A recent commentary by Alan Caron (“Second path emerges for the development of Maine’s economy”) and Another View (“Help small businesses expand to bolster Maine’s economy,” May 28) by state Sen. Jim Boyle make a strong case for the “grow from within” strategy for building Maine’s economy.

Both recognize the need to increase support for Maine’s existing small businesses, as opposed to the “grow from away” approach favored by the governor and Republican legislators, which has failed to attract big businesses.

Nowhere has this failure been more disappointing than in the lost opportunity for a powerful partnership between Norwegian giant Statoil and the state university system to develop a working offshore wind turbine industry.

When the governor moved the goal posts, undercutting a previous decision favoring Statoil’s proposal for a prototype offshore turbine, this presaged Maine’s losing out to other states on a $47 million federal grant. Many existing and future regional companies potentially supplying high-tech components and other materials and services also were losers.

Mainers need to support forward-thinking legislators such as Boyle and embrace efforts such as the upcoming June 12-20 Startup and Create Week, designed to expand and support an innovative entrepreneurial economy.

In addition to supporting “green” businesses in Maine, we need to bring in entrepreneurs “from away” who are already developing alternative energy technologies that can help to address potentially disastrous global effects of fossil fuel-driven climate change.

James H. Maier

Scarborough