President Trump signs bill to end government shutdown
President Donald Trump signed a government funding bill Wednesday night, ending a record 43-day shutdown that caused financial stress for federal workers who went without paychecks, stranded scores of travelers at airports and generated long lines at some food banks.
Gov. Janet Mills is criticizing senators who joined republicans in the deal to end the government shutdown according to WMTW.
The shutdown came down to healthcare and Affordable Care Act subsidies.
However, those were not included in the compromise.
Independent Senator Angus King joined seven Senate Democrats who voted with Republicans to end the stalemate in Washington.
Mills says a promise to vote on Affordable Care Act subsidies is not enough of a reason to work with Republicans.
However, President Trump blamed the situation on Democrats and suggested voters shouldn’t reward the party during next year’s midterm elections.
Public hearing on proposed 2026 budget for Hancock County set
According to the Ellsworth American, the Hancock County commissioners will have a public hearing on Tuesday, Nov. 18 at 8:30AM regarding the proposed 2026 budget.
According to the paper, the meeting will take place in the board’s meeting room in the courthouse.
The budget is projected to be higher than the current year’s budget by $1 million.
The publication says the way revenues are projected, the proposed budget would ask 9.1 percent more from taxpayers.
Hancock County Sheriff’s warn residents about new scam
There’s a new scam alert the Hancock County Sheriff’s department wants you to be aware of.
In a Facebook post, they said they’ve received reports of a scam in which someone falsely identifies themselves as ‘Sgt. Daniels’ from the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the reports, they’re asking residents for DNA samples.
The Sheriff’s office wants you to know they will never ask for DNA samples over the phone, request payment via Apple Pay, gift cards or any other form over the phone, and they won’t ask for personal or financial information over the phone.
They say if you receive a call like this hang up immediately.
Fill A Cruiser Food Drive
The Bar Harbor Mount Desert Police Department tells Star 97.7 they are collaborating with the Bar Harbor Food Pantry for their ‘Fill A Cruiser’ food drive.
Join them at the Bar Harbor Hannaford from 9AM to 3PM Saturday, Nov. 15 to donate non-perishable foods and household items.
All donations will be brought to the Bar Harbor Food Pantry.
If you’d like to make a financial donation or dedicate some time to the cause you can reach out directly to the food pantry.
https://www.barharborfoodpantry.org/
1st local historic district announced in Rockland
On Monday, the Rockland City Council designated Rockland’s first local historic district.
They passed an amendment to the Rockland Historic Preservation ordinance for the new Maine Street local historic district which includes all the buildings and two city parks on both sides of Main Street from Park Street to Summer Street.
They say property owners in the district who look to change the exterior of their buildings will not be required to follow recommendations from the historic preservation commission but suggest hearing them out at a commission meeting.
Heart of Ellsworth announces ‘Downtown Ellsworth Pub Crawl’ in November
Happening for the first time, the Heart of Ellsworth and Black Moon Public House is inviting you to the ‘Downtown Ellsworth Pub Crawl.’
On Nov. 28-29 from 11AM to 10PM, head to your favorite place to eat, drink and shop in Ellsworth.
The self-guided event will give participants the chance to collect as many unique stickers as you can on your pub crawl passport and once you’ve collected all of your stickers just return it to the Heart of Ellsworth by noon on Dec. 6.
Then you’ll be entered into a gift card pack giveaway from every participating pub.
To keep up with the event just follow the link on our website.
