WASHINGTON – Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens asked Congress on Tuesday to “clear the path” for his plan to boost use of wind and natural gas for U.S. energy needs. Pickens has been on a $58 million publicity tour to promote his plan to erect… Read More
    WASHINGTON – U.S Sen. Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine, on Tuesday expressed concern about Monday’s closure of the Great Eastern Mussel Farm in Tenants Harbor and vowed to help those who lost their jobs. The 30-year-old company eliminated 40 full-time jobs in the closure, which it… Read More
    SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Smith & Wesson is manufacturing a commemorative revolver in honor of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that backed the right of individuals to own guns for self-defense. The Springfield-based gun maker announced Monday it would present engraved Model 442 revolvers to… Read More
    AUGUSTA – Heating oil has dropped 9 cents per gallon in the latest survey in Maine. The state energy office’s biweekly summer survey says heating oil now averages $4.62 a gallon. It’s the first drop since the statewide survey was restarted eight weeks ago in… Read More
    PORTLAND – The start of the new work week is bringing lower gasoline prices to Maine for a change. According to AAA, which tracks fuel prices nationwide, a gallon of unleaded in Maine was averaging under $4.10 on Monday. That’s down nearly a nickel from… Read More
    ST. GEORGE – Reaction to the shutdown Monday of Great Eastern Mussel Farms was glum because of the loss of so many jobs. The mussel farm, located on Cove Road in the village of Tenants Harbor, announced Monday morning that it is shutting down its… Read More
    Raymond J. Cota Jr. of Orono is the new president of the Maine Real Estate & Development Association, a statewide organization of commercial real estate owners, developers and related service providers. Cota is vice president of Webber Oil Co., where he has worked for the past 24 years. Read More
    PORTLAND – Soaring gas prices played a role in a 28 percent gain in ridership for Amtrak’s Downeaster during the latest fiscal year, and operators of the Portland-to-Boston service are looking at options to accommodate future growth, officials said Monday. The ridership gain was the… Read More
    CUTLER – After two years, Washington County’s only condominium complex has proved to be a success, according to a representative of the developers. When the former Cutler Naval Telecommunication and Computer Center was bought by Cutler Residential Development LLC and refurbished into Beachwood Bay Estates… Read More
    Q: About a year and a half ago I was a passenger in my aunt’s car in California and we were hit almost head-on by a 17-year-old driver who was driving too fast and came into our lane. I suffered upper body injury. I have used my aunt’s… Read More
    U.S. Cellular has promoted Sean Griffith to store manager and Stephanie Dow to sales manager in the Bangor-area market. Griffith is responsible for management of the Bangor and Ellsworth retail store locations. Dow directs daily activities for employees in the company’s Ellsworth retail location. Her responsibilities include growing… Read More
    Among this past week’s news items was some good advice from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention regarding the posting of signs. The bottom line: Staying in compliance with health rules doesn’t have to hurt a small company’s bottom line. The news story… Read More
    Depending on the rhythm of the academic year, for the past several decades my household has operated with as few as four and as many as seven adults. Everything has been measured. Refrigerators, the electric dryer, the TV, etc. have separate watt-hour meters. A separate water meter tracks… Read More
    BANGOR – FairPoint Communications announced Friday it has added another 38 employees to its local call center at 59 Park St. “We’ve met our hiring goals in Maine, but that’s not enough,” Gene Johnson, FairPoint’s chief executive officer, said at a press conference. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
    OAKFIELD – For more than three decades, families across the world have been able to sit around their dinner tables inside homes manufactured by Katahdin Cedar Log Homes and share a meal. Now the Oakfield-based company is manufacturing a massive northern whit e cedar complex… Read More
    The problem I have with most solar technology is that it is too expensive for the average person. And when it comes to solar heating, it really shouldn’t be. It is such a simple concept that innovation must and will drive the cost down. Unfortunately,… Read More
