In the unending pursuit of economic development for a state that could really use some, the announcement this week that Netflix, the huge movie-subscription service, would open a distribution center in Portland was a relatively small story. But it was important as a means of highlighting the effects of a decision made several years ago that influences development today.

In 1999, the U.S. Postal Service thought it finally had found at least two likely sites for its new, 429,000-square-foot distribution center. After years of enduring a mix of indifference and occasional hostility to the idea of expansion in Portland, the post office took its plans to the Lewiston-Auburn area, where it quickly discovered an eager population along with the promising sites. Portland, home of the old postal center, which employed 850 workers, was insulted. It was more than insulted, in fact – it was insulted and politically exercised.

Officials there contacted former Portland mayor and current U.S. member of Congress, Rep. Tom Allen, and soon enough, the site search for the new postal center was re-opened and land in nearby Scarborough suddenly became the site of the new center. “Allen,” the local newspaper in Portland editorialized at the time, “deserves credit for his efforts to bring local officials, real estate agents and postal service supervisors together to prevent this unwise relocation.”

So he did, and one of the results of that effort was the announcement Tuesday that Netflix, which situates its distribution hubs next to postal centers, would open in Portland. Certainly, it’s a fine thing for this business to open in Maine, and for customers of the DVD service, faster turnaround of movies is especially welcome.

But the event is also one more example of expanded development occurring where development already exists. The decision six years ago, as with countless decisions over decades, was great for Portland and logical given where the postal employees lived. But it meant that subsequent businesses were less likely to locate elsewhere in Maine, reinforcing chronic regional difficulties this state knows well.