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V O L . X X V N O. X X I V O C T O B E R 1 4 , 2 0 1 9 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 the Land Use Planning Commission, made 10 years to the day after the zoning was approved, that changes in the economy since the zoning was approved have prompted the move. Seattle-based Weyerhaeuser (NYSE: WY ) owns about 900,000 acres in Maine and 13 million acres in total. It had sales last year of $7.5 billion. N O T E W O R T H Y C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N Central Maine Growth Council in Waterville introduced the Elm City Opportunity Fund, an economic devel- opment corporation-owned Qualified Opportunity Fund to attract and al- locate funding to real estate and busi- ness equity opportunities in downtown Waterville's Opportunity Zone, which was designated by former Gov. Paul LePage after the passage of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The Horizon Program at MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta re- ceived a $108,000 grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to help people living with HIV stay healthy with chronic health conditions. MaineGeneral Medical Center opened a location at 5 Central Maine Crossing in Gardiner. Acadia sees fewer visitors Acadia National Park has recorded fewer visitors through the first eight months of the year. e total num- ber of recreational visitors to Acadia from January through August was 2,339,393, a 2.3% fall from the 2,395,351 recorded for the same period in 2018, the National Park Service reported. Overall, the park has seen a substan- tial increase in visitors in the past decade, from 2.075 million in 2008 to 3.537 million in 2018. While there were fewer visitors this year, more of them took public and group transpor- tation. Ridership on the free Island Explorer shuttle bus system went up by 3.2%: 233,161 riders used the system this August, compared with 225,998 in August 2018. In the year to date through August, there was a 1.1% increase in ridership, from 497,740 in 2018 to 503,408 during 2019. e number of riders on commercial tour buses, which includes coaches, small buses and passenger vans, also increased for August, from 9,097 riders in 2018 to 9,780 this August, a 7.5% increase. 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 Edward Deci, director and president of the Monhegan Museum of Art & History, announced his retirement after 36 years in key leadership roles at the museum. Deci will continue to serve as president of the museum's board of trustees. Jennifer Pye, chief curator, and Robert Stahl, associate director and director of the James Fitzgerald Legacy, have taken over as co-directors of the museum. Nonprofit will expand in Brewer Downeast Horizons, a nonprofit serving people with developmen- tal disabilities, is beginning a $2.5 million expansion of its current Brewer center that will nearly triple its size and accommodate 20 new employees. e Dirigo Drive facil- ity will expand from 5,000 square feet to 13,400 square feet, according to a news release. e new addi- tion will add four program rooms, four offices, four bathrooms, a large meeting room and indoor gymna- sium when complete, it's anticipated, in May 2020. Robert Perry Builders of Hermon will manage construc- tion. Downeast's current facility is just three years old but is already too small, said the agency's execu- tive director, Anthony Zambrano. In 2016, the center was serving 15 adults and 30 children with a staff of about 20. Today, Downeast serves almost 60 adults and 60 children in Brewer, and has 65 employees. Founded in 1974, Downeast Horizons provides day programs, employment and life- skill mentoring, and residential sup- port for adults and children through- out Piscataquis, Hancock, Penobscot and Waldo counties, with program centers in Bar Harbor, Brewer and Ellsworth. e nonprofit had a 2017 budget of $5.25 million, and is head- quartered in Ellsworth. 35 Airport Road Brewer, Maine 04412 (207) 989-7400 www.facebook.com/NickersonODay/ Proud builders of the new Athena Health Operations Ctr., Belfast M I D C O A S T & D O W N E A S T N O R T H E R N & E A S T E R N

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