Did you know there are 50,000 permits to carry a concealed handgun in Maine?

James Chatmas does. It was part of the market research he did before launching his new company, The Gun Cleaners, in South Portland.

He and I chatted after this week’s Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce breakfast, which he attended as a new member. His business opens later this month at 85 Western Ave. In addition to cleaning guns, he will provide other firearm maintenance services and sales.

“I’ve always enjoyed guns,” he said, explaining how he settled on his business.

He thinks there are lots of other Mainers who do, too, but don’t necessarily enjoy cleaning and caring for their firearms. His business, part of franchise based in Texas, is betting on it.

INCREASING THE HEAT

At the same meeting, Bill Becker, Portland Community Chamber president, let folks know that they are stepping up the pressure to get business people more politically involved. In his remarks introducing Portland’s latest economic scorecard, he cautioned that the city has to be aware of its “outlier” reputation and the repercussions that has on the business community.

He cited recent action around banning plastic bags, raising the minimum wage within the city and changing traffic patterns on State and High streets as examples of action that can have unintended consequences for business.

Answering a question from Tony Payne of Clark Insurance, Becker said he thought the Chamber failed to motivate enough businesspeople to get involved in the Congress Square Plaza redevelopment debate, and promised to provide more data and metrics to help people understand controversial issues better.

“Then we’ll put out a call to action.”

FAMILIAR FACE, UNFAMILIAR PLACE

Kevin Fletcher, the best-known commercial real estate broker in the Lewiston-Auburn area, just joined Malone Commercial Brokers in Portland. I owe a debt of gratitude to Kevin, who taught me a lot about commercial real estate when I first started as a business journalist (care to quiz me on cap rates?). His specialty is investment and income-producing properties, but he has decades of deals in retail, office and industrial sectors as well. He’s also the treasurer for the Maine Commercial Association of Realtors.

And he’s still tending his L-A roots. He sits on the Business Advisory Committee for the Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce.

UNLIKELY PAIR: CLUNKERS AND THIEVES

Take a guess at Maine’s top five stolen vehicles. In 2013, the 2006 Ford pickup (full size) took first place while the 1996 GMC pickup (full size) tied with the 2003 Chevrolet pickup (full size) for second. Rounding out the field were the 1996 Jeep Cherokee/Grand Cherokee and the 2001 Ford Focus.

Surprised? So was I. According to the National Crime Information Center, which compiled the results published in The Standard, an insurance industry publication, older models are preferred by thieves because the vehicles lack the immobilizing technology of newer models such as chip-enabled keys and rescue and recovery services like OnStar.

And there are still lots of old cars on the road (my family’s 1997 Camry among them). Overall, auto theft has gone down 50 percent since the early ’90s, a happy trend I hope continues.

Got business news tips you’d like to share? Give me a call at 791-6460, or drop me an email at:

ccoultas@pressherald.com

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