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Greetings from Downeast where, as summer draws to a close, two Downeast icons also are calling it quits.  

The popular Ellsworth Sri Lankan restaurant, Serendib, announced it’ll be closing its doors in December, one of four in the region to shutter. The owner of Linwood’s also is closing the curtain on its final show after a decade of free, live music at the quirky open-air stage on Route 1 in Gouldsboro. Featuring a vintage truck mounted on the roof and a Ferris wheel in the background, the visible roadside attraction was a Downeast summer tradition. Or, as one Youtuber called it, “a Sunday afternoon hootenanny and jam with a carnival atmosphere.”

Although I suppose some things must come to an end, alas, irony is alive and well Downeast.

More than half a dozen of the stories we're featuring this week deal with the devastating impacts of climate change in our region — something you won’t be able to learn more about from the signs previously located throughout Acadia National Park. 

The Trump administration says the campaign to remove signs about climate change from national parks is aimed at “restoring truth and sanity to American history.” But as Maine Monitor contributor Chris D’Angelo details in his story below, it’s actually part of the administration’s sweeping campaign to scrub certain historical and scientific truths from federal sites.  

To quote Alanis Morissette, “Isn't it ironic? Don't you think?”

Trump administration pulls climate change signs from Acadia

“Acadia is changing, so are we,” read one of the signs. “The rapidly changing climate requires new approaches to restoration.”

Read this story by Chris D'Angelo of The Maine Monitor

While The Maine Monitor does not place its content behind paywalls, some newsrooms we link to in this newsletter may. 

Worsening drought in Maine has triggered federal financial support for farmers suffering crop losses and increased costs. | Maine Public

NASA’s first radar images from a new Earth-mapping satellite show Mount Desert Island in incredible detail. | Associated Press

A recent change to immigration policy at the federal level could seriously impact the island’s scientific community as the doorway for highly skilled foreign workers has ostensibly been closed. | Mount Desert Islander

Anthem and Northern Light Health contract negotiations stall again. | Maine Public

Over the last decade, two in five hospital birthing units have closed and one in four nursing homes have closed, forcing people to travel greater distances to give birth or find a place for end-of-life care. | The Maine Monitor

The Bar Harbor Transfer Station trailers that hold and transport municipal solid waste are leaking into the stormwater drain, according to a recent routine site assessment. | Bar Harbor Story

Plans to spend a half-million dollars removing toxic materials from a recreation building at the former Naval base in Cutler are underway, and more work may be needed before the building can be put to use again. | Bangor Daily News

A proposed dredging project off the Eastport breakwater to allow larger cruise ships to tie up at the pier instead of being at anchor in the bay is causing some concern in the community. | Quoddy Tides

Bar Harbor’s ban on large cruise ships is Eastport’s gain. City residents celebrated in front of the local port authority building as Eastport welcomed the first Virgin Voyages cruise ship to ever visit Maine. | Bangor Daily News

A salvage company that is suing to obtain the title of a 125-year-old shipwreck off Bar Harbor is now suing the National Park Service. | Bangor Daily News

The Nature Conservancy on Tuesday announced a landmark investment worth $168 million to purchase and oversee Brookfield Renewable’s four hydroelectric dams on the lower Kennebec River, paving the way for their eventual removal. | The Maine Monitor

The National Park Service and the Maine Department of Transportation are moving forward with a permanent fix to the battered Seawall Road in Southwest Harbor. | Bar Harbor Story

As blueberry farms throughout the state struggle through moderate and severe drought conditions, Hancock County Soil and Water Conservation District and its Washington County equivalent are launching their first ever joint “Better Soil, Better Berries” Blueberry Field Day to teach drought management. | Ellsworth American

After fish passage was fully restored on the Bagaduce River four years ago, one of the towns along it held its first commercial alewife harvest in more than a half-century this past spring. | Bangor Daily News

A new state legislative task force met for the first time to issue recommendations for easing Maine’s property tax burden. | Portland Press Herald

The Musson Group spoke to the Mount Desert town selectboard this week about three different projects that all have to do with the future of both the town and the island. | Bar Harbor Story

The Ellsworth School Board is set to vote at its October meeting on administrative guidelines for staff and student use of generative AI in Ellsworth schools. | Ellsworth American

Have feedback, a correction or know of something we should look into? Send it to our newsroom. If you have feedback or a tip that you want to send to Joyce Kryszak directly, email her at: joyce@themainemonitor.org. 

The Maine Monitor is a publication of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, an independent and nonpartisan nonprofit news organization that produces investigative journalism. We believe news is a public good and keep our news free to access. We have no paywall and do not charge for our newsletters. If you value the reporting we do for Maine, please consider making a donation! We cannot do this reporting without your support.

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