LEGISLATURE

Governor’s energy initiatives scuttled

Several initiatives by Gov. Paul LePage, including a proposal to use money from timber harvesting on state land to help low-income residents with heating costs, appear to be dead for this year, following action late Thursday by the Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee. Besides the timber-harvesting bill, L.D. 1397, the committee voted not to endorse several late proposals from the governor that would have made sweeping changes in longstanding state energy policies meant to encourage renewable energy development and fund efficiency programs. L.D. 1400, which would have repealed Maine’s renewable portfolio standard, a longstanding law that requires electricity suppliers to make up a percentage of their output from renewable generation and offers incentives to meet those goals, was shot down on a party-line vote by Democrats, 7-6. Another bill that would have utilities provide a credit “backstop” to help large businesses expand natural gas pipeline capacity also was voted down by the committee. L.D. 1398, which would cut money for conservation programs by returning a larger share of revenue from a regional carbon credit auction, will be carried over until next year. Read the story.

Committee stalls on final PUC appointee

Democrats stalled action on Gov. Paul LePage’s nominee for the Public Utilities Commission on Thursday after raising concerns about the objectivity of his two previous appointees. In the unexpected vote, Democrats on the Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee tabled the nomination of Tennessee economist Bruce Williamson to fill the third seat on the commission. Several Republicans accused them of politicizing the nomination process. The 7-6 party-line vote came after roughly two hours of testimony by Williamson and questions from the committee that centered on energy policy, natural gas pipeline capacity and broadband expansion. Williamson is the senior economist at the Institute for Nuclear Security at the University of Tennessee’s Howard Baker Center for Public Policy. Read the story.

Democrats call for reforms to tax credit program

Democrats on the Legislature’s labor committee successfully blocked a bill Thursday that would have expanded a controversial tax credit program, prevailing after a contentious debate that prompted lawmakers to take a cool-down break. The bill would have expanded the Maine New Markets Capital Investment program, which offers tax credits to investors in businesses in low-income communities, by doubling the amount of available tax credits from $97.5 million to $195 million. Democrats proposed several amendments designed to increase accountability in the tax credit program, the subject of a Maine Sunday Telegram examination that revealed abuses. Previously, the committee had voted unanimously to support expansion of the program, but never formally sent it to the full Legislature. The committee decided to reconsider the bill after the newspaper series ran. Read the story.

TECHNOLOGY

Incubator space unveiled in Brunswick

A new incubator for technology-related startups was unveiled last week at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station. Nearly $1.8 million has been invested in TechPlace, part of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority’s mission to redevelop the former naval base, now called Brunswick Landing. The facility’s first phase of about 20,000 square feet of shared office space welcomed tenants in January. The second phase, which added about 50,000 square feet of manufacturing space, was ready on a rolling basis after that. A formal ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for Thursday. In the five months since TechPlace opened, it has already attracted 14 tenants. Those tenants have 24 employees, including 16 full-timers, said Steve Levesque, the redevelopment authority’s executive director. Read the story.

LABOR

Unemployment rate drops to lowest since 2007

Maine’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.7 percent in April, the lowest level in nearly eight years. The Maine Department of Labor said Wednesday that April’s rate was slightly below March’s jobless rate of 4.8 percent, and down one percentage point from the 5.8 percent unemployment rate in April 2014. The last time the unemployment rate was so low was in July 2007, the department said. The national unemployment rate was 5.4 percent and the New England unemployment rate averaged 5.0 percent in April. New England unemployment rates ranged from 3.6 percent in Vermont to 6.3 percent in Connecticut. Read the story.

LEGAL

Trademark suit targets Maine herbalist

A group of herbalists, including one in Maine, is being sued by a Massachusetts company for $100,000 in damages for trademark infringement over use of the name “Fire Cider” to sell their own versions of a spicy herbal tonic produced by the plaintiff. However, the defendants say fire cider is a generic term used by thousands of herbalists that predates the trademark’s registration date by 40 years. In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts in mid-April, Pittsfield-based Shire City Herbals Inc. accuses Katheryn Langelier of Union, Maine, Nicole Telkes of Austin, Texas, and Mary Blue of Providence, Rhode Island, of infringing on the Fire Cider trademark, which Shire City registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in December 2012. Langelier’s business is Herbal Revolution Farm and Apothecary. The product is a mixture of “certified organic apple cider vinegar, organic oranges, lemons, honey, turmeric, garlic, ginger and habanero peppers,” according to the legal complaint. The three defendants, all of whom are small-business owners, responded Tuesday in a news release by saying that Shire City has no right to own the trademark because fire cider is a generic term that has been used by herbalists for decades. Read the story.

RETAIL

Pesticides draw heightened attention from Maine retailers

More Maine retailers have begun phasing out use of a class of pesticides that research shows harm honeybees, but consumers may still be confused about what stores have done to get rid of them. Neonicotinoids have come under closer scrutiny because of their effect on bees, which are vital to plant pollination, but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency still hasn’t taken a firm stance on banning production. Retailers, in part because of public pressure, are trying to address the problem pesticides themselves, but there is no uniform policy. Some stores have pulled products with neonicotinoids from shelves, some have begun labeling them and some have done nothing, creating confusion among consumers about which plants to purchase. Read the story.

Old Port retailer opens two Massachusetts stores

Sea Bags, a Portland company that makes upscale totes and other handmade items from recycled sails, is opening two new stores in Massachusetts, bringing the company’s retail locations to five. Sea Bags in Chatham and Sea Bags in Rockport both opened in time for Memorial Day weekend, according to a release from the company. The new stores offer a full line of seasonal collections and designs. The company, founded in 1999, also has retail locations in Freeport and Cape May, New Jersey, in addition to the flagship location on Custom House Wharf in Portland’s Old Port. Read the story.