Caribou company layoffs

It has been reported that 80 of the 235 employees of ATX Forms Inc. in Caribou will be let go.

State Rep. Peter Edgecomb of Caribou said Sunday that he learned of the layoffs from city officials late last week and had received e-mails from several former ATX employees.

“I think that, at this point, there are more questions than answers about what has happened,” Edgecomb said. “I have been told that these employees went to a meeting thinking they were going to strategize about the upcoming tax season and then were told they were being laid off. … This certainly was a shock to them, and it is a shock to the city.”

- BangorDaily

Katahdin Paper fined for pollution

BangorDaily reports on the Katahdin Paper’s settlement over pollution discharges in the Penobscot River.

Katahdin Paper of Millinocket has agreed to pay a fine of more than $100,000 for wastewater discharges that state officials say triggered a massive algae bloom in the Penobscot River last summer.

Under the terms of a proposed settlement agreement, Katahdin Paper will pay a total of $106,000 to the state, the Penobscot Nation and several pollution prevention and detection projects. Katahdin Paper has also agreed to abide by lower, temporary pollution discharge levels, although company officials said the mill no longer discharges the phosphorus at the root of the algae bloom.

Group fights for eel protection

The Friends of Merrymeeting Bay are asking the state’s highest court to overturn a lower court’s decision to not intervene in a ruling by Maine Board of Environmental Protection (BEP).

At issue is downstream passage for the American Eel. The BEP found that there was not enough evidence to show that the eel population is at risk.  The lower court ruled that it did not authority to review the BEP decision.

- via PressHerald

Mount Desert Island highly rated

National Geographic Traveler magazine gives Mount Desert a rating of 69 of 100 for sustainability. Here are a couple comments by the judges:

“A benchmark for sustainability. The fact that it is home to Acadia National Park has contributed to establishment of a unique, committed alliance of the National Park Service, the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau, and the local residents. It’s a win-win scenario for both the locals and the visitors.”

“I was stunned as to how much the island had been developed since I was there as a child. My recent trip was a bit disappointing, as the harbor had big cruise boats in it and the town was overrun with trinket shops. Not much of the local Maine character seemed to be left.”

- via Bar Harbor Times

Benefits of Slow Growth

Maine’s population growth over the past year was only .2%. Gino Bona finds three reasons that is not all bad:

1. Our schools aren’t in crisis;

2. We have time to lay out plans;

3. Employers can be picky when hiring

OK, so 0.2% doesn’t sound like anything to blog home about. But I believe this is good news for the Pine Tree State.

Maine got more expensive to do business

The Milken Institute’s calculations find the costs to do business in Maine going up.

The biggest mover in this year’s index was Maine, moving up 11 spots to 17th from 28th, thanks in large part to higher electricity costs, which jumped from six percent above the national average in the 2006 rankings to 43 percent above the national average in this year’s rankings.

The Cost-of-Doing-Business Index measures wage costs, taxes, electricity costs and real estate costs for industrial and office space.

Residential Windmills

Bangor Daily reports on the growing number of individuals in Maine putting up their own windmills.

Stephen Hallee, president of Green Ridge Wind Farms in Belfast, said recently that his company has erected more than 40 residential windmills since 2004, mostly in coastal locations from Saco to Dennysville.

The initial cost to put up a windmill ranges from $12,000 to $15,000, according to Greig and Hallee, but laws mandate that electric companies must credit the homeowner or small business for any power produced as it is fed back into the regional power grid.

Cell Phone Recycling Now Law

 While not exactly a huge burden on landfills, cell phones do have toxic chemicals.  Maine now requires you to recycle them, and for stores to take them.

Mainers who have been tossing their old cell phones in the trash or slipping them into desk drawers to be forgotten will have an alternative as of the new year: A state law will require retailers to collect used cellular telephones for recycling at no charge.

The same law forbids owners from disposing of old phones in the trash.

The law is aimed at protecting the environment and public health. Cell phones contain toxic chemicals such as arsenic, lead, zinc and other substances that pose health risks if not properly disposed of or recycled.

Maine is the third state, after California and New York, to enact such a law, said its sponsor, Rep. Christopher Babbidge, D- Kennebunk. In Maine, retailers must even accept used phones that have been sold by other companies, he said. – A.P.

Simply Divine business

 The Boston Globes reports on the success of Simply Divine Brownie, a Brunswick company started three years ago by a retired grandmother.