    WASHINGTON – The House on Wednesday approved extending federal “wild and scenic” environmental protection to the lower Taunton River in Massachusetts, dealing a blow to developers who want to build a liquefied natural gas terminal on an urbanized stretch of riverbank. The 242-175 vote, split… Read More
    PORTLAND – The future looks uncertain for Portland’s International Marine Terminal and its container-handling operation, which was closed last week after barge service was suspended. New Jersey-based Columbia Coastal Transport stopped barge service out of Portland on June 29 after the loss of a key… Read More
    KITTERY – The deadline for contractors, developers and real estate companies to submit proposals for reusing the shuttered Portsmouth Naval Shipyard prison was Thursday, but the Navy declined to say how many proposals were received. A team will evaluate the proposals with a goal of… Read More
    BANGOR – The Maine Highlands, a nonprofit organization that seeks to advance the economic well-being of the region, has announced a newly elected slate of officers and board of directors for 2008-2009. The officers are: chairman of the board, Bob Hamer, executive director of the… Read More
    PORTLAND – The Maine Center for Creativity, a Maine-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the growth of the arts and creative industries in Maine, has announced new officers elected by its board of directors. They are: Greg Boulos, president, Cape Elizabeth; Meg Weston, vice president, Yarmouth; Paula Lundgren, treasurer,… Read More
    Red Shield Environmental LLC and RSE Pulp & Chemical LLC got final approval in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Wednesday to borrow roughly $1.25 million to help pay laid-off employees, who could be back at work in the next two weeks. Lawyer Robert Keach of Portland… Read More
    PORTLAND – Portland International Jetport’s passenger traffic grew by nearly 12 percent during the fiscal year that ended June 30, a time when airlines are shedding jobs and reducing the number of flights, airport officials said Wednesday. More than 1.7 million passengers flew in or… Read More
    PITTSFIELD – Sebasticook Valley Federal Credit Union announced Wednesday that it is bringing back its 0% Energy Loan Program. The program allows current and new members to borrow up to $3,000 to cover the cost of home heating for this winter, an increase of $1,000… Read More
    PORTLAND, Ore. – Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Olympia Snowe of Maine have introduced a bill to encourage nanotechnology development by offering prizes. Democrat Wyden joined Snowe, a Republican, to propose at least four categories of prizes from the U.S. Department of Commerce. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
    AUGUSTA – Maine’s attorney general’s office said the state expects a pay out of $829,862 from drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. as part of a multistate settlement of allegations of Medicaid fraud and illegal drug marketing practices. Attorney General Steven Rowe said the state is sharing… Read More
    Call any Irving Oil convenience store across Maine and the person who answers the phone will say it is operating under a new name – Circle K. “Good afternoon, Main Street … Circle K,” a female voice said Wednesday afternoon, slightly stumbling over the new… Read More
    Citing factors such as unresolved federal procedural issues and the undetermined composition of the liquefied natural gas it hopes to import, an Oklahoma-based company with plans to build an LNG import terminal at Pleasant Point announced Tuesday that it plans to postpone or temporarily withdraw its applications from… Read More
    WASHINGTON – A bipartisan coalition led by Sens. Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine, and Ben Nelson, D-Neb., sent a letter to President Bush on Tuesday calling for a bipartisan national summit with the president to develop a consensus proposal that addresses the energy crisis. “There is… Read More
    MONCTON, New Brunswick – The province’s first casino will have 600 slot machines and borrow its style from the grand old hotels in Banff, Alberta, and St. Andrews, New Brunswick, the private consortium behind the Moncton-area project announced Tuesday. Plans for the $90 million facility,… Read More
    AUGUSTA – Northern Utilities wants state regulators to approve a rate increase because of the rising cost of natural gas. Northern Utilities, the dominant natural gas distributor in southern Maine, is asking the Maine Public Utilities Commission for a cost-of-gas increase that would result in… Read More
    BANGOR – The city negotiated three more months to work out an agreement with ExxonMobil Corp. for supplying fuel to its airport, but officials are working on a contingency plan if the fuel giant decides to end its contract. Bangor city councilors on Monday approved… Read More
