Lewiston neither “won” a Marriott hotel, nor did Auburn lose. By siting its new hotel in downtown Lewiston, Marriott has ensured this development will benefit the economies of both cities.Downtown was the best, and logical, choice for this hotel. Although Auburn’s proffered candidate, space by its burgeoning retail district around Mt. Auburn Avenue, was convenient […]

With respect to Neil Young, the soundtrack to Maine’s budget is “The Gift Cards and the Damage Done.”This state has a projected deficit of $95 million, with $38 million this fiscal year. Gov. John Baldacci, in response, is “curtailing” state spending to balance the current budget, with supplemental action in January for the remainder.Many factors […]

Ford Reiche, the CEO of Safe Handling Rail, knows how to take great risks and calculated chances. He’s co-piloted, after all, a 22-foot, 250-horsepower inflatable between Portland and Nova Scotia faster than any sane mariner had attempted. With a broken navigation system, no less.But what Reiche’s company unveiled last week – a 150-acre ethanol terminal […]

In Maine, snow is a natural-resource based industry.For the big resorts, Sunday’s storm dumped another foot in Carrabassett Valley, and made Bethel dream of the world’s largest snowwoman. Smaller businesses like Nordic and cross-country ski centers and snowmobile renters, dealers and spectators are loving this weather, too.In this snowfall windfall, piles of white mean piles […]

In mid-November, Florida Power & Light agreed to a 20-year plan to construct fish lifts and ladders along the Saco River. FPL operates nine hydropower dams along the 134-mile river; the total cost of this fish passage project is estimated at $30 million.Dams, although great producers of energy, are insurmountable for most fish species that […]

Folks at the Brookings Institution do the heavy thinking.But folks in Maine do the heavy lifting.Brookings’ landmark report, Charting Maine’s Future, was an exercise in cognitive excellence, as it revealed what Maine should have realized for years: its unique elements, which comprise its intrinsic “sense of place,” is imperiled.Yet after this philosophical gruntwork, implementing the […]

George Mitchell has swept up, and shut the door.The former Maine senator’s report on performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball caps the game’s “steroid era.” Its findings were stunning, yet expected, as any doubts about widespread use of steroids, or human growth hormone within its ranks, were long-extinguished.Mitchell, however, confirmed our worst fears. Yes, it […]

With all-new faces and a mayor entering his first full term, the Lewiston City Council’s need for an organizational meet-and-greet is understandable. No sense going into the year wearing name tags, after all.Holding it behind closed doors, however, was an error.On Tuesday night, the councilors-elect met privately with city staffers and the mayor for a […]

Gift cards are a $100 billion business, Consumer Reports has found, yet 27 percent go unredeemed. This leaves billions as “unclaimed property” to which states, like Maine, have staked claims, in the name of consumer protection.So in May, per statute, Maine’s treasurer David Lemoine asked major retailers for the state’s share: 60 percent of cards […]

All this political fiddling in Washington could be tolerable, if Maine and other northern states were actually burning. Then, all those eligible for low-income heating assistance might actually stay warm.Except “frozen” is the better word. It describes the low-income and elderly Mainers shivering inside their cold homes, and in fear of further plummeting mercury, and […]