Cheers to Anne and Gil Blais, Lewiston natives who have generously donated a $181,000 mobile command vehicle to the state Fire Marshal’s Office. The gift is being delivered in Lewiston today, and the vehicle will be headquartered in Augusta.

It’s a terrific tool that will allow investigators to establish a command center on site anywhere in the state in an emergency, complete with meeting room, work stations, computer hookups, bathroom and limited kitchen appliances to make coffee and heat food.

For fire investigators who often work for prolonged periods from their vehicles in all kinds of weather, this gift is tremendously functional and Maine-like practical.

Gil Blais, who now lives in Ohio with his wife and whose company La Boit Inc. makes these custom vehicles, said he knows public budgets are strapped and he wanted to do something for his hometown.

He did more than that. He did something for all of Maine by providing a significant tool to help criminal investigators in their work.

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Cheers to Black Bear Entertainment — the outfit building a casino in Oxford — for  organizing and largely funding a free food distribution Wednesday, giving away well over $5,000 in fresh food to about 270 local families. That’s a lot of mouths to feed and, in a town that’s struggling particularly hard through the down economy, it’s a welcome gesture.

Black Bear purchased a lot of the food, but it also accepted and distributed donations from Prime Cut Meat Market in Raymond and Blackie’s Market in Auburn, among other local businesses.

Organizing such a large-scale giveaway takes a lot of effort, including organizing about 40 volunteers, many of whom helped carry boxes of food out to cars for the elderly.

Wouldn’t it be great if, when the casino opens and jobs are filled, there will be less demand as unemployment drops and families can afford to buy their food?

Black Bear Entertainment ran its casino campaign on a promise to help the people of Maine. Wednesday’s food distribution was proof casino owners mean it.

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The voter-approved consolidation of the Jay School district and RSU 36 in Livermore Falls was not an easy victory Tuesday. There was a lot of resistance among some voters who would have preferred to keep all community schools open, but the votes have now been cast to join the districts and consolidate the administration of the districts. And, as RSU 36 Superintendent Sue Pratt said Thursday, there is much work to be done.

Throughout the pre-consolidation debate, both sides argued that they wanted what was best for the communities’ children. What’s best for them is for these sides now to do the work that must be done as quickly and smoothly as possible, and craft a shared system that benefits them all.

We cheer them on in the venture.

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Cheers to Chris Paszyc who brought us a little good news about anticipated business growth in the Twin Cities this year.

Paszyc, a broker with CB Richard Ellis/The Boulos Co. who specializes in the Lewiston-Auburn market and was a featured speaker at Thursday’s Maine Real Estate and Development Association conference in Portland, says we can expect to see interest in Lewiston’s Bates Mill buildings and at the so-called Island Point site recently acquired by developer George Schott.

Despite the uncertain economy, Paszyc called 2010 “brisk” and suggested we have more good news to look forward to this year, including the potential sale of the Auburn Mall and “pretty big” developments around Turnpike Exit 80 in Lewiston.

We look forward to all of that, with true anticipation.

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