    AUGUSTA – A legislative panel questioned FairPoint Communications officials Tuesday about several failures of the 911 emergency phone dispatch system across the state in recent weeks. “The concern is that we want – when someone calls 911 – they get an answer,” said Sen. Bill… Read More
    BANGOR – The continued rise of fuel costs will affect smaller airports at a disproportionate rate, according to a local representative who was invited recently to join a federal task force created to address the problem. Bangor International Airport Director Rebecca Hupp traveled last week… Read More
    BUCKSPORT – Verso Paper Corp. was recently awarded the 2008 Environmental and Energy Achievement Award from the American Forest and Paper Association for its work with the Bucksport Environmental Innovation Partnership. BEIP is a collaboration among Verso’s Bucksport Mill, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection,… Read More
    Not long ago, a couple of visitors to Northeast CONTACT brought in copies of “checks” they had received in the mail, along with invitations to become “mystery shoppers.” Our radar went on high alert. “Mystery shopping” is one of those terms that many people automatically… Read More
    PARIS – Mark Bancroft is already counting his savings from a European-made wood pellet furnace he’s buying to replace the oil furnace in his home. Bancroft burns about 1,100 gallons of heating oil a year, which would cost him about $5,000 at today’s record-high prices. Read More
    BANGOR – Starbucks Corp.’s announcement that it will close 600 underperforming stores to improve long-term profitability leaves the future of its five locations in the Bangor area uncertain. A Starbucks spokeswoman would not say this week whether any of the Bangor-area stores would be closing. Read More
    WASHINGTON – As oil prices soared to a record high Friday, the nation’s airlines and shipping companies stepped up calls for a crackdown on financial speculation in energy markets, which they blame for pushing up fuel costs. The Stop Oil Speculation coalition of nearly 40… Read More
    I just stacked a cord of firewood this past weekend. Not a big deal, but it makes you think about solar heating. Burning wood is an indirect form of solar heating, but not as efficient a converter of solar heat as a solar heating system can be. Read More
    BANGOR – The Saucony Factory Outlet store at 83 Farm Road is closing. The athletic shoe and running apparel store is holding a closing sale with prices around 50 percent off through July 30, according to an advertisement set to run in the Bangor Daily… Read More
    The status of wind energy in Maine: Mars Hill – In production, 28 units (turbines), 42 megawatts total, 150 million kilowatt-hours per year. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i =… Read More
    BREWER – A delivery company’s branches in Brewer and Presque Isle recently closed due to “unacceptable losses” and the need to “restructure,” according to a letter from the company posted on its building. DHL, a global delivery service, used Rydbom Express Inc., based in Harrisburg,… Read More
    BANGOR – Ocean State Job Lot cut the red ribbon Thursday morning, celebrating the opening of a new branch at the Airport Mall on Union Street. “We have had a big turnout and it’s only going to get better,” said Stacey Thompson, an employee at… Read More
    PORTLAND – More than 31,000 additional FairPoint Communications customers across Maine now have access to high-speed Internet service, the company announced Thursday. The overall expansion project included equipping 20 central switching centers and 68 remote terminal locations in Maine with high-speed broadband technology, FairPoint said. Read More
    BANGOR – An intimates and dormwear collection brand by American Eagle Outfitters called aerie by American Eagle will open its doors Thursday, July 17, at the Bangor Mall. It’s part of the company’s plan to open 80 stand-alone aerie stores this year. Last year, the… Read More
    MILLINOCKET – The Katahdin Paper Co. LLC mill will run beyond its self-imposed July 28 shutdown, Gov. John Baldacci said Wednesday, but for how long is unclear. The Katahdin Avenue facility will remain open “subject to continued customer orders and positive cash flow,” Baldacci said… Read More
    MINNEAPOLIS – Northwest Airlines Corp. said on Wednesday it will cut 2,500 jobs because of high oil prices, and will soon begin charging $15 to check luggage and up to $100 to redeem a frequent-flier award ticket. The airline said it expects the new fees… Read More
    On Friday, Dunkin’ Donuts shops throughout Maine and at several locations in New Hampshire will join the gas savings program, called Override, originally started by Irving Oil and Shaw’s Supermarkets. Customers now will be able to use purchases from both Dunkin’ Donuts and Shaw’s Supermarkets… Read More
