Business news from around the state

Statewide: Lewiston-based Maine Community Health Options partnered with Community Partners to eliminate the cost of generic medications for members; SunEdison finalizes First Wind buyout; U.S. Senator Angus King joins Senate tourism caucus that will help Maine’s tourism industry through policy making; Weathervane closes three Maine locations, citing a combination of current economic conditions; Maine community colleges appointed Derek Langhauser, the Maine Community Colleges system general counsel and senior member of its leadership, to serve as its interim president. Southern: The International law firm Littler, which calls itself the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, opened an office in Portland; Lincolnville-based Cellardoor Winery is expecting to open a location at Thompson’s Point in Portland; the Boston-based developer of Freeport Village Station is moving closer to redeveloping another retail complex site in Freeport; Portland’s proposed wage hike, from $7.50 to $9.50, if approved, is not expected to go into effect until 2016. Central and Western: Falmouth-based United Insurance has acquired Farmington-based Shiretown Agency, giving United sixteen locations in Maine; Jeff Shock of West Paris, bought the Oxford Dragway, which suspended operations for the 2014 season due to lack of proper staffing, and plans to open it for the 2015 season; Lewiston-based SymQuest awarded $30K in office technology to nonprofit New Beginnings and SeniorsPlus. Midcoast & Down East: Bath Iron Works is facing a federal harassment lawsuit from a former worker who is Muslim and of Palestinian descent. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has found no probable cause for the alleged discrimination; Verso Paper completed the $60 million sale of its shuttered Bucksport Mill to the subsidiary of Canadian scrap metal company American Iron & Metal. Northern & Eastern: Quebec-based Maibec, bought Fraser Timber’s lumber mill in Masardis (Aroostook County); Bangor-based Cross Insurance adds branding at Gillette Stadium, where it has naming rights to a 20,000 square foot meeting space for private and business functions (Cross Insurance Pavilion and Business Center); Lewiston-based VIP Tires & Service expanded its presence in Presque Ilse, moving into the Former Sears Auto Center space at the Aroostook Centre Mall