Turbine project in Canton is approved by Maine DEP

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has given the green light to an eight-turbine wind project on Canton Mountain.

The 22.8-megawatt project approved this week will feature a 3,500-square-foot operations building and eight turbines, each extending 480 feet high. The Sun Journal reported that the $50 million project is part of a larger plan that could include wind projects in the adjacent towns of Dixfield and Carthage.

Patriots Renewables LLC of Quincy, Massachusetts, has been working with the three towns.

Maine-based railway sold in wake of Quebec disaster

The sale of the Maine-based railroad blamed for a deadly oil train derailment in Quebec has been completed 10 months after the disaster that killed 47 people.

Chapter 11 trustee Robert Keach said the parties closed Thursday on the $15.85 million sale of bankrupt Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway. A separate, parallel Canadian proceeding will be completed at a later date. Proceeds from the sale will help pay off creditors.

The railway buyer, a subsidiary of New York-based Fortress Investment Group, is changing the railroad’s name to Central Maine and Quebec Railway. It has no plans to resume oil train shipments.

Requests for jobless aid fall to a seven-year low

The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits fell to the lowest level in seven years last week, a sign the job market is steadily improving.

Weekly benefit applications dropped 24,000 to 297,000, the Labor Department said. That’s the fewest since May 12, 2007. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, dipped 2,000 to 323,250.

Consumer prices increase, now up 2% for 12 months

Higher food and gas costs pushed up U.S. consumer prices in April by the most in 10 months, evidence that inflation is ticking up from very low levels.

The consumer price index rose 0.3 percent last month after a 0.2 percent gain in March, the Labor Department said. Over the past 12 months, prices have increased 2 percent, the largest gain since July and matching the Federal Reserve’s inflation target.

Faulty belt leads to recall of 65,000 girls’ leggings

H&M is recalling about 65,000 pairs of leggings for girls because a metal part on the belt can detach, which could pose a choking risk to young children. Consumers are urged to stop using the product and contact H&M at (855) 466-7467 about returning the belt for a $20 gift card.

– From news service reports