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.

Bangor

New restaurant downtown

A new Thai-Japanese restaurant has opened in the former Bagel Shop space on the corner of Main and Hammond streets.

Called Thai Siam, the restaurant is owned by Paula Tangsirilak, a former California restaurateur; Patavee Sungvian of Thailand; and Mona Rustanavibul, formerly of Texas.

Thai Siam serves such favorites as Pad Thai, curries and fresh Thai rolls, but it also has a sushi corner. Hours are from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon-9 p.m. Sunday. For information, call 262-9399.

Credit union manager

Daniel M. McQuarrie has been hired as manager of the Bangor branch of Penobscot County Federal Credit Union. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from Husson College.

McQuarrie began working as a loan collector in 1988. He later became a loan supervisor and most recently worked as a loan officer. In his new capacity, he will oversee all branch operations and customer relations for the credit union office in Bangor.

GNP donation

Bangor city councilors agreed recently to send $5,000 to the Katahdin region to help families affected by the shutdown of Great Northern Paper Inc.’s Millinocket and East Millinocket mills.

According to City Manager Edward Barrett, the funds will be forwarded to the Katahdin Region Hope and Unity Fund, established by Rotary Club members from the Millinocket and East Millinocket area.

During a special meeting, city councilors voted 7-2 in favor of the gift. Mayor Nichi Farnham and Councilors Gerry Palmer, Michael Crowley, Anne Allen, Richard Greene, John Rohman and David Nealley voted in favor of it. Councilors Dan Tremble and Frank Farrington voted in the minority. While the two supported the concept of assisting the financially beleaguered Katahdin region, they did not believe city tax dollars should be used to do so.

New office

Dr. Robert F. Anderson, specializing in geriatric and diabetic foot care, has relocated his office to the Center for Advanced Medicine in St. Joseph Hospital, 358 Broadway, Suite 100, Bangor.

IRS workshop

Penquis Community Action Program is hosting a free IRS workshop, “Taxes and the Small Business Owner,” 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 15, in Bangor and Dover-Foxcroft. Individuals may attend the workshop at 262 Harlow St. in Bangor, or the videoconferencing site at 50 North St. in Dover-Foxcroft. There will be a one-hour break for lunch.

Andrea Tupper from the Internal Revenue Service will cover a variety of topics, including record keeping and tax reporting requirements, proper reporting of income, allowable business deductions, business use of vehicles, business office in the home, basic employment tax issues and paying estimated taxes. An overview of the new tax law also will be presented. Instructions on how to acquire and use IRS resources will be provided.

Registration is required. Call 973-3618 or 564-7116 to register or for more information.

Brewer

Brewer Professional Center

The Eastern Maine Healthcare board of directors has approved a plan that will enable the construction of the Brewer Professional Center to begin this spring. The plan was developed after an extensive review of alternatives to financing and potential EMH partnerships. The board selected Cianbro as the developer of the site.

The agreement calls for Cianbro to design, build, finance and own a five-story, 143,000 square foot office building according to EMH specifications. Cianbro will, in turn, lease the building to EMH.

“With this announcement, we are well positioned to make Brewer and our region even stronger economically that ever before,” said Gail Kelly, Brewer mayor. “And the timing couldn’t be better, given the many challenges we face in this region of the state.”

Cianbro, EMH, the city of Brewer and Maine & Co. will market the Brewer Professional Center and adjacent properties. State and other economic development agencies, including Eastern Maine Development Corp., have assisted with the project.

Nurse practitioner

Norumbega Medical has announced the association of Nurse Practitioner Annette Hatch-Clein. She has joined the family practice office in Brewer.

Hatch-Clein has been caring for patients in the region for eight years. She offers a holistic approach to health care.

Pet services

Bear Brook Kennels has added pet sitting and dog walking services to give pet owners another option to care for their pets. The pet sitter will come into the home and take care of the pets, giving them food, water, exercise and one-on-one attention. Staff members are certified dog trainers who are bonded and insured. For information, call Dawn at 989-7979.

Orono

Wild Treasures

Tom Griffin, owner of Wild Treasures, opened the shop at the University Mall just before Thanksgiving. He credits Penquis CAP’s Incubator Without Walls program with helping him get his business up and running. The store sells West Coast fashion apparel, jewelry, furnishings, cell phones and cell phone accessories not available anywhere else in Maine.

“By going through the program I was able to develop the confidence and fortitude necessary to go out on my own and get my business started,” said Griffin, who employs three people from the Old Town-Orono area.

Report on biotechnology

Biotechnology businesses are becoming a major force in Maine’s economy, according to a new University of Maine report. The industry generated nearly $432 million in sales and employed about 3,690 people in 2002.

Because money spent by companies generates additional economic activity throughout the economy, the report estimates the industry’s total economic contribution at $685 million in Maine with direct and indirect support for 7,135 jobs.

Todd Gabe and Tom Allen, assistant professor and associate scientist, respectively, in the department of resource economics and policy, wrote the report. They received support from the Maine Technology Institute, the Biotechnology Association of Maine, the Maine Center for Innovation in Biotechnology and the Maine Agriculture and Forest Experiment Station.

“The reason we did this study was to establish benchmarks for the size and vitality of this industry” Gabe said. “The data will be useful in tracking the industry’s performance in the future.”

The report is the first part of a larger study on the business climate for biotechnology in Maine. Surveys conducted this winter will gather information about factors affecting the growth of the industry.

Gabe and Allen did not collect any new data for the report. They based their analysis on government statistics, industry directories and other sources. To select businesses, they used a definition that characterizes biotechnology as “any technique that uses living organisms or parts of organisms to make or modify products.”

They excluded medical services, pharmaceutical sales and marketing companies and medical instrument manufacturers. Also excluded were traditional farm, forest and fishing companies, and most aquaculture firms.

Although there are 80 separate companies and nonprofit organizations in the Maine industry, 10 of them accounted for the bulk of sales and employment. About half of the companies and almost 60 percent of biotech jobs are located in York and Cumberland counties. Other companies are located in mid-Maine and across the state, with more than 1,000 employees working at The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor.

Maine’s biotechnology companies produce medicinal, pharmaceutical, diagnostic and biological substances such as reagents, immunoassays, sensors and antibodies used in research and monitoring.

Compiled by Ardeana Hamlin