AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Majority Republicans expressed delight and Democrats relief as Gov. Paul LePage on Monday signed into law a two-year, $6.1 billion state budget that calls for tax breaks for Mainers, pension rollbacks for state workers and tougher welfare rules. The budget, approved with bipartisan support of the Legislature last week, takes effect […]
economy
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Northern New England ready for Canadian tourists
OLD ORCHARD BEACH, Maine (AP) — A Canadian flag flies beside an American one outside the beachfront Friendship Oceanfront Suites motel, beckoning tourists from north of the border. Inside the rooms, the motel’s rules are spelled out in English and French, the predominant language of Quebec. With Memorial Day weekend marking the unofficial start to […]
advertisement
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Jobs! After two years of downward trends, state and local numbers are starting to pick up
LEWISTON — Michelle Short had been looking for a job for two years. She had a full work history, including a decade in Lewiston-Auburn shoe mills and time in construction. It didn’t help. Thinking training and a career change might land her a job, she went to school and trained to become a certified nursing […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage: Jobs jobs needed to keep our gradates in Maine
AUGUSTA (AP) — With thousands of students graduating this month from Maine’s colleges and universities, Gov. Paul LePage says the state must create more jobs so more of those graduates stick around after receiving their degrees. In his weekly radio address Saturday, the governor said young men and women who go to college in Maine […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine, N.H. businesses banking on Canadian tourists
YORK, Maine (AP) — The strong Canadian dollar has Maine and New Hampshire businesses confident that they’ll be seeing plenty of Canadian tourists this summer. With the Canadian dollar now worth about $1.04 in U.S. money, businesses say interest is high from north of the border for the upcoming tourism season. Gary Grossman, the owner […]
Posted inBusiness, Maine, sj-web
Solid lobster catch foreseen, but fuel prices loom
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — On the heels of last year’s record-shattering catch, another bountiful lobster harvest is expected this year in Maine. But the outlook for the upcoming season is being tempered by high fuel costs, high bait costs and a still-fragile economy. Maine fishermen last year caught more than 90 million pounds of lobster, […]
Posted inUncategorized
Living in smaller spaces
With many smaller spaces planned for renovations and new homes, most who plan to live in them are moving from larger homes and are faced with challenges like finding smaller furniture and understanding how to make the most of fewer, smaller rooms. In some cases, an open concept is new to people who are accustomed […]
Posted inBusiness, Franklin, The Franklin Journal
Wilton service center workers face layoffs
WILTON — Some employees at Sykes Enterprises Inc. learned this week that they will be losing their jobs by the end of May. When contacted Thursday, the worldwide customer service organization based in Tampa, Fla., did not provide the number of layoffs or the number of employees now working at the center at 128 Weld […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Stocks push higher on improving economic reports
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks edged higher to start the week after economic reports suggested that the recovery is continuing. The Commerce Department said consumer spending rose at its fastest pace in four months in February, though some of the increase was driven by higher gas prices. The National Association of Realtors said more Americans […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
AP analysis: US economic stress dips in past year
Lower unemployment and bankruptcies helped reduce the nation’s economic stress in January compared with a year earlier, according to The Associated Press’ monthly analysis. Still, the figures show the economy has yet to regain full health. Midwestern and Southeastern states posted the strongest gains year over year, thanks to increased manufacturing, the AP’s Economic Stress […]