Baldacci to talk economy at 1st retreat

AUGUSTA – Pasta will be the main dish and economic development the main topic on the table as Gov. John Baldacci opens the first Cabinet retreat of his 9-month-old administration Tuesday in his hometown of Bangor.

About two dozen top officials in state government will sit down for dinner in the most familiar of settings for their boss: Momma Baldacci’s Italian Restaurant.

In all likelihood, the governor will move about the dining room of the family’s restaurant filling water glasses and busing tables to put his guests at ease, said his spokesman Lee Umphrey. For Baldacci, “it’s a natural thing,” he said.

The two-day retreat marks a new phase in the still-young administration.

Balancing the state budget in the face of a $1.2 billion shortfall was Baldacci’s most pressing priority when he took office in January. That was accomplished in March when lawmakers approved a two-year spending package that included no major tax increases.

A second priority was addressed when the Legislature passed a universal health care law that took effect Sept. 13, setting into motion a process to guarantee that all uninsured Maine residents have access to coverage by mid-2009.

Now, Baldacci hopes to identify further steps the administration can take in an effort to improve the state’s economy and promote job growth.

Cabinet officials are scheduled to visit the Bangor waterfront with city officials, who see development of the area lining the Penobscot River as significant to the region’s economy.

Visits are also planned to a wood composite center in Bangor, a commercial spinoff from the University of Maine’s research center in Orono. The Cabinet will also get a sneak preview of an exhibition of John Marin’s paintings of Maine scenes at the University of Maine Museum of Art, also in Bangor.

“Bangor in many ways represents how many Maine communities are in economic transition,” said Umphrey. Baldacci hopes to emphasize how communities can rebuild their economic bases by connecting with the state university system, improving their natural amenities and employing environmentally friendly use of their natural resources, he said. Streamlining state government functions will also fit into the agenda.

At Baldacci’s direction, the Cabinet and executive officers will break into four groups to develop ideas on how state departments can work in collaboration to improve services and promote efficiencies, said Umphrey.

One group, for example, includes agencies dealing with natural resource-based interests and includes departments of Agriculture, Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Conservation, Environmental Protection and Marine Resources.

The other groups will focus on such issues as planning and transportation, business regulation, public safety and human services and state finances.