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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 7 J U LY 2 7 , 2 0 2 0 Wedding industry asks Mills to extend limits A group of more than 120 businesses in Maine's wedding industry wants the Mills administration to expand the state's limit on the size of social gather- ings. A July 8 letter asks Gov. Janet Mills to increase the cap from 50 to 125 people for weddings taking place after Aug. 1. e businesses said the nature of wedding venues and the way wed- ding vendors collaborate with clients allow for safe operations and mini- mize risk in the face of the pandemic. Weddings inject $937 million a year into the Maine economy, supporting 13,600 jobs, according to a 2019 analysis by the University of Southern Maine's Maine Center for Business and Economic Research. e industry lost the first two-thirds of the 2020 wedding season, resulting in a loss of revenue in the range of $600 million or more, accord- ing to the letter to the Mills adminis- tration. Couples have cited the 50-per- son limit, as well as quarantine require- ments, as their primary motivations to cancel, the letter said. School reopening plan allows for three scenarios As Maine school districts prepare for the academic year, Gov. Janet Mills unveiled new rules, new funding and a "traffic light" to guide the state's educators in the process. e rules update a previously released plan, which advised Maine schools to antici- pate three different scenarios: hold- ing all classes in person, conducting them completely online, and a hybrid model that includes both in-person and online instruction. e choice of which option to follow is up to each school district. But under the new rules, schools that return to in-class- room instruction must follow health and safety guidelines developed by the Maine Department of Education and Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. e requirements include symptom screenings before entering a school building, physical distancing, wearing of face masks, hand washing, teachers wearing personal protective equipment when in close contact with students and staying home if sick. A new partnership set up for manufacturers e Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership received a $286,000 grant to develop support programs for man- ufacturers that are severely impacted by the pandemic, according to a news release. Maine MEP, an eco- nomic development organization for manufacturers, will partner with the Manufacturers Association of Maine and the Advanced Manufacturing Center at the University of Maine to provide services to develop business recovery plans for manufacturers. MAME leveraged the federal funding to secure a recent award of $100,000 from the Maine Technology Institute. It's the first time the three organiza- tions have worked together in a feder- ally funded recovery effort. N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King announced several awards related to the COVID-19 pandemic including: the Maine Department of Health and Human Services received $1.1 million to support their ongoing efforts to combat the COVID-19 pan- demic through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Hospital Preparedness Program; the Wabanaki Health and Wellness organization was awarded $2.8 mil- lion from the Department of Health and Human Services' Office for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support to expand public health and wellness services for tribally-enrolled Native Americans in Penobscot, Washington and Aroostook counties; the Economic Development Administration's CARES Act Recovery Assistance Program awarded Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments, Kennebec Valley Council of Governments, Northern Maine Development Commission and Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission $400,000 each to support the redevelopment and revitalization of small businesses in Maine that have suffered financial harm as a result of the pandemic; Pineland Farms Dairy said that Hannaford Supermarkets joined its cheese donation efforts aimed at addressing hunger relief and helping Maine dairy farmers by committing to purchasing $10,000 of Maine milk which will be transformed into 7,000 pounds of cheese and donated to Good Shepherd Food Bank's Mainers Feeding Mainers program. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded the Maine Department of Environmental S T A T E W I D E SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS START FROM THE GROUND UP CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS TESTING AND INSPECTIONS • Soils, asphalt, concrete, masonry, fireproofing, and steel: Reduce potential delays, defects, unexpected costs, and repeated maintenance. ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTING • Groundwater, landfills and tank removal monitoring GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING AND EXPLORATIONS • You see what's on top, we'll show you what's below. ME 207-286-8008 • NH 603-427-0244 • MA 508-623-0101 WWW.RWGILLESPIE.COM

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