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V O L . X X V I I N O. X I V J U LY 1 2 , 2 0 2 1 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 With Americans on the move, Maine's ranks high on two national lists B Y P E T E R V A N A L L E N M aine ranks high on two national lists, each of which reflect the migration of many Americans out of cities and into more rural states. WalletHub, a Washington, D.C.-based personal finance website, this week ranked Maine No. 2 on a list of "Safest states during COVID-19," trailing only Vermont. On its "Best states to live" list, Maine ranked No. 19, with New Jersey in the No. 1 spot. For the "safest states" ranking, WalletHub looked at fac- tors like the rates of vaccination, positive tests, hospitaliza- tion, deaths and virus transmission. Other New England states also ranked high. Connecticut is No. 3, while Massachusetts ranks No. 4, Rhode Island at No. 5 and New Hampshire at No. 10. From the bottom, Idaho ranks last, at No. 51, while Georgia, Nevada, Arizona and Florida make up the rest of the bottom five. Rankings were based on data available through noon on June 23. Safety is also essential for getting the economy back on track, as the lower COVID-19 transmission and deaths are in a state, the more that state is able to eliminate restrictions on businesses," WalletHub said in its report. "While we've made significant progress so far, we'll only be able to completely get back to life as normal once most of the population is fully vaccinated against coronavirus. The good news is that the U.S. is picking up speed with vaccination, as around 45% of the population has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of June 23." Maine ranks No. 19 "Best places to live" list WalletHub reported that some 15 million people moved last year, many of them influenced by COVID-19 — and, of course, Maine has seen that with its skyrocketing housing prices (now at $306,000 for the median sale price) and shortage of housing inventory. For its 2021 "Best States to Live in" list, WalletHub says it looked at 52 key indicators of liveability, including housing costs, income growth, education rate and quality of hospitals. Maine got the nation's best rating for fewest violent crimes per 1,000 residents, 1.15, versus the nation's worst, Alaska, which had 8.67 per 1,000 residents. Other New England counterparts also did well. Vermont has the highest quality of the public hospitals system, with New Jersey ranking at the bottom. New Hampshire has the lowest share of residents in poverty, while Mississippi has the highest. P H O T O / P E T E R VA N A L L E N B I Z M O N E Y Maine ranked high on lists of "safest states during COVID" and "best states to live," according to the personal finance website WalletHub. MaineHealth in Portland announced that Maine Nephrology Associates in Portland joined its group of practices and is now known as Maine Medical Partners — Nephrology. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' Portland Maine Field Office moved to 207 Gannett Drive in South Portland. Augusta nonprofit halfway toward fundraising goal e Children's Center, an early childhood intervention and family support ser- vices organization for children with special needs, is more than halfway towards its $5 million goal of raising funds to expand its Augusta facility. e nonprofit received a $250,000 donation from Peter and Sandra Prescott, owners of EJP Solutions, a Gardiner-based provider of water, wastewater and stormwater products. e latest donation comes a month after a $1 million gift from Charlie and Nancy Shuman, of Charlie's Motor Mall and Charlie's Family of Dealerships in Augusta. N O T E W O R T H Y C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N Skowhegan Savings said it secured a $50,000 grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston's Jobs for New England Recovery Grant and awarded 10 local businesses and organizations with $5,000 grants each. Proposed Jonesport fish farm gets key OK Kingfish Maine, a Dutch operator of land-based aquaculture systems, has received a critical green light from the Department of Environmental Protection to build a facility in Jonesport.e state agency approved the company's application for a Maine Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit. In November 2019, Kingfish Zeeland announced plans for a proposed $110 million land-based aquaculture facility in Jonesport, and since then has secured funding for the plant. e recirculating aquaculture system facility is projected to produce 6,000 to 8,000 metric tons of yellowtail kingfish annually upon completion. 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 Maine Community Foundation in Ellsworth announced that its York County Committee awarded a total of $71,154 in grants to 13 nonprofit orga- nizations or communities. In addition, the foundation's Piscataquis County Committee awarded $43,500 in grants to five nonprofit organizations, with an additional grant of $2,000 from a MaineCF donor-advised fund. UMaine's in-state tuition to stay pat In-state tuition for students at Maine public universities will stay flat in the upcoming academic year at an average of $8,572, after a vote by University of Maine System trustees. e decision was part of a $578 mil- lion FY 2022 budget approved by the board of trustees, the seventh budget in the last decade to leave in-state tuition rates unchanged. 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 University Credit Union in Orono received and distributed a $50,000 grant it received from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston's Jobs for New England program to nine central and southern Maine small businesses to help with reopening, employee retention and recovery from the pandemic. The University of Maine in Orono received a total of $2.3 million from the U.S. Department of Energy's Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research to support ongoing research on environment sen- sor technology. WalletHub reported that some 15 million people moved last year, influenced by COVID-19 — and many found a home in Maine 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 N O R T H E R N & E A S T E R N

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