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V O L . X X I X N O. X I I M AY 2 9 , 2 0 2 3 6 Maine home prices hit surge to new high Higher interest rates have priced some buyers out of the current market, and those who could "move up" are choos- ing to stay put, according to the latest report from the Maine Association of Realtors. According to Maine Listings, home sales decreased 30.53% in April compared to April 2022. Prices, however, increased 6.21% to a median sales price of $367,500 — a new high, topping the $360,825 recorded for June 2022. 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 and U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree announced that Portland Ship Yard was awarded $739,202 through the Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration's Small Shipyard Grant Program. The grant will allow the ship- yard to purchase a 60-ton vessel trailer and install a new indoor ventilation sys- tem as part of its modernization efforts to improve safety and efficiency. The Dollar General Literacy Foundation in Goodlettsville, Tenn., awarded Axiom Education And Training Center in Machias $10,000 and Literacy Volunteers-Androscoggin in Lewiston $5,000 to support adult, family and summer literacy programs. Portland hires first woman city manager Danielle P. West, an attorney who has served as the city's interim city man- ager since November 2021, was hired permanently May 15 and will assume the position immediately as part of a three- year contract with a first-year salary of $210,000. West is the first woman to serve in the permanent city manager role in Portland. She took over temporar- ily when Jon Jennings stepped down to take a position in September 2021 as city manager in Clearwater, Fla. Jennings led Portland for six years, during which he oversaw the city budget process and managed a workforce of 1,400. N O T E W O R T H Y S O U T H E R N Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Maine in South Portland announced that Central Maine Healthcare in Lewiston and its health care profes- sionals will become Tier 1 providers in Anthem's Maine HMO Tiered Options Plans, effective June 1. The M&T Charitable Foundation, the philanthropic arm of M&T Bank, an- nounced Amplify Fund grant recipients totaling $300,000 to three non-profit organizations in Maine focused on environmental justice. Recipients included Ecology Education, Maine Farmland Trust and Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. Rococo Ice Cream moved to 8 Western Ave., Suite 5, in Kennebunk. The shop is scheduled re-open in early June. Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program in Brunswick said Karen Parker, executive director for 13 years, will retire in December. Southern Maine Community College in South Portland announced that Joe VanWhy, owner and developer of sever- al Maine hospitality properties, donated $500,000 to the SMCC Foundation to benefit hospitality management students. 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 S O U T H E R N B I Z M O N E Y Full steam ahead: Two Maine institutions lay keels for new ships B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r C onstruction of two major — if very different — ships began in early May with the laying of keels, a formal ceremony often marked by the attendance of dignitaries as well as the shipbuilders and ship owners. From Castine, Maine Maritime Academy students and faculty participated in a keel-laying ceremony held at the Philadelphia Shipyard for its new training ship State of Maine. General Dynamics Bath Iron Works laid the keel of the future USS Louis H. Wilson Jr. (DDG 126), which will be BIW's first Flight III Arleigh-Burke-class destroyer. The U.S. Navy named the ship in honor of Marine Corps Gen. Louis H. Wilson Jr., who served as commandant of the Marine Corps. Wilson served during World War II and received the Medal of Honor for his leadership and valor at the Battle of Guam. The ship's sponsors are the Hon. Susan J. Rabern, captain, U.S. Navy (ret.) and Janet Wilson Taylor, Wilson's daughter. The laying of the keel and its authentication signified the start of hull integration and the precursor to final integration, launch and sea trials. The future USS Louis H. Wilson Jr. is the first Flight III Arleigh Burke destroyer to be built at Bath Iron Works. The Flight III configuration includes the AN/SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar. "The skill and hard work of our shipbuilding team are mak- ing DDG 126 a ship we can be proud to say is Bath-built," said BIW President Chuck Krugh. "When it sails down the Kennebec River, this ship will be ready to carry out its mission of protecting our nation and our fami- lies just as its namesake, Louis H. Wilson Jr., did throughout his distinguished career." Vessel training Maine Maritime Academy celebrated the first significant milestone in the life of the ship that will ultimately become its new training vessel. The keel-laying ceremony was held at the Philadelphia Shipyard for the Maritime Administration's National Security Multi-mission Vessel (NSMV) III, which will be delivered to the academy in fall 2024. The vessel is one of five being built as part of the Maritime Administration's NSMV development program, with appropria- tions from Congress: Maine Maritime Academy, SUNY Maritime College, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Texas A&M Maritime Academy and California State University Maritime. The NSMVs are designed to provide world-class training for future U.S. mariners and to support humanitarian assis- tance and disaster relief missions in times of need. The NSMV III will replace the current training vessel, State of Maine, which has served the academy since 1997. The new vessel will have eight classrooms, a full training bridge, lab spaces and an auditorium. The vessel will also be designed to respond to national disasters, as the State of Maine did in response to Hurricane Katrina. It will also be named State of Maine — the fifth Maine Maritime Academy training ship to bear the moniker. Maine Maritime Academy students walk to the keel-laying ceremony at the Philadelphia Shipyard. The Maine Maritime Academy's new State of Maine training vessel will be the fifth to bear that name. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F M A I N E M A R I T I M E A C A D E M Y

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