    State regulators gave final approval Wednesday to a $270 million wind farm and transmission line proposed for the mountains of rural Franklin County. TransCanada Maine Wind Development Inc. plans to erect 44 wind turbines on Kibby Mountain and Kibby Range, located near the Canadian border… Read More
    CINCINNATI – Regional airline Comair said Tuesday that it expects to cut about one-fifth of its pilots and flight attendant jobs beginning this fall as part of parent Delta Air Lines Inc.’s overall cost reductions in response to high fuel costs. Erlanger, Ky.-based Comair announced… Read More
    BANGOR – Bangor International Airport Director Rebecca Hupp has been named to the American Association of Airport Executives’ Energy-Air Service Task Force, which will hold its inaugural meeting today in Washington, D.C. The task force was created to explore steps airports can take to address… Read More
    AUGUSTA – A firm that tracks new cars sales in Maine says the number of dealerships is down from last year and car sales figures are also slipping. Bart Haag is a partner in the accounting firm of Albin, Randall & Bennett, which tracks new… Read More
    SOUTH PORTLAND – Southern Maine Community College will become the only college to offer a degree in heavy equipment operations in southern Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. The South Portland campus will begin offering the course this fall. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var… Read More
    John Cashwell, president of Seven Islands Land Co. of Bangor since 1992, has retired. Longtime employee John McNulty of Dover-Foxcroft has taken over as president. Cashwell will continue as managing director of Seven Islands subsidiary Portage Wood Products on a less than full-time basis. Seven Islands is a… Read More
    BAR HARBOR – Despite the housing slump, forest product businesses can still make gains in developing and manufacturing products for the construction industry, officials of the wood product industry were told Monday. Approximately 100 people attended the first day of presentations at the fourth International… Read More
    AUGUSTA – Heating oil prices continue to rise in Maine. According to state energy office’s biweekly summer survey, heating oil is now averaging $4.71 a gallon statewide. That’s up 11 cents a gallon from the previous survey two weeks ago. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define… Read More
    DOVER-FOXCROFT – Pleasant River Lumber Co. has been named?2008 Business of the Year by the Piscataquis Chamber of Commerce and received the Americanism Award from the American Legion of Maine. The Chamber award recognizes businesses in Piscataquis County whose growth, economic contributions and service during… Read More
    Q: Why are public notices in newspapers (especially foreclosure notices) so detailed, complicated and difficult to read? – Bob Zimmerman of Guilford A: Even I find these notices difficult to read – and I’m a lawyer. The terrible language is the result of the writer… Read More
    MISSOULA, Mont. – The Bush administration is preparing to ease the way for the nation’s largest private landowner to convert hundreds of thousands of acres of mountain forestland to residential subdivisions. The deal was struck behind closed doors between Mark Rey, the former timber lobbyist… Read More
    While a wind turbine – a big one like those at the Mars Hill Wind Farm – will produce more than 1,000 kilowatt-hours per year for each square meter of wind disk, a photovoltaic array, for about the same output, will need to be 10 times this area. Read More
    In my limited view of the world, I always see old houses as a challenge to see how much insulation I can get into a given wall or roof. Reality is quite different. There are still many houses with little to no insulation. Whenever I… Read More
    ORONO – Douglas Gardner, a University of Maine professor of wood science and technology and a member of the UMaine Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center’s research team, has been named as one of the co-recipients of the 2008 Forest Products Society L.J. Markwardt Wood Engineering Research Award for… Read More
    BATH – Bath Iron Works has been awarded a $20.7 million contract from the Navy. According to Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, the contract will fund more than 233,000 man-hours for services for the Aegis destroyer program. The work is expected to be completed… Read More
    The following petitions for bankruptcy were filed at U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Bangor during February 2008: Robert Grant, service, no dependents, Bangor: assets, $2,081; debts, $31,025. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for… Read More
