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V O L . X X V I I I N O. I I I F E B R UA R Y 7 , 2 0 2 2 14 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 as required to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. e buyers were five unidentified fish dealers and three unidenti- fied lobster boat operators. Sales to three of the dealers totaled 1.6 mil- lion pounds, for which the defen- dants received more than $460,000, according to the indictment. Haystack director to leave for Michigan post Paul Sacaridiz, executive director of Haystack Mountain School of Crafts since 2015, will leave his post at the Deer Isle nonprofit to become the Maxine and Stuart Frankel Director of Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., effective late April. Ellen Wieske, a metalsmith who has been involved with Haystack for more than 25 years, will begin serving as interim executive direc- tor in May while the school's board of trustees searches for a succes- sor. Haystack is a nationally promi- nent school that provides intensive studio-based summer workshops, conferences and symposia to craft makers and visual artists. Founded in 1950, the campus sits atop 40 acres on a granite hillside overlooking Jericho Bay. Under the leadership of Sacaridiz, Haystack's endowment multiplied nearly threefold, from $9 million to over $24 million. He also led the development of the school's long-term strategic plan, launched free online programs with more than 4,000 views from participants in 38 countries, and completed major studio and infrastructure upgrades. 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 awarded a total of $146,750 to 30 Greater Portland organizations through its Rines Thompson Fund. An additional $23,500 was awarded to organizations through donor-advised funds at the foundation. Northern Light improves credit rating On the heels of multimillion-dollar investments in facility upgrades, Northern Light Health has improved its credit rating from Moody's Investors Service and maintained a positive one from Standard & Poor's Global Ratings. Both agencies said they reviewed the long-term rating on the bonds issued for Maine's sec- ond-largest health system, which is headquartered in Brewer. Moody's revised Northern Light Health's outlook to positive from negative but affirmed the sys- tem's Ba1 rating. S&P reaffirmed Northern Light Health's BBB rating with a stable outlook. Both ratings indicate vulner- ability to changing economic conditions. Moody's noted that the Ba1 rating is supported by Northern Light Health's "strate- gies to increase patient access and growing brand awareness, which will help offset the impact of the pandemic on volumes." e agency said it was reassured that a multiyear improvement plan that builds off of the success of 2021 as well as the completion of the Northern Light Mercy Hospital consolidation project, completed Jan. 4, will help sus- tain cash flow. 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 C&L Aerospace, a C&L Aviation Group Co. in Bangor, signed a distribution agreement with Concorde Battery Corp. for its ERJ 135/145 Sealed Lead Acid Battery. Northern Light CA Dean Hospital in Greenville announced it received a $3.5 million capital campaign donation from the late philanthro- pist Peter Buck, a South Portland native and co-founder of the Subway sandwich chain. The gift completes the hospital's Preserving the Promise $6.2 million capital campaign to support an $18 million hospital modernization project. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles Bangor branch moved to 396 Griffin Road, Suite 202. The University of Maine at Fort Kent announced the creation of master of science in nursing and doctorate of nursing practice programs to be of- fered fully online. N O R T H E R N & E A S T E R N

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