The calendar may be rolling over into a new beginning next week but many of the same old issues that vexed folks in 2012 are coming right along with them.

School-related issues seem to dominate the headlines this week, with officials in Bar Harbor unveiling changes in bus policies designed to avoid incidents, like a pair of problems last fall where kids were dropped off at the wrong stops without adults present.

Bullying continues to be a problem, especially in the age of the Internet where intimidation can occur 24/7 and not just on the playground or in the classroom. One man is working hard with students, teachers and staff at Mount Desert Island High School to stop bullies in their tracks.

Most folks remain shell shocked following the school shootings before Christmas in Sandy Hook Connecticut. One Maine lawmaker has floated legislation allowing teachers and staff with concealed weapons permits to carry guns in school. Bar Harbor’s newly-elected state representative Brian Hubbell, a school board member, doesn’t think that’s a smart idea.

Being smart about road projects in Southwest Harbor is the goal of officials there. Find out how much they are willing to spend to insure that the kind of traffic tie ups that happened in Trenton this past summer don’t occur when Main Street is torn up for rehabilitation.

You may have had way too much pie over the holiday but the popular movie “Life of Pi” has a decidedly local connection. Find out who the area resident is that served as consultant.

All that, along with the latest high school sports action, maritime news, help wanted and apartment for rent ads, holiday greetings and the ever-popular Island Police, in this week’s Mount Desert Islander.