ENERGY

CMP modifies transmission project to bury line under scenic gorge

Central Maine Power wants to bury the portion of its planned electrical transmission line from Quebec that crosses the scenic Kennebec River Gorge, a concession to environmentalists and local activists opposed to the project. The company on Thursday notified regulators that it intends to drill under the river, in northern Somerset County, instead of crossing the gorge with elevated electrical lines. In June, CMP said burying the line would add $37 million to the $950 million project. Scores of people offered testimony before a panel of utility regulators Wednesday, most of whom opposed the project. The regulators received more than 400 written comments in advance of the public hearing. Read the story.

Coalition forms to back CMP project

A group formed by business and labor leaders announced its support Tuesday for the transmission line proposal by Central Maine Power Co., citing job creation and tax revenue. Known as New England Clean Energy Connect, the project would bring hydropower from Quebec to Massachusetts by stringing a new 145-mile transmission line through western Maine to a converter station in Lewiston. Business and labor representatives assembled for a news conference Tuesday morning in Lewiston, where the Mainers for Clean Energy Jobs campaign kicked off. Ben Dudley, director of Mainers for Clean Energy Jobs, said the project will make Maine a leader in reducing the impact of climate change, while others, such as representatives from the Associated General Contractors of Maine, E.S. Boulos and Cianbro, argued it will produce 3,500 new jobs during peak construction. Read the story.

Crowley Energy comes under Dead River ownership

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Crowley Energy, a Brunswick heating fuel provider, has sold its operations to Dead River Co. The deal was completed Aug. 29, according to Dead River spokeswoman Lisa Morrissette. “Customers shouldn’t feel any change,” said Morrissette. “Crowley Energy is very successful. If we do make any changes, they will be very transparent, but the plan is for things to remain the same.” The business will continue to operate as Crowley Energy under Dead River’s ownership. Read the story.

TRANSPORTATION

Contract for toll plaza project awarded to Woolwich firm

The Maine Turnpike Authority plans to begin construction of a new tollbooth plaza in York next month. Reed and Reed, a construction firm from Woolwich, was awarded a $39.5 million contract for the three-year project Thursday. The company will build a new tollbooth plaza about a mile and a half north of the present tolls on the Maine Turnpike. The new configuration will have three high-speed electronic tolling lanes and separate lanes for cash payments on both sides of the highway. Vehicles are expected to keep moving through the area while the plaza is under construction. Read the story.

The Cat ferry leaves Portland for Bar Harbor terminal

Town councilors in Bar Harbor have approved an agreement to lease a former ferry terminal to the company that left the property nearly a decade ago. The council voted 7-0 Tuesday to allow the town manager to sign a lease agreement with Atlantic Fleet Services, a Bar Harbor-based agent for Bay Ferries Ltd. Bay Ferries operates The Cat ferry, which makes trips between Maine and Nova Scotia. The company will move its operations to Bar Harbor from Portland as part of the deal. Read the story.

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HEALTH CARE

Capital campaign for new hospital reaches milestone

Mercy Hospital in Portland is more than halfway toward its goal of raising $20 million to help build a new hospital along the Fore River. Hospital President Charlie Therrien said Thursday that Mercy has surpassed the $10 million mark in its capital campaign for a new hospital at its existing Fore River medical campus. Major donations have included $5 million from the Mercy Endowment Foundation and $2.8 million from the family of the late Dr. Harry Davis, Mercy’s first and longtime chief of pediatrics. The donations so far keep Mercy on track with its plans to consolidate operations at the Fore River site, where it already has a 151,000-square-foot building. Plans call for a second building, with about 108,000 square feet, to be added by 2021 and for the full hospital to relocate at that point. Read the story.

MANUFACTURING

Chinese company buys paper machine in Madison

The paper machine at the former Madison Paper Industries mill in Madison has been sold to a Chinese company for an undisclosed amount of money in a move the mill’s new owners say they’re hoping will open up the shuttered facility for redevelopment. “The issue had been because the paper machine was there it would be hard for anyone to move in,” said Greg Schain, principal of New Mill Capital Holdings, one of three partners who purchased the mill in December. “Now the machine is being removed, I think it will be a lot easier for someone to envision the space.” The Somerset County mill closed in 2016, putting about 215 people out of work. The group is not disclosing how much the Valmet machine sold for or the name of the company that purchased it, said Ken Miller, vice president at Perry Videx. Read the story.

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BANKING & FINANCE

Proposed credit union for food industry reaches financing goal

The Maine Harvest Credit Project has reached its $2.4 million fundraising goal, paving the way for the nation’s first credit union catering exclusively to farmers and food entrepreneurs. Backers of the credit union announced Monday that the project had fulfilled its funding goal and received the endorsement of Maine’s congressional delegation, who are asking the National Credit Union Administration to carefully consider Maine Harvest’s pending application for charter and licensure. Once chartered, Maine Harvest would offer specialized loans and mortgages to farmers and food entrepreneurs in the state with the goal of boosting Maine’s growing agricultural economy. Read the story.

Payment services company gets VC backing

A Bangor-based technology startup called Mobile Price Card Inc. has closed on an $850,000 round of venture capital funding led my Maine Venture Fund, the company announced Monday. Mobile Price Card develops proprietary software that allows retailers of electronic devices to display pricing information on the devices’ screens rather than on paper signs. CEI Ventures Inc. of Brunswick also participated in the Series A funding round, along with several angel investor groups. Read the story.

GENERAL BUSINESS

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Dolphin Marina wins national recognition

A family-run Harpswell business has been voted the best small marina by a national trade and lifestyle publication. Marinalife, which publishes a magazine and maintains a website for boaters, selected the Dolphin Marina & Restaurant as its 2018 winner in the small marina category. The winner was determined by a six-month long survey of boaters in the U.S. and abroad, according to a news release from Marinalife. The marina is situated in Pott’s Harbor, with direct, deep water access from the ocean, and is protected by the surrounding Casco Bay islands. Read the story.

Goodwill NNE names new chief executive

A Portland-based organization that advocates for the disabled has named a new chief executive. Goodwill Northern New England’s board of directors named Richard J. Cantz as president and CEO of the not-for-profit organization that serves Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. He replaces Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, who will continue to serve Goodwill as a special adviser. Cantz joined the organization in 2003 as director of The Goodwill Fund. Read the story.

Bankruptcy attorney suspended for nine months

An Auburn attorney has been suspended from practicing law for nine months. A single justice on the Maine Supreme Judicial Court found Jeffrey P. White violated multiple ethics rules in the last five years. White, who has practiced for more than 37 years, focuses on bankruptcy cases. The Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar had received four complaints about White’s conduct – two from clients, one from a federal bankruptcy judge and one from a U.S. bankruptcy trustee. In his sanction order, Justice Donald Alexander wrote that the complaints showed a trend. Read the story.

September jobless rate of 3.3 percent continues trend

Maine’s unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 3.3 percent in September, but remained under 4 percent for the 34th consecutive month, the state Department of Labor said Friday. The seasonably adjusted rate was up slightly from 3.2 percent in August and was unchanged from a year ago, the department said. Maine’s jobless rate for the month remained below the national rate of 3.7 percent in September and also below the New England average of 3.6 percent. New Hampshire had the lowest unemployment rate in the region at 2.7 percent, followed by Vermont at 2.9 percent. Massachusetts was at 3.6 percent, Rhode Island at 3.9 percent and Connecticut at 4.2 percent. Read the story.


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