Mainebiz

V O L . X X V I N O. V I I I A P R I L 2 0 , 2 0 2 0 6 and is administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration. e pro- gram offers loans without repayment requirements for companies with fewer than 500 employees and that maintain their staffing levels despite the eco- nomic downturn. Shutdown puts nonprofits in a 'tough spot' e head of the Maine Association of Nonprofits expressed concern about the sector's ability to weather a protracted economic crisis. "I am definitely con- cerned about the long-term sustain- ability of our nonprofits," Executive Director Jennifer Hutchins told Mainebiz. "Just like businesses, we know they're laying hundreds of people off, so I'm afraid if they don't have reserve funds, it's going to be really challenging for them to make ends meet and come back." at puts many in an "extremely tough spot," she added. Out of 3,000 tax-exempt public charities in Maine, Hutchins noted that about one-third are in non-hospital health and human services, whose safety-net role is now in jeopardy because of having to keep employees and volunteers safe at home. She also noted the predicament of arts organizations that have had to cancel events. Maine's nonprofits contribute $12 billion a year to the state's economy through wages paid, retail and whole- sale purchases and professional services contracted, according to MANP's latest impact report published in 2019. Nonprofits employ one in six Maine workers, or a total of 98,000. N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E The Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and the Department of Health and Human Services, in partnership with the Maine Federation of Farmers' Markets, an- nounced the creation of the Maine Farm Food Access Program. The program reimburses direct-market farms and farmers' markets the purchase price of wireless electronic benefits transfer equipment and related costs in order to process USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program transactions. Central Maine Power announced it do- nated $200,000 to the United Ways of Maine to address increasing food insecurity experienced by Mainers be- cause of COVID-19. U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King announced that Maine hospitals Unemployment soars; first wave of PPP loans approved Nearly 31,000 Mainers applied for unemployment benefits in the week that ended April 4, setting another all-time weekly high and bringing the total number of claims since March 15 to 76,109 — more than twice the num- ber in all of 2019. e new weekly total, released by the Maine Department of Labor, is roughly 50 times the 634 claims filed from March 8-14, as the COVID- 19 pandemic was dawning in Maine. Other numbers just released are more positive for business. By April 9, just a week into the CARES Act program, 5,334 small businesses in Maine had been approved for more than $1 bil- lion in forgivable loans through the Paycheck Protection Program, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in a news release. Dozens of lenders across the state are participating in the program, which went into operation April 3 under the federal CARES Act 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 B R I E F Maine's top judge will take over as dean of UMaine Law B y R e n e e C o r d e s Leigh Ingalls Saufley, chief justice of the Maine Supreme Judi- cial Court since 2001, will be the next dean of the University of Maine School of Law, the school announced April 8. Saufley was scheduled to start her new role on April 15, succeeding Interim Dean Dmitry Bam as head of the state's only law school, which is part of the public University of Maine System. Bam served as interim dean since July 2019, succeed- ing Danielle Conway, a 2017 Mainebiz Woman to Watch honoree who left to become dean of Penn State's Dickinson School of Law. Maine Law students, faculty and staff was to be formally introduced to Saufley through a virtual event formally nam- ing her to the position. "We are eager to celebrate the announcement of our new law school dean but understand that these unprecedented times require accommodations from the norm," said University of Maine System Chancellor Dannel Malloy in a news release. He also noted that Saufley "is nationally renowned for her accomplishments as a jurist and her commitment to public service," promising more details later on how those attributes will fit into plans for legal education and service in Maine. The leadership change comes four months after Maine Law launched a national search for a new dean, setting a target date of July 1 to find someone to lead the institution and develop "a 21st-century legal education environment that requires innovation and a willingness to challenge the status quo," Maine Law said at the time. Saufley, 65, is a 1976 graduate of the University of Maine at Orono and a 1980 graduate of Maine Law. She served in the Maine attorney general's office for 10 years, becoming one of the state's first female deputy attorneys general. In December 2001, she was sworn in as Maine's first female chief justice by then-Gov. Angus King. She was in her third term. 'Legal acumen and common sense' Gov. Janet Mills welcomed the appointment. "The judiciary is fortunate to have had such a dynamic and thoughtful leader as Chief Justice Saufley," she said. "I have appreciated her perspective and our partnership on critical issues such as the opioid crisis, as well as our col- laborative work to strengthen the judicial branch and improve the lives of Maine people." Mills said that in consultation with the Governor's Judicial Nominations Advisory Committee, her administration will begin the process of reviewing candidates to succeed Saufley as chief justice. Until a successor is named, the senior associate Justice, Andrew Mead, will assume her duties, as required by law. While Mills aims to nominate a successor in coming months, she said it may take longer given that the Legislature has adjourned because of the public health crisis. Several retired Maine Supreme Judicial Court justices are available to sit and decide cases by assignment so that there may be a full complement on the court, Mills said in her announcement. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y U N I V E R S I T Y O F M A I N E S Y S T E M Leigh Ingalls Saufley Leigh Ingalls Saufley, who , who has served as chief justice has served as chief justice of the of the Maine Supreme Maine Supreme Judicial Court Judicial Court since 2001, since 2001, assumed duties as dean assumed duties as dean of Maine's only law school of Maine's only law school on April 15. on April 15. I have appreciated [Chief Justice Saufley's] perspective and our partnership on critical issues such as the opioid crisis, as well as our collaborative work to strengthen the judicial branch and improve the lives of Maine people. — Gov. Janet Mills

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