PORTLAND – Jack Cashman, Maine Department of Economic and Community Development commissioner, will speak next week on “Protecting the Public Interest When Businesses Fail.”

His talk will be at the Maine chapter of the Turnaround Management Association – Northeast Inc. on Thursday, Sept. 23, at the Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland.

In March, a federal bankruptcy judge ordered abandonment of the assets of two paper mills in Brewer and Lincoln in a complex bankruptcy proceeding, which had lasted over three years.

Faced with massive job losses and severe environmental threats, the state took action to preserve the assets, mitigate the environmental risks, locate prospective purchasers who would restart the mills and effect a “going-concern” sale.

Cashman will discuss the outcome of this case and the government’s role in such situations.

The breakfast meeting will be 8 to 9:30 a.m. Registration, which includes a full breakfast, is $25 in advance for association members, $30 in advance for nonmembers and a $5 surcharge for tickets purchased at the door.

For registration. people can call (978) 462-2665 or e-mail chapter Administrator Julie Conroy at [email protected]