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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 11 O C T O B E R 5 , 2 0 2 0 Maine Bioscience Cluster Initiative, an initiative by the Maine Center for Enterprise Development, $512,556; and the Catalyst Fund, an initia- tive by Coastal Enterprises Inc., $300,000. In other COVID funding news, the state of Maine received a total of $6.7 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in the third installment of funding to support affordable housing, assistance to businesses and bolster COVID-19 prevention and response efforts. Recipients in- cluded the state of Maine, $4.3 mil- lion; Cumberland County, $976,929; city of Portland, $634,669; city of Bangor, $283,175; city of Lewiston, $193,379; city of Auburn, $137,932; and the city of Biddeford, $126,650. Additionally, the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved $2.3 million for the state of Maine to help the Maine Department of Administrative and Financial Services to defray the costs of preparing for and respond- ing to COVID-19 under the agency's Public Assistance Program. Children's Museum lands gift As it nears the finish of a $14 mil- lion fundraising campaign for its new Portland facility, the Children's Museum & eatre of Maine has received a $500,000 gift from the Lunder Foundation. e Portland- based philanthropy made the dona- tion as a challenge grant to spur matching contributions and raise the remaining $1 million of the campaign. e Children's Museum & eatre in February officially launched the $14 million capital campaign to fund construction of a state-of-the- art, 30,000-square-foot facility at ompson's Point in Portland. Twice the size of the current site at 142 Free St., Portland, the new one is expected to open in the spring and construc- tion is "proceeding as planned," a spokeswoman said. N O T E W O R T H Y S O U T H E R N The York County Sheriff's Office was awarded $111,603 through the U.S. Department of Justice's Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act Program to improve the delivery of and access to mental health and wellness services for law enforcement officers. Jay mill cuts 51 jobs Fifty one employees of the Pixelle Specialty Solutions paper mill in Jay are losing jobs as the company announced more layoffs in response to an explosion at the plant five months ago. e April 15 rupture of a pulp digester sent plumes of debris and smoke into the air but mirac- ulously injured no one. About 165 of the mill's 500 workers were onsite at the time, but none were in the immediate vicinity. e accident, still under investi- gation, forced Pixelle to close the mill's pulp production. After arranging other pulp supplies, the mill laid off 59 workers in July and said it would continue reduc- ing staff over time. Pennsylvania-based Pixelle purchased the Androscoggin Mill, along with one in Wisconsin, in February from Verso Corp. for $400 million, after a contentious dispute with an investor group. Mill manager Jay iessen said in a statement, "e reduc- tions are an unfortunate consequence of a circumstance no one expected, wanted, or caused. Everyone affected has been a valued member of our team. We will provide those affected by the reduction support in the form of compensation, benefits, and job placement assistance." N O T E W O R T H Y C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N The Finance Authority of Maine in Augusta was awarded a $25,000 grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation to improve its employee financial well- ness program and support expanded research and development of a state- wide employee financial wellness tool- kit to support other Maine agencies and private employers that are seek- ing to develop their own programs. The Professional Logging Contractors of Maine in Augusta announced that its annual Log A Load for Maine Kids Northern Maine Golf Tournament raised $49,000 for Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. S O U T H E R N C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N

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