Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank’s Lobster Stocks Decline 34%

By Will Tuell

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) decided against taking “immediate action” Oct. 30, following a subcommittee report showing a 34% decline in lobster stocks in the Gulf of Maine and Great Georges’ Bank (GOM/GBK) region.

By Paul Sylvain

As predictable as the changing seasons, the Jasper Head Homeowners Association (HOA) is once again at odds with Machiasport town officials over an assortment of issues mostly centered on Pettegrow Point Road in the town’s Bucks Harbor district.

The latest beef voiced by HOA residents Jodi and Ken Kearney at the Oct. 27 selectboard meeting concerned late-night brush clearing to expand a parking lot used by the town’s commercial fishermen accessing a beach near the town pier.

Machiasport Flats Shut Down on Eve of Biggest Clam Tides of the Year

By Paul Sylvain

With clammers still fetching $4 a bushel and eagerly anticipating some of the biggest tides of the year, it looked like November was going to kick off to a profitable start for Machiasport’s mud flippers. 

By Will Tuell

You could say Jonesboro’s Andrew Dewey has the whole town abuzz following the Maine State Beekeepers Association (MSBA) annual meeting in Portland Oct. 18. Dewey, who has been pollinating the minds of aspiring beekeepers in Hancock and Washington counties for nearly 25 years, picked up the organization’s Lifetime Achievement award for his efforts as educator and mentor to enthusiasts around the state. 

Commissioners Hold Off Decision on Staff Cuts Until After Election Day

By Paul Sylvain 

A bone-chilling wind failed to deter media and some hearty county citizens from attending an outdoor press conference on the steps of the Washington County Courthouse on Oct. 23. 

The Town of Machias and Sunrise County Economic Council (SCEC) invite all community members to a public meeting on Monday, Nov. 3, from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the Lee Pellon Center, 90 Main Street, Machias, to learn about the Upper Machias Bay Master Plan and discuss replacement options for the aging Machias dike.  

At the Nov. 3 meeting, attendees will have the opportunity to see scale drawings of possible dike replacement options, learn about the discussions of the project committee, and share feedback, local knowledge, and priorities. 

By Nancy Beal

The Jonesport selectboard last week issued a public statement supporting the county’s $11 million bond question -- now capped by county commissioners at $8 million -- and urging the town’s residents to join the board in voting “yes” on the bond referendum on Nov. 4.

by Jonathan Reisman

Maine and the country are divided — on Trump, gender, capitalism, freedom, and the fundamental understanding of those terms. Division in a polity with a healthy respect for freedom of speech can be productive, if uncomfortable. Division in a polity with a growing tolerance and acceptance of political violence is a prescription for disaster. Maine and the country look more like the latter to me.

By Will Tuell

It was an historic evening at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Portland on Oct. 18 as The Machias Valley News Observer came away from the annual Maine Press Association awards gala with a total of 26 first, second, and third place honors in the small weekly news division. Our sister publication, The Calais Advertiser, took home 21 honors.

Sparse Turnout for Bond Hearing in Machias as Cuts Loom Either Way

By Paul Sylvain

“It’s like what you see on TV when someone hits the Megabucks and two years later, they’re broke. The county is the same way. They got that ARPA money, and a year and a half later we’re broke.”

By Nancy Beal

Nine Beals Islanders will come together this week to begin updating the town’s comprehensive plan. They are Frank Alley, Matt Alley, Troy Alley, Nancy Beal, Laurie Petronis, Amanda Smith, and the town’s selectmen: Glenda Beal, Daniel Davis, and Lorena Faulkingham. They will meet at the town office Friday, Oct. 24 at 6 p.m. They will be assisted by Patricia Tilton of the Sunrise County Economic Council.

Down East Community Hospital (DECH) and Calais Community Hospital (CCH) recently had the pleasure of introducing well-respected youth speaker David Edward Garcia to more than 1,200 high school students across Washington County. Six presentations were held for students in grades 9–12 throughout the county.

By Paul Sylvain

The last thing anyone in Washington County wants is a double-digit tax increase. That’s especially true in tiny, coastal communities where devastatingly low lobster catches and blueberry harvest yields this year already threaten to make the coming winter remembered for a record number of bank repos.

By Paul Sylvain

The offices of Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey and the acting U.S. Attorney for Maine Craig Wolff, on Oct. 7, agreed to a request by Washington County District Attorney Robert C. Granger to investigate how the county’s finances went awry over the past five years.

By Paul Sylvain

In her short time on the job as the county’s provisional treasurer, Grace Falzarano has instituted two significant policy changes in the county’s finance department, which are aimed at preventing a repeat of some of the errors contributing to the current budget shortfall.

Falzarano was appointed provisional treasurer by the county’s commissioners following the September resignation of embattled former treasurer Jill Holmes. Falzarano serves the town of Columbia Falls as its treasurer.

Officials Mum on ‘Botched’ Department of Justice Grant

By Paul Sylvain

A new, more restrictive grant and contract policy enacted by Washington County’s Board of Commissioners at their Oct. 9 meeting is not sitting well with county Emergency Management Agency Director Lisa Hanscom.

Simply stated, the policy, introduced by Washington County Commissioner Billy Howard, mandates “there will be no more grant applications, or no more contracts signed by department heads without commissioner approval.”

by Jonathan Reisman

Sullivan oyster farmer and Democratic socialist Graham Platner is running for the Democratic nomination to challenge Senator Collins. He has money ($3.4 million in “small” donations claimed, no breakdown of in-state vs. out-of-state offered), energy, charisma, youth (born 1984), veteran status (100% disabled, three tours in Iraq as a Marine, one tour in Afghanistan in the Army), digital chops, and fire in his belly. He held a town hall in Calais on Oct. 6, and I left believing him to be the likely Democratic nominee.

By Paul Sylvain

Members of the Washington County Legislative Delegation are taking matters into their own hands to hopefully find a way out of the county government’s current fiscal quagmire.

County Commissioners Courtney Hammond, Billy Howard, and Chairman David Burns are continuing to struggle without success in their efforts to find viable alternatives to an $11 million bond referendum question aimed at setting the county’s fiscal ship back on course. 

By Paul Sylvain

Earlier this year, Machias Police Chief Keith Mercier contacted several towns neighboring Machias regarding a plan he was floating to have those towns contract with his department for routine patrols and complaint responses. Among the towns that he approached were Machiasport, East Machias, Whitneyville, Jonesboro and Roque Bluffs.

New Member Casts First Votes Moments after Joining Planning Board

By Paul Sylvain

The Bluebird Motel finally received the Machias Planning Board’s blessing on Oct. 1 to proceed with plans to rebuild, Phoenix-like, from the ashes of a devastating late-night fire that began on a frigid Christmas Eve and was finally extinguished in the early hours of Christmas morning 2024.

On Thursday, Sept. 25, Washington Academy honored Katherine Look, M.D., as the first Legacy Award recipient. The Board of Trustees established the Legacy Award to acknowledge an individual for their exceptional contributions and unwavering dedication to advancing the Academy's success. Its recipient has demonstrated a profound and lasting impact on the Raider school community, inspiring others and creating a legacy of excellence that will be remembered for years to come.