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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 10 B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S N E W S F RO M A RO U N D T H E S TAT E HealthOptions.org | (207) 402-3353 | Your partner for health. HEALTH OPTIONS Community When you enroll with Heath Options, you have a local business support team that provides you with the peace of mind that matters most to you and your employees. Our dedicated team has a real understanding of the unique business health insurance needs right here in Maine. For over 50,000 businesses and individuals, we have been a partner for health, providing quality health benefits across the state. So you can focus on your business and not worry about your health coverage. Contact your insurance broker or call us at (207) 402-3353 for a quote. Northern New England's leading Dental Carrier is partnering with Health Options to combine dental coverage to large group plans in 2019. Ask your broker for details. We understand business. And what it means to live and work in Maine. We live where you live. We play where you play. We cherish what you cherish. England Clean Energy Connect trans- mission line project. e subsidiary of AVANGRID (NYSE: AGR) notified state regulators that it intends to amend its plans to address concerns that the proposed transmission line, if allowed to make an aerial crossing over the river, would harm the scenic and recreational value of the Kennebec Gorge. CMP said it will now submit a plan to cross under the river using "horizontal direc- tional drilling technology" instead. Its announcement came a day after a pub- lic hearing hosted by the Maine Public Utilities Commission at which critics outnumbered supporters — raising concerns that the 145-mile transmission will harm the natural beauty of western Maine and would primarily benefit Massachusett's electricity customers and CMP's parent company. Mechanic Falls mill owner was uninsured at time of blaze Charles Starbird, owner of the former Marcal Paper Mill that was destroyed by fire on Oct. 13, told the Lewiston Sun Journal he did not have insur- ance on the buildings. Starbird said the 380,000-square-foot building was last appraised at $8 million, the newspaper reported. At least three businesses rent- ing space in the building lost property in the blaze at the 1850s-era mill build- ing: Corcoran Environmental Services, which recycles plastic; Maine Cycle of Auburn, which used the space as a warehouse for motorcycles and parts; and Northe Woodworking, a cabinet manufacturer. Cause of the fire remains unknown, the Sun Journal reported. Marcal, a Soundview Paper Co. based in Elmwood Park, N.J., closed its Mechanic Falls mill in the fall of 1981. Former Best Buy will become Subaru dealership Evergreen Subaru in Auburn said it had purchased the vacant Best Buy building on Turner Street and plans to convert it into a Subaru dealership. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. "We have definitely outgrown our current space," Evergreen Subaru's managing owner Doug Weisz said in a news release. "And while we had been exploring creative expansion opportunities for our current property, repurposing and building out the empty Best Buy building provides the fastest and least disruptive means of growing our business." Evergreen Subaru said it is beginning to work with architects and builders to construct a new home for the dealership. It plans to begin construction in spring 2019 with the hope of moving into the new build- ing in early 2020. N O T E W O R T H Y C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N Snow Pond Center for the Arts in Sydney opened a 6,100 square-foot Innovation & Learning Center to house its Arts after School program and dis- tance learning technology. VIP Tires & Service in Auburn opened a larger store in Claremont, N.H., at 366 Washington St., across the street from its current location. Cushnoc Brewing Co. in Augusta an- nounced that it selected Pine State Beverage in Gardiner as its statewide distributor beginning in December. With Bar Harbor deal, CAT set to leave Portland e CAT high-speed ferry service to Nova Scotia is set to move its Maine base from Portland to Bar Harbor by June 2019. Bar Harbor Town Council voted unanimously to authorize a five-year lease agreement with Atlantic Fleet Services Corp., allowing it to contract with Bay Ferries Ltd. to reinstitute high-speed ferry service between Bar Harbor and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. e Bay Ferries lease term is from Dec. 1 to Oct. 30, 2023, with an option to extend for another two years. e agreement designates a customs operations area, terminal building area, 50 parking spaces and ferry operations zone. Bay Ferries will make improve- ments to the areas at its own expense. It also specifies that Bay Ferries would conduct ferry operations based on a mid-day arrival in Bar Harbor, with departure at or about 3 p.m. N O T E W O R T H Y M I D C O A S T & D O W N E A S T Camden National Bank launched BusinessTouch, an online loan appli- cation system designed to make the borrowing process faster and easier for businesses. The system will pro- vide instant decisions on approvals for loans up to $75,000 and for lines of credit up to $25,000. The Healthcare Purchaser Alliance in Topsham added Coastal Orthopedics and Sports Medicine in Brunswick as its newest provider member. M I D C O A S T & D O W N E A S T

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