New business? Expansion? Promotions? E-mail information to weekly@bangordailynews.net, or mail it to The Weekly, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402; or drop it off at the front desk of the Buck Street entrance of the Bangor Daily News, 491 Main St., Bangor.

Alton

New quilting shop

Cotton Petals Fabric Shop will celebrate a grand opening Sept. 5-6. Rosalita Feero, aka “Grandma Rose,” is the shop owner. Denise Gault will help manage the shop.

The specialty shop, located at 2836 Bennoch Road, features 100 percent cotton fabrics, batting, notions, threads, patterns, kits and books of interest to quilters. Services include quilting classes and free workshops where quilters may gather to work on their projects. The shop will have available long arm machine quilting, decorative machine embroidery, photo transferring to fabric and custom quilt making.

Also planned are products that will be for sale on the Internet, an online newsletter, a quilting forum, and tips and hints. The shop is open 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday; and 9:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Thursday. Effective Sept. 5, call 394-3472 for more information.

Bangor

Magnet hospital

Officials at Acadia Hospital, which provides treatment and care for mental illness and substance abuse, said the facility has a proud new stripe on its nurse’s cap.

It is the first hospital in the United States, and the only one in Maine, to receive a “magnet hospital” designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, based in Washington. The magnet program recognizes health care organizations that provide quality patient care and exemplify excellence in professional nursing practice.

Acadia Chief Executive Officer and Chief Nursing Officer Dorothy Hill said: “I am elated that Acadia has achieved magnet status. This recognition speaks volumes about the kind of quality people and programs we have at the hospital.”

To obtain information about The Acadia Hospital, visit www.acadiahospital.org.

Videoconferencing room

Headlight Audio Visual Inc. in Portland, and Mid-Maine Communications, with offices in Bangor, Augusta and Portland, have opened a videoconferencing room at 900D Hammond St. Officials said that the room was opened in response to requests from businesses in Bangor and Portland seeking an alternative to the two-hour drive between the two cities for meetings. For information about the videoconferencing room, call (800) 247-0540.

Aid to farmers

Because of a price decline for barley and oats, the Penobscot County Farm Service Agency announced that farmers who grow those crops may be eligible for a cash payment to help make up the difference between the crop market price and the price floor established by the farm service commodity loan program.

During periods of low market prices, loan deficiency payments act as a pricing tool to help ensure that farmers do not turn grain over to the government. The payments provide an incentive for farmers to control their grain production and formulate marketing strategies to work through low market prices. Accumulating large quantities of grain stocks tends to make U.S.-produced commodities less competitive in world markets, and can result in storage costs to taxpayers.

“Loan deficiency payments are once again available on barley and oats,” said William Moirs, farm service county director. “[The payments] are a way to wring a few more cents out of every bushel.”

Farmers who want to learn more about the payments should call 947-3555, Ext. 2, or visit www.fsa.usda.gov.

Brewer

New office building

Last week, Cianbro set the final piece of structural steel in place to cap off the new office building it is constructing at the Brewer Professional Center. The milestone marks rapid progress for a highly visible local project, whose largest tenant will be Eastern Maine Healthcare.

Cianbro crews are working seven days a week to construct the five-story, 143,000-square-foot office building. The building team’s goal is to have it closed in before winter weather arrives. With more than 100 project team members on site, Cianbro is performing all construction activities on the property. The company also fabricated 680 tons of the building’s structural steel.

The project, designed to spur growth in the region, is the result of a partnership between the city of Brewer, Cianbro and Eastern Maine Healthcare.

Eastern Maine Healthcare has earmarked three floors of the building to consolidate employees from rented offices scattered throughout Bangor.

Brewer, Cianbro and Eastern Maine Healthcare joined earlier this year in a business attraction effort focused on bringing new professional health care and research-oriented business to the Brewer Professional Center.

“We developed a public-private partnership that was unique in Maine,” said Brewer Mayor Gail Kelly.

According to Brewer officials, progress in the marketing effort has been significant.

“We are receiving a lot of interest,” said Development Director Drew Sachs. He said that many of the companies have indicated they would have overlooked this region of Maine if not for the Brewer Professional Center development.

“This demonstrates that if we provide businesses with quality space and new opportunities in our region, we can attract the attention of major players nationwide,” Sachs said.

The partners in the marketing effort are working with many businesses interested in the site. Some are interested in the space remaining in Building 1, while others may need a second building to meet their space needs.