A project Beaulier started on a whim, to fend off boredom as a new retiree, has snowballed into the stuff of small-business fantasies. Her company, Simply Divine Brownies, has 19 employees on the payroll, and is growing fast. Annual sales are expected to double to $600,000 this year. Last week, at the height of the holiday rush, her all-women crew turned out almost 6,000 brownies a day in a jam-packed command center in a former mill, where the kitchen, retail shop, and shipping center share one hectic, cocoa-scented room.

Got Land?

The Land for Maine’s Future Board is seeking proposals for land conservation projects to assist.

“We’re really looking for those wonderful, special places in Maine, whether they be farmland, a hiking trail, a park really anything that supports the quality of life in Maine through the protection of undeveloped land,” Glidden said. – Blethen MNS

The Land for Maine’s Future Program was created in 1987 in response to concerns over the loss of critical natural areas and wildlife habitat along with traditional access to undeveloped lands for hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation.

To date, the Land for Maine’s Future Program has funded the protection of more than 445,000 acres of Maine’s best natural areas, farms, and recreation areas.

The Program also seeks to protect public access to water for fishing, boating, and swimming. Working with other state agencies, numerous local governments and charitable nonprofit groups, the Land for Maine’s Future Board adheres to a “willing seller only” policy.

Funding for these new projects will come from a $17 million bond issue approved by the Maine Legislature and Maine voters in 2007. – Morning Sentinel

More Cruise ships to Bar Harbor

Bar Harbor expects to see more cruise ships next year. Bar Harbor Times:

The number of cruise ship visits to Bar Harbor next year appears likely to exceed 100 for the first time ever.

This year’s total was 91. Sixty-six of those visits were by large ships, those that drop anchor in the bay and require tenders to bring passengers to shore. Already, the large ships are scheduled for 79 visits next year.

Maine Potato Harvest Down

Maine’s potato harvest was down, due in part to fewer acres of land used for growing. The reasons for this decline were not provided. AP:

According to the Department of Agriculture, farmers this fall harvested an estimated 1.65 billion pounds of potatoes.

The 2007 production, however, is about 8 percent below the 2006 output because of reductions in acreage and yield. Maine farmers planted 57,100 acres, or 1,400 fewer than in 2006.

More on the future of the Downeaster

CSmonitor.com has an in depth look at the issues behind the funding issues of Amtrak’s Downeaster train.

Like most passenger-rail routes worldwide, the Downeaster doesn’t operate at a profit. At present, passenger revenue accounts for $6 million of its $13.5 million annual operating budget. Much of the remainder has been covered by a $6 million grant from the federal transportation department, which will expire in 2009. Maine contributes $1.5 million.

The Downeaster does appear to be a sound investment, according to a 2005 study commissioned by the Maine Department of Transportation (DOT). The train was responsible for $15 million in economic activity in Maine and New Hampshire in 2004, more than twice its public subsidy. The figure today is thought to be considerably higher due to ridership growth and the recent construction of multimillion-dollar condo developments adjacent to the Downeaster’s stations in Saco and Old Orchard Beach, Maine.

Bucksport to look into alternative energy

The Ellsworth American reports on Bucksport’s new committee to consider energy sources.

The Bucksport Town Council voted unanimously at its Dec. 13 meeting to approve a resolution creating an energy committee for the town.

The committee would investigate alternative energy and conservation projects.

“I think we have an obligation to our citizens to pursue this,” Town Manager Roger Raymond told the council.

The idea for the committee arose about a year ago when the council authorized Raymond to pursue the possibility of using wind power to provide electricity for several publicly owned facilities in Bucksport.

Since then, the city has received several proposals from companies that build wind turbines.

One possible wind power site was the town’s wastewater treatment facility. Another was proposed at the middle school.

The energy committee would review these proposals as well as investigate other alternative energy sources, such as natural gas and geothermal energy.

College of the Atlantic offsets emissions

The College of the Atlantic has become the first college to purchase carbon offsets for all of their emissions.  MaineToday:

The college said it has offset its entire emissions output of 2,488 tons over the past 15 months by investing in a greenhouse gas reduction project in Oregon.  ..

The college has undertaken a number of steps to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Last month, it began buying all its electricity through a hydroelectric generator, which will reduce its carbon emissions by 22 percent next year.

The college also has begun improving the energy efficiency of its buildings. Where possible, it has replaced fluorescent light bulbs and encouraged car pools, bicycling and flexible work schedules so that some employees can work at home.

To become carbon neutral, the college is buying carbon offsets for about $25,000 through The Climate Trust of Oregon. Carbon offsets aim to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions by investing in carbon-reduction programs to offset emissions generated elsewhere.