Mainebiz

V O L . X X V I N O. I JA N UA R Y 1 3 , 2 0 2 0 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 people for board spots. In the counter letter, the board said the nominees, if elected, would threaten the sale of the Androscoggin Mill and another in Wisconsin for $400 million to Pixelle Specialty Solutions LLC, a Pennsylvania producer of specialty paper. N O T E W O R T H Y C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N Norway Savings Bank said it distribut- ed a total of $70,000 to 12 nonprofits serving Androscoggin, Cumberland, Oxford, Sagadahoc and York counties. Kennebec Savings Bank in Augusta named the Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter & Services and Friends of the Cobbossee Watershed as recipients of its 2019 Catalyst Grants. The two $30,000 donations are designed to support creative concepts that might otherwise not be possible for the non- profit organizations. New Balance Athletics Inc., a Boston- based footwear and apparel manufacturer with plants in Norridgewock, Norway and Skowhegan, announced that it is adopting Gap Inc.'s P.A.C.E. (Personal Advancement & Career Enhancement) women's em- powerment program as part of its global commitment to advance gender equality. VIP Tires & Service, a full-service automotive repair, maintenance and tire shop headquartered in Auburn, said that it has donated $20,720 to five school districts in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The University of Maine at Farmington announced that it entered into a contract with CHA Architecture in Portland for the design of the UMF Sweatt-Winter Early Childhood Education Center. The center will be located in the former NotifyMD call center build- ing at 274 Front St. in Farmington. Maine Source Homes & Realty moved to 259 Minot Ave. in Auburn. Tall ships to be part of bicentennial celebration Tall Ships America, a Newport, R.I.- based nonprofit that promotes the historic craft, is discussing potential visits with at least a half dozen Maine Maine one of four states with more deaths than births in 2019 B y P e t e r V a n A l l e n Maine joins West Virginia, New Hampshire and Vermont as the only states with more deaths than births last year. The U.S. Census Bureau calls this a "natural" decrease, with the gap widest in West Virginia (−4,679), followed by Maine (−2,262), New Hampshire (−121) and Vermont (-53). Is this more bad news for a nation's oldest state? Depends on you who you ask. Yes, Maine's median age is 44.9 years. But while Maine needs young people to join its workforce, we actually need people of all ages and experience levels. Heather Johnson, commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development, says Maine will need to add 75,000 to the workforce in the next decade. An esimated 100,000 are out of the workforce statewide. Jeff Fuhrer, senior policy analyst for the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston and keynote at the recent Mainebiz "Five on the Future" forum, cited a more widespread need to bring a wider range of the population into the workforce, including immigrant populations. Rising number of deaths nationwide According to the U.S. Census Bureau's national and state population estimates released in early January, 24 states and the District of Columbia saw increases in their number of deaths compared to the previous year. "While natural increase is the biggest contributor to the U.S. population increase, it has been slowing over the last five years," said Sandra Johnson, a demographer and stat- istician in the Population Division of the Census Bureau. "Natural increase, or when the number of births is greater than the number of deaths, dropped below 1 million in 2019 for the first time in decades." The nation's population was 328,239,523 in 2019, growing by 0.5% between 2018 and 2019, or 1.55 million people. Annual growth peaked at 0.73% this decade in the period between 2014 and 2015. The growth between 2018 and 2019 is a continuation of a multiyear slowdown since that period. States with the most growth were led by Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Texas, South Carolina, Washington, Colorado, Florida and North Carolina. Ten states lost population between 2018 and 2019: New York, Illinois, West Virginia, Louisiana, Connecticut, Mississippi, Hawaii, New Jersey, Alaska and Vermont. During 2020, the Census Bureau will release estimates of the 2019 population for counties, cities and towns, and metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, as well as national, state and county population estimates by age, sex, race and Hispanic origin. communities as part of the state's bicentennial. Boothbay Harbor has contracted for visits by three or four Tall Ships from June 25 until the morning of June 29, the association's Erin Short told Mainebiz. e vessels will be open for public boarding during their stay. e association is also in discussions with Castine, Searsport, Bucksport, Bath and Wiscasset. In December, the Rockland City Council voted to authorize the city manager to enter into a host agreement with Tall Ships America. 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 The Rines Thompson Fund, a compo- nent fund of the Maine Community Foundation in Ellsworth, awarded 22 grants for a total of $120,703 to sup- port community-based organizations that contribute to the vibrancy of Greater Portland. In addition, the foundation's Maine Theater Fund awarded 17 grants totaling $75,000 to support professional and community theaters in the produc- tion and presentation of live theater and its Maine Expansion Arts Fund awarded 13 grants totaling $42,600 to support indigenous, ethnic or rural arts programs or projects, particularly those that serve areas with limited access to arts events. Machias Savings Bank Foundation said it awarded 22 organizations located in six Maine counties with $150,000 in Community Development Grants. Sears store in Fort Kent prepares to close its doors e Sears Hometown store in Fort Kent began liquidating its $500,000 inventory just after the holidays. It is one of just five Sears locations in Maine. e store at 204 West Main St. will close permanently when the sale is complete, according to a Facebook post. It is privately held and not con- trolled by the parent company, but trades under a franchise agreement. N O T E W O R T H Y N O R T H E R N & E A S T E R N Northern Light Imaging in Bangor said it is now offering Shear Wave Elastography, a noninvasive option for diagnosing liver disease. 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 S O U R C E : U.S. Census Bureau BIRTHS, DEATHS, AND NATURAL INCREASES FOR THE UNITED STATES, 2001–2019 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Births Deaths Natural increase P O L I T I C S & C O.

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