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V O L . X X I V N O. X X V O C T O B E R 2 9 , 2 0 1 8 6 Maine Cash Access, an alliance of 12 Maine-based community banks offering surcharge-free ATMs, introduced a new logo and website (www.mainecash.com). U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree announced that more than $2 million in USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture grants were awarded to Maine groups to advance Maine's agricultural economy and offer food and agriculture educa- tion programs in several communities. The University of Maine received a $2 million Organic Research and Extension Initiative grant and a $73,219 Food Safety Outreach Program grant; FoodCorps received $166,217 from the Nutrition and Agriculture Service Learning program; and Atlantic Corp. in Waterville received a $100,000 Small Business Innovation Research grant. Reed & Reed inks $39.5M toll contract Construction on a new turnpike toll plaza in York will begin in November, following Maine Turnpike Authority's award of a three-year $39.5 million contract to Reed & Reed of Woolwich. It's considered one of the most impor- tant pieces of transportation infrastruc- ture in the state, generating about $60 million in toll revenue per year and is a central reason why two-thirds of all Maine Turnpike Authority's revenue is paid by out-of-staters. Working with Reed & Reed will be Gorham-based R.J. Grondin, which will handle the earth work. e companies teamed up on another toll booth project, at Exit 44, in Scarborough; that contract was for $17.5 million and will be completed by fall 2019. In York, Reed & Reed will relocate the plaza to Mile 8.8 on the Maine Turnpike, just a mile-and-half north of the existing plaza. It will imple- ment "open road tolling" technology, which the MTA already uses at three of its barrier plazas: New Gloucester, West Gardiner and Falmouth Spur. 'Growth industrial' zone will cover marijuana sites Brunswick Town Council passed zoning amendments that will allow marijuana cultivation, product manufacturing and testing facilities, as well as stores in the town's "growth industrial" zone, starting on Jan. 1. e Times Record reported Low jobless rate sets record for duration Maine seasonally adjusted unem- ployment was 3.3% in September, a slight uptick from 3.2% in August and unchanged from a year ago, according to preliminary data from the Maine Department of Labor. at means that the jobless rate has been below 4.0% for 34 consecutive months, the longest period on record. Among metropoli- tan areas, the unemployment rate was below the statewide average in the Portland-South Portland area at 2.5%, and close to average in the Lewiston- Auburn and Bangor areas, both at 3.1%. U.S. preliminary unemployment was 3.7% for September, down from 3.9% in August and 4.2% a year ago. New England's average unemployment rate for September remained 3.6%, with New Hampshire at 2.7%, Vermont at 2.9%, Massachusetts at 3.6%, Rhode Island at 3.9%, and Connecticut the highest at 4.2%. N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E With the addition of the town of Hanover and the town of Mount Vernon, AARP Maine said it became the first state to have 60 communities join its Network of Age-Friendly Communities. U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King announced that four Maine Native communities received a total of $440,011 in funding from the Department of Health and Human Services to respond to substance abuse and jumpstart community health projects. Recipients included Passamaquoddy Indian Township Tribal Government, $141,456; Wabanaki Health and Wellness, $140,526; Penobscot Indian Nation, $93,887; and Aroostook Micmac Council, $64,142. Side x Side Inc., a nonprofit in Portland, received a four-year, $2.5 mil- lion grant through the U.S. Department of Education to support a project titled "(Re)Imagining Education" to promote arts curriculum in Portland and Lewiston elementary schools. The University of Southern Maine will serve as the primary partner on the project. B U S I N E S S M A I N E Business news from around the state S T A T E W I D E S O U T H E R N Maine Law student coauthors financial guide for veterans B y R e n e e C o r d e s Portland — When Harpswell native Mike Adams returned to Maine after military service in Afghanistan to finish his studies at the University of Southern Maine, he found there was little information available on financial resources avail- able to veterans. So last summer while interning at the Maine Bureau of Consumer Protection, Adams suggested that the bureau produce an easy-to-use practical guide. "As a veteran myself, I thought there was a gap of infor- mation on the available resources, so I wanted to create something that put it all in one easy-to-read booklet the state could distribute and publish," Adams, now a second-year stu- dent at the University of Maine School of Law, told Mainebiz. During his 12 weeks as the Margaret Chase Smith Intern in the Bureau of Consumer Protection, Adams worked on the publication with David Leach, the bureau's principal consumer credit examiner who has worked on various other informational publications. Adams also worked closely with the Maine Bureau of Veterans' Services, the Governor's Office and Superintendent William Lund of the Maine Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection to ensure the veterans' guide was accurate. Part of the bureau's Downeaster Common Sense Guide series that includes reports on credit reports and credit scores after the Equifax data breach and car buying and financing, the Financial Guide for Maine Veterans covers a wide range of topics. It was published in August. Areas covered include veterans' benefit agencies and organizations, employment, education, health, establish- ing and maintaining credit, and personal finance, boiled down to short descriptions and bullet points in a compact 31-page overview. "When I met with the Maine Bureau of Veterans' Services, they had just completed a 100-page-plus resource guide, which had a lot great information," Adams said. "I told them my goal was to have something much easier to read with bullet points and headings." In their introduction to the guide, the authors note that the publication is an expression of gratitude to all Maine veterans, and a single source of information for veterans and their families, with a focus on financial literacy and well-being. The potential audience is huge since veterans make up more than 10% of Maine's population. Leach and his colleagues are now busy getting the word out about the guide, which he describes as a "true one-stop shopping guide for Maine veterans." Back at Maine Law, Adams said that while working on the publication was stressful at times, it's been "a great complement to my law school education." Not yet sure what area of law he'll pursue after graduat- ing, Adams is taking a mix of litigation and business-focused courses to keep his options open. "I know I want to use my law degree to help veterans in Maine and help my community," he said. B R I E F Mike Adams, a veteran and second- year student at the University of Maine School of Law, coauthored a guide to financial resources for vets. C OVER / C OU R TES Y M AI NE BU R EAU OF C R EDI T C ONS U M ER PROTEC TI ON