Business News from Around the State

Statewide: FairPoint strike was nation’s largest in 2014; UMaine Business Challenge, once limited to Maine public institutions of higher learning, is now extended to all Maine institutions of higher learning; Home Depot to hire 450 in Maine; Radio Shack is closing 13 Maine stores; Maine medical marijuana sales reach $16 million; the National Endowment for the Arts awarded $190,000 in grant funding to organizations in Maine that foster creativity and innovation in their communities. Southern: Nova Star ferry gets new $13 million subsidy; Expansion for Bayside Bowl projected to cost $2.4 million; Cross Insurance Arena’s board (formerly the Cumberland County Civic Center) approved a five year contract for Philadelphia-based Global Spectrum to manage the venue which should bring more big acts; Sun Life Financial to open Scarborough office. Central & Western: AT&T gives $200K to Cony High School for a career preparation program that addresses Maine’s skill gap; OSHA proposes $108K fine for Auburn-based manufacturer Formed Fiber Technologies for workplace safety violations; Lewiston-based Maine Community Health Options is the only health insurance co-op out of 23 nationwide that reported a net income and favorable underwriting through last year’s third quarter. Midcoast & Downeast: 2014 was a record year for numbers of visitors to Acadia National Park; the owners of Cap’n Nemo’s, a bass harbor restaurant that burned down in 2013, are suing members of two fire departments claiming the fire fighters were negligent in battling the fire; A dentist with Bar Harbor Dental Group LLC has proposed to build a mixed-use building, a dental office with a second floor residence. Northern & Eastern: Sitel, a call center that employs 200 people, is moving to Caribou from Limestone to take advantage of a larger labor pool; Maine Winter Sports Center received $5 million in gifts with after launching is $20 million endowment campaign; Bangor city councilor Joe Baldacci is proposing a minimum wage increase for the city, from $7.50 an hour to $8.25 in 2016 with stepped raises until 2018 when subsequent increases will be based on the previous year’s consumer price index