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V O L . X X V I N O. I I I F E B R UA R Y 1 0 , 2 0 2 0 8 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 RE/MAX Shoreline in Portland report- ed that this past year's philanthropic giving program events sponsored by the agency raised $160,000 for local nonprofits that benefit those in need in Maine and New Hampshire. CMP hit with $10 million fine e Maine Public Utilities Commission punished Central Maine Power Co. with a $10 million earnings cut after a year-long investigation into ratepayer complaints and deciding CMP "must meet higher standards of performance in both customer service and reliability." e earnings cut, which is made by reducing customer rates, will remain in effect for at least 18 months and can only be lifted when the utility meets quality bench- marks and convinces the commission that service problems have been fixed, according to a news release. "is [earnings] disallowance is the largest ever imposed by the commission on a transmission and distribution utility due to poor management," the PUC said in the release. "As a result, CMP will likely have the lowest common- equity return of any electric utility in the country until its performance improves." e $10 million penalty, even larger than the one proposed by PUC staff last month, is a response to "numerous complaints" made by con- sumers since a spike in bills during the winter of 2017-18. N O T E W O R T H Y C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N VIP Tires & Service, a full-service au- tomotive repair, maintenance and tire shop headquartered in Auburn, said it raised and donated $97,306 to Make- A-Wish in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont during the company's annual holiday Season of Wishes Campaign. Colby College in Waterville said that Andrew and Briana Volk plan to open Verna's All Day restaurant in the Bill & Joan Alfond Main Street Commons on Main Street later this year. Franklin Savings Bank in Farmington announced that Anna Lyon, assistant vice president and marketing direc- tor, announced plans to retire after 23 years of service to the bank. Good Seeds Yoga opened at 151 Water St. in Gardiner. E.L.B. Construction Inc. in Rangeley said it is now offering its contracting services to the Farmington area. Oft-photographed bridge at center of debate A historic footbridge in Boothbay Harbor that today is a scenic tour- ist attraction has been the subject of a planning process to save it from decay and sea level rise. e Boothbay Harbor Board of Selectmen met Jan. USDA pumps $10 million into rural broadband expansion B y M a i n e b i z S t a f f Biddeford — Four recipients will share nearly $10 mil- lion in federal financing to bring broadband to thousands of homes, businesses and farms in coastal and rural Maine. Arrowsic, Monhegan and Roque Bluffs will see upgrades, as will parts of Oxford and Androscoggin counties. The U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded $9.87 mil- lion to create or improve rural internet access as part of the federal agency's ReConnect Pilot Program. Under Secretary D.J. LaVoy said the grants and loans will bring broadband to 4,527 households and 215 businesses in rural Maine. Three of those getting grants and loans are the coastal communities. The fourth — Biddeford Internet Corp., which does business as GWI — will use the money to strengthen its network in rural areas of Oxford and Androscoggin counties. Specifically, the company will use a $3.5 million grant and a $3.5 million loan to expand its gigabit Fiber-to-the-Premise network to connect 4,084 households, 30 farms, 28 educa- tional facilities, 23 businesses, 15 health care centers and 12 critical community facilities in the Oxford and Androscoggin county towns of Hebron, Sumner, Hartford, Buckfield, Canton, North Turner, Turner, South Paris and West Paris. Arrowsic, in Sagadahoc County, will use a $604,254 grant and $604,254 loan to construct a fiber-optic broadband net- work with speeds up to 100 megabytes per second to connect 237 households, 20 businesses and four farms. Monhegan Plantation, an island in Lincoln County, will use a $626,298 grant to connect the community, which has a school, power district, municipal office, museum, post office, library and several inns and small businesses. The project's service area also includes 40 households, 11 farms and 15 businesses. The town of Roque Bluffs, in Washington County, will use a $893,170 grant to construct a fiber-optic network to connect 166 households, 22 farms and 16 businesses. The network will connect to the Downeast ring of Maine's three-ring binder network backbone in Machias, 4.5 miles from the town line on Roque Bluffs Road. LaVoy said the program will ensure that the communities can connect to "the vital internet services that they depend on," including emergency response, business, education and telehealth. In March 2018, Congress provided $600 million to USDA to expand broadband infrastructure and services in rural America, and the ReConnect program was established that December. USDA received 146 applications between May 31 and July 12 requesting $1.4 billion. They are being reviewed and approved on a rolling basis. An additional $550 million is being made available this year, with the application period closing March 16. B R I E F Launch of $100M Portland institute may transform region into tech 'innovation hub' — A sound investment in Maine's future Sun Life site in Portland gets OK from planning board — Building on the East End's corporate hub New Mainers get training for financial services industry — A much-needed influx of trained workers 44 Maine entrepreneurs to face off in this year's Top Gun contest — A sure sign of spring: pitch contests Maine doctors worst in the U.S., patient study says — How will Maine's hospitals respond? CMP corridor opponents deliver 75K signatures to Augusta — Will a citizen referendum now be the death of the proposed $1 billion transmission corridor? Aroostook County's only 3 Burger Kings give up their thrones — Not a very majestic way to close the doors Izzy's Cheesecake closes after 35 years in Portland — Does this mean the cheesecake craze is officially over? C R E D I T S & D E B I T S P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F U S DA R U R A L D E V E L O P M E N T M A I N E U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Under Secretary D.J. LaVoy announces nearly $10 million in broadband grants and loans for four Maine projects at the Arrowsic Volunteer Fire Department. M I D C O A S T & D O W N E A S T C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N

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