    BANGOR – Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway announced Thursday it has trimmed its train service and furloughed 33 employees effective the end of June. “The current economy has caused a downturn in paper, lumber and other forest products shipments which, along with extraordinary snow removal… Read More
    BREWER – Robert A. Moore, president and chief executive officer of Dead River Co., will speak at noon Tuesday, July 8, with the members and guests of Tuesday Forum, a women’s networking group in the Bangor area, about high oil prices and their effect on Maine businesses. Read More
    PORTLAND – The Portland Press Herald says a computer attack has crippled its Web site and those of its affiliates, causing them to crash and making them available only intermittently for much of the past week. President and General Manager Rob Bickler said a “simplistic… Read More
    CAMDEN – Camden National Corp. was listed on the Small-Cap Russell 2000 Index and the Russell 3000 Index when the reconstitution of these indexes was published on June 30 by Russell Investment Group. Russell rebalances the Russell family of indexes annually to maintain indexes that are representative of… Read More
    BUCKSPORT – Three downtown businesses have joined forces to bolster their operations and to promote the Main Street area as a destination. George MacLeod has run MacLeod’s Restaurant for more than 20 years, Andy Lacher has owned BookStacks for more than a decade and Andy… Read More
    PORTSMOUTH, N.H. – The head of New Hampshire’s Pease Development Authority has resigned, effective immediately, citing differences with the board that oversees development at the former Air Force Base turned business park and commercial airport. Dick Green headed the PDA for nearly two years. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
    BANGOR – The corporation that supplies jet fuel to Bangor International Airport has notified the city that it plans to end its agreement with the facility because of the state’s high tax burden. ExxonMobil Corp. officials who attended Tuesday night’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee meeting… Read More
    BANGOR – Quirk Auto Group announced Wednesday that it has completed the purchase of the Bangor Chrysler Dodge car dealership, which will open for business immediately as Quirk Chrysler Dodge. Quirk made the purchase Tuesday from Phillip McFarland Jr. as part of Chrysler’s consolidation plan. Read More
    A Massachusetts firm that is Maine’s first and largest wind power producer will seek tax breaks from four Lincoln Lakes towns that will host its proposed $120 million wind farm, officials said Wednesday. If all goes well, First Wind will be applying by the end… Read More
    BOSTON – The rubber bands that bind lobster claws in Massachusetts are now about more than protecting people from their dinner. They’re also about protecting whales. Beginning this weekend, lobsters caught off the state’s coast will have green bands on their claws stamped with “Massachusetts”… Read More
    ORONO – Neither University of Maine junior James Daniels nor Kurtis Petersons, a 2005 UM graduate, are golfers, but that didn’t hinder the collaborative development of their reality-based golf program that recently took first prize in a statewide business plan competition. The $10,000 cash prize… Read More
    BANGOR – Credit unions in eastern Maine presented their fourth annual Financial Fitness Money Management Experience recently at Eastern Maine Community College. One hundred students from these high schools participated in the event: Bangor High School, Brewer High School, Penobscot Valley High School, Hermon High… Read More
    BANGOR – The Greater Bangor Convention & Visitors Bureau held its 13th Tourism Awards Dinner and Silent Auction recently in Orono. Tourism awards were presented to area businesses and individuals. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var… Read More
    AUGUSTA – Two utility companies unveiled plans Tuesday for a $1.9 billion overhaul of Maine’s electricity transmission lines aimed at bolstering reliability and encouraging large-scale wind power development in Aroostook County. Central Maine Power and Maine Public Service Co. filed applications on Tuesday with state… Read More
    PARK CITY, Utah – American Skiing Co., a once high-flying company in a risky, weather-dependent business, has sold its final resort and will dissolve. The company sold its flagship resort, The Canyons, for $123 million on Monday to a subsidiary of Toronto-based resort operator Talisker… Read More
    Spruce Run Association of Bangor has hired Suzanne Saunders Barrett as its first staff attorney. Her work for Spruce Run is intended to enhance the services currently provided to victims of domestic abuse. She will represent clients with complex legal issues such as protection from abuse orders and… Read More