson Award, and Baby You’re Gonna Be Mine (Ecco, 2018). When he is not teaching or writing, he spends long hours with his children rambling through the mountains of Tennessee, exploring their backyard pond, watching old WrestleManias, hiking through the woods and “searching for frogs and lizards, for all the living things moving around us, unseen unless you try to find them” (LA Review of Books). When Wilson writes about parenthood, he captures this unseen: the aliveness of childhood curiosity, the fierce gratitudes of parenting, the terrible and wonderful uncertainties of love. “You can’t anticipate what your children are going to do or what the problems are going to be,” he told the New York Times. “You love them, so you attack it head on and go forward.”
These events are free and offered in-person or virtually via Zoom.
Register for the Writing Workshop with Kevin Wilson.
Register for the Author Talk: Kevin Wilson.
JAX SSP CLASS ARRIVES!
BAR HARBOR—In one of JAX’s most anticipated moments of the year, the SSP class of 2024 has arrived on our campuses in Bar Harbor and Farmington for 10 weeks of mentorship, adventure and hands-on participation in research discovery. We thought you’d enjoy a chance to learn more about the class.
From a pool of more than 500 applicants, 37 trainees were selected for this year’s cohort, representing 21 states and 32 institutions across the country. Several have previous research experience and even publication credits to their name. In keeping with JAX’s commitment to diversity in the scientific career pipeline, 57% of the class meets diversity criteria established by the National Institutes for Health.
One student won a first-place prize at the Connecticut Science and Engineering Fair. Another has participated in archeological digs. They are musicians, bakers and athletes, as well as volunteers and advocates within their local communities.
We’re excited to see how their summers evolve, especially as the SSP celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. A century after its founding, the SSP continues to nurture in its students a passion for science that is still changing lives.
Healthy Acadia Announces Mini-Grant Early Child Care Site Awardees to Expand Healthy Eating and Active Living Initiatives
HANCOCK COUNTY—Healthy Acadia is thrilled to announce over $14,000 in mini-grant funding to licensed Early Child Care sites in Hancock and Washington counties, Maine, through their Healthy Eating Active Living Program, with prevention efforts supported by the Maine CDC.
Healthy Acadia was pleased to receive nearly 30 applications from area Early Child Care sites, all of which proposed important and deserving projects, totaling over $30,000 in requests. Of these applicants, fifteen were selected to receive funding for projects, including raised bed gardens and greenhouses, indoor and outdoor play equipment, kitchen supplies, picnic tables, and more. These projects will result in improved nutrition, increased physical activity, reduced recreational screen time, and reduced consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages by children in the childcare setting and at home.
Congratulations to the following Hancock County Early Child Care sites: Community Childhood Learning Place, Dawna’s Daycare, Kids Corner Inc., Klaver’s Home Daycare, Little Bears Daycare, and Mis Primeros Pasos/My First Steps.
Congratulations to the following Washington County Early Child Care sites: Downeast Community Partners – Flaherty E.C.E.C., Kidz First Childcare, Leighton’s Little Bear Den, Little Bird Child Care, Little Hunter’s Den Child Care, Lots of Tots Child Care, Sunrise Opportunities – Washington County Children’s Program, The Rose Hill Clubhouse, You Work Wee Play Childcare.
For more information, please contact Sandy Fortin at sandy.fortin@healthyacadia.org or (207) 667-7171.
Healthy Acadia is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that engages in a broad range of initiatives to build healthier communities and make it easier for people to lead healthy lives across Washington and Hancock counties, Maine. Learn more at www.healthyacadia.org.
SCIENCE CAFE!
What the Science Says About Endangered Right Whales
June 24, 2024 I 5 PM I Hybrid: Maren Auditorium and Zoom
New England Aquarium senior researcher Amy Knowlton has worked on the Right Whale Research Program since 1983. Nick Record, a senior scientist at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, is an expert ocean modeler and forecaster.
More Details
Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales swim the entire eastern seaboard. Females give birth to their calves along the southeast U.S. coast during winter and foraging right whales are found year-round from the mid Atlantic U.S. coast through the Canadian maritimes. They are exposed to and impacted by entanglements in fishing gear and strikes by vessels, and there are fewer than 350 left.
Amy Knowlton is a senior scientist who has worked on the New England Aquarium’s Right Whale Research Program since 1983. She has been involved in all aspects of the program, including fieldwork, curation of the photo-identification catalog, assessment of human impacts, and policy efforts to protect right whales.
Her main focus has been the detailed documentation of human impacts on right whales, including fishing-gear entanglement and vessel strikes. Knowlton gives us a glimpse into the fascinating biology of the “urban whale”, as scientists call it, for its tendency to swim close to our most populous shores. And she will report out her latest findings on entanglement levels and impacts and potential solutions to this challenging issue. She will also share recent findings on a vessel strike forensics study aimed to help inform the size of vessels involved in strikes.
Nick Record, Ph.D., works at the intersection of computational oceanography and social sciences, and with partners around the world to calculate paths forward for the ocean and the communities that depend on it. He specializes in ocean forecasting, and has closely tracked the presence and abundance of the right whale’s preferred forage food, a tiny crustacean called Calanus finmarchicus, in the Gulf of Maine.
He uses big data, mathematical models, and machine learning to predict phenomena ranging from toxic algal blooms to whale migrations.
What Are Science Cafés?
MDI Bio Lab’s Science Cafés provide an informal introduction to ground-breaking biomedical research by its scientists, scholars from near and far and from local experts in other fields as well. Each Café lasts about one hour; the floor is open for questions and discussion. It can get lively and it’s always engaging. MDI Science Cafés are open to the public and free of charge. For more information, visit our website.
FRIENDS OF ACADIA 2023 Impact Report Now Online
ACADIA NATIONAL PARK—As Friends of Acadia members, donors, and volunteers, you can take pride in helping to make 2023 a groundbreaking year in support of Acadia National Park. There was groundbreaking – at the park’s new maintenance facility, the Acadia Gateway Center in Trenton, and Friends of Acadia’s workforce housing project at Dane Farm in Seal Harbor. We also celebrated 50 years of the Acadia Youth Conservation Corps Program and many other milestones.
Read more in the Friends of Acadia 2023 Impact Report here.
Registration Now Open for Weekly Save Our Summits Hikes
Do you want to be a #SoilHero by hiking up a mountain AND helping Acadia’s efforts to restore summit vegetation? Friends of Acadia is partnering with the park and Schoodic Institute to host a weekly Save Our Summits Volunteer Program, every Wednesday from June through September. This program invites tenacious hikers to bring bags of soil to the summits of Penobscot and Sargent Mountains to help with restoration efforts. Hikes run from 8:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., weather permitting. Advanced registration is required.
Register and learn more about how to prepare for the event here.
ISLAND EXPLORER SCHEDULE
According to its website, “The fare-free Island Explorer features bus routes linking hotels, inns, and campgrounds with destinations in Acadia National Park and neighboring village centers. Clean propane-powered vehicles offer Mount Desert Island visitors and residents free transportation to hiking trails, carriage roads, island beaches, and in-town shops and restaurants.
“Schoodic service begins on May 22, 2024.
“Other Island Explorer buses operate from June 23 through October 14, 2024. Fall schedules go into effect August 21, 2024.”ISLAND EXPLORER ROUTE FINDER – 2024
For individual maps and timetables, click on the route names below.
- Bar Harbor Road
- Eden Street
- Sand Beach
- Loop Road
- Jordan Pond
- Northeast Harbor
- Southwest Harbor
- Schoodic
- Trenton
- Blackwoods
- Tremont
- Highbrook
- Bicycle Express
PROJECT 2025: A SUPREME THREAT TO U.S. DEMOCRACY WORKSHOP
NORTHEAST HARBOR—Jennifer Flynn Walker of The Center for Popular Democracy will offer a free, public workshop on Project 2025: A Supreme Threat to U.S. Democracy.
The workshop will be held in the Mellon Room at the Northeast Harbor Library on Saturday, June 22, 2024 from 3:00-4:30.
“Project 2025, which is funded by the Heritage Foundation, has published a terrifying document with more than 900-detailed pages on how to turn our representative democracy into a
fully-empowered, staffed, tax-payer funded autocracy on day 1 of a Republican administration,” states Flynn.
“Project 2025 is a roadmap that inserts an extreme Christian view throughout American politics, a view that is neither democratic nor representative of the people. It calls for expanded presidential powers, elimination of abortion and LGBTQ+ rights, fossil fuel expansion,rollback of green infrastructure investments, reduced consumer rights and protections, a Department of Justice weaponized against the people, and much more.”
“I hope attendees will come away from the workshop understanding the real threat Project 2025 poses to each of us and our world, and what can be done to work together to ensure this proposal is never enacted.“
Flynn Walker is Co-Chair of the Campaigns Department at the Center for Popular Democracy. She oversees teams working on voting rights and democracy, healthcare, housing, SCOTUS, and immigration and justice issues across the country.
“We’re pleased to welcome Jennifer to Maine so we can better understand Project 2025 and the threat it poses to our democracy,” said Caroline Pryor, one of the event organizers.
Flynn Walker is founder and former executive director of VOCAL-NY, organizing around welfare rights, homelessness, drug user rights, and immigration with winning campaigns that resulted in a right to housing legislation and over $30 million to build housing.
The Center for Popular Democracy, founded in 2012, uses a model for change that draws on successful base-building and advocacy by partners. The Center is working for change thanks to a staff of 95, and 53 partners and affiliates in 131 cities in 34 states and Puerto Rico and Washington, DC. In Maine, the Center’s affiliate is the Maine People’s Alliance, the state’s largest community action organization with more than 32,000 members.
Flynn Walker’s recognitions include the Union Square Award, Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leadership Award, and New York City Council Hero Award. She is profiled in the book Girl Activist for her creation of the birddog nation and the campaign to save the Affordable Care Act. Her master’s degree was awarded by New School for Social Research.
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