In The News

Every January, Mainebiz looks at the coming year and asks a range of experts, “Where is the economy headed?” This year, we asked CEOs, business owners and nonprofit leaders what 2020 will look like. A year ago, many were expecting a recession. That didn’t materialize and this year many are expecting to stay strong throughout the year. Yet, even though some sectors are strong, there are concerns out there. Construction costs continue to skyrocket, consumer goods are getting more expensive, health care costs are rising.

OWLS HEAD — The lack of broadband service is leaving some residents out in the digital cold and they are asking the town for help. Several people turned out Monday afternoon Jan. 6 to an Owls Head Selectmen's meeting to discuss the impact of not having access to the internet. In the end, a town committee and the Rockland-based Island Institute, which has worked on the issues for island and other coastal communities, will look at options.

For business, 2019 has been a mix of good and bad. With the approach of the new year, Mainebiz has taken a look at 10 of 2019’s most “positive” stories — ones that carry an encouraging message about Maine’s economy and companies. Some of these articles are taken from “The Week in Review” section of each Friday’s Mainebiz Daily Report. Others are simply favorites of the editorial team. On Monday, we’ll present 10 of the year’s most “negative” stories.

ROCKLAND — The City of Rockland announced that the Energy Committee has been awarded a $2,000 Spark! Grant by the Island Institute. This effort is in conjunction with the recently adopted Rockland Climate Action Plan to move the city to carbon neutrality by 2045. The Island Institute is a community development non-profit based in Rockland.

Stonington, the state of Maine’s top fishing port in landed value, is facing seismic change. By mid-century, its lobster fishery could drop by 15 to 20 percent due to warming ocean waters, the Gulf of Maine Research Institute predicts. Tethered to the mainland by a thin thread of causeway and an 80-year-old bridge, this small town also faces rising seas that threaten infrastructure — including the town pier and a waterfront fire station.

ISLESBORO — Marshall Cove Mussel Farm, owned by island residents Josh and Shey Conover, was the subject of a video released by the Maine Aquaculture Association Dec. 5, the second in a series of videos about its members the MAA is producing. According to an MAA press release, "the videos tell the stories of aquatic farmers in Maine, underscoring how aquaculture complements existing marine industries and works to diversity and strengthen our coastal economy."

The Island Institute is excited to be partnering with the nonprofit Rural Aspirations Project to bring together three small, isolated, rural Maine high schools and take an in-depth look at the unique role and purpose of rural education and its connection to rural community, vitality, and sustainability. The schools involved are: Islesboro Central School and Vinalhaven School in Penobscot Bay and East Grand School located in Northern Maine near the Canadian border. Learn more about the "Portrait of a Graduate" project and other grantees in this announcement from the Barr Foundation.

A bipartisan measure to help protect working waterfronts against climate change and incompatible development pressures passed the U.S. House Tuesday by a vote of 262-151, with 34 Republicans voting in support. The measure, introduced by Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine, D-1st District, would provide $24 million in federal grants and loans to states, which could allocate funding to municipalities, nonprofits and fishing co-ops for projects that preserve or improve working waterfront infrastructure.

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine)’s bipartisan bill, H.R. 3596, the Keep America’s Waterfronts Working Act, today passed the House of Representatives on a 262-151 vote. “More than 30,000 Mainers rely on marine-related industries for their livelihoods. Yet out of five thousand miles of coastline, just 20 miles of workable waterfront remains in the state,” said Pingree. 

The Town of South Thomaston is pleased to announce that they were recently awarded a $10,000 ShoreUp Maine grant from the Island Institute. The grant will assist in the engineering of the Town’s Spruce Head Island Causeway road project. The project is intended to improve the road in ways that mitigate potential wash out during heavy weather events, effectively shutting down the island and our working waterfront.