ENERGY

Wind developer SunEdison files for bankruptcy

SunEdison, a one-time star in the alternative energy field, is filing for bankruptcy protection after years of rapid-fire acquisitions left the solar company in a desperate cash situation. The company, which has permits for five wind farm projects in Maine, filed with the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on Thursday. John Lamontagne, spokesman for SunEdison in Massachusetts, said the bankruptcy filing “should have little impact” on two wind energy facilities already operating in Maine. He said he could not provide any additional information on wind energy projects still under development by SunEdison, apart from saying the company plans to move forward with development. But he said existing projects are on stable finances. Read the story.

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

Affordable housing project in Munjoy Hill sparks lawsuit

A group of property owners on Munjoy Hill is asking a judge to send an affordable housing development back to the drawing board. The six property owners, only one of whom is a year-round Portland resident, contend that an eight-unit affordable housing project at 65 Munjoy St. does not comply with height and design standards, in a lawsuit filed in Cumberland County Superior Court. The lawsuit also claims the city did not follow the proper process for vetting the proposal by Adam’s Apple LLC before it was approved by the Planning Board on Feb. 9. “The Planning Board’s approval of the Adam’s Apple project is therefore arbitrary, capricious, legally erroneous and unsupported by the substantial and competent evidence in the record,” says the lawsuit, which asks the judge to vacate the approval or remand the project back to the board for further review. The lawsuit is the latest example of resistance by some neighbors to increased development on the Portland peninsula. After years of limited growth, Portland is undergoing a surge in development at a time when housing – especially for low- and middle-income earners – is in short supply. The shortage is driving up rents and providing an incentive for landlords to upgrade their properties, prompting fear that some residents will be priced out of the city. Read the story.

March home sales increase in volume and price

An unseasonably mild March gave Maine’s housing market a needed boost, with both sales volume and median price up significantly from a year earlier. Sales of existing single-family homes increased 14.6 percent from March 2015 to 1,089 sales, and the median sale price increased 7.4 percent to $182,500, according to a Maine Association of Realtors report issued Wednesday. The median price indicates half the homes sold for more and half for less. In February, single-family home sales grew 21.7 percent compared with a year earlier, but the median home price fell 4.4 percent to $160,000 over the same period. Read the story.

MANUFACTURING

Boat builder plans expansion to Brunswick

East Boothbay boat builder Washburn & Doughty hopes to move part of its manufacturing operation to an empty building at Brunswick Landing and create 15 jobs in the process. To help finance the $1 million cost of retrofitting the building at the former Navy air base, the company has asked the town to submit a request for a $400,000 Community Development Block Grant to the state. A public hearing on the application is set for May 2. According to the Letter of Intent submitted to the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development, Washburn & Doughty wants to move part of its steel boat-building operations to a 35,295-square-foot building that was once a Navy maintenance facility for vehicles and other ground service equipment. The company intends to use $200,000 of its own money and a $434,000 bank loan to pay for the cost of adding four overhead cranes, new piping and to modify the building’s ventilation system and add insulation. Read the story.

Rumford mill starts new product line, recalls 51 workers

In a rare bit of good news for Maine’s paper industry, a Rumford paper machine that was shut down indefinitely last year has come back to life and dozens of people have been offered their jobs back. Paper Machine No. 12 was temporarily shut down in May, prompting the layoff of 51 people at the Catalyst Paper mill. In September, management said the machine would remain shut down indefinitely, citing reduced market demand. But the machine restarted at noon Tuesday, and all of the 51 workers furloughed when it was shut down have been recalled. With the recalled workers, the mill now employs 640. A mill spokesman said Catalyst started developing new product lines to diversify its offerings in the global pulp and paper market. One of those new products is Rumford Offset, a specialty grade of paper that is coated on one side and intended for use in marketing materials, that will be made in Rumford. Read the story.

RETAIL

Bob’s sporting goods store to close

The parent company of Eastern Mountain Sports and Bob’s Stores has filed for bankruptcy protection and plans to shutter several New England locations, including Maine’s only Bob’s, in South Portland. Meriden, Connecticut-based Vestis Retail Group LLC said Monday that the move was made because of increased competition from big-box stores and online retailers, as well as an unseasonably warm winter that made for poor sales of cold-weather clothing. The Bob’s location scheduled to close in South Portland is at 301 Maine Mall Road. The store occupies about 20,450 square feet and is adjacent to the Toys “R” Us store, and across the street from The Maine Mall. Read the story.

GAMING

York County casino proponents abandon effort

In a reversal, the backers of a failed petition drive to put a York County casino question on the November ballot have withdrawn their appeal to the state’s highest court and apparently given up their hopes to revive the campaign. Attorney Bruce Merrill, who represents the casino proponents, filed a motion with the Maine Supreme Judicial Court on Tuesday to dismiss the appeal that he had filed on April 11. Merrill sought to challenge a lower court judge’s decision that affirmed a determination by Secretary of State Matt Dunlap that the Horseracing Jobs Fairness campaign failed to submit 62,123 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. Merrill’s latest filing with the court offered no explanation for the reversal. He did not respond to a phone message request for comment. Read the story.

TRANSPORTATION

Nova Star Cruises files for bankruptcy

Some Portland-area businesses still owed money by Nova Star Cruises Ltd. said they don’t expect the failed cruise ferry operator to make good on its obligations to them. Nova Star Cruises filed for bankruptcy protection April 13 in Canada, listing about $15 million in debts to more than 200 creditors and only $142,000 in assets with which to pay them. Its owner, Eliot resident Mark Amundsen, said in November that he intended to pay all outstanding obligations. Nova Star operated a cruise ferry service between Portland and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, during the 2014 and 2015 summer tourist seasons. It received about $41 million (Canadian) in subsidies from Nova Scotia’s government, but ultimately failed to attract the number of passengers it needed to remain viable. Read the